Boston Court Pasadena, 70 N. Mentor Ave. in Pasadena, will present its 2025 New Play Reading Festival on Saturday, Dec. 13.
1 p.m.: “Venus” by Steve Yockey. Cast: Merle Dandridge and Briana Cuoco. Directed by Jessica Kubzansky; dramaturged by Sonia Desai; ttage directions by Peter James Smith.
A dark comedy that recounts one relationship as it spirals from a meet-cute at a boring book club to a beautiful first date of stargazing and then onto a spectacularly horrifying game of cat-and-mouse. Tackling the bizarre confluence of fear and the “need to be right” in modern life, these women more than prove how difficult it is out there when you’re looking for love.
4:30 p.m.: “Beautiful Blessed Child” by Daria Miyeko Marinelli. Cast: Reina Guthrie and Emily Kuroda. Directed by Margaret Shigeko Starbuck; stage directions by Sun Jin.
Aimiko has never taken a road trip with their mom. Sharon has never seen nor heard of any sort of mother-daughter road trip. And so, our brave pioneers take to the road for an absurdly funny, poetic, yet harrowing adventure, driving west, ten miles per hour above the speed limit until Aimiko’s radiator suddenly dies. This is their story. Kind of. And again. And again.
Buy one ticket for $27 or a two-pack for $42. Info: (626) 683-6801, https://bostoncourtpasadena.org/nprf25/