THIRD by Wendy Wasserstein 

From Topanga Actors Company; Four performances. Malibu Library, March 25/26; Topanga Library, April 1/2: 2 pm. FREE  

Wendy Wasserstein is the author of the justly celebrated The Heidi Chronicles, but her lesser-known, final play, THIRD, will be  presented here in Topanga and in Malibu by members of Topanga Actors Company in the staged-reading format TAC has made its own. TAC, yet again, intends to make their audiences forget the  actors are reading from scripts, by giving an absolutely entrancing performance, far beyond your typical reading. It gives nothing away to explain the “Third” of the title. He is, in his own words, Woodson Bull III. But as he quickly explains, you can call him “Third.” His professor at their select-liberal arts college, Laurie Jameson, prefers to think of her inconvenient student as another member of the “walking red state.” Worse, he is clearly a plagiarist and a liar. But is Professor Jameson correct, or is she casting Third as the villain in her own struggle to come to terms with life—personal and political? Her daughter, Emily, has one view, her friend and coworker, Nancy, another; and as for her father, he lives in his own world. Wasserstein sets the action in 2002-3 (with appropriate sound bites from George W. Bush). Now, two decades later, THIRD remains a dramatic, affecting, and witty look at what divides, and unites, contemporary Americans. For adults and high-school students. Refreshments to follow. Free library parking at both sites. 

This is the third production of a season of sponsored events at LA County libraries and the second production to move to Malibu Library. 

You can visit TAC’s website at topangaactorscompany.weebly.com or find them on Facebook under Topanga Actors Company. For immediate contact/info use the email: topangaactorscompany@theatercompany.org 

Malibu Library: 23519 West, Civic Center Way, Malibu

Topanga Library: 122 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga