Frou-Frou: A Menagerie of Sorts

FEB 21-MAR 30, 2025

A WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION

by John Anthony Loffredo
directed by Zi Alikhan

L is a stoner with social anxiety, Harold is an aspiring ballerina, and their mother is a woman from another time. Driven by archaic dreams for her children, all Mamma wants is for a man to marry L to rescue the family from financial ruin. So when a big, burly traveler turns up at their doorstep, she thinks her prayers have been answered. But it is Harold, her tutu-wearing son, who seems most attracted to this strange man, while L, her chronically online “daughter,” doesn’t seem to want him – but wants to become him.

By turns raucous, poetic, touching, and dangerous, Frou-Frou: A Menagerie of Sorts riffs on Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie in this story of two queer siblings yearning to be understood.


ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

John Anthony Loffredo is thrilled to be making his professional playwriting debut with the world premiere of Frou-Frou: A Menagerie of Sorts at Boston Court Pasadena. He has previously developed work as a member of Under Construction at the Road Theatre, Boston Court Pasadena’s Playwrights Group, and Clusterf**k at the Coop NYC. John Anthony is a former O’Neill semi-finalist, Lambda Literary fellow, and recipient of the Nancy Garden Scholarship. Their work as an essayist has been published in them and is shared regularly on their Substack, late to the party. John Anthony is also a two-time AIDS/LifeCycle rider, cycling from San Francisco to Los Angeles with thousands of others to raise awareness and millions of dollars to support community members living with HIV/AIDS. Education: BFA in Drama, NYU Tisch.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Zi Alikhan (he/him) is a queer, first-generation South Asian-American, culturally Muslim theater director. DIRECTING: On That Day in Amsterdam (Primary Stages, Drama Desk Nomination-Outstanding Director, Lucille Lortel Nomination-Outstanding Director), Sanctuary City (Pasadena Playhouse, LA Times-‘Best of the Year’), The Band’s Visit (Writers Theatre/TheatreSquared, Chicago Tribune-‘Best of the Year’), RENT (Paper Mill Playhouse), Snow in Midsummer (Classic Stage Company), The Wizard of Oz and Somewhere (Geva Theatre Center), The Great Leap (Portland Center Stage), A Nice Indian Boy (Olney Theatre Center), and Ragtime (Playmakers Repertory Company). UPCOMING: the world premieres of Keiko Green’s You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! at South Coast Rep and Deepak Kumar’s House of India at The Old Globe.
THE CAST

Mamma – Reiko Aylesworth
L – Simone Brazzini
Man – Ryan Imhoff
Harold – Patrick Reilly

THE PRODUCTION TEAM

Playwright – John Anthony Loffredo
Director – Zi Alikhan
Scenic Design – Samuel Keamy-Minor
Costume Design – Danae Iris McQueen
Lighting Design – Josh Epstein
Sound Design – Erin Bednarz
Properties Design – Thomas Bigley
Projection Design – Nicholas Hussong
Intimacy Director – Carly DW Bones
Fight Director – Edgar Landa
Choreographer – Paul McGill
Casting Director – Victor Vazquez, CSA
Dramaturg – Grace Evanoff
Production Stage Manager – Brandon Cheng
Assistant Stage Manager  – Jaclyn Gehringer

SPECIAL EVENTS

March 2: Illumination on Playwriting
March 7: Illumination on Playwriting, LGBTQ+ Affinity Night and ASL-Interpreted Performance
March 9: Illumination on Acting
March 16: Illumination on Theme
March 28: Illumination on Acting


SPECIAL THANKS

Special thanks to our production supporters: Andy Jones, Anonymous Donor, Daryl Boren, Jason Arnold, Shira Friedman and Shea Theatricals.

Special thanks to our institutional supporters: Perenchio Foundation, LA County Department of Arts and Culture, and the Mimi & Harold Steinberg Charitable Fund.

CONTENT ADVICE

This play contains themes that could be triggering for some folx. If you’d like to read the specifics, click the triangle below. May contain spoilers!

We’re recommending this play for ages 18+.

CONTENT NOTICE

This production contains full frontal nudity, as well as depictions of masturbation, gender dysphoria and misgendering, familial homophobia and transphobia, violence, and sexually charged physical violence including non-consensual bondage. This play is appropriate for ages 18 and up.

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