The walls of a century-old Upper West Side apartment have much to talk about in Catherine Butterfield’s Brownstone, a trio of fascinating tales all taking place in a single residence but at three distinct periods of time.

1937 sees Butterfield’s brownstone occupied by heiress/aspiring artist Davia (Chelsea Spirito), who dreams of moving to Paris while her father dreams of marrying her into money and New York Daily News reporter Stephen (Matthew Goodrich) dreams of making Davia his wife (and of becoming the next Edward R. Murrow).

Meanwhile in the year 1978, Maureen (Amber Tiara) waits tables and her roommate Deena (Rosie Byrne) lives off her Texas oilman father’s cash as the two recent college grads audition for roles in hopes of becoming the next big thing on Broadway.

As for 20something ad exec Jessica (Jade Santana) and her commodities broker boyfriend Jason (Isaac W. Jay), the year 1999 promises not just a new millennium about to begin but shared lives as a New York City power couple (and no children to get in the way, or at least not for now).

Brownstone then bounces from era to era to era and then back and forth again as each pair of residents lead lives which would seem to have little chance of intersecting given how far apart in time they are.

That however would be underestimating what playwright Butterfield has in store for us, though to find out precisely what that is, you’ll have to head over to Open Fist Theatre for the Los Angeles Premiere of a play that earned justified raves in its initial 2008 run at the Laguna Playhouse.

Director Ron West adeptly juxtaposes Butterfield’s three storylines on Jan Munroe’s ingenious set, one which allows one of them to unfold upstage right, another upstage left, and the third downstage center, décor (and a trio of telephones) giving us three distinct eras in the same initially posh but eventually rather rundown Upper Manhattan abode.

Having resided for the last quarter-century in a house built way back in 1922, I’ve often wondered about lives lived before me during the Roaring ‘20s, the Depression ‘30s, the WWII ‘40s, the Eisenhower ‘50s, the Swinging ‘60s, and all the rest of the decades leading up to my moving in in 2001, just one reason I found Butterfield’s Brownstone such a fascinating place to visit.

Another is the performances delivered by a sextet of talented, charismatic young actors beginning with Spirito’s and Goodrich’s pitch-perfect turns as a pair of New Yorkers whose sophisticated upper-class Mid-Atlantic accents recall those of classic Hollywood screen couples like William Powell and Myrna Loy, either one of whom would seem to have stepped off the silver screen and onto the Open Fist stage.

Tiara is less ideally cast as Maureen, but she and Byrne (whose Texas accent and demeanor are exactly right for the role of a spoiled oil heiress) do fine work too as one woman’s rising stardom loses steam while the other’s takes flight.

Jay and Santana positively sizzle as a couple who can’t keep their hands off each other and are about to either reap the benefits or suffer the consequences of their insatiable urges depending which one you ask.

Oh, and Goodrich gets to show off versatility chops in his eleventh-hour appearance as a character named David, though I’ll leave it to you to discover how he ties together all three storylines in the most satisfying and unexpected of ways.

Last but not least, Gavan Wyrick’s lighting, Mylette Nora’s costumes, Bruce Dickinson and Ina Shumaker’s props, and Kermit Frisbee’s sound design all combine to perfection with Munroe’s aforementioned scenic design to transport us to three distinctive decades with nary a false note in the mix.

Brownstone is produced by Carmella Jenkins and Beth Robbins. Jacob Carty is assistant lighting designer, Amanda Weier is intimacy coordinator, and Tambrie Allsup is fight choreographer.

John Dimitri is production stage manager. Stage crew members Syanne Green and Millie Keil get take bows with the cast at curtain calls. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

In these days of star-power-propelled Broadway revivals, I can totally see six major names signing on to make a limited Brownstone run on the Great White Way a smashing success.

In the meantime, the play’s L.A. Premiere proves a worthy follow-up to Butterfield’s 2022 smash To The Bone and adds yet another feather to Open Fist Theatre’s much-feathered cap.

Open Fist Theatre Company @ Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village. Through March 14. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00. Sundays at 2:00.
www.openfist.org

–Steven Stanley
January 24, 2026
Photos: Erin Clendenin

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: Catherine Butterfield, Los Angeles Theater Review, Open Fist Theatre Company