Four contemporary Angelinos find their lives intertwined with that of pioneering Swiss psychiatrist-psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach more than a century after his death in Kelly Younger’s Rorschach, a spectacular World Premiere season opener for a Skylight Theatre Company rejuvenated under Cameron Watson’s artistic directorship.

The L.A.-based foursome are grad student Justin, (Elijah McNally) museum docent Aimee (Carolina Rodriguez), Justin’s wardrobe supervisor older sister Olive (Linzi Fenix), and Olive’s aspiring actor girlfriend Dana (Tessa Claire Hersch), and like any romcom-adjacent play worth its salt, Rorschach starts with a meet cute.

Or meet awkward as the case may be when Aimee finds herself mistakenly showing up for Justin’s seminar on “Clinging to the Wreck: Keeping Rorschach Afloat,” and making matters more awkward still, she’s the sole attendee, meaning that poor Justin ends up without an audience when Aimee makes a quick exit with a halfhearted “Good luck” aimed in his direction.

Olive, meanwhile, has just gotten cast in a horror flick, and so what if it’s a six-month shoot in Bulgaria. It’s her first real speaking role so naturally her girlfriend is going to understand. Or not, given the marriage proposal Dana’s got on today’s agenda.

Completing the cast of characters, albeit 105 years earlier, are Swiss psychiatrists Emil Oberholzer (Paul Culos) and Herman “Klex” Rorschach (Mitch Ross), and if the latter’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because of the psychological test that bears his name, one that analyzes how a subject perceives images formed when a sheet of paper is dripped with ink, folded in half, and unfolded to reveal a Rorschach Test.

And it’s a momentous day when we first make Klex and Emil’s acquaintance given that the test the latter has recently performed on an anonymous patient has revealed in mere minutes what it would have taken Klex months or even years to determine.

As to how the early 20th-century pair and the present-day foursome find their lives interwoven, well for that you’ll have to head on over to the Skylight where a master director, a stellar cast, and the finest design team in town have joined forces to deliver a production so dazzling in every respect, you could plunk it down on the Pasadena Playhouse or Geffen stage exactly as is.

Playwright Younger blends fact, fiction, and speculation in the cleverest of ways, while featuring a diverse mix of straight and gay characters who may or may not be destined to a happily ever after, and so what if a certain scene breaks the rules he’s established. It’s an entertaining detour into sci-fi territory so I went with it.

Master director Watson not only elicits six memorable performances, he makes imaginative use of Tesshi Nakagawa’s multilevel, multi-locale set, one made even more striking by Nicholas Santiago’s gorgeous, Rorschach-blot-evoking projections and Jared A. Sayeg’s resplendent lighting, all of the above underscored by Jeff Gardner’s evocative music-and-effects-packed sound design, with Kate Bergh’s arresting array of period and contemporary costumes completing one of the most stunning production designs you’ll see all year on this or any L.A. stage.

Casting director Victoria Hoffman lucked out big time when Rorschach doppelganger Mitch Ross entered the room, and he and Culos are both equally memorable as (respectively) a brilliant but self-doubting psychiatrist and a best friend with unattainable dreams where “Klex” is concerned.

Rodriguez and McNally reveal Hoffman’s gift for discovering up-and-coming actors with major careers ahead of them, Rodriguez making it a captivating three leads in a row while the charismatic McNally evokes a mix of Christian Slater and Andrew McCarthy in their Heathers/Pretty in Pink days.

And speaking of evoking major stage and screen stars, think Bernadette Peters-meets-Annie Potts circa the 1980s in Fenix’s delightfully quirky star turn opposite Hersh’s more grounded but equally fabulous Dana.

Rorschach is executive produced by Mason McCulley, produced by Watson and Nona Chiang, and associate produced by Cedes Sifuentes and Christian Skinner. Letitia D. Chang is production stage manager. David Elzer is publicist.

Los Feliz’s Skylight Theatre has been a shining light among L.A. stages for going on a half-century, and if Rorschach is any indication of what lies ahead, theatergoing Angelinos are in for even more greatness in the months and years ahead.

Skylight Theatre, 1816 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. Through October 1. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00. Sundays at 2:00. www.skylighttheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
October 24, 2026
Photos: Tyson Lindo

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

Tags: Kelly Younger, Los Angeles Theater Review, Skylight Theatre Company