| Aleichem Sholom! The Wit and Wisdom of Sholom Aleichem |
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Santa Monica Playhouse |
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| ake a journey through the life, loves and laughter of the world’s most beloved Yiddish humorist, as you’re treated to an in-depth look at the foolish philosophers, philosophical fools, comical shtetl folk and not-so-comical scoundrels that populated Sholom Aleichem’s real and fantasy worlds. This bold and bittersweet, raucous and romantic musical comedy celebrates the great man’s 102nd Yahrzeit, journeying through his loves and losses, the controversy surrounding his stories and plays, his fame and his failures. The new musical — the fifth in the Playhouse Sholom Aleichem quintilogy — stars veteran performer Chris DeCarlo, who once again takes on the role of the beloved author. Catch Aleichem Sholom! at The Other Space at Santa Monica Playhouse. |
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| Andy Warhol's Tomato |
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Pacific Resident Theatre |
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| When a teenage Andy Warhol finds himself in the basement of a working-class bar in Pittsburgh, PA, he receives inspiration, guidance and friendship from a surprising source. Funny and poignant, Andy Warhol’s Tomato is a world premiere play by Vince Melocchi (himself a Pittsburgh native — as is Andy Warhol). |
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| Blithe Spirit |
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Westchester Playhouse |
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| Kentwood Players proudly presents Blithe Spirit, the smash hit comedy by Noel Coward at the Westchester Playhouse. Blithe Spirit has continued to be a smash hit comedy since it first premiered on the London and Broadway stages in 1941. This hilarious supernatural farce centers on fussy, cantankerous socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric “kooky medium” Madame Arcati to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his annoying and temperamental first wife, Elvira, who makes continual attempts to disrupt Charles’s marriage to his second wife, Ruth, who cannot see or hear the ghost during the séance or afterwards. Boundless laughs and constant pandemonium ensue. |
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| The Caucasian Chalk Circle |
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Antaeus Theater |
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| Set against a backdrop of violence and injustice, Bertolt Brecht's 1944 masterpiece is a play within a play. Farmers debating the best use of their land enact a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a nobly born baby during a bloody revolution and the unconventional judge who determines their fate. |
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| Comfort Women: A New Musical |
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The Los Angeles Theatre Center |
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| Dimo Kim Musical Theatre Factory presents Comfort Women : A New Musical, which tells a widely unknown history about thousands of young women forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII. The issue was largely suppressed up until 1987, yet from then till now, survivors and activists continue to fight for global recognition. As the sensitive conversations around comfort women continue to cause conflict and polarize communities, at times it is easier to let them fall through the cracks, leading into taboo and secrecy. However, we believe this act of silencing is unjust to the memories of violence that these victims and their families must carry throughout their lives; instead, we make it our responsibility to respect them appropriately. For this reason, Comfort Women is a production that tells these women’s stories on their behalf. The featured characters are not merely victims; while they face unspeakable horrors, the vast emotional strength they carry moves them to protect themselves and other women. By allowing their performances to convey the true fear and trauma experienced by comfort women, the cast members work to amplify their voices to the audience in attendance. |
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| Dancing at Lughnasa |
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Atwater Village Theatre |
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| The beautiful, rolling hills of Ireland hold many stories and secrets. Set in the summer of 1936 during the Celtic harvest festival of Lughnasa, Brian Friel’s Tony Award-winning play, loosely based on the lives of his mother and aunts, is a rich and deeply moving portrait of the everyday lives of five sisters, just as everything is on the brink of change. |
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| Death of a Salesman |
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Ruskin Group Theatre |
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| Burdened by financial responsibilities and living on the edge of poverty, Willy Loman’s “American Dream” is slipping through his grasp as he continues to believe he is on the verge of a “big break.” Struggling to see beyond the illusions he has created for himself and his family, Willy is unable to understand his failure to achieve success and happiness. |
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| Dope Queens |
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Hudson Theatre |
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| In 2012, three friends: Goldie, Blake, and Angel, move to San Francisco after meeting in protective custody at a men’s California state penitentiary where they were just serving time. Goldie and Angel are transgender women of color, outcasts from their families and the society they live in. Blake is a drug addict whose family begs him to go back to rehab but continues to relapse despite sincere attempts at sobriety. Twitter has moved in and the Google buses and Uber drivers swarm the streets as the Tenderloin slowly gentrifies. In a world where their reputation on the streets is everything, they must secure a position of respect and dignity. As they try to change their lives for the better, the trio settle in an SRO Hotel and support each other as their “chosen family.” Despite true love and friendship, desperate times sometimes lead to desperate measures in this world premiere play. |
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| Driving Wilde |
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Theatre of NOTE |
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| DRIVING WILDE is Jacqueline Wright’s very free, very contemporary, shockingly frank and surreal adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wright transforms the gothic horror story into a present-day meditation on the pursuit of beauty. In Wright’s version, the beautiful young Dorian awakens from a coma with amnesia, unaware of his past and seeing the perfection of nature with fresh eyes. But how long can innocence last in a corrupting, aging world? Can beauty be kept, or is its fading as inevitable as death? A trip hop fantasy with existential themes. |
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| The Drowsy Chaperone |
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Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center |
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| When wealthy widow Mrs. Tottenham hosts the wedding of the year, she gets a lot more than a write-up in the society pages: Janet Van de Graaff, glittering starlet of Feldzieg’s Follies, is leaving the stage for love, a turn of events which horrifies the angry and anxious Mr. Feldzieg, whose chief investor has sent two gangsters disguised as pastry chefs to make sure he stops the wedding. Hiring Aldolpho, a Latin lover more vain than virile, to seduce the bride, is unsuccessful, as Janet’s chaperone, a drunken diva, gets herself mistaken for the bride and seduced in Janet’s place. It is left to the eager best man, George, to quite by accident break up the happy pair, when he sends groom Robert Martin out to the garden, blindfolded, and in roller skates. Such are the antics of The Drowsy Chaperone, a fictitious 1928 musical comedy. This magical piece of meta-theatre and playful, heartfelt parody of the 1920s musical comedy features a chirpy jazz age score by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a lively, clever book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, both of which were Tony winners in 2006. The score boasts such tunes as the scenery-chomping “Show Off,” the sizzling and silly “I Am Aldolpho,” the double-entendre laden “Toledo Surprise,” and “As We Stumble Along,” that rousing anthem to optimistic alcoholism. |
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| Early Birds |
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Atwater Village Theatre |
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| A heartwarming, irreverent comedy about two senior women, each at a crossroads, both escaping their past on a high-seas cruise. Together, they realize their strengths and celebrate their weaknesses, and understand that it's never too late for a new friend or a new adventure. |
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| An Enemy of the People |
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Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum |
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| Artistic Director Ellen Geer moves Henrik Ibsen’s powerful play from a small town in the south of Norway to a small town in the American South. It’s 1980 and a dinner party is interrupted at the home of Dr. Stockmann, the patriarch of a multi-racial family and medical officer at a popular new tourist spa. A letter brings the bad news that the water at the spa is contaminated, threatening the health of visitors and the town’s economy. Powerful people have difficult choices to make in Theatricum’s adaptation of this classic — and extraordinarily timely — struggle of the individual versus society. |
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| Fefu and her Friends |
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Odyssey Theatre Ensemble |
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| The signature work of early feminist theater by giant of the avant-garde María Irene Fornés, this splendidly surreal comedy-drama will be performed in multiple spaces in the Odyssey complex. Part of Odyssey Theatre Ensemble’s 50th Anniversary “Circa ’69” Season of significant and adventurous plays that premiered around the time of the Odyssey’s 1969 inception.
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| Firebringer: a new stone age musical |
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Theatre Unlimited |
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| At the dawn of civilization, one pre-historic tribe survives the many trials of life under the wise leadership of Jemilla, who taught her people to express themselves, rather than bashing each others’ heads with rocks. But one member of the tribe doesn’t seem to fit in: Zazzalil. She’s always trying to invent things and make life easier… for herself. While out hatching her latest scheme, Zazzalil stumbles upon the most important discovery in history; one that will pit her tribe against wooly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and change the world forever. She’ll travel from omega to alpha and become… the FIREBRINGER! Originally produced by the theatre troupe STARKID Productions, who have become “cult-fan famous” for their hilarious production of A Very (Harry) Potter Musical, FIREBRINGER will be presented by The FPAC (Foothill Performing Arts Council) for its L.A. premiere at the Theatre Unlimited Studios. |
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| Frankenstein |
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A Noise Within |
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| This electrifying tale of a creature cast away by his creator into a hostile world — only to wind his way back in a dangerous game of destruction — has captivated audiences for over 200 years. The gothic story comes to life with Nick Dear’s adaptation of the chilling fable by Mary Shelley, animating the themes of social rejection, intellectual hubris, and the nascency of good and evil. |
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| The Gin Game |
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Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum |
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| Theatricum’s Alan Blumenfeld and Katherine James star as two residents in an elder care facility whose heated rounds of gin rummy are made personal when the game begins to represent their own inner battles and struggle for dignity. This production of Donald L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play is produced in partnership with Sierra Madre Playhouse. |
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| Good Enough |
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Lounge Theatre |
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| GOOD ENOUGH is the true journey of world renown author and story teller Ted McGrath. Playing 15 characters, McGrath takes us on an emotional roller coaster ride through addiction as he sabotages his family, his career and ultimately his life in the attempt to answer one question burning inside him his entire life: AM I GOOD ENOUGH? Now, having reclaimed his life and at the pinnacle of success, McGrath’s play asks each of us that same question: Are you "Good Enough?” |
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| Good Mourning |
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Hudson Theatre |
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| Through a magical friendship formed with with his daughter’s favorite toy, Ernest Murphy opens doors into his past and perhaps his future. Good Mourning stars Hosea Chanchez of The Game and Black Lightning. Don’t miss this world-premiere solo performance playing for a limited engagement at the Hudson Theatre. |
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| Hannah and the Dread Gazebo |
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Fountain Theatre |
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| A strange and wonderful play that is a mix of unexpected whimsy, delightful comedy, profound despair and more than a little bit of magic. Hannah is two weeks away from becoming a board-certified neurologist when she receives a strange package from her grandmother, who may—or may not—have just ended her life in a most flamboyant fashion. The mystery leads Hannah and her family on a surreal, funny, heartbreaking adventure back to their roots in South and North Korea and the forbidden Demilitarized Zone that divides them. Wildly theatrical, this startling new comedy twists together creation myths and family histories to explore what it means to walk the edge between cultures. |
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| Inspecting Carol |
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Westminster Community Theatre |
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| Catch the holiday spirit with the infectious Inspecting Carol, a madcap comedy written by Tony Award-winning director Daniel J. Sullivan. Set somewhere in the Midwest, the play follows a regional theater company gearing up for their umpteenth annual production of A Christmas Carol. With their funding about to be cut, though, they've got to convince a government inspector that they're deserving of an arts endowment -- or the show won't go on. Unbeknownst to them, however, they've mistaken a would-be actor for the inspector and are pulling out all the stops to impress the wrong guy. They've done this show so many times before, what could possibly go wrong? The answer, of course, is everything ... and then some! Punctuated by hilarious sequences of physical comedy, this entertaining show will have you laughing your way into the holidays. |
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| Little Women |
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Studio Stage |
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| Set in the tumultuous final years of the 1960’s, this retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s classic explores the very limits of sisterhood and family. Can the March sisters stay together when their father returns wounded from Vietnam? Will Jo choose love, or a career as a writer? Will Beth ever again play the music she was born to make? This is Little Women as it has never been seen before: at a cross-roads in American history — vibrant, dangerous, and alive! |
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| Lost-The Musical |
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Whitefire Theatre |
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| A musical parody of TV’s favorite cult classic show. This musical puts a humorous twist on a show that riveted us, shocked us, and entertained us throughout the years. Six seasons of episodes boiled down into 50 characters, played by 14 actors, across one night of hilarious and wacky absurdity. Lost: The Musical originally premiered in 2014 at the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood. Now it’s back in Los Angeles to celebrate the 15th season of Lost! |
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| A Midsummer Night's Dream |
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Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum |
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| The natural beauty of the Topanga wilderness transforms once again into an enchanted forest, where lovers and fairies meet by moonlight. Comic misadventures, mistaken identities and unrequited love come together to create the Bard’s most magical romp. It’s the perfect experience to introduce your family to the world of Shakespeare. |
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| Mistakes Were Made |
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Santa Monica Playhouse |
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| Mistakes Were Made - coulda-woulda-shoulda. Dick's mistake: He let a sexy, blue-eyed winker threaten his marriage. Jeff's mistake: He turned down a dream job, then later, screamed, "You idiot!" Mel's mistake: He hired a famous money manager, now famous for stealing money. Dick's wife's mistake: She trusted him, then learned of his affair and had one too. NOBODY'S PERFECT! But mistakes can be fixed, between husbands and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends, fathers and sons. From the acclaimed team that brought you Almost Perfect, Aspirin & ELEPHANTS and A Love Affair, and reuniting Mr. Mayer with acclaimed veteran (and frequent Mayer) director Chris DeCarlo, this world premiere romantic comedy will have you laughing, crying, and running home to fix that one mistake that's been gnawing at you for years! |
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| Moby Dick-Rehearsed |
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Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum |
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| Adapted from Herman Melville’s classic tale, Moby Dick – Rehearsed thrusts the audience into a hair-raising whaling voyage under the helm of Captain Ahab. The brooding one-legged fanatic is consumed by his vengeful obsession to kill the dreaded white mammoth whale … Moby Dick. |
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| Our Lady of 121st Street |
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LOFT Ensemble-Sherman Oaks |
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| A diverse group of people return to New York to mourn and celebrate the
life of their mentor only to find that her body is missing. |
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| The Producers |
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Celebration Theatre |
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| The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks's 1967 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. Complications arise when the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful. The humor of the show draws on ridiculous accents, caricatures of homosexuals and Nazis, and many show business in-jokes. |
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| Saugerties |
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Hudson Theatre |
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| Set in a remote B&B in the not too distant future, SAUGERTIES tells the story of Jen (Garrett) and Rog (Coleman), who are celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary. She’s broken hearted over infertility, desperate to escape her life and Rog will do whatever it takes to make her happy. Twenty years later a couple not so different from the first return to the same B&B. There to scatter her mother’s ashes, they struggle with their relationship. Games become dangerous and they are forced to reveal secrets that may destroy them both.This play, which tackles the ethics of new reproductive technologies, explores what it means to be human and grapples with what it means to love. |
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| Scraps |
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The Matrix |
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| Set in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, three months after the fatal shooting of black teenager Forest Winthrop by a white police officer, Scraps is a provocative mash up of poetry, realism and expressionism that chronicles the effects of Forest’s death on his family and friends. |
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| The Skin of Our Teeth |
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Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum |
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| The story of humankind told through the lives of the Antrobus family. Set in 20th century New Jersey and the Ice Age, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play is a whirlwind of modernity and antiquity. As relevant today as its original production in 1942, this inspiring piece of Americana uses humor, history and mythology to highlight humanity’s drive to carry on. The Skin of Our Teeth is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French. |
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| Snowwhite |
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Santa Monica Playhouse |
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| As part of its 50th anniversary celebration of the Family Theatre Musical Matinee Series, Santa Monica Playhouse is proud to present the return of SNOWHITE, one of the most popular in its bewitching series of Rudie-DeCarlo musical fairy tales for young-at-heart audiences of all ages. Celebrate this most heart-warming story as Snowhite and her seven zany forest friends learn the true meaning of love, destiny, and family from a singularly un-evil, if slightly misguided, Queen Mother. Brilliant costumes, sparkling sets, a magical talking mirror and fun audience participation to help save the day make SNOWHITE the perfect weekend family outing. |
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| Supportive White Parents |
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Second City |
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| When an Asian girl tells her parents she doesn’t want to be a doctor anymore, she wishes on a shooting star for supportive white parents. Book and lyrics by Joy Regullano. Directed by Frank Caeti. Music by The Same and Tony Show. Musical Director is Tony Gonzalez. |
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| True West |
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VS. Theatre Company |
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| Lee and Austin are two estranged brothers who reunite at their mother's empty house in suburban California. Sparks fly and passions rage in this American classic from one of our greatest playwrights. |
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| Twelfth Night |
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Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum |
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| Mischief, madness and romance are in the air this summer when Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum presents Shakespeare's rollicking comedy in its magical, outdoor Topanga amphitheater. Shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, and fearing that her brother Sebastian has drowned, Viola must disguise herself as a man. She falls in love with the neighboring Duke Orsino — who loves the Lady Olivia — who loves the disguised Viola. But false appearances are the norm on this Island of Misrule, where the fool is king, the court jester is a philosopher, and hijinks among the servants are wickedly delicious. |
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| UMPO: A League of Their Own |
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Rockwell Table and Stage |
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| To achieve the incredible, you have to attempt the impossible. Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry. THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL! |
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| Under Milk Wood |
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Greenway Court Theatre |
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| Revisiting a landmark production from its inaugural season, Coeurage Theatre Company returns to the "little Welsh village that never was" in Dylan Thomas' poetic masterpiece. Director Ryan Wagner returns to the helm of Thomas's “play for voices" to close the company’s 10th Season, inviting audiences to share in the "movements and countries and mazes and colours and dismays and rainbows and tunes and wishes and flight and fall and despairs and big seas of their dreams." |
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| Vixen DeVille Revealed |
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Whitefire Theatre |
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| This multi-award winning show is returning to the Whitefire Theatre for three nights only. British actress Cat LaCohie reveals the truth behind her burlesque persona, Vixen DeVille, inviting you on the journey to discovering your own inner Vixen. Embrace the freedom to express yourself, be yourself, celebrate yourself, the good, the bad and the wobbly! General Admission includes a red-carpet arrival plus access to a whisky-fueled afterparty sponsored by R6 Distillery with step-and-repeat photo op with Vixen DeVille! With a VIP ticket you can learn to eat fire or walk on broken glass live on stage as part of the show, and receive a signed Vixen DeVille print. |
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| We Should Hang Out Sometime |
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Santa Monica Playhouse |
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| Best-selling author, comic, Paralympian and YouTuber Josh Sundquist tracked down all the women he'd ever tried to date to ask why they had rejected him. He shares the results of his semi-scientific investigation (and yes, it's a true story) in this one-of-a-kind live performance that blends interactive storytelling with stand-up comedy. Hear his embarrassing tell-all live at the Santa Monica Playhouse. |
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| Witch |
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Geffen Playhouse |
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| Witches have always captured our imagination — real and even more so, the not-so-real. Jen Silverman is a rising NYC playwright (her first book is on shelves, her first novel is coming in 2021) who tackles this always-interesting topic. Bonus: Grab a create-your-own ice cream sandwich at the local Westwood favorite, Diddy Riese. |
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