STAGE LISTINGS
STAGE LISTINGS FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, May 9 – 15, 2024
OPENING THIS WEEK
All Theaters, Region-Wide:
ALMA Benjamin Benne’s drama about a mother, a daughter and the thread of an American dream. Chance Theatre@ Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center on the Fyda-Mar Stage, 5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. Opening Sat., May 11; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat.-Sun., 3 pm; thru May 26.www.chancetheatre.com
AMERICAN MARIACHI As they hunt for bandmates, two young women dream big and embrace the transcendent power of music in José Cruz González’s play, set in 1970. Latino Theatre company at LATC, 514 S. Spring St., downtown; Opens Sat., May 11; Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru June 9. www.latinotheaterco.org
LONE STAR and LAUNDRY AND BOURBON Two one-act comedies, written by the late James McLure, tell the story of a small 1970’s town of Maynard, Texas from two very different perspectives. The Main Theatre, Santa Clarita. Opens Fri., May 10; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat.-Sun., 2 pm; thru May 19.https://LoneStar.eventbrite.com
SHAKESPEARE, INC. Joel Tyler Gold’s interactive Shakespeare play, with 16 story threads featuring all the best Shakespearean scenes and characters and where the audience controls the story. Pacific Resident Theatre, 705 ½ Venice Blvd., Venice. Opens Fri., May 10; Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm; thru May 26. https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/9858
WRITE OF SPRING A collection of 5 plays inspired by the theme of Spring, Write Act Repertory @ the Brickhouse Theatre, 10950 Peach Grove St., N. Hollywood. Opens Fri., May 10. Fri.-Sat., 7:30 pm, Sun., 3 pm; dark Memorial Day weekend; thru June 1. https://writeofspring.brownpapertickets.com
CONTINUING PERFORMANCES
Larger Theaters, Region-Wide:
CINDERELLA Storybook Theatre’s Cinderella is a funny version specifically created to appeal to young children and the whole family. Stage Raw’s review. Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, L.A.; Sat., 1 pm; thru June 1. www.theatrewest.org
COME FROM AWAY a musical that celebrates human endurance, compassion and bravery under dreadful circumstances. Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood; Tues. – Thurs., 7:30 PM, Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat., 2 pm, Sun., 1 pm and 6:30 pm; thru May 12. www.hollywoodpantages.com
RECOMMENDED FAT HAM
Marcel Spears and Nikki Crawford (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
A young, gay Black man confronts a Shakespearean-sized dilemma when the ghost of his dead father shows up at his family’s BBQ wedding reception, demanding his murder be avenged. Stage Raw’s review. Geffen Playhouse, 10866 Le Conte Ave., Westwood; Wed.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat.-Sun., 2 pm, Sun.,7 pm; thru May 11. www.geffenplayhouse.com
RECOMMENDED GALILEE 34
Amy Brenneman and Eric Berryman (Photo by Robert Husky)
Eleanor Burgess’s play takes a look at what happened to the disciples after the Crucifixion of Yeshua or Jesus. Stage Raw’s review. South Coast Repertory, 655 Towne Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens; Wed.-Sat., 7:30 pm, Sat.-Sun., 2 pm; thru May 12. https://www.scr.org/plays/productions/23-24-season/galilee-34
RECOMMENDED GHOST WALTZ
Quetzal Guerrero and Nathalie Pena-Comas (Photo by Grettel Cortes Photography)
Oliver Mayer’s play tells the story of Juventino Rosas, one of Mexico’s most significant classical composers — an Indigenous musician whose life story has gone untold and whose works have been attributed to Europeans. Stage Raw’s review. Latino Theater Company at LATC, 514 S. Spring St., downtown; Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru June 1. https://latinotheatreco.org
RECOMMENDED THE HOPE THEORY
Helder Guimarães (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
As a Portuguese immigrant, storyteller, and sleight-of-hand magician, Helder Guimarães arrived in America at age 29. Wide-eyed and full of ideas, he discovers a fascinating puzzle of cultural and professional challenges to solve while he tries to build a home. Stage Raw’s review. Geffen Playhouse, Le Conte Ave., Westwood; Wed.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat., 2pm, Sun., 2pm & 7 pm; Spanish language perfs., please check website for schedule; thru June 9; www.geffenplayhouse.org
JERSEY BOYS The musical follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop-music history. La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada; Thurs.., 7:30 pm, Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat., 2 pm, Sun., 1:30 pm & 6:30 pm, dark Sun. April 21, 6:30 pm; thru May 12. https://lamiradatheatre.com
WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME Heidi Schreck’s play was inspired by her experiences at age 15 when she traveled the country entering Constitutional debate competitions to earn scholarship money for college. International City Theatre, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center’s Beverly O’Neill Theater, 330 East Seaside Way, Long Beach; Fri.-Sat., 7:30 pm, Sun., 2 pm, Thurs., May 9 & 16, 7:30 pm; thru May 19. InternationalCityTheatre.org.
Intimate Theaters, Hollywood:
RECOMMENDED DISTRACTIONS AT THE CRASH SITE
Lisa Clifton, Trevor H Olsen and Sierra Marcks (Photo by Brad C. Light)
An evening of short works filled with intimate little stories told on a big, bold scale, written by Steve Yockey. Stage Raw’s review. Theater of Note, 1517 N. Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood, Opens Thurs., May 2; Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 7 pm, Mon., 8 pm; thru June 1. www.theatreofnote.com
RECOMMENDED FATHERLAND
Ron Bottitta and Patrick Keleher (Photo by Jenny Graham)
In Stephen Sachs’s new play, a 19-year-old faces the hardest day in his life when he testifies in federal court after informing the FBI of his father’s involvement in the January attack on the Capitol. Stage Raw’s Review. The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., E. Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm & 7 pm, Mon., 8 pm; thru May 26. www.FountainTheatre.com
RECOMMENDED H TLER’S TASTERS
Caitlin Zambito, Olivia Gill, Paige Simunovich (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
Michelle Kholos Brooks’s dark comedy is based on the largely unknown story of young German women conscripted to taste Adolf Hitler’s food for poison and explores the way girls navigate sexuality, friendship, and patriotism during the Third Reich. Stage Raw’s review. Rogue Machine (Upstairs at the Henry Murray Stage in the Matrix Theatre) 7657 Melrose Ave, Hollywood; Fri. & Mon., 8 pm, Sat., 5 pm, Sun., 7 pm; thru June 3. https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/
RECOMMENDED MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA
Logan Leonardo Arditty and Kevin Daniels (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
When his husband dies, a Black man finds himself the owner of a drive-in movie theater and a caregiver to his late husband’s straight, white teenage son. Stage Raw’s review. Rogue Machine at The Matrix, 7657 Melrose Avenue, W. Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm, Mon., 8 pm; thru May 19. www.roguemachinetheatre.org
THE ONE A mix of comedy and spoken word poetry, the show tackles ideas of monogamy and faithfulness in a world where polyamory and consensual non-monogamy are more accepted. The Broadwater, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru May 11. https://tinyurl.com/mwzw8ajb
RECOMMENDED TWELFTH NIGHT
Antwon Mason and Mary Leeholland (Photo by Zak Shelby-Szyszko, courtesy of Actors Co-op)
Shakespeare’s comedy in which a quick-witted young woman assumes the disguise of a page boy for a duke and finds herself at the center of an explosive love triangle. Stage Raw’s review. Actors Co-op, David Schall Theatre, 1760 N. Gower St., Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 7:30 pm, Sun., 2:30 pm; thru May 12. www.ActorsCo-op.org
Intimate Theaters; Downtown LA, South LA, East LA:
EN MI JARDÍN (In My Garden) Healing With Our Stories A 10-minute new works play festival. CASA 0101 Theater 2102 East First Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Heights; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru May 12. www.casa0101.org
RECOMMENDED TWO STOP
Tristina Lee, Susan Baraka and JungSoo Ham (Photo by Tracy A. Leigh)
A store owner and a neighborhood teenage girl in Koreatown face off on the verge of the ’92 uprisings in LA in David Johann Kim’s play. Stage Raw’s review. EST/LA, Atwater Village Theatre,, 3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm, May 5, 12, 19 and June, Sun., 7 pm, May 26 and June 9; thru June 9. https://www.estlosangeles.org/
Intimate Theaters, Valleys in LA County:
THE BODY’S MIDNIGHT In Tira Palmquist’s play, a couple sets out on an American road trip but their plans are derailed by a troubling diagnosis and the beautiful impermanence of the world around them. Stage Raw’s review. IAMA at Boston Court Pasadena, 70 Mentor St., Pasadena; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm, Mon. , May 6 & May 20, 8 pm; thru May 26. bostoncourtpasadena.org
CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT ‘EM Lee Redmond’s play about a philanderer in a coma who want to hear what the various women in his life have to say when they are all in the room at the same time. Stage Raw’s review. Lonny Chapman Theatre, Upstairs at GRT (Second Floor), 10900 Burbank Blvd., N. Hollywood; Thurs. & Sat., 7:30 pm, Sat., 4 pm; thru May 12. www.thegrouprep.com
ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE Tennessee Williams’ play revolves around the relationship between the unmarried daughter of a strict clergyman and the neighboring doctor she cares for. The Sherry theater, 11052 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 7 pm; thru May 26. https://3common.com/event/the-eccentricities-of-a-nightingale-661814fdac490f7164c6e42e
HIGH MAINTENANCE In Peter Ritt’s dark comedy, an unfairly disgraced actor makes her comeback in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, opposite a robot that may bring about the end of the acting profession. Stage Raw’s review. The Road Theatre, Magnolia Blvd., N. Hollywood.; check website for schedule; thru May 19. www.RoadTheatre.org
NICKY AND THE ANGELS The musical follows three teenage theater kids in the spring of 1982 in the City of Angels as they are falling in love with musicals, the big bright world outside of high school, and the wrong people. The Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.; Sun., 7 pm, thru May 19. www.nickyandtheangels.com
RECOMMENDED NORA
Jocelyn Towne and Brian Tichnell (Photo by Jenny Graham)
Ingmar Bergmann’s stage adaptation of A Doll’s House distills the play down to its essential core. Stage Raw’s review. Antaeus Theatre Company, 110 East Broadway, Glendale; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. Mon., 8 p.m. thru May 26. https://antaeus.org/show-details/nora
RECOMMENDED SINGULARITIES or the Computers of Venus
Lizzy Kimball and Krishna Smitha (Photo by Brian Graves)
Set in three different time periods, Laura Stribling’s play looks at the lives of women astronomers in three different time periods as they grapple with light, love and the infinite. Stage Raw’s review. The Road Theatre Company, The NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd., N. Hollywood; in rep, check website for schedule; thru June 2. www.RoadTheatre.org
URBAN DEATH A haunting and boundary-pushing theatrical attraction “consisting of a series of shocking and bloody wordless vignettes, and mind-blowing physical feats.” Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8:30 pm & 10:30 pm; thru May 11. ZombieJoes.Tix.com
RECOMMENDED VOID An immersive show based on the premise that an intergalactic agency oversees all timelines, dimensions and worlds that exist in the universe. Stage Raw’s review. Location in Studio City provided with ticket purchase; Fri.-Sat., 7 pm, 8:30 pm and 10 pm; thru May 25. https://www.trailblazerprods.com/void
Intimate Theaters, West Side and Beaches:
ALEICHEM SHOLOM Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie’s musical follows the life of the beloved Yiddish story-teller Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th St., Santa Monica. Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm; thru May 19. https://www.santamonicaplayhouse.com/aleichem-sholom.html
RECOMMENDED THE BALD SOPRANO
Angela Beyer and Bo Roberts (Photo by Paul Rubenstein)
Frédérique Michel & Charles Duncombe’s adaptation of Eugene Ionesco’s iconic play which launched the Theatre of the Absurd. Stage Raw’s review. City Garage, 2525 Michigan Ave. Building T1, Santa Monica; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru June 2. www.citygarage.org
THE BESPOKE OVERCOAT Wolf Mankowitz’s poignant reimagining of Gogol’s “The Overcoat,” set in the Jewish East End of London. Stage Raw’s review. Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd., Venice; Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 3 pm; thru June 2. https://pacificresidenttheatre.org/
MEN WITH BOATS Written by Jaclyn Backhaus, the play tells the true(ish) history of the 1869 expedition of the Grand Canyon when ten explorers, in four boats, led by a one-armed captain, set out to chart the course of the Colorado River. Stage Raw’s review. Long Beach Playhouse,5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru May 25. www.LBPlayhouse.org
OPHELIA Steven Marks’ existential dramedy dealing with time-shifting, finding one’s destiny and the quest to fix a “broken life.” Stage Raw’s review. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West LA; Thurs.-Sat., 8 pm; thru May 18. www.stefanmarks.com/ophelia
RECOMMENDED STALIN’S MASTER CLASS
Ilya Volok, Randy Lowell, John Kayton and Jan Munroe (Photo by Jenny Graham)
Politics collide with art when “Father of the People” Joseph Stalin and Soviet cultural minister Andrei Zhdanov summon composers Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich to the Kremlin for a vodka-fueled “music lesson.” Stage Raw’s review. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West LA.; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru May 26 OdysseyTheatre.com
Intimate Theaters, Neighboring Counties:
No shows submitted.
Special Events:
WE’RE NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA A group of “boundary-breaking” performers shatter expectations and stereotypes regarding AAPI. Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. W., LA; Sat., May 11, 8pm; http://theatrewest.org
MOTHER: AN EXTREME HORROR EXPERIENCE A Mother’s Day event exploring the depths of love, grief, and the unyielding power of maternal instincts Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hollywood. http://zombiejoes.tix.com/
SHORT + SWEET A festival of 10-minute plays. The Victory Theatre Center | 3326 W. Victory Blvd, Burbank.Sat., May 11, 7:20 pm, Sun., May 12, 6 pm. http://shortsweethollywood.stagey.net
-Listings compiled by Deborah Klugman