Angel City

Play

Writers: Sam Shepard

Overview

Show Information

Category
Play
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
1976
Genres
Satire
Settings
Contemporary, Simple/No Set, Unit/Single Set
Time & Place
Hollywood, California
Cast Size
small
Ideal for
Mostly Male Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast
Casting Notes
Mostly male cast
Includes adult characters

Synopsis

Angel City is Sam Shepard’s surreal satire of the myth that is Hollywood. Lanx and Wheeler, two hauntingly peculiar movie producers, are desperate to salvage a failing movie project. They summon Rabbit, a stuntman living in the desert, to work his magic and turn it into a disaster flick with a character that transcends anything audiences have seen. Drawn to the mystical allure of Hollywood, Rabbit instead finds himself in a world where creativity is dead and greed reigns supreme. Rounding out an ensemble of disjointed characters is Miss Scoons, the office secretary who dreams of being an actress, and Tympani, who longs to own a diner but seems resigned to his Sisyphean existence trying to find an original rhythm. Shepard wrote the play after a bad experience in a Hollywood office, and every line drips with cynicism. Angel City depicts Hollywood as a stale, oppressive crucible void of creativity ruined by greed and ambition.

Lead Characters


Angel City guide sections