When was the last time you went to see a play? Summer days are literally longer, so you can get home from work, eat dinner in daylight and still have plenty of time to get to the theatre. Lots of interesting choices this summer, and this list is far from conclusive, but be sure to check out the beautiful outdoor Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, set in an idyllic forest grove, where the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth is being celebrated with an all-Shakespeare season. The language may be a tad different, but his plot themes of love, jealousy, misunderstanding, revenge and thirst for power are as relevant today as when they were written.
EXTENDED Thru Sept. 14 (Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 p.m., Sundays @ 2 p.m.): The Brother Size — The L.A. premiere of the second play in Tarell Alvin
McCraney’s acclaimed “Brother/Sister Plays” trilogy stands alone – you don’t need any knowledge of the first (In the Red and Brown Water) or third (Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet) to enjoy The Brothers Size. Recently paroled Oshoosi Size seeks to jumpstart his life. Working in an auto repair shop for his brother Ogun, however, was not what he had in mind. When his old friend Elegba rolls up, offering a different direction, Oshoosi quickly finds himself torn between his brother, his loyalties and his dreams. It’s an exuberantly theatrical drama that weaves together the pulsing rhythms of the Louisiana bayou with African Yoruba mythology to create a stylized story of love and heartache. Los Angeles Times “Critic’s Choice.” The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029; $34; (323) 663-1525; www.fountaintheatre.com
CONTINUES through Sept. 21 (Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 p.m., Sundays @ 2 p.m., select Wednesdays and Thursdays @ 8 p.m.): Broadway Bound — Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander (who starred in the original Broadway production) directs Neil Simon’s hilarious, heartwarming semi-autobiographical play. Brothers Eugene and Stanley Jerome are determined to break into show business as professional comedy writers. As their parents’ relationship unravels, the brothers convene in the upstairs bedroom of their Brighton Beach home to write and rehearse material. When the brothers use their real-life family situation as inspiration for a radio comedy skit, they learn quickly of the complications that ensue when life informs art. A finalist for the the1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama and the recipient of four Tony nominations when it premiered on Broadway, Broadway Bound sparkles with the potent combination of Simon’s celebrated comic genius and his deeply personal recollections of youth. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025; $30, (310) 477-2055 x2; www.OdysseyTheatre.com
CONTINUES THROUGH Sept. 27 (call theater or check online for rotating performance schedule):
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Theatricum brings back its signature production, an audience favorite with a set design unrivaled by any other theater – because it’s the real thing. The most magical outdoor setting in Los Angeles is once again transformed into an enchanted forest inhabited by lovers both fairy and human. Shakespeare conjures a world of wonder, magic and romance where comical misunderstandings and the pain of unrequited love are resolved, and all is reconciled through midsummer night revelries and the enduring power of nature. Mediterranean buffet dinners with a costumed cast of fairies in attendance, take place every Thursday in August at 6:30 p.m. in the theater’s adjacent gardens, followed by an 8 p.m. performance. (separate admission, or combo packages available). Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290; $10-$37; (310) 455-3723; www.theatricum.com
CONTINUES THROUGH Sept. 27 (call theater or check online for rotating performance schedule): All’s Well That Ends Well – Theatricum continues its celebration of Shakespeare’s 450th birthday with the Bard’s bittersweet comedy. The orphaned daughter of a famous physician, Helena heals the king and wins the right to marry the man she loves — a count above her station. But no one is prepared for the severity and ruthlessness of Bertram’s rejection of Helena as his royally-decreed wife, nor with the lengths Helena is prepared to go to in order to win his love. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290; $10-$37; (310) 455-3723; www.theatricum.com
CONTINUES THROUGH Sept. 28 (call theater or check online for rotating performance schedule): Lear – Theatricum kicks off an all-Shakespeare season in celebration of the Bard’s 450th birthday with a gender-reversed Lear for the 21st century. Ellen Geer takes on the title role in a daring new production that sees Lear divide her kingdom and test the loyalty of her three sons. Shakespeare’s sublime poetry infuses this towering tragedy, a tale of madness, tyranny, loyalty and love. Los Angeles Times “Critic’s Choice.” Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290; $10-$37; (310) 455-3723; www.theatricum.com
CONTINUES THROUGH Sept. 28 (call theater or check online for rotating performance schedule):
Much Ado About Nothing – One of the most exuberant and
spirited battles of the sexes ever written. Beatrice and Benedick thoroughly detest one another. But under the barbs they hurl lie feelings that neither is even aware of—until circumstances bring them together to rescue their young friends. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290; $10-$37; (310) 455-3723; www.theatricum.com
Sept. 5-Oct. 4 (Fridays in Sept., plus Friday, Oct. 3 & Saturday, Oct. 4, all @ 8 p.m.): Equivocation – At once an explosive comedy of ideas and a high-stakes political thriller, this bold new work deftly reveals the cat-and-mouse games in politics and art, and the craft of learning how to speak the truth in difficult times. In London in the year 1605, a down-and-out playwright called “Shagspeare” receives a royal commission from King James to write a play promoting the government’s version of the Gunpowder Plot, a recent failed attempt to blow up Parliament and the Monarchy. As Shag navigates the dangerous course between writing a lie and losing his soul or writing the truth and losing his head, his devoted theater troupe helps him negotiate each step of the way. Winner of the 2010 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award. “One of the most bracingly intelligent, sizzlingly theatrical American plays in a decade.” — Variety. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290; $10-$37; (310) 455-3723; www.theatricum.com
Sept. 12 – Oct. 19 (Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 p.m., Sundays @ 3 p.m.): Spring Awakening — Deaf West Theatre reinvents the multiple Tony Award-winning musical about lost innocence and the struggles of youth with an immersive production in a non-traditional venue. Based on Frank Wedekind’s controversial 1891 expressionist play of the same name and featuring an electrifying rock/pop score, Spring Awakening follows the lives of a group of adolescents as they navigate their entry into sexual awareness. Performed by a cast of 28 deaf, hard of hearing and hearing actors and musicians. Deaf West Theatre @ Pilgrim Church, 1629 Griffith Park Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90026; $30-$34; (818) 762-2998; www.deafwest.org
Sept. 13 @ 8 p.m.: Ezralow Dance — Following his success choreographing for the 2014 Sochi Olympics opening ceremonies, Daniel Ezralow unveils Ezralow Dance at the Ford, where the new L.A-based company will perform a commissioned, site-specific world premiere with live music as the final offering in the Zev Yaroslavsky Signature Series. Hailed as “unforgettably gutsy” by The New York Times and “one of the best American dancer-choreographers now working on an international scale” by the Chicago Tribune, Ezralow has created choreography and aerial choreography for theater, film, opera and television around the world including The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil, Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, the film Across the Universe and for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Batsheva Dance Company and Paris Opera Ballet. Ezralow is a co-founder of ISO Dance and an original dancer/choreographer of MOMIX. Ford Theatres, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East Hollywood, CA 90068; $45-$100; (323) 461-3673; www.FordTheatres.org
Sept. 19 & 20 at 8 p.m.: Vox Lumiere — An immersive multimedia extravaganza that blends silent movies with new songs and powerful live performances into a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. Singers, dancers and musicians play off each other, the audience and the onscreen story in a riveting new kind of storytelling. A captivating fusion of old Hollywood and modern music, Vox Lumiere redefines what it means to go to the theater. LATC, 514 S Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013; $40-$75; (323) 854-6059; www.voxlumiere.com/ Also Oct. 10 & 11.
Oct. 10–Nov. 2 (Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 p.m., Sundays @ 2 p.m.): Glorious! — Based on a true story, Peter Quilter’s hilarious comedy invites us into the world of Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York socialite of great passion, considerable wealth and zero talent who fancied herself an opera diva. Known as “the first lady of the sliding scale,” Florence warbled and screeched her way through every performance to an audience who mostly cried out with laughter. But this delusional and joyously happy woman paid little attention to her critics, comfortably surrounded by a circle of devoted friends who were almost as eccentric as she was. International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802; $32-$47; (562) 436-4610; www.InternationalCityTheatre.org
Oct. 10 – Nov. 16 (Saturdays @ 8 p.m., Sundays @ 4 p.m., one Friday performance on Oct. 10 @ 8 p,m.): ’night Mother — Marsha Norman’s gripping two-hander, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is an intense, edge-of-your-seat drama that will keep audiences guessing the outcome until the very end. A supposedly normal evening in the mother-daughter Cates household is shattered when 40-something Jessie announces to Mama that she plans to kill herself before the night is over. Over the course of 90-minutes, Thelma desperately works to convince her daughter that life is worth living. Eloquent and darkly humorous, ‘night Mother has been hailed as an American classic and one of the most powerful contemporary dramas ever written. Whitmore Eclectic @ The Lost Studio, 130 South La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036; $30; (818) 826-3609; www.whitmoreeclectic.com
Oct. 11 – Dec. 14 (Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 p.m., Sundays @ 2 p.m., select Wednesdays and Thursdays @ 8 p.m.): Othello — Disinformation, deceit and blunt ambition: Washington politics as usual? Talk show pundits? No, it’s Shakespeare’s classic tale of power, lust and jealousy. Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and The New American Theatre present a bold new production, directed by Rogue Machine artistic director John Perrin Flynn and starring Jack Stehlin (Creditors) as Iago, one of the greatest villains of all time. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025; $25-$30, (310) 477-2055 x2; www.OdysseyTheatre.com
Oct. 16 – Dec. 7 (Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 p.m., Sundays @ 2 p.m.): Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White – As WWI rages in Europe, two individuals wage their own battle against America’s racist color line, risking their lives for the right to marry. The Antaeus Company, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601; $30-$34; (818) 506-1983; www.Antaeus.org
