“The Recommendation dazzles with its exhilarating cascades of rapid-fire narration by Scott and jabbing, bobbing and weaving dialogue. ”
IAMA Theatre Company has announced the Los Angeles premiere of The Recommendation, written by Jonathan Caren and directed by Laura Savia, at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood. There will be two lower-priced preview performances on Thursday, February 6 and Friday, February 7 at 8pm, and opening is set for Saturday, February 8 at 8pm. The Recommendation will play a limited engagement through March 9 only.
The Recommendation is the story of Aaron Feldman - smart, privileged, and liked by everyone - and his college roommate Iskinder, who is modest, unconnected, and from a middle-class immigrant family. They become best friends in college and Aaron shares his world of favors and fortune with Islander. Once out in the real world, however, Aaron is thrust into a terrifying situation without his familiar safety net. As he is forced to rely on an accused felon to keep him safe, Aaron and Iskinder are forced to rethink the meaning of friendship and where loyalty has its limits.
The cast of The Recommendation will feature (in alphabetical order) Malcolm Barrett, Brandon Scott, and Adam Shapiro. The set design is by Rachel Myers, lighting design is by Carolina Ortiz, sound design is by Jeff Gardner, and costume design is by Melissa Trn. The stage manager is Josephine Austin.
Jonathan Caren's other plays include The Morning The Sun Fell Down, Let Me Go, Catch the Fish, and The Venerable Raman Gupta. His work has been developed at theatres across the country including Manhattan Theatre Club, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Ars Nova, The Roundabout Underground, The Pasadena Playhouse, The Keen Company, Woodshed Ensemble, Berkshire Playwrights Lab, The Lark, New York Stage and Film, The Jewish Plays Project, The Samuel French OOB Festival, and The Old Vic in London. Caren is a 2013 MacDowell Colony Fellow, a 2012 Dramatist Guild Fellow, the 2011 New York Stage and Film Founder's Award Winner, a two-time recipient of a Fellowship to SPACE @ Ryder Farm, a two-time Lecomte du Nouy Award-winner and a recipient of the Theatre Publicus Prize for Dramatic Fiction.
Laura Savia's directing credits include The Mnemonist of Dutchess County, Letters to Santa, The Glass Menagerie, House Strictly Private, The Color of Justice and The Lover, as well as numerous short plays for Ars Nova, Partial Comfort, At Play, and The 24-Hour Plays. She has directed workshops and readings for The Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company, Second Stage, and Ma-Yi Theater Company, among others. Savia is the workshop director at the Williamstown Theatre Festival where she serves as artistic producer for 12 late-night and outdoor productions each summer.