The Buzz covers a lot of theater, but we can’t get to everything. Here’s a list of shows that are currently playing or opening within the next few weeks. You won’t be able to get to everything either, but many are worth seeing.
Livestream
The Children April 21-23
Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara will livestream its final three performances of The Children by Lucy Kirkwood (reviewed in a different production by the Buzz). The play stars Michael Butler, Linda Purl And Nancy Travis; it’s directed by Jenny Sullivan.
Through a partnership with the nonprofit One Tree Planted, Ensemble Theatre Company planted a tree for every ticket purchased to The Children.
Tickets to the live stream performances are $49, available at stream.lolst.org/children.
Socially Conscious Projects
(Im)migrants of the State through May 13
Members of The Actors’ Gang Alumni Advocacy Project wrote and performed this work. The company’s Prison Project teaching artists, who have been working in the California Correctional system since 2006. Now, an ensemble of Prison Project alumni that has found their way to freedom have created an entirely new piece of theater. (Im)migrants Of The State is the raw journey of 14 Californians navigating life before, during, and after incarceration.
Tickets are $25, available here.
Unmasked May 13 only
At a Noise Within in Pasadena, TheatreWorkers Project presents Unmasked, an interactive theatre piece written and performed by 11 Cal State LA Project Rebound community members. The script includes poetic and prose explorations of the human need to wear psychological and emotional masks and the liberating feeling when those masks are removed.
Immediately following the performance, audience members will be invited to draw their own masks and share their discoveries during a discussion with the actors and creative team.
For tickets, ranging in price from $5 to $25, click here.
Artists at Play Presents The Dance and the Railroad May 19-22
Also at A Noise Within, Artists at Play, a collective dedicated to exploring the Asian American experience, presents David Henry Hwang’s The Dance and the Railroad directed by Katherine Chou. The work revolves around two Chinese artists and their fellow railroad workers, who stage a strike to protest the inhuman conditions suffered by the Chinese laborers in the American West of 1867.
Tickets are $20-50 and are available here.
PS Opening May 7 at A Noise Within is a love letter to theater, friendship and Shakespeare, The Book of Will. Click here to learn more.
Plays
Midnight Screening through April 30
The world Premiere of a new play by writer/director Tim Schildberger opens tonight for a three-weekend run at the Zephyr Theatre. Midnight Screening stars Mouzam Makkar and Ari Frenkel as two emotionally dysfunctional people who accidentally get locked in an old movie theater overnight. The play is funny, emotional, and explores grief and mental health.
Tickets are $38 and are available here.
Ava: The Secret Conversations through May 7
The Geffen Playhouse has a hit on its hands with Elizabeth McGovern’s portrayal of Hollywood icon Ava Gardner. Garner spills the tea to her ghost writer and that is some spicy tea. McGovern also wrote the play; Moritz von Stuelpnagel directs.
Tickets are $39-129, available here.
Tornado through May 14
The world premiere play Tornado, written by Chris Cragin-Day and directed by Linda Kerns opens April 21 from Actors Co-op Theatre Company. Set in the aftermath of the devastating 2012 Oklahoma tornado, Jade, a college student at Oklahoma Baptist University, and Becca, a corporate lawyer from New York City, have come to volunteer in the clean-up efforts. When a Chick-fil-A lunch truck arrives to offer free lunch to the volunteers, their vastly different cultural perspectives clash head-on, and they must struggle to set aside their differences for the good of the tornado victim they hope to serve.
At the Crossley Theater, 1760 N. Gower St., on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, through May 28, with talkbacks following Sunday matinees. Tickets are $35 and are available at www.ActorsCo-op.org.
Missed Opportunities through May 14
Loft Ensemble offers the West Coast premiere of Missed Opportunities by Jillian Leff, directed by Ignacio Navarro and Madylin Sweeten. A modern twist on the traditional rom-com, friends, roommates, and lovers blur lines as a young woman concocts a misguide plan to get closer to her BFF’s roommate but ends up getting closer to herself.
Sawyer’s Playhouse at Loft Ensemble is located at 11031 Camarillo Street in North Hollywood. General admission is DONATE WHAT YOU WANT. Tickets are at www.loftensemble.org.
Scintilla through June 4
In Scintilla, Michael and Nora travel to visit his mother Marianne, a reclusive artist who lives at the edge of the woods in California’s Wine Country. As a raging wildfire approaches, Michael must deal with Marianne’s stubborn refusal to leave, and the arrival of two unexpected visitors. The rising tension exposes a complicated family history erupting into a larger question about our very survival on this planet.
Now playing at the Road Theatre, 10747 Magnolia Blvd. in North Hollywood. Tickets are $39. Sunday performances are Pay-What-You-Can. Tickets are available at www.RoadTheatre.org.
Comedy/Solo Show
Nicole Travolta Is Doing Alright in May
The Buzz wrote about Nicole Travolta’s solo show Doing Alright earlier this year. It can be seen at Dynasty Typewriter on May 1 (2511 Wilshire Blvd. near MacArthur Park; tickets available here) and at the Groundlings on May 8, 9 and 23 (7307 Melrose Ave.; tickets available here). The shows are directed by Lauren Burns. After her LA engagements, Travolta heads to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where she will perform 12 shows.
Musicals
44: The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical Returns through May 20
The Buzz reviewed this exciting new musical last November. The show returns for its second term at the Bourbon Room Hollywood. Eli Bauman directs a cast of 11. He also wrote the music, lyrics and book, with additional songs co-written by his father, Sha Na Na’s Jon “Bowzer” Bauman. Starring T.J. Wilkins and Shanice as Barack and Michelle Obama
Performances run through May 20; tickets are on sale here.
