Sharon Perlmutter on Talking Broadway does a full post every month of what's upcoming in LA Theatre..See URL below.
Just a few of the shows that I look forward to seeing (I am probably second to ESLGR8 in the number of LA plays/shows that I see per year- I tend to see about 60-70 a year).
Two Pianos Four Hands -- two actors, two pianos and many, many characters grace the stage as fifteen years of learning the art of piano playing unfolds in an hour and a half. This riotous musical begins with young Richard – "Richy" - being told he is too young to play the pedal. So begins the journey of these two boys – “Richard and Ted” – in search of their dream of concert pianist stardom. 1/3 (opens 1/7) - 2/5 at the Laguna Playhouse. www.lagunaplayhouse.com
700 Sundays -- Billy Crystal brings his one-man show to L.A -- An original two-act play in which Billy plays numerous characters that have influenced who he is today. It deals with his youth, growing up in the jazz world of Manhattan, his teenage years, and finally adulthood. It is about family and fate. At the Wilshire Theatre. 1/6 (opens 1/12) - 2/18. www.broadwayla.org
Southern Baptist Sissies -- The Zephyr Theatre opens "A Season of Shores" with a revival of its most successful play. Ted Detwiler, Leslie Jordan, Newell Alexander, Rosemary Alexander, Scott Presley, Joe Patrick Ward, and Dale Dickey reprise their roles. From 1/6 (opens 1/13). AND, the play will be made into a feature film next year www.seasonofshores.com (I'm seeing this a second time- it's hysterical)
The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler -- By Jeff Whitty. World Premiere. Directed by Bill Rauch. 1/8-29. At Argyros Stage at South Coast Rep. www.scr.org (I'm seeing it this week with ESLGR
Triptych -- Edna O'Brien's new play. Starring Susan Clark. 1/12-2/12. Nomad Theatre Company at the Matrix. www.nomadtheatrecompany.com
Diva -- by Howard Michael Gould. An explosively funny opening sets the stage for this behind-the-scenes look at television's most egomaniacal diva. When the dust settles, we travel back in time to discover how hidden relationships and other surprises brought this sitcom star and her producer to the breaking point. 1/13 (opens 1/20) - 2/19 at the Pasadena Playhouse. www.pasadenaplayhouse.org
The Importance of Being Earnest -- A new production of Oscar Wilde’s comedy, in a pre-Broadway engagement. Starring Lynn Redgrave, Miriam Margolyes and Terence Rigby 1/17 (opens 1/22) - 3/5 at the Ahmanson. www.taperahmanson.com
Judy at the Stonewall Inn -- Most historians believe the Stonewall Riots were started by a drag queen on the day of Judy Garland’s funeral in New York. In Judy At The Stonewall Inn, the playwright makes him the world’s WORST Judy Drag Queen – and brings back the ghost of the REAL JUDY to ruffle his skirts! Opening 1/20 at the Celebration Theatre. www.celebrationtheatre.org
City of Angels -- Cy Coleman, David Zippel and Larry Gelbart’s detective themed musical come to Reprise. Starring Stephen Bogardus as Stine, Burke Moses as Stone, Tami Tappan Damiano as Gabby/Bobbi, Kevin Earley as Jimmy Powers, Vicki Lewis as Donna/Oolie and Alli Mauzey as Mallory/Avril. 1/24-2/5. www.reprise.org
Boston Marriage -- The LA premiere of of this drawing room comedy -- caustically witty with sexual innuendo. Written and directed by David Mamet. 1/31-3/12 at the Geffen Playhouse. www.geffenplayhouse.com
A Picture of Dorian Gray -- a world premiere adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novella, adapted and directed by Michael Michetti. This hot new adaptation rips the fig leaf off the book’s remarkably contemporary themes of hedonism and the insatiable pursuit of pleasure while strictly adhering to the text of Wilde’s scandalous novella. 2/25-4/2 at The Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena. www.bostoncourt.com
Man from Nebraska -- By Tracy Letts. West Coast Premiere, directed by William Friedkin. 3/12-4/2. At Argyros Stage at South Coast Rep. www.scr.org
The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets -- Music and Lyrics by Tom Waits, text by William S. Burroughs -- a “strange and eye-opening theatrical wonderland, a musical fable of love, evil and human folly steeped in the folklore of the past and bursting with the art of the future.” At the Ahmanson. 4/22 (opens 4/26) - 6/11. www.taperahmanson.com
The Story -- ICT presents the West Coast premiere of Tracey Scott Wilson’s play. A young African-American newspaper reporter investigates a shocking murder and exposes a web of ambition, prejudice and social politics -- but is her story true? 4/28-5/21. www.ictlongbeach.org
Zorba -- Reprise closes out its season with Kander & Ebb’s life-affirming musical. 5/2-5/14. www.reprise.org
Without Walls -- The Taper hosts Alfred Uhry’s sensitive drama about the lasting effects of an inspirational teacher. 6/1 (opens 6/11) - 7/16. www.taperahmanson.com
Johnny Guitar, the Musical -- a tuneful, laugh-filled musical comedy based on the cult film favorite. 6/2-18 at La Mirada Theatre in La Mirada. www.lamiradatheatre.com
The Roar of the Greasepaint,The Smell of the Crowd -- Musical Theatre Guild presents a concert staged reading on 6/6 at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and 6/18 at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. www.musicaltheatreguild.com
Pyrenees -- The American premiere of David Greig’s lyrical, soulful and funny play about a man who appears to have lost his memory. 7/2 (opens 7/9) - 8/6. At the Kirk Douglas. www.taperahmanson.com
Doctor Dolittle -- Broadway/LA’s season of Family entertainment continues with this national touring production about the Doctor who can talk to the animals. July 11-23, 2006, at the Pantages. www.broadwayla.org
Water & Power -- A Los Angeles Story -- The fate of twin brothers and the city they love is played out against an ever-shifting landscape of power and politics in this world premiere by Richard Montoya and Culture Clash. 7/27 (opens 8/6) - 9/17. www.taperahmanson.com
The America Play -- By Suzan-Lori Parks; directed by Nancy Keystone. Being an entertainment located in the Great Hole of History, featuring the enactment of the Death of (a lesser known) Lincoln (the Great Emancipator), as well as Family Secrets, Deathbed Confidences, and the Wonders of African America. Searingly intelligent, painfully funny, chock full of (out)rage, this seminal work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright deftly deflates received ideas about race and our national story. 10/14-11/19 at The Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena. www.bostoncourt.com
Sister Act -- A world premiere musical. Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner -- based on the successful movie of the same name. 10/24 (opens 11/3) - 11/26 at the Pasadena Playhouse. www.pasadenaplayhouse.org
Upcoming LA Theatre
"It does what a musical is supposed to do; it takes you to another world. And it gives you a little tune to carry in your head. Something to take you away from the dreary horrors of the real world. A little something for when you're feeling blue. You know?"