SABATINO AND CO. STEP INTO SPOTLIGHT.

Byline: EVAN HENERSON

>LA.COM

His production company had produced a TV series, a film and a short documentary. Now, Gregory Sabatino says, the stage is beckoning.

And Sabatino has answered, producing two plays at the Matrix Theatre that were selected as much for their topicality as for their commercial value.

"The House of Blue Leaves," John Guare's dark look at the American dream in the midst of the Vietnam War, is already up and running. Once "Blue Leaves" closes, GSP brings to the stage Arthur Miller's Salem witch trials parable, "The Crucible."

"I may be giving away my political leanings here," says Sabatino. "There are so many similarities to me between the war taking place now and the era that 'House of Blue Leaves' covers. You start looking at these plays, going, 'My God the times are similar."'

"If we were going to get involved with the theater side of our entertainment division, we decided these two plays would be a good catalyst," Sabatino continues.

An enticement for actors, as well. Playing Artie Shaughnessy, "Blue Leaves' " zookeeper with songwriting dreams, is Jack Conley of "Traffic" and "Get Shorty." Emmy nominee Colleen Flynn takes on "The Crucible's" cheated-upon wife, Elizabeth Procter. Both plays are directed by Laura Henry,

Sabatino's previous endeavors include Scott Caan's directorial debut, "Dallas 362," and the short documentary "Falsifyin' " about the impact of boogie-woogie music.

And having gotten his feet wet in the stage scene, Sabatino is by no means ready to dry them off.

"We have some original work we're thinking about producing, which I'm kind of excited about," he says. "One thing we would like to do is get involved with young writers, people who have maybe never been produced before."

"The House of Blue Leaves" plays 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 2. "The Crucible" opens Dec. 6 and plays the same schedule through Dec. 23. Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood. $25. [phone], www.plays411.com.

Evan Henerson [phone]

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Gregory Sabatino, producer of "The House of Blue Leaves" and "The Crucible" at the Matrix Theatre, has plans for some original works as well.