WEEKEND: Demon RumIs the moral ambiguity of...

WEEKEND: Demon Rum

Is the moral ambiguity of today’s modern world getting you down?

Starting this weekend, Valley residents will have a chance to cheer the good guys and hiss the villains with righteous indignation when the melodrama “The Drunkard” opens at the Enchanted Forest in Woodland Hills.

The play has a storied past. Several authors have claimed credit for this piece, which was written in the 1840s. The Enchanted Forest production lists one “William H. Sedley” as the guilty party.

An early New York production staged by P.T. Barnum is said to be the first theatrical production in that city to have more than 100 successive performances. A 1933 Los Angeles revival ran for over 20 years and 7,500 performances.

A musical version of the show debuted off-Broadway in the 1960s, with songs written by none other than Barry Manilow. And also in the ‘60s, a production ran intermittently at a small theater in the San Fernando Valley throughout the decade.

But those are all outdone by a production at the Richard Mansfield Dickinson Theater in Tulsa, Okla., that has been performed every weekend without fail since November 1953.

That’s a lot of hiss.

Despite the play’s record of longevity, the Enchanted Forest production is slated to close March 16.

* “The Drunkard” at 8:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Sundays at the Enchanted Forest, 20929 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. Tickets are $10-$12. Call (818) 716-7202.

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Classical Fare

Classical guitarist Lily Afshar will perform in concert Sunday at Valley College.

The Iranian-born virtuoso, who teaches guitar at Memphis State University in Tennessee, has been described by the Washington Post as “displaying remarkable consistency in terms of musicality, finesse and thoughtfulness.”

Pianist Edith Hirshtal will perform an eclectic program of classical pieces, folk songs and Broadway tunes at West Valley Jewish Community Center on Saturday.

This prizewinning artist, who has taught piano at Pennsylvania’s Temple University and Bryn Mawr Conservatory, currently teaches at Cal State Long Beach.

* Pianist Edith Hirshtal at 8 p.m. Saturday at West Valley Jewish Community Center, 22622 Vanowen St., West Hills. Tickets are $10. Call (818) 587-3300.

* Classical guitarist Lily Afshar in concert at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Music Recital Hall at Valley College, 5800 Fulton Ave., Van Nuys. Tickets are $6 general, $5 students and seniors. Call (818) 781-1200, Ext. 349.

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TUESDAY: It’s All Arranged

Septuagenarian Gerald Wilson, a major player in the Los Angeles jazz scene for over 50 years, brings his big band to the Moonlight Tango Cafe on Tuesday night.

As a composer and arranger, he has worked with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Harry Belafonte, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, Al Hirt and many others.

He composed a symphonic work, “Debut: 5/21/72,” that was performed by Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic that year. In 1990, he was given an American Jazz Masters fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. Times jazz writer Zan Stewart has described his compositions as having a “modern bent, with complex interweavings of brass and reed passages that create a grand, pulsating sound.”

* The Gerald Wilson Big Band with singer Sonny Craver perform at 8 and 10 p.m. Tuesday at the Moonlight Tango Cafe, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. $9.95 minimum plus a $13 cover for the early show, $9 late show. Call (818) 788-2000.