The stars have never been brighter for LA theater lovers. Theatre Week is back through April 14 with tickets starting at $20, allowing Angelenos to experience high-caliber cultural performances at an accessible price. We also recommend checking out Broadway World Los Angeles to discover the hottest plays, musicals, concerts, and other live performances. In addition to critically-accalimed shows, the city boasts many iconic historical venues, such as the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, Kirk Douglas Theatre, and the Tony Award-winning Pasadena Playhouse. For a more intimate experience, you’ll find countless live performing arts theaters in almost every part of town, such as the El Portal, Odyssey Theatre, and Garry Marshall Theatre. Here are some of the highlights, curated with something for everyone to enjoy!
Funny Girl at the Ahmanson Theatre 135 N Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012
On the top of our must-see list is Funny Girl at the Ahmanson Theatre. Yogis On the Move is offering Circa residents discount tickets as part of their collaboration with Center Theatre Group. This bittersweet comedy is the story of the indomitable Fanny Brice, a girl from the Lower East Side who dreamed of a life on the stage. Everyone told her she’d never be a star, but then something funny happened—she became one of the most beloved performers in history, shining brighter than the brightest lights of Broadway.
Center Theater Group (CTG) is the heartbeat of the LA theater scene, producing exceptional shows at the Ahmanson Theatre. Mark Taper Forum, Kirk Douglas Theatre, and more. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Snehal Desai and Managing Director/CEO Meghan Pressman, CTG creates the energy that feeds a city, a culture, and a society. As one of the nation’s most influential nonprofit theatre companies, CTG proudly continues their more than 50-year tradition of using the art of theatre to broaden horizons and illuminate new perspectives.
Patti LuPone: A Life in Notes Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 135 N Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012
April 20 Spend an evening with a true Broadway legend, returning to LA Opera for a solo concert after unforgettable star turns in The Ghosts of Versailles and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. In her new concert, the three-time Tony Award winner performs an array of songs that are touchstones and reflections on her life growing up in America—from a young girl during the burgeoning rock and roll scene of the fifties, to coming of age in the politically and socially turbulent sixties, to eventually achieving success with both career and family.
Dinner with Friends Zephyr Theatre 7456 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90046
Written by Donald Margulies, Dinner with Friends tells the story about two married couples who have been best friends for years and their relationship with each other and time. Director and Producer Peter Allas explains that “this play is a reflection of what all couples go through and whether they are willing to examine—or not—marriage, friendship, commitment, or even betrayal in any form, and deal with the possibility of loneliness when it is always evolving.”
Fat Ham Geffen Playhouse 10886 Le Conte Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90024
Meet Juicy, a young Black man with a Shakespearean-sized dilemma. When the ghost of his dead father shows up at his family’s BBQ wedding reception demanding his murder be avenged, does the poetic and sensitive Juicy have it in him to do the deed, or will he “to thine own self be true?” See what the New York Times calls “a hilarious yet profound tragedy smothered in comedy,” in this Pulitzer Prize–winning take on Hamlet, direct from Broadway to L.A.
King Hedley II A Noise Within 3352 E Foothill Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91107
King Hedley II continues A Noise Within’s commitment to August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, engaging with characters that exist throughout these epic plays. After seven years in prison, an ambitious and proud King re-enters society eager to rebuild his life, but quickly confronts the inescapable challenges facing Black men in Reagan-era Pittsburgh. King’s aspirations come in conflict with the stories he’s been telling himself, and he insists on planting seeds where nothing can grow.
Girl From The North Country Hollywood Pantages Theatre 6233 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028
Opens May 14 Girl From The North Country is the Tony Award-winning new musical that the Chicago Tribune declares is “a Broadway revelation!” Written and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, Girl From The North Country reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”
Jelly’s Last Jam Pasadena Playhouse 39 S El Molino Ave. Pasadena, CA 91101
Opens May 29 When legendary musician Jelly Roll Morton’s soul is forced to face the music, the self-proclaimed “inventor of jazz” is left at the ultimate crossroads. Follow Jelly from the back alleys of New Orleans to the sparkling stages of New York, as his remarkable journey unfolds in a stunning display of song, dance, and music. With soulful melodies, electrifying tap dancing, and fiery tunes that will leave you breathless, get your groove on with this dazzling musical masterpiece.
Book of Mountains & Seas BroadStage 1310 11th St. Santa Monica, CA 90401
Co-presented with LA Opera, Book of Mountains & Seas, presents a fantastical world of sunbirds, demons and hairy giants evoked in a fascinating work of vocal theater for 12 singers, two percussionists, and six puppet masters. Composer/librettist Huang Ruo took his inspiration from a classic compilation of Chinese mythology first transcribed in the fourth century B.C. Over the years, these stories have become part of Chinese written and oral history, shifted and reshaped to match contemporary times. Performed in Mandarin with English subtitles.
Photo Credits:
Photo #1: Center Theatre Group
Photo #2: Yogis On The Move
Photo #3: Center Theater Group
Photo #4: LA Opera
Photo #5: Zephyr Theatre
Photo #6: Geffen Playhouse
Photo #7: A Noise Within
Photo #8: Hollywood Pantages Theatre
Photo #9: Pasadena Playhouse
Photo #10: BroadStage
