Tooth and Claw

In an emotional ecosystem as complex as that of our planet, is life nothing more than survival of the fittest? Michael Hollinger based his probing work on the real-life giant tortoise named "Lonesome George" and the efforts to preserve his species that threatened the livelihood of the native fishermen on the Galàpagos Islands.

This play is part of LA Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Major funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world. This recording also includes an interview with playwright Michael Hollinger as well as an interview with Carol Ann Bassett, the author of Gal├ípagos at the Crossroads: Pirates, Biologists, Tourists, and Creationists Battle for Darwin's Cradle of Evolution.

The cast includes Jaime Alvarez as Pedro; Chico Stephanie Beatriz as Ana Ortega; Daniel Chacon as Park Official, Tour Guide, and Alberto; Richard Gallegos as Tito and Bernardo; Daniel Guzman as Gonzalo Reyes; Justin Huen as Jorge and Manuel; Jay Montalvo as Miguel Mendoza; W. Morgan Sheppard as Malcolm Geary; Jos Viramontes as Carlos Zavala; and Cynthia Watros as Schuyler Baines.

Recorded by LA Theatre Works before a live audience at the James Bridges Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television in July 2012.