A NIGHTMARE IS ON THE WAY TO HOLLYWOOD FRINGE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE * CONTACT: Pam Noles [email protected]

HOLLYWOOD — When Les Kurkendaal went to his boyfriend’s home to meet the very conservative family, he was in for a shock. The family knew Michael was gay, but didn’t know he was dating a black man.

Kurkendaal turned that experience into “Christmas in Bakersfield,” a hilarious, tender and fearless storytelling show examining romance and race that drew raves from audiences and critics.

Kurkendaal returns to the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Festival with “Nightmare in Bakersfield,” the story of accompanying Michael to ritual of his 20-year high school class reunion — where the classmates don’t know that Michael is gay.

“Nightmare in Bakersfield,” a nuanced, hysterical and quite up-front look at race, sexuality and assumptions will be held 9 p.m. June 7, 14, 22 and 23 and 7 p.m. June 20 at ComedySportz LA, 733 Seward St., Hollywood, as part of the third annual Hollywood Fringe Festival. Press preview is June 7th; press can claim comps through the Hollywood Fringe Festival website.

Kurkendaal, 36, of West Hollywood, has been an actor and stand up comic since 1982. He studied with the Groundlings, and has performed in clubs and at festivals in Hollywood, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Dublin. Later this summer he will make his debut in Stockholm. His move into storytelling came about in part because he enjoys the liberating format.

“If you do stand up comedy you have to stick with the set up and punch formula. You’re locked in,” he said. “With storytelling you have the luxury of relaxing. You can be funny, but you can be real.”

Being real is important to Kurkendaal, as getting people to break through their assumptions about each other and instead see shared humanity. Though we’re well into the new century, the old attitudes some maintain toward those of a different race, gender or sexual orientation very much exist.

“A lot of people think we have an African American president and that means this race stuff is all going to go away. Let me tell you something − there’s no such thing as post-racial,” Kurkendaal said. “I’m after the universal message. It’s about treating people equally, treating people like they’re human beings, and not diminishing people by putting them in a box.”

For audiences, especially those unfamiliar with live theater, Kurkendaal finds the storytelling format a good first entry, a way to “ease yourself into theater if you think it’s stodgy,” he said. “Storytelling is more relaxed.”

Kurkendaal and Michael have been a couple for 7.5 years, and Michael has seen and enjoyed the “Christmas in Bakersfield,” about his family. However, Michael has not seen, read or been told much about “Nightmare in Bakersfield,” which deals a lot more with him.

“He knows about the show, he knows the show exists, but he has no idea what’s in there,” Kurkendaal said, laughing. “It’s going to be a surprise for both of us.”

What: Nightmare in Bakersfield, a storytelling show by Les Kurkendaal
When: 9 p.m. June 7, 14, 22 and 23 and 7 p.m. June 20
Where: ComedySportz LA, 733 Seward St., Hollywood,
Cost: $12. Press free. Claim your comp on the Hollywood Fringe Festival website.
Contact: Pam Noles, [email protected] or text 323.632.6805

Photos available upon request.