Welcome to LA Theatre Guides! Check out the list of upcoming shows in LA Theatre. Since it is February and I LOVE Valentine's Day I will also be suggesting restaurants or ways to "make a date of it."
*shows with asterisks are produced by companies that have signed the LA Anti-Racist Theatre Standards, encourage your favorite company to sign the standards today!
New this month (with date nights!)
Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet at The Ahmanson (Center Theatre Group)*
Jan 28 - Feb 25 (DTLA)
Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet gives Shakespeare’s timeless story of forbidden love a scintillating injection of raw passion and youthful vitality. Confined against their will by a society that seeks to divide, our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together. A masterful re-telling of an ageless tale of teenage discovery and the madness of first love, Romeo and Juliet garnered universal critical acclaim when it premiered in 2019, and now returns to the New Adventures repertoire alongside the very best of Bourne’s world-renowned dance theatre productions.
Make it a date: CTG actually emailed me a list of dining options, so I am posting it here for y'all. I am doing a double date with my boyfriend and some friends at Vepaio before the show, which is on the list!
Why am I seeing it: I love CTG, I see almost every show they do, and the last two Matthew Bourne ballets have blown me away, so I can't wait to see what they do with a Shakespeare Classic.
Feb 1 - Feb 18 Broadwater Stage (Hollywood)
Theatre Movement Bazaar gives you a new musical adapted from The Inspector General by Ukrainian playwright, Nikolai Gogol. TINY LITTLE TOWN is set in 1970’s small-town America and becomes a hilarious and timely reflection on America, corruption, suspicion and coverup.
Make it a date: Grab a drink at the Broadwater Plunge before or after the show, and be sure to get some fantastic food from the Food Truck in the gas station parking lot on the corner of Vine and Santa Monica. Yes, it's a food truck but it has some of my favorite tacos in LA. Parking in this area is really tough so be sure to plan ahead or use ride share.
Why I am seeing it: I like TMB, they do non-traditional, movement-based shows that have a little bit of edge.
February 2 - March 17 (Westwood)
On a hot summer night in Texas, Vernita Manifold summons her two daughters down to the bayou with a secret too big to keep. The richest, meanest man in town is dead, and the Manifold women know more than they’re saying. As secrets begin to surface, the bonds between the women, their town, and the legacy of their ancestors all come to a head. Black Cypress Bayou is a hilarious, suspenseful world premiere about loyalty, healing, and comeuppance.
Make it a date: Located in Westwood, there are plenty of restaurants. My favorites are Violet, but Wolfsglen offers 20% off your dinner if you show them your tickets for the night of. If you want to make the drive to the West Side a little more worth it, check out the Hammer Museum before your date! Plenty of parking, but the Geffen has parking validation in the Trader Joe's Parking lot which is around the corner from the theatre, but is about midway from the theatre and restaurants.
Why I am seeing it: To be super honest, Geffen Playhouse does not have a good recent track record of treating Black Women with respect, but they have a new artistic director, and I want to support a show that is written, directed, starring, and dramaturge by all Black Women.
February 11 – March 17, 2024 (Pasadena)
A classic masterpiece by the legendary Stephen Sondheim, this heart-pounding thriller will shock the senses with diabolical comedy, stunning terror, and razor-sharp wit. Savor the macabre madness as a murderous barber, hungry for revenge for his long-lost family, strikes a partnership with a beastly baker. Filled with extraordinary, soaring music, this eight-time Tony Award winner will leave you gasping.
Make it a date: A Noise Within has some food options in the strip mall across the street, but for a great date night I recommend heading to downtown Pasadena, check out The Wine Cellar or Blind Donkey for some great selections of wine and whiskey respectively. This is the only time you will need to drive between the theatre and date ideas but both spots have plenty of parking.
Why I am seeing it: I like Sweeny Todd, I have been going to A Noise Within for close to ten years now and have never seen them do a musical, and am excited to see what they do for such a big musical in their mid-sized (beautiful) space.
February 3 - March 4 (Atwater Village)
Gen is unexpectedly pregnant. Gen is also a lesbian. Yeah, it’s confusing. So Gen does what any unexpectedly pregnant lesbian with a doe-eyed, (potential) arsonist of a girlfriend must: she goes and throws a secret abortion party at a lake house with her straight friends from college. With the arrival of her lesbian best friend and a few other unexpected visitors…what could go wrong? A tale of love, queerness, identity… and cat trees
Make it a date: There is a restaurant right next to the Atwater Village Theatre called Momed, street parking can be a challenge, so plan ahead or ride share.
Why I am seeing it: New play that sounds weird, gay, and feminist. I'm into it.
February 4 - March 11 (Glendale)
When Leontes, King of Sicilia, falsely accuses his wife of an affair with his best friend, he sets into motion a series of events that catapult two kingdoms into disarray in William Shakespeare’s sweeping romance of passion and forgiveness.
Director Elizabeth Swain, fresh from Antaeus’s award-winning 2022 production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet brings her vast knowledge of the canon to tackling the timely question, “How do you forgive the unforgivable?”
Make it a date: Antaeus is located in the heart of Glendale, where there are a ton of food and drink options. They are also walking distance from The Grove for even more options of pre or post show options. Plenty of parking options!
Why I am seeing it: I love Shakespeare, I've never see The Winter's Tale, and Antaeus does some of the best Shakespeare in town, plus the building itself it great so I love an excuse to visit their theatre.
February 15 - March 18 (Hollywood)
THREE is a meditation on Chekhov’s THREE SISTERS which explores Chekhov’s themes of longing, love and the meaning of life. Through an American and Queer prism, THREE offers a snapshot of the Prozorov family and their loved ones on four different days in four different eras in a fictional army base town in the far north of the upper Midwest. We see our characters on the day the town’s soldiers begin to return from World War II, and again on a Halloween night in 1982 with Reagan in the White House and the AIDS epidemic finally beginning to permeate the national consciousness, then on the day after the Oklahoma City bombing and finally in the not too distance future of a country recovering from the Covid crisis and perhaps mobilizing for conflict in Eurasia with another autocrat on the march. Each act's historical events provide a new setting and a new context for Chekhov’s eternal concerns.
Make it a date: Fermosa cafe is a Hollywood icon and is .6 miles away. Driving or walking are about the same time, so I would recommend parking at the LGBT Center, and walking to and from, but there is plenty of parking around both locations.
Why I am seeing it: Checkhov is pure delicious existentialism and this update seems very interesting. Additionally, I really love the LGBT Center's artistic direction and will continue to see every show I can this season.
Feb 22 - Mar 9 (Hollywood)
War is brewing in and around a polarized England. From commoners to Kings, each must choose which truth to believe, and which cause to call their own. Muse of Fire re-explores the life-affirming plays, Henry 4 (1 and 2) and Henry 5, through a freshly Foolish lens challenging our ideas of nationalism and leadership. From rambunctious taverns to vast battlefields, witness the journey of Hal as he ascends from playboy to one of the greatest Kings England has ever seen. In this epic of Shakespearean proportions, 13 actors take on over 50 roles from Hotspur to Falstaff celebrating the versatility and imagination of theatre.
Make it a date: Paper Tiger Bar, La Fonda Antioquena, or Antico Nuovo are all within walking distance, I haven't been to any of these places but they all look great! Parking in this area is hard so be mindful when making plans.
Catch them before they close:
KATE @ Pasadena Playhouse*
Jan 17 - Feb11 (Pasadena)
In her widely celebrated one-woman show, revered comedian Kate Berlant explores the events of her life that have brought her to this moment. Embodying many characters in this tour de force performance, she expertly morphs before our eyes and exposes a truth she has, until now, kept hidden.
Guide Notes: I saw this show and loved it. Some folks have said that you need to be a theatre person to get some of the jokes, which I don't disagree with, but I think if you live in LA and know artists, you'll understand it. I am probably seeing it again before it closes.
La Cocina produced by Loft Ensemble
Jan 19 - Feb 11 (NoHo)
LA COCINA looks at the back of the house of a modern-day NYC restaurant kitchen as cooks and waitstaff juggle orders, dishes, and their own dreams of a better life.
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