By

Steve ZALL and Sid FISH

Here are some of the shows running in our local theatres this month:

“Big Shot” unfolds on the eve of what could be a giant break for two aspiring writers — a face-to-face meeting with one of Hollywood’s heaviest-hitting producers. As the clock ticks — and with only one shot to pitch a winning idea — the two embark on a frantic all-night quest to find the perfect story.

                  Written by Joe Napoli Jr. and John Scacco, and directed by Stan Zimmerman, it runs March 2 through March 17 at the Dorie Theatre at The Complex in Hollywood. For tickets, call (800) 838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3325702.

“A Man for All Seasons” This tragic historical drama offers a brilliant portrait of Sir Thomas More in his last years as Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of Henry VIII. When Henry mandates his subjects to sign an “Act of Supremacy” making him both spiritual and temporal leader of England in order to obtain papal approval for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas cannot in good conscience comply.

                  Written by Robert Bolt and directed by Thom Babbes, it runs March 2 through April 15 at the Actors Co-op David Schall Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets, call (323) 462-8460 or visit www.ActorsCo-op.org.

“The Tragedy: A Comedy” Three literary/talent managers go on a psychedelic mushroom trip hoping they’ll be struck with a brilliant idea that will save their failing business. Instead, the mushrooms reveal a chilling truth: their whole lives are the subject of a tragic play.

                  Written by D.G. Watson and directed by Ahmed Best, it runs March 8 through June 14 at the Pico Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, visit www.ammotheatre.com.

“Unemployed Elephants – A Love Story” A chance meeting in an airport lounge leads to a Burmese odyssey and a search for a missing monk … and maybe love.

                  Written by Wendy Graf and directed by Maria Gobetti, it runs March 9 through April 15 at the Little Victory Theatre in Burbank. For tickets, call (818) 841-5422 or visit www.thevictorytheatrecenter.org.

“Engaging Shaw” Charlotte Payne-Townshend, wealthy Irish heiress, meets George Bernard Shaw, the financially challenged but famous Irish playwright. They thrive in each other’s company, but can he resist her when she wants to take their relationship to the next level? Will Charlotte get her man?

                  Written by John Morogiello and directed by Melanie MacQueen, it runs March 15 through April 15 at the Theatre 40, in the Reuben Cordova Theatre in Beverly Hills. For tickets, call (310) 364-0535 or visit www.theatre40.org.

“No Exit” Three strangers are locked together in a belligerently distasteful room for eternity. Without the expected torture to occupy them, they are forced to simply exist. There is no escape: from the room, each other and, worst of all, themselves.

                  Written by Jean-Paul Sartre and directed by Ye’ela Rosenfeld, it runs March 16 through April 8 at the Chromolume Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, visit www.plays411.com/noexit.

“Sister Act” Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder and is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won’t be found: a convent! Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with the rigid lifestyle imposed by uptight Mother Superior.

                  Written by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, with additional material by Douglas Carter Beane, with music by Allen Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and directed by Ben Lupejkis, it runs March 16 through April 21 at the Westchester Playhouse in Westchester. For tickets, call (310) 645-5156 or visit www.kentwoodplayers.org.

“An Undivided Heart” An unlikely encounter with a Zen priest propels Father Mike Cleary into a collision course with his archdiocese, while Lynne Callahan, a young widow, struggles to make sense of her life in a town in which the water has been polluted with deadly chemicals. How do victims of suffering caused by others find a way to go on?

                  Written by Yusuf Toropov and directed by Chris Fields, it runs March 16 through April 22 at the Echo Theater Company in Atwater Village. For tickets, call (310) 307-3753 or visit www.EchoTheaterCompany.com.

“Little Women, The Musical” follows the adventures of the four March sisters, Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy, and their experiences growing up in Civil War America under the watchful eye of the girls’ beloved Marmee while their father is away at war.

                  Written by Allan Knee, with music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and directed by Anne Gesling, it runs March 17 through April 14 at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica. For tickets, call (310) 828-7519 or visit www.morgan-wixson.org.

“Through the Eye of a Needle” The Keen family is dealing with the recent tragedy concerning their daughter, Dana, a navy corpsman in the Iraq War. Then Nasser, an Iraqi refugee, arrives at their door unannounced on Christmas Eve and the family fights over whether or not to keep the gift.

                  Written by Jami Brandli and directed by Ann Hearn, it runs March 23 through May 26 at the Road Theatre on Lankershim in North Hollywood. For tickets, call (818) 761-8838 or visit www.RoadTheatre.org.

“The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” Partners in life and on canvas, Marc and Bella are immortalized as the picture of romance. On the painter’s canvas they flew, but in real life they walked through some of the most challenging times in 20th century history –navigating the devastation of war, the Russian Revolution and each other.

                  Written by Daniel Jamieson, with music by Ian Ross, and directed by Emma Rice, it runs through March 11 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. For tickets, call (310) 746-4000 or visit www.TheWallis.org/Lovers.

“The Art Couple” Long before Felix met Oscar, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were ill-fitting roommates in the south of France; a fateful co-habitation that would change the face of art – and Van Gogh’s face, too. It’s a lesser-known tidbit of theatre history that these two masters were also the subjects of Neil Simon’s original draft of “The Odd Couple.”

                  Written by Brendan Hunt and directed by Lauren Van Kurin, it runs through March 17 at the Broadwater Black Box in Los Angeles. For tickets, visit www.sacredfools.org.

“Antony & Cleopatra: The Musical” has its all: romance, passion, sex, heartbreak, the fascination of royalty, war, politics, the epic sweep of history and, at its center, one of history’s most celebrated love stories: that of Antony, a general and triumvir of the Roman Republic who defied his Emperor and the woman for whom Antony was willing to risk all, the Macedonian usurper of the throne of Egypt, the mighty Queen Cleopatra.

                  Written by William Shakespeare and directed by Gloria Gifford, it runs through March 18 at the Gray Studios in North Hollywood. For tickets, call (310) 366-5505 or visit www.tix.com.

“Don’t Hug Me, We’re Family” The host of a radio show devoted entirely to ice fishing loses his sole sponsor while his wife, a popular host of a book show, has numerous sponsors, putting the couple at odds. Issues escalate and are compounded when two fish-out-of-water Brooklyn Italians come to the rural Minnesota town, buy the radio station and a hotel, and turn everything on its ear.

                  Written by Phil Olson, with music by Paul Olson, lyrics by Phil Olson, and directed by Doug Engalla, it runs through March 25 at the T.U. Studios in North Hollywood. For tickets, call (818) 850-9254 or visit www.donthugme.brownpapertickets,.com.

“Six Characters in Search of a Play” Del Shores brings to life six one-of-a-kind characters he has met in real life who haven’t quite made it into one of his plays, films or TV shows. In 90 minutes, the audience will hear the truth behind how he collected these eccentrics and their stories as he portrays his hilarious, off-the-rails encounters with them.

                  Written by Del Shores and directed by Emerson Collins, it runs through March 25 at the Celebration Theatre @ the Lex Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (323) 957-1884 or visit www.celebrationtheatre.com.

“The Alamo” The owners, along with some of their regulars, watched from the roof of the bar as the World Trade Towers fell, taking down their relatives, friends and neighbors. Today, with an aging clientele, the place is fighting to keeps its doors open.

                  Written by Ian McRae and directed by Kent Thompson, it runs through March 31 at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica. For tickets, call (310) 397-3244 or visit www.ruskingrouptheatre.com.

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” Joseph is a boy blessed with prophetic dreams and being his father’s favorite son. But when his jealous brothers sell him into slavery and he is taken to Egypt, Joseph endures a series of terrific adventures.

                  Written by Tim Rice, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice, and directed by Lee Martino, it runs through April 7 at the Glendale Centre Theatre in Glendale. For tickets, call (818) 244-8481 or visit www.glendalecentretheatre.com.

“A Raisin in the Sun” In pre-civil rights America, an unexpected windfall offers a life-changing option for the Youngers, an African-American family living in a cramped Chicago apartment. They struggle with competing dreams and racial intolerance in this timely drama.

                  Written by Lorraine Hansberry and directed by Gregg T. Daniel, it runs through April 8 at the A Noise Within in Pasadena. For tickets, call (626) 356-3100 or visit www.anoisewithin.org.

“The Wicked, Wicked Mae West” is a new comedy about the legendary actress, writer and sex symbol. Set in 1959, the play portrays the bigger-than-life, wise-cracking Mae when she was being interviewed by Charles Collingwood for a possible appearance on his popular “Person to Person” TV show.

                  Written by Willard Manus and directed by Iris Merlis, it runs through May 25 at the Write Act Repertory @ the Brickhouse Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets, visit www.brownpapertickets,.com/event/3328677.

                  Enjoy life more – see a show tonight!