Comments (0) Best Cutting-Edge Theater - 2009

Garage Theatre

The unfortunate demise of the Rude Guerrilla Theater Co. leaves a gaping hole in terms of alternative theater programming. Thankfully, there's a fitting surrogate up the road in this gritty troupe, which launched in 2001. Formed by several products of Orange Coast College's theater department, the Garagians have produced an impressive array of plays rarely touched by most theaters, including Amiri Baraka's politically charged tract of simmering racism, Dutchman; Don DeLillo's The Day Room and Valparaiso; Tracey Lett's Killer Joe; plus seldom-produced work by David Mamet, Sam Shepard and Jose Luis Rivera. This summer, it became the first Southern California theater—that we know of—to produce Cannibal! The Musical by Southpark co-creator Trey Parker.