HOW HIGH THE MOON
Sunday, August 2nd, 2026
If you think the 1950s were all The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It To Beaver, then you haven’t met the the Butlers and Thompsons of Van Nuys, whose hornet’s nest of secrets and lies come to light over the course of an explosively entertaining Fourth Of July weekend in Barbara Nell Beery’s How High The Moon.
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F**KING STRANGERS
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026
Erik Patterson, L.A.’s master of “I didn’t see that coming” plot twists, is back at Echo Theater with his sexiest and most provocative play in years, the twisty-turny, edge-of-your-seat, and very sexy F**king Strangers.
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THE GREAT CLOWN BANK SHOW
Monday, July 6th, 2026Though Open Fist Theatre Company scores an “A+” for adventurousness, the often entertaining “immersive theater extravaganza” that is Hank Jacobs’ The Great Clown Bank Show proves somewhat of a hit-or-miss enterprise.
PAINTED PONIES
Monday, June 29th, 2026
L.A. theater treasure Rachel Sorsa delivers an extraordinary solo star turn in Ian McRae’s powerful but bleak Ruskin Group Theatre World Premiere drama Painted Ponies.
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THE UNOFFICIAL ‘MEET THE ROBINSONS’ MUSICAL PARODY
Sunday, June 21st, 2026
Unofficial Musical Parodies don’t get any more inventive than Annika Hoseth’s delightful take on the 2007 animated Walt Disney smash Meet The Robinsons, now completing its crowd-pleasing run at the Broadwater Mainstage.
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THE FIRST GENTLEMAN
Monday, June 15th, 2026There are some terrific songs and performances in Torrance Theatre Company’s The First Gentleman, but the musical itself feels like it’s getting its World Premiere about 20 years too late.
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MELT
Friday, June 12th, 2026A nerdy gay college theater kid and the school’s hunky hockey team captain take an instant (but definitely not permanent) dislike to each other when auditioning for a same-sex romantic two-hander in Shak Kanish’s promising new play Melt, playing this weekend only at the Lee Strasberg Institute’s Marilyn Monroe Theatre.
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ASCENT
Saturday, May 23rd, 2026
Henry Ong pays long overdue tribute to Qian Xuese, aka the “Father of Chinese Rocketry,” in Ascent, the much-missed playwright’s look back at not just one of the ugliest pages in American history but one with unmistakable parallels to today’s United States, brought to stunning life at the Skylight Theatre by director-dramaturg Diana Wyenn.
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Since 2007, Steven Stanley's StageSceneLA.com has spotlighted the best in Southern California theater via reviews, interviews, and its annual StageSceneLA Scenies.
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