Summer is in full force now, and that means it’s time to go see one or more of these fabulous shows playing currently in our local theaters!
Covid protocols continue to be dictated by each individual venue, so bring a face mask to wear during the show in case the venue requires it. It’s a good idea to check with the theater before you attend a show to find out what their current policy is.
The information presented in this column is the latest available at the time of printing, however you should verify it with the theater to confirm it before making definite plans. Here are the shows that have announced opening dates for this month, or are already running:
OPENING
“Committed? A Ritual for Robbie” Why live? What’s my purpose? How do you transform the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? Ever since her brother died by suicide, Lisa Robins has been committed to creating something for Robbie … about Robbie … about surviving Robbie. It took 30 years. Committed? A Ritual for Robbie is a neurotic, erotic, psychotic tale of transformation. Sometimes the best way to honor the dead is to get hilariously, messily, beautifully alive. Chock-full of contemplations, ruminations, and revelations, Committed? is a funny, raw, healing, and heart-opening experience. Written by Lisa Robins, and directed by Mitch Levine, it runs August 1 through August 17 at the Beverly Hills Playhouse in Beverly Hills. For tickets visit www.committed.ludus.com.
“Honky Tonk Angels” Revisit dozens of pop-country favorites like “Stand By Your Man,” “Harper Valley, PTA,” “Ode To Billy Joe,” “Delta Dawn,” and many more in this feel-good, boot stompin’ musical that celebrates the enduring power of music and friendship. Armed with only their dreams and a bus ticket, three sassy gals leave their thankless lives behind and head to Nashville to become country music singers. Will they find their country music dreams in Nashville? Gather the entire family and find out in this raise-the-roof, electrifying musical! Written by Ted Swindley, and directed by David Ellenstein, it runs August 3 through August 17 at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. For tickets call 949-497-2787 or visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com.
“Dracula: The Musical” Set in Europe at the end of the Victorian Age, this story follows the famed vampire as he lusts for new blood, crossing oceans of time in pursuit of his long-lost love, Mina Murray. Dracula leaves a bloody nightmare in his wake as he hunts for Mina, facing off against her fiance Johnathon Harker and the famed vampire hunter Professor Van Helsing. Mina struggles against her own mortal fears, her darkest desires and the erotic temptations of the flesh. Written by Christopher Hampton and Don Black, with music by Frank Wildhorn, and directed by Justin Meyer, it runs August 8 through August 31 at the Nocturne Theater in Glendale. For tickets visit www.thenocturnetheatre.com.
“Achilles in Arcadia” is set in a Chinese restaurant. George, a student filmmaker of mixed Chinese and Anglo parentage, has taken over the restaurant to rehearse a scene for a short film he is making for his class project at Pasadena City College. His actors include his younger sister Rose, his ingenue; his Chinese American girlfriend Lilly; and his Anglo best friend Pat. George and Pat were combat buddies in the Afghanistan conflict, and both have the war wounds to show for it. George’s and Rose’s mother has died. Their Aunt Amy, a Chinese immigrant, is the executor of her sister’s estate and has moved into the family home, a point of contention with George, who sees the house as the seat of generational wealth. When his long-lost father, who abandoned the family a decade earlier, turns up in Arcadia, it throws a wrench into George’s plans. George’s student film is actually a blueprint for revenge. A pivotal property of the film is a prop gun. It passes from hand to hand among the players so frequently that it would make Sigmund Freud squeal with sexual delight. Prop guns don’t always make for good outcomes. Just ask Alec Baldwin. Pat compares George to Achilles, the hero of Greek myth. But the narrative abounds with literary allusions from other periods. Will George complete his film? What hidden sins does the family conceal? Who will ultimately control the family homestead? Will George get his revenge? Written by Chris Collins, and directed by Kiff Scholl, it runs August 9 through September 21 at the Skylight Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets call 213-761-7061 or visit www.achillesinarcadia.com.
“Wine in the Wilderness” In 1964, as race riots blaze on the streets outside his Harlem home, painter Bill Jameson works feverishly to complete a triptych depicting his vision of Black womanhood. As he struggles to find his final inspiration, his friends discover the perfect model in Tommy, a woman they meet at a bar after she’s been burned out of her home in the riots. But Jameson’s artistic vision is challenged by the arrival of this unexpected muse who refuses to be bound by his shallow assumptions of all that Black womanhood can be. Written by Alice Childress, and directed by Gerald C. Rivers, it runs August 9 through October 12 at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga. For tickets call 310-455-3723 or visit www.theatricum.com.
“August 29” named for the date in 1970 when Los Angeles Times columnist Ruben Salazar was killed while covering a large Chicano-led anti-war demonstration in East L.A. A university professor relives those late 1960s, early 1970s movement days while writing a book on the life of Salazar, who comes to life to help her recall the past and to challenge her to renew her activism. A showing of the short film Requiem 29, presenting footage of the Chicano Moratorium Against the War in Vietnam including the brutal police response, and later funeral and inquest into the death of Salazar, will screen prior to each performance. Written by members of the Latino Theater Company, and directed by Ramiro Segovia, it runs August 15 through August 24 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles. For tickets call 213-489-0994 or visit www.latinotheaterco.org.
“Antigone” Acclaimed playwright Neil LaBute brings a fresh edge to the classic tale of a fierce young woman determined to stand up to authority—even at the price of her own life. Working from the 1944 text by French playwright Jean Anouilh—written during the occupation—LaBute asks the same question here as Anouilh did under the Nazis: what price must an individual be willing to pay to defend their beliefs? Antigone faces down her uncle, the dictator Creon, insisting on proper funeral rites and burial for her slain brother, something Creon has forbidden on pain of death. In this deadly battle of wills, Antigone, one of the great classical heroes of Greek tragedy, refuses to compromise, even to the point of self-destruction. In a troubled time, where autocracy is on the rise and the free expression of ideas are under assault, Antigone speaks for all those unwilling to give in and go along. Written by Jean Anouilh, adapted by Neil LaBute, and directed by Frédérique Michel, it runs August 16 through September 21 at the City Garage in Santa Monica. For tickets call 310-453-9939 or visit www.citygarage.org.
“In Some Dark Valley” Journey to the 1870s with a passionate circuit preacher who shares his story through traditional songs and characterizations, revealing an unyielding vision of moral rectitude that leads to tragic personal destruction. Written by Robert Bailey, and directed by Billy Siegenfeld, it runs August 16 through September 7 at the Moving Arts Theatre in Atwater Village. For tickets visit www.movingarts.org/project/8622.
“Protest” Originally written in 1978, Protest is a searing confrontation set in Communist Czechoslovakia, where fear and betrayal are the daily currency of life. Staněk (Schub), a privileged, regime-friendly writer, summons Vaněk (Peters), a blacklisted dissident, to plead for help—only to hesitate when his own safety is at stake. Their tense, and often wickedly funny, conversation becomes a battle for the soul, exposing the corrosive power of fear and the high cost of integrity. Performed with minimalist design and a laser focus on text and performance, this staging offers a rare theatrical experience: a live event that feels like a personal confrontation, challenging audiences to examine their own values and roles in civic life. Each performance will be followed by a conversation with the director and cast. Written by Václav Havel, and directed by Jeffrey Carpenter, it runs August 22 through August 24 at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets visit www.bricolagepgh.org.
“Suddenly Last Summer” Violet, a socially prominent woman in the Garden District of New Orleans arranges for Catharine, her emotionally unstable niece, to be interviewed by a physician. Violet wants Catharine lobotomized in an attempt to suppress Catherine’s knowledge of the homosexual tendencies of Violet’s late son, Sebastian, along with the details of his horrible, shocking death while on vacation with Catharine in Spain. Catharine’s mother and brother also want her revelations to be suppressed, as their shares in the family fortune are put at risk. What will happen to Catharine? Will she fall prey to her family’s schemes? What exactly happened to Sebastian and Catharine in Spain? Written by Tennessee Williams, and directed by Avalon Stone, it runs August 22 through August 31 at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre Center in North Hollywood. For tickets visit www.eventbrite.com/e/suddenly-last-summer-by-tennessee-williams-tickets-1449045627479.
“Masala Dabba” How do we resolve deep resentments that often divide our families, the very people we should be able to count on for love and support? American born Nisha Byrd (Ansuya Nathan) has long been estranged from her mother, Aditi (Abbe Rowlins). The two haven’t spoken since Aditi returned to her native Gujurat after Nisha’s marriage to Charlie (Jon Gentry), and Aditi has never met Tina (Timylle Adams), her now 14-year-old granddaughter. When an unanticipated event brings Aditi back to the States and into the Byrd family’s orbit, long buried truths bubble to the surface. Food becomes a portal into the past as the three generations of women bond through stories inspired by the spices they use. Written by Wendy Graf, and directed by Marya Mazor, it runs August 29 through September 14 at the International City Theatre in Long Beach. For tickets call 562-436-4610 or visit www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.
“Just Another Day” In this captivating romantic comedy that celebrates the resilience of love with hilarity, pathos and meaning, a couple in their seventies meet daily on a park bench to exchange wits and barbs, wax nostalgic about old movies — and to try to remember how they know, and love, one another. Written by Dan Lauria, and directed by Eric Krebs, it runs August 30 through September 28 at the Odyssey Theatre in West Los Angeles. For tickets call 310-477-2055 or visit www.OdysseyTheatre.com.
CONTINUING
“The Heidi Chronicles” A perspective and funny play about an art historian and her friends, who mature from the wild ‘60s to the wilder ‘80s, it explores women’s struggle for independence, respect and recognition in a post-1960’s world. Heidi goes on a journey of becoming confident in her identity as a single woman. Due to strong language and adult situations, viewer discretion is advised. Written by Wendy Wasserstein, and directed by Brent Beerman, it runs through August 31 at the Group Rep Theatre (Main Stage) in North Hollywood. For tickets call 818-763-5990 or visit www.thegrouprep.com.