If you could meet...

Have you ever wondered what you would say if you had a chance to meet someone famous, dead or alive? I sort of had the opportunity to do that last Sunday at the Fremont Centre Theatre.

The play, "Inside Private Lives," is a fun theatre experience which lets the audience participate in a way that's different from many interactive theatre experiences. Rather than asking you to simply shout out ideas, such as in improvisational theatre, or reciting predetermined lines from a cue-card, "Inside Private Lives" lets you shape and form the direction of the performance, engaging and interacting with the actor on stage.

With roughly 20 controversial personalities from the 20th century (including one of my personal favorites, David Koresh!), the production rotates through a different set of performers each night. No performance is ever the same.

The show introduced me to some fascinating people in our time, and also made me have a change of heart on how I viewed some of them. For example, I was compelled to learn more about the story of Sister Aimee (portrayed by Molly Hagan), a 1920s evangelist accused of lying about being kidnapped. The controversy: was she kidnapped or did she run away with her lover?

We also had the opportunity to meet "The Queen of Mean," Ms. Leona Helmsley, whom I thought I would hate through and through. Actress Silvie Zamora caused me to see that perhaps Ms. Helmsley did have a heart and cared. Maybe I was wrong for judging her. Maybe.

In all of this, the actors asked something from the audience, and we as an audience decided if we were willing to participate and grant them their wish or not. If you're unable to step outside of your comfort zone, this may not be the type of show for you. But if you're willing to get a little silly, especially with a group of friends, and help Tupac Shakur sell his hardcore Christmas rap album, or create a cover for John Dillinger as he escapes from the coppers, consider "Inside Private Lives." And if you do go, be sure to take advantage of the discount offer exclusive to ExperienceLA readers. It's worth the price. Oh, and I should mention, plays are only on Sundays, and the last date to catch this is Sunday, August 30th!


-Julie