With the exception of The Tosca Project, the workshops are script-in-hand productions.
Constance Congdon's world-premiere adaptation of Molière's The Imaginary Invalid goes up Jan. 26 and 27. Linn-Baker will play Argan, the titular hypochondriac, and Martin will tackle the role of Argan's impudent maid, Toinette. Ron Lagomarsino directs. Also starring are Charles Dean, Carrie Paff, Steven Anthony Jones, Gregory Wallace, Jud Williford and Margarett Head.
Erica Gould directs Brainpeople, which goes up Jan. 19 and 20. According to press notes, "the play unfolds at a surreal dinner party taking place in an unnamed totalitarian state, where three women reckon with the complexities of their pasts." It features Rebecca Wisocky, Sona Tatoyan and Camillia Sanes.
The Tosca Project, which goes up Jan. 16 and 17, is created by Carey Perloff (A.C.T.'s artistic director) and Val Caniparoli and directed by Perloff. The show is a "blend of theatre, movement, and music that toasts the rich history of Tosca's Café, the famed nightspot located in San Francisco's North Beach district that has been a favorite of opera singers, Beat poets, Russian émigrés, and other eclectic characters since the 1920s," according to press notes.
Starring are the San Francisco Ballet veteran dancers Yuri Possokhov, Pascal Molat, Muriel Maffre, Joanna Berman and Damian Smith, along with Corey Fischer, Gregory Wallace, Joan Mankin and Jody Flader. Linn-Baker is best known for his role in the television series "Perfect Strangers." His Broadway credits include Losing Louie, A Year With Frog and Toad, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Face Value and Doonesbury. He is co-founder and co-director of New York Stage and Film.
Martin won a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in My Favorite Year. She also appeared on Broadway in Oklahoma!, Candide and Fiddler on the Roof. She was one of the original members of the cast of "SCTV" and appeared in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," among other films.
Rivera's plays include Marisol (Obie Award), The House of Ramon Iglesia, The Promise, Each Day Dies with Sleep, Slaughter in the Lake, Giants Have Us in Their Books, Marciela de la Luz Lights the World, 187 and The Street of the Sun. He received an Oscar nomination for writing "The Motorcycle Diaries."
The Zeum Theater is located at 4th and Howard Streets in San Francisco. For tickets call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act-sf.org.
