Long Beach theatre rebound comes with performances of dystopian London, The Central Park Five and puppet Shakespeare.
As the pandemic tentatively winds down, three local live theatres—Cal Rep, The Garage Theatre and Long Beach Landmark Theatre—are now joining the ranks of reopened venues after two dark years.
Though it has no fixed home, Long Beach Opera (LBO) is also planning to continue its 2022 season after canceling “Stimmung” last month after three Black employees—including the production’s director—resigned over allegations of racism and misogyny.
International City Theatre (ICT), Long Beach Playhouse (LBPH) and Long Beach Shakespeare Company (LBSC) have been offering live productions since January, albeit with vaccine and mask requirements. In addition to its live performances, LBPH is also offering streaming options for some of its shows—including its current comedy, “You Can’t Take It With You.”
And having wrapped up “Spamilton” this month, Musical Theatre West (MTW) is continuing this year’s return season with three other musicals, starting with “Grease” in July.
Cal Rep’s upcoming “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Cal Rep—part of CSULB’s Theatre Arts Department—reopened last month and is continuing its spring season with five performances of “Peter and the Starcatcher” at its Studio Theatre from Thursday, May 4, to Saturday, May 6, plus a preview performance on Sunday, May 1.
Director Ryan Patrick Lingle’s new adaptation of “Peter and the Starcatcher”—a Peter Pan origin story by Rick Elice—is a “creative reimagining” of the play with pirates, music and “star stuff,” according to Cal Rep.
Since Cal Rep’s offerings are tied to CSULB’s academic year, the company’s next productions will be announced in the fall.
The Garage Theatre forthcoming productions
The Garage Theatre at 251 E. 7th St. is planning three further shows this year following its reopening run of “The Private Lives Of Imaginary Friends” that ended April 9. Next up is Philip Ridley’s “Mercury Fur” from June 24 to July 23, directed by Cat Elrod.
Fitting with The Garage Theatre’s often provocative past offerings, “Mercury Fur” is set in a post-apocalyptic London where drugs and violence reign, with a youthful cast of characters and a party for the wealthy involving child torture.
Following that show, The Garage is planning “The Drowning Girls” from Aug. 26 to Sept. 24. Written by Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson and Daniela Vlaskolic, the play is set in a pool on stage and based on a true story of a man hanged in 1915 for drowning three of his wives.
The Garage then plans to round out the year on a potentially lighter note with William Shakespeare’s comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost” from Nov. 11 to 19 and Dec. 1 to 17—which it’s billing as “a puppet play with people.”
Landmark Theatre Company “major announcement” imminent
Meanwhile, the Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company—located in the First Congregational Church of Long Beach, 241 Cedar Ave.—is planning a “major announcement” this Friday, April 22, according to its website.
To hear Friday’s announcement, potential patrons can sign up to receive Landmark’s newsletter through its website, LBLandmark.org. Perhaps indicative of its plans, Landmark announced auditions for “Working: A Musical” last month.
The 1970s musical by Stephen Schwartz has been updated over the years but focuses on multiple voices of working people, originally based on Studs Terkel’s 1974 book, “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do,” featuring interviews with people from different regions and occupations.
In a video update it sent out Tuesday, April 19, Landmark said it was auditioning a spring show in March 2020 when “the world shut down” and theatres had to go dark. Since then, the company has considered how to respond to the social justice themes that emerged during those two years and says it’s “listening.”
“As we have looked inward and asked the question, ‘Who are we?’ a time of reflection has turned into a time of illumination,” Landmark said in the statement. “After more than two years, we are very excited to share what we’ve been up to.”
Long Beach Opera continues season after cancellation
Long Beach Opera (LBO)—which changes venues for each performance—is also planning upcoming productions, beginning with the baroque opera “Giustino” to be staged at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), 628 Alamitos Ave., on May 21, 22 and 28.
With music by Handel, the opera “will elevate the ambiguities of gender already present in baroque opera and examine how stereotypes can be shattered even in the most traditional stories,” according to LBO.
LBO is then planning a new production of “The Central Park Five”—which it first premiered in 2019—at Jordan High School’s auditorium, 6500 Atlantic Ave., on June 18, 19 and 25. LBO says the production will “reinvigorate the story of five innocent Black teenagers trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare of the American criminal justice system.”
Meanwhile, LBO stated on April 1 that it concluded its investigation of racism and misogyny that led to the cancellation of “Stimmung” in March, with an independent auditor finding “no evidence” to support those allegations.
Nonetheless, LBO said General Director Jennifer Rivera “acknowledges that the experiences of some staff members of feeling unseen and unheard were real” and is “taking the steps necessary to ensure that going forward she creates an environment where staff feels respected and empowered.”
