Seeing a movie is a classic way to stay cool in the summertime—but why not a play instead? This summer, there’s a ton of great, cool theater throughout Los Angeles. You can see musicals by Sondheim and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Into the Woods at the Ahmanson and In the Heights, at the Morgan-Wixson), a classic Arthur Miller play (A View from the Bridge at the Ruskin), a new comedy (Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Ahmanson), a world premiere (Group Therapy at Theatre 68, Hungry Ghost at the Skylight) and a Southern California premiere (Heroes of the Fourth Turning from Rogue Machine).
Dive right in!
Now Playing
Through July 23:
Garden of Alla – (Theater West, Cahuenga Pass)
A well-researched and -acted solo show about an almost-forgotten silent film star.
Through July 30:
Into the Woods (Ahmanson Theatre, downtown)
Gavin Creel and Katy Geraghty in Into the Woods. Photo by: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
The Sondheim classic, direct from Broadway.
The Ants – (Geffen, Westwood)
A world premiere about whether state-of-the-art home security can actually make you safe.
In the Heights – (Morgan-Wixson, Santa Monica)
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s lead-up to Hamilton tells a more personal story.
Through August 6:
Penthesilea – (Loft Ensemble, North Hollywood)
The mythological Amazon queen and her warriors and their role in the Trojan War.
Through August 27:
Last Summer at Bluefish Cove – (Fountain Theatre, Hollywood)
The iconic lesbian play takes place in a remote seaside town in the summer of 1974.
Through October 7:
Terrence McNally’s A Perfect Ganesh and assorted Shakespeare (Theatricum Botanicum, Topanga Canyon)
Opening Soon
July
July 20 – Doris and Ivy in the Home (Theatre 40, Beverly Hills)
Two mature ladies set their caps for the same dapper gent in a senior community in this comedy.
July 21 – A Black and White Cookie (905 Cole, Hollywood)
Two friends, one black and one white, just like the classic cookie. After the pandemic lockdown, their divergent politics suddenly escalate into a rift. Albie Sands wants his friend, newsstand owner Harold Wilson, to fight a greedy landlord and hold onto his business. But Harold’s niece wants him to let it go and take a buyout from the landlord. Can their friendship—and Harold’s business—survive?
July 22 – Group Therapy (Theatre 68)
In renowned Hollywood author Peter Lefcourt’s new “serious comedy,” three people trapped in a therapist’s waiting room learn things about one another that they would rather not know.
July 23 and 29 – Thresholds of Invention (Odyssey Theatre, Westside)
First glances of two pieces-in-progress by prominent L.A. visionaries working in pop-up form. This ongoing series premiered in January of 2023.
On Sunday, July 23 at 2pm: Sharon Barr stars in Everyone I’ve Ever Slept With Is Dead. It’s one minute into the future, and Bubbles Blume is afraid that she’s just been cancelled by the universe. She consults with an AI psychoanalyst, later realizing she’s exposed her naked psyche to a room full of strangers.
And on Saturday, July 29 at 8pm: Mehrnaz Mohammadi stars in Ms. Rebel. A wisecracking Iranian woman awaits life-altering news, reliving her memories of leaving Tehran for Montreal and fiercely embracing love, lust and rebellion.
July 24 – The Caretaker (Pacific Resident Theatre, Venice)
In this Harold Pinter comedy, Aston asks down-and-out Davies to be a live-in caretaker. Davies leaps at the chance to change his fortunes, but the trouble is he doesn’t know what a caretaker should do, especially in a room filled with junk. When Aston’s manipulative brother Mick shows up, the power struggle begins.
July 27 – One Moment of Freedom (Theatre 40, Beverly Hills)
The little-known story of Bet, an enslaved woman who sued her enslaver for freedom in 1780, ultimately leading to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts.
August
August 4 – Venus in Fur (McCadden Theatre, Hollywood)
Set in modern New York City, Thomas Novachek, a director/playwright, has suffered through a long day of abysmal auditions for his adaptation of the German sadomasochistic novel Venus in Fur, until Vanda, a crass and pushy actress, stumbles into his audition room.
August 5 – Much Ado About Pooh – Actor’s Gang Shakespeare in the Park (Culver City)
A mash-up of Shakespeare and A. A. Milne, Much Ado About Pooh is a tale about forging friendships and finding forgiveness.
August 8 – Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Ahmanson, downtown)
The team behind the Tony-winning The Play That Goes Wrong brings its comic mayhem to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. The Cornley Drama Society once again battles against technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes on their way to Neverland with hilarious and disastrous results.
August 12 – The Red Suitcase (P3 Theatre Company, The Broadwater, Hollywood)
The world premiere of The Red Suitcase, by Jiggs Burgess, follows the life of Pogue from his unusual birth to the death of his father. The play, directed by Del Shores, explores the sometimes difficult relationship between fathers and sons.
August 18 – Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge (Ruskin, Santa Monica)
Eddie Carbone is a longshoreman whose life unravels when his niece falls for an immigrant in 1950s Brooklyn. As tensions rise, witness the raw emotions and tragic consequences in this powerful exploration of human nature.
August 19 – Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, Melrose)
The Southern California Premiere of Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning stars Broadway’s Roxanne Hart as Gina, the newly inducted president of a small Catholic college. Four young conservatives gather to toast her, but their celebration spirals into chaos and clashing generational politics. The play speaks to the heart of a country at war with itself, offering both grace and disarming clarity.
August 20 – Our Dear Dead Drug Lord (Kirk Douglas Theatre, Culver City)
In this comedy by Alexis Scheer, a gang of teenage girls gathers in an abandoned treehouse to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar. Are they messing with the actual spirit of the infamous cartel kingpin? Or are they really just messing with each other? Produced in association with IAMA Theatre Company. The last production at the Kirk Douglas before a long closure.
August 26 – Hungry Ghost (Skylight Theatre, Los Feliz)
Dean and Amanda are ready to start a family at a secluded house in the woods. But their future begins to unravel when their new home is burgled by a hungry ghost who haunts the forest.
August 27 – Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (A Noise Within, Pasadena)
Based on Toni Morrison’s debut novel, The Bluest Eye follows Pecola Breedlove, a young Black girl in 1940’s Ohio, who wants nothing more than to be loved and prays for Shirley Temple’s blue eyes.
