This coming Monday, Musical Mondays (MuMo) at The Abbey will be celebrating its big 16 year anniversary and will be honored by the City of West Hollywood, with infamous “The Broadway Cage Match” taking part of the celebration.

Cue up the music, “The Broadway Cage Match” is part improv, part sing-off and all fun. The entire affair is nothing short of spectacular because the singers are as impressive, as they are hilarious.

This popular MuMo institution was created by musical theatre guys Bruce Merkle and Justin Jones. These boys are as talented behind the scenes as they are on stage. This popular segment has become a much loved mainstay of this popular night.

Merkle originated the role of Olaf in “Frozen: Live,” at the Hyperion, directed by Liesl Tommy. He has also appeared on television in “Night Court,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Rules of Engagement,” “The Goldbergs, RuPaul’s AJ & the Queen,” “Conan,” and had recurring appearances on “Victorious” and “The Tonight Show.”

He is a “Sunday Company” alumni at The Groundlings, where he periodically performs improv and sketch comedy. He is also a world renowned yogi, ranked 4th in the world and Michael Fassbender’s yoga double in David Fincher’s “The Killer.”

Bruce Merkle

Justin Jones made his Broadway debut in “Home for the Holidays” at the August Wilson Theatre and has appeared on Netflix’s “Sugar Rush,” “Tosh.0,” Lionsgate’s “The Newest Pledge,” and the Lifetime movie-musical “Christmas Harmony,” which he co-wrote with Nanea Miyata.

As a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School, he starred regionally with companies like Reprise Theatre Co., Casa Mañana and 3D Theatricals, co-created the “The Broadway Cage Match” for Rockwell Table and Stage and performed at venues including Birdland, Rockwell, Radio City Music Hall and more.

Justin Jones

We caught up with these two masterminds while they are gearing up for Monday’s big show.

What the heck is the Broadway Cage Match? Sounds dangerous!

JUSTIN: The Broadway Cage Match is a triple-threatening battle for showbiz glory. We started it in 2014 to showcase so-called ‘rival’ theater companies battling to see who was the best of the best. It was all about bringing your inner show queen, your inner diva, your inner poorly-adjusted showbiz kid to the stage.

We had people skrelt, belt and play fun improvisational showbiz games that commented on the absurdity of what it’s like to work in musical theater. It was all in good fun — a total celebration of the chaos and creativity of this art form. We got to work with amazing talent who brought their insanity and genius to the stage at Rockwell.

As Kate Pazakis, our producer, once put it: “It’s controlled chaos.” And that’s exactly what made it great.

BRUCE: We would have two musical that we’re playing at the same time and three people from each show would sing and compete in musical theatre inspired improv challenges. The audience voted on who went through and one show was victorious. The shows were so loud and fun. We always wrote special material and made sure each show was bespoke and tailored to the two musicals being featured.

What do you love about the local musical theatre scene?

BRUCE: I love how many theaters we have. So many people think this is just a film and TV town. And while that’s true, I bet there are three or so musicals playing at any given time. The talent is great too and the productions are on par with New York. The only thing we have that New York doesn’t have is leg room.

JUSTIN: I love how vibrant and generous the L.A. musical theater scene is. People are doing it for the love of the work.

I did my first show here in 2010 at Cabrillo Music Theatre with Sally Struthers and I got lucky — those performers became dear friends. Since then, I’ve worked with Reprise Theatre Co, 3D Theatricals and Musical Theatre Guild. I’ve gotten to collaborate with incredible, talented artists who show up with heart and soul.

There’s so much talent here — Broadway expats, TV and film actors, brilliant hobbyists. LA is an “ yes and” city, not an “or.” It’s a yes-and community. People support each other and build amazing work from nothing. From the big houses like the Ahmanson, Mark Taper, and the Geffen, to intimate 99-seat theaters—everyone’s in it to tell stories that matter.

And with so much diversity in this city, new voices are coming through. Musicals are being reworked and reimagined here. That’s what makes it exciting: we’re not just doing theater—we’re shaping what it can become.

What was your first exposure to Musical Mondays?

BRUCE: Ishka came to see me and Justin host The Broadway Cage Match and had such nice things to say. She asked us if we would be interested in hosting Musical Mondays and that’s the first time I heard of it. My mouth was agape the first time I walked in for rehearsal and the Fans of MuMo were performing before our set.

JUSTIN: When I moved to LA in 2010, it was my mission to get involved in the musical theater scene. I’d heard of Ryan O’Connor and that he hosted Musical Mondays at a place called Eleven in West Hollywood. Ryan and I both went to Circle in the Square Theatre School—just at different times.

So I went by myself to check it out and meet him. That’s where I first met Ryan and Scott Nevins. They were hosting, and the energy in the room was electric. The talent, the joy, the community—it was exactly the kind of intimate, musical theater-loving space I had missed after moving from New York. I knew immediately: I wanted to sing at Musical Mondays. That became a goal for me. I finally did eventually, on a night that the amazing Daisy Egan hosted!

Why is a night like Musical Mondays so important to the community right now?

JUSTIN: Community is essential—period. Everyone deserves a safe space to show up fully as themselves. And Musical Mondays is exactly that, especially for fans of musical theater. It’s an art form that blends so many identities, backgrounds, and stories. It’s a melting pot of human experience — and so are the people who love it.

Even if you don’t think you like musicals, it’s hard to come to MuMo and not be swept up by the joy of the Fans of MuMo or the power of the live performances. Every week, you can show up, relax, sip a drink, sit in silence, or scream-sing with friends. And you’re surrounded by queer people and allies doing the same.

In a time where so many people feel disconnected or overwhelmed, Musical Mondays is a place to let your hair down, be silly, celebrate love and feel something real. That’s what makes it matter.

What is a favorite Musical Mondays memory?

BRUCE: Justin somehow found some leprechauns to back me up when I sang “It’s A Great Day For The Irish” on St. Patricks Day and also magically produced bells for the entire audience when I sang ‘I Can Hear the Bells’ from “Hairspray.”

One time my mom was in town and she came to see the show. It was the Monday before Thanksgiving and Ishka gave her a piece of pumpkin pie. It was so sweet and Ishka asks about my mom every time I see her.

How did you two meet?

BRUCE: We had the same agent and we’re both auditioning for musicals around town. I remember seeing Justin in the waiting rooms a lot. We finally worked together in a cabaret show and started talking. Justin was always eager to put something together and pitched me the idea of working together on an extravagant cabaret-style show. We eventually wrote “The Broadway Cage Match” for “Rockwell Table & Stage” and now he won’t stop annoying me.

What do you love most about working with the other?

BRUCE: Justin’s innovative mind never turns off. He is always trying to make things sharper and better. It’s really fun to problem solve with him because we both have completely different skills and they go well together like The Yin and Yang [symbol.] He is also game for any idea I pitch and will help us find the best way to execute it.

What was that one musical that inspired you to become a musical theatre devotee?

BRUCE: Watching Mary Martin in “Peter Pan.” I didn’t know what magic was happening, but I knew I had to do whatever Mary was doing.

JUSTIN: For my family, the musical was “Into the Woods,” and our composer was Stephen Sondheim.

I fell in love with that show early — and over time, I’ve had the experiences of many of its characters. These characters stay with you. My family used to watch the VHS recording on road trips and it became something deeply personal we all shared.

Now that I am older I have gained a profound understanding of “Company,” “Sunday in the Park with George” — basically, my journey has been falling deeper in love with Sondheim over time. His work is personal, complicated, honest. It changes you.

Gender swapping is a new trend in musicals — what starring role would you cast yourself in if swapping?

BRUCE: Oh gosh. I usually sing female songs for Musical Mondays so the list is long. I’d love to play Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl.” I think I’ve must’ve sang all of [Brice’s] songs by now at Musical Mondays.

JUSTIN: We’re in such a special moment where storytelling is expanding — diversity in casting is opening up opportunities for people to tell their versions of stories, not just repeat what came before.

But for me? I’d play the Baker’s Wife. That character taught me so much. I sing her material in at MuMo sometimes — specially “Moment in the Woods”. There’s just something about her journey that feels really meaningful to me.

What are the three quintessential musicals everyone should love?

BRUCE: Of course, this answer will change depending on when you ask me again. I think “Into the Woods ” is brilliant, like millions of other people. I love zooming in on the gray area of life, which that show does beautifully. The Color Purple” destroys me every time I see it, so I hope people can get a tiny bit of what I get out of it. Finally, “Chicago.” It’s so fun and always makes me happy I haven’t committed murder yet.

JUSTIN: It’s hard to say everyone should love any show—musicals are so personal. But I’ll tell you a few that have changed me:

“Sunday in the Park with George” – as an adult, this one hits deep. “Finishing the Hat” is devastating when you’re trying to balance making art, finding love, and being understood. It’s for anyone building something new and feeling invisible while doing it.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” – William Finn just passed away, and this show is a tribute to his quirky, beautiful storytelling. I worked on it while training at Circle in the Square and got to see the original cast many times. It’s hilarious, touching, and full of heart. And honestly? I’d love to play Marcy Park.

“West Side Story” – A Bernstein score, Sondheim lyrics and lessons that still matter. It’s lush. It’s classic. It’s powerful.

What is your message to MuMo fans?

BRUCE: Keep coming! Bring your friends. Bring your enemies. Get your dose of theatre and go support the singers around town if they’re performing in something.

JUSTIN: You belong here.

Every Monday, this is your safe space to be fully yourself. Whether you love musicals or not, just being around people who celebrate art with love and joy — that’s magic.

The fans of MuMo are like our own vaudevillian Muppet troupe, bringing their whole selves to the party. The live performers? Broadway pros, regional stars, people with real chops — they bring it all to this stage just for the joy of sharing it.

It’s powerful to be in a queer space where you can laugh, sing, cry, and just be. That’s what Musical Mondays is. Broadway in your backyard.

Thank you for coming every week. You make this moment matter.

Costa Mesa’s South Coast Repertory Theatre hosted their opening night last weekend, bringing in a packed house.

There was an excited buzz in the air as the audience was seated to dance music from the disco to the present era, shiny stars and disco balls hanging from the ceiling, and club lights flooding the scene.

The audience was completely mixed, older and younger, fancy and casual, queer and straight, all in anticipation of this world premiere, from one of the most in-demand playwrights in the country, Keiko Green. Not more than three minutes after the lights dimmed, the audience realized this would be a show like no other.

In an explosion of reality and surrealism, the play is hard to label, much like the show’s non-binary main character and emcee for the evening, M.

The show centers around M and their journey of self-discovery, navigating through the modern world of tech and pollution, while dealing with the terminal illness of her father, M’s well-meaning mother trying to keep the family together and keeping her own grief at bay. It is a whirlwind of bigger-than-life characters and creatures,  intimate moments and extreme pathos.

Using comedy as a main element, the play reels you into its real-but-not-real world, and the audience is easily transfixed by the story, through its extremely emotional and dizzying end.

Needless to say, you could hear a pin drop in the show’s final scenes, though sniffles could be heard and audience members wiping a tear or two away could be seen.

It is a comedy in disguise.

The show has a queer sensibility, especially manifested by the character of M, but it is not just a queer story. This play represents all of us and it is very fitting that the world is used as a metaphor for the proceedings.

Playwright Green masterfully uses laughter and grief as unifying themes. Laughter and grief are universal experiences that unify us all, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, class, race, or religion. The diverse audience at opening night was one entity by the end of the show.

The show comes at a time when we are thinking of the bigger picture, our place in the community, our place in the nation and our place in the world. Socially and politically, the world is a mess. And so is life. How you navigate it and find your place is how you survive. One moment at a time, one laugh at a time, one tear at a time.

South Coast Repertory will celebrate the queer community this coming Saturday on April 19^th with a Pride Night performance.

Tickets include a pre-show event on the terrace, two complimentary glasses of wine, dessert and a live DJ. Meet a family (and a few friends) navigating love, loss, and climate change—with humor, heart, a little glitter and a touch of drag. A celebration of the beauty of the human spirit, even in the most unexpected moments.

Get your tickets here, using discount code: WORLDPRIDE.

To win tickets through our ticket giveaway, enter here.

P3 Theatre Company, a long-standing staple in Long Beach’s theatre scene, has officially relocated to Los Angeles. While the company remains close to its Long Beach roots, this move signals a fresh chapter and opportunity to connect to a broader audience.

Jon Peterson, Executive Director and Founder of P3 Theatre Company, discusses the transition.

“After the pandemic lifted, the venue we were renting in Long Beach was no longer available to us,” explained Peterson. “After some time, we decided to look in the Greater Los Angeles area. There are so many great venues available, and there’s definitely a huge demand for the arts.”

P3 Theatre’s first major production in Los Angeles will be “Day After Day” (The Life and Music of Doris Day), a sentimental and nostalgic celebration of the legendary singer and actress. The choice to revive this show was intentional — it was P3’s last production before the Covid-19 shutdown.

“‘Day After Day ‘ was a very successful production,” said Peterson, noting that it earned Deborah Robin the Best Performer in a Musical title at the Orange County Theatre Guild Awards. “It’s such an endearing show with tons of recognizable music and the dynamic story of Doris Day.”

While dazzling performances are integral to P3’s mission, the company is equally committed to community outreach. Peterson emphasized that the move to the West Hollywood and Hollywood areas, offer opportunities to collaborate with other nonprofits and expand access to the arts for marginalized groups.

“There is a huge demand for the arts in this region,” said Peterson. “We look forward to bringing shows that audiences are excited to see, as well as introducing new works that will enhance their theatrical experience.”

One of P3’s signature initiatives is P3 Educates+, a program designed to provide performing arts workshops to underserved communities. Catering to all ages – which Peterson describes as 0-100+ – the workshops include improvisation, acting, and singing.

“It provides more than just an education of theatre,” Peterson explained. “[It provides] a level of entertainment that marginalized communities may not have an opportunity to experience otherwise.”

Supporting LGBTQ+ stories and artists is also a core priority for P3 Theatre Company. Peterson highlighted the company’s commitment to producing both new LGBTQ+ works and celebrated classics.

“Our stories need to be told and heard,” Peterson emphasized. “What better way to do so than through the arts?”

Among P3’s proudest achievements are the world premieres of two acclaimed works by playwright Jiggs Burgess. The Red Suitcase won the prestigious Del Shores Playwright Competition, while Wounded earned multiple awards at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2023. The latter’s success secured an off-Broadway run at Soho Playhouse in New York City, with performances continuing in 2024 and 2025.

P3 Theatre Company has ambitious long-term goals for its future in Los Angeles. Peterson hopes to build a strong audience and donor base while eventually securing a permanent performance space.

“P3 Theatre Company’s long term goal is to grow a solid audience and donor base in Los Angeles – and to find ‘the perfect theatre’ to hang our hat in.” Peterson said. “It is our plan to call Los Angeles our home and to continue to produce professional theatre in a community where theatre is thriving.”

For those eager to experience P3’s return to the stage, tickets for Day After Day (The Life and Music of Doris Day) are now available. As Peterson says with confidence, “We know the audiences will love it!”

For more information about P3, head to www.p3theatre.biz

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles is bringing the glitz and the glamour to the stage
along with 200 Chorus members dedicated toward singing and dancing to the most
revolutionary hits in country music. Not that you need one, but this is the perfect excuse
to corral the gays and gals and throw on your rhinestone-studded fits for a night of gay
magic. We know you still have the perfect articles of clothing from Beyonce’s
Renaissance Tour to make a new fit and make an appearance at the Saban.

The Rhinestone Cowboys concert will feature music by Dolly, Reba McEntire, Shania
Twain, Johnny Cash, Chris Stapleton, Taylor Swift and more.

GMCLA will also feature music by the genre’s most beloved allies and queer artists
such as Beyoncé, Brandi Carlile, Shaboozey, Lil Nas X, and Chappell Roan.

Los Angeles Blade had a chance to sit with Lou Spisto, who is the Executive Director &
Producer of GMCLA and catch up on the latest.

“Whether we do Broadway, classical, pop or disco, [the production] is going to have a
sound based on who we are and how we do what we do,” said Spisto. “It’s also going to
have our sensibility and how we sass it up and spin with just a little bit of fairy dust.”

The Rhinestone Cowboys show will feature over 200 of their over 240 members, on
stage throughout various songs – everything from the Cash classics, to the new
Beyonce hits that earned her the Grammy for Best Country Album of the Year.

Spisto was brought on as Executive Director and Producer in early 2019 after the
organization was experiencing financial trouble and began to engage the community and the organization in a fiscal turnaround by going directly to the public, even from the
stage, asking for donations from community, subscribers and the corporate sector. The
turnaround was successfully completed by the end of 2019 and months later COVID-19
forced the shutdown that all the world experienced.

Shortly after GMCLA ‘righted the ship,’ Spisto said, “COVID-19 shut us down and
thankfully, by then, we had enough financial stability to withstand what we may not have
been able to do at that time.”

“Since 2019 and then after the pandemic again, we’ve grown much stronger ,” said
Spisto. “And then COVID-19 happened before the fourth production.” Spisto credits the LA Arts Recovery Fund for giving them the critical support to keep the
organization going through the shutdown and be able to bring the Chorus back.

Four years after the pandemic shut down, Broadway and non-profit theatres are still
struggling to see pre-pandemic attendance levels. Which means, GMCLA is beating the
odds and keeping productions running during times where audience shifts, soaring
prices on everyday items and other issues, limit attendance.

According to a broader arts industry analysis, ‘the last full season before the COVID-19
industry shutdown – the 2018 to 2019 season – saw historic highs in both earnings and
artist work weeks.’ By contrast and because of COVID-19, the ‘2020 to 2021 earnings
and total work weeks dropped to a historic low.’ The latest in the analysis of 2023 to
2024 shows the nation’s theatre productions just beginning to recover from the
pandemic drop in live performances and audience attendance.

GMCLA plans upcoming productions that take over 12 weeks each to rehearse and
produce while it also performs many free community events and school programs . “We
are financially stronger, and that means we have the ability to give back to the
community as well,” said Spisto.

GMCLA recently hosted an event at The Abbey Weho that brought together the community and raised over $7,000 dollars for those who were impacted by the fires that devastated neighborhoods in Los Angeles back in January.

This is just one of the many ways that the Chorus is giving back. GMCLA continues its
work on the current season’s remaining two sets of concerts, finalizing plans for the
2025 GALA in June, creating and developing an exciting season for next year and
keeping its eyes on the 50th season in 2028 and 2029.

When it was announced that the Sondheim tribute Old Friends, was headed to the Ahmanson from its West End run–we the queer musical theatre nerds–went into a tizzy.

When we found out that Broadway royalty Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga were continuing their run with the show, we just about passed out.

We were there on opening night at the Ahmanson with a star-filled audience to witness a truly five-star production where everything just fits right. The long-lasting roaring applause that met the entrance of the show’s two stars did not end and the evening took the audience on a roller coaster of emotions. This is old-school theatre excellence made fresh for today’s audience. Sondheim’s material is alive and well.

There have been musical revues of this Broadway icon before. This production fares very well by focusing on Sondheim’s collaborations with other Broadway icon Cameron Mackintosh. All of your favorites are there – Company, Into the Woods, Follies, West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, and more, with many surprises from his other shows.

Some of the musicals are presented as full sequences–and Sweeney Todd and West Side Story segments were full mini-musicals, with sets and all. Other numbers were presented with a twist, adding a fresh take that allowed the actors to shine. Though some of the material is considered classic Broadway, it all comes off as glossy and relevant.

The set, costumes, and lighting were top-notch. Quick transitions were masterfully orchestrated and the whole affair seemed made for the Ahmanson. Some traveling shows have that temporary or makeshift energy, not here. While musical theatre is often limited by budget when it comes to pit musicians, this orchestra, led by musical director Annbritt duChateau, is absolutely rich with texture and lush with sound. It gave the material the quality it deserved.

What can we say about the performers? Yes, Peters and Salonga are huge names and big personalities to lead the evening. There is not one weak player here. The cast is full of Tony Award winners and nominees–and it is obvious.

The beauty of Old Friends, is that the show gives everyone the opportunity to shine–and they take it. The chemistry of the cast is palpable and every player hands over the spotlight graciously. No one runs away with the show–they all do.

Peters, Sondheim’s main muse, continues her reign as one of Broadway’s greats. When she hits the stage, you can feel the energy and you know you are witnessing theatre royalty. Over the years her voice may have lost a little of that shine, but her emotion and pathos add a layer to the material that could never be replicated. Seeing her reprise her role as Dot in Sunday in the Park with George, is truly special.

Salonga’s voice seems to know no limits.

She skillfully masters Mrs. Lovett and brings down the curtain with her version of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” She may not have the emotional range as Peters, but she is the perfect lead for this show. Every other actor could have their own review, they are just that good. Special shout out to Tony Winner Beth Leavel who tore the stage apart with her take on “Ladies Who Lunch,” not an easy feat when most of us have echoes of Elaine Stritch and Patti LuPone in our minds.

She makes the material her own and the audience couldn’t get enough. Two-time Tony nominee Gavin Lee, brings the comedy and the drama to his performance, enchanting the audience with his “Could I Leave You?”

Broadway heartthrob Jacob Dickey leads a powerful and new take on “Being Alive” and also somehow makes the role of the Wolf from Into the Woods his own.

Truth be told, this winning production is best suited for Sondheim fans. I would be hesitant to take a non-theatre lover or someone who just likes movie musicals as my plus one. You don’t have to be a Sondheim aficionado, but this is a very deep dive into the material and is best appreciated by those in the know. Thank goodness there are many of us out there. What was plain to see by the audience in attendance, is how far Sondheim’s music has reached. Young, old, queer, fancy, casual, celebrity, everyone became one audience to enjoy this magical evening.

With everything going on in today’s world, it is so comforting to come home in a sense, to music that has made such an impression in our lives. There is safety in enjoying the known, like watching a TV show that you’ve binged for the umpteenth time and, in this show fraught with love and sincerity, is able to make it new again.

Old Friends plays at the Ahmanson for a limited run until March 9^th before heading to Broadway. Tickets are available on the Center Theatre Group website.

Legacies of shame and abuse play out in surprising ways in Rogue Machine Theatre’s
production of British playwright Sophie Swithinbank’s award-winning play Bacon, which follows two boys in a London high school as they form a fraught and manipulative relationship.

Rogue Machine isn’t saying much else about the play – even getting that much of log line required an email to the company’s marketing director and a referral to the play’s publisher. The company is hoping that audiences will come into the show blind and be completely surprised by what they see. So far, director Michael Matthews says the audiences who are turning up are appreciating the play’s twists and turns.

“Right before it goes to the blackout at the end of the show, there’s always a gasp, which is
always like, you got it, you’re with it,” Matthews said. “If you come see my show, I want you to
come in one way, but I want you to exit another. Even if this is a smile on your face, or like a tear or something, but to have some sort of movement. The audience is, so far from what I’ve witnessed, they’ve been along on the journey.”

Swithinbank’s own playwright’s note for the show says it’s ‘about what happens when teenagers learn to bully and humiliate each other before they learn to love,’ and that it was inspired by an act of bullying she witnessed and a toxic relationship she experienced growing up.

Matthews says when Rogue Machine approached him about directing the the play, the script gripped him from the first page, which isn’t surprising given the splash Bacon made when it debuted across the pond in 2022, earning three Off-West End Awards, and previously earning Soho Theatre’s Tony Craze Award for Playwrighting.

“It’s not just that I see myself in a play, but that my heart is pulled a certain way. That’s just me
knowing that this is something that I have to do,” Matthews said of the script.

And Swithinbank has been involved with this production as well, workshopping the script to fit it to Rogue Machine’s young cast, which features Brazilian-American actor Wesley Guimarães and Chicago native Jack Lancaster – you may have seen him on “The Bear.”

“One of actors is Brazilian, and so [Swithinbank] changed a lot of her words to add in that his
mother was Brazilian inside the play. She went so far as to put in Portuguese into the show,
which just adds on a richness that just works so beautifully. And then the other actor, his family is from Dublin, and so we changed a lot of the characterizations to have that Irish authenticity,” Matthews said.

That authenticity is essential, especially as the show is playing in Rogue Machine’s
intimate Henry Murray Stage, which seats just 37 people.

“It’s supposed to feel very intimate, like you’re walking into like some place you’re not supposed to be and you’re observing something you’re not supposed to be observing. And so you have that thing inside of you when you’re watching, like I should help. This is a foot away from me. I should do something, but you can’t, right? So it gives intimacy a whole brand new name,” Matthews said.

Bacon plays at The Matrix, 7657 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046, through March 30.
Fri and Mon at 8pm, Sat-Sun at 5pm. Tickets available at The Rogue Machine Theatre site.

When Fountain Theatre set out to produce the Los Angeles premiere of Audrey Cefaly’s play
Alabaster, they were hoping that the all-female show about the power of art and the strength
and resilience of women would be a timely celebration of the country’s first female president.

That didn’t turn out, but in the wake of the fires that devastated Los Angeles last month, the
story – which follows a romance that blossoms when New York photographer Alice, who’s
travelled to the titular Alabama city to capture the portrait of June, a woman whose survival of a tornado has left her with physical and emotional scars – has become even more relevant.

“It’s very much a play about loss and trauma and grieving and how we process and move
forward,” says Casey Stangl, who’s directing the Fountain production. “It has this wonderful sort of straddling the fence of comedy and tragedy in the way that life does.”

And that includes the current political climate.

“On some level, it’s actually even more resonant because we don’t have [a female president]
and that’s yet another loss,” she says.

The LA fires are more than a backdrop for the theatre – they’ve directly affected the production, including delaying its opening to Feb 16. One of the actors was living in the evacuation zone, while another lived in a warning zone. Another had respiratory issues inflamed by the smoke that reached her home.

“Even once we got ourselves back in the room, we’re all still sort of dealing with that. The
physical effects, right? But also just the trauma of it,” Stangl says.
Still, all of that trauma in the room went a long way to building the emotional reality of the play – a literal use of art to process trauma through a play about using art to process trauma.

In the play, June takes up painting to deal with her own trauma, while Alice uses photography to process the trauma of others – and also as an escape from her own tragedies. But the play also explores some of the challenging moral issues around art as a sort of trauma porn.

“There’s a little bit of a dilemma for Alice, because the power dynamic is tricky. There’s an
automatic sort of unequal power dynamic between a photographer and a subject. And then
when things start to change a little bit, it’s a little bit of a thorny place to navigate ethically,” Stangl says.

Since its 2020 world premiere at the Florida Repertory Theatre, Alabaster has been produced
across the country to rave reviews. Fountain Theatre’s production has some secret weapons
that tie it to the play’s history while also invigorating it with new meaning.

Actress Carolyn Messina, who plays Weezy, one of June’s talking goats that narrate the play –
yes, it’s that kind of magical realist theatre – was part of the original production and has been
close with playwright Audrey Cefaly since high school.

And Virginia Newcomb, who plays June, actually grew up in Alabaster, Alabama, and brings a
natural authenticity to the show.

“That town is very much in her body and in her spirit,” Stangl says. “We don’t have a dialect
coach. I mean, we don’t need one. The actresses are kind of amazing. They’re just really talented and good and smart and charismatic and funny. It’s been kind of a feast in the room.”

Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly plays at the Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles,
CA, 90029 open until March 30, Fri-Sat at 8pm, Sun at 2pm. PWYC
Mondays 8pm. Tickets available at https://www.fountaintheatre.com/events/alabaster

Playwright Samuel D. Hunter has long been attracted to telling stories about people that society often overlooks. So it’s fitting that his play “Clarkston,” getting its West Coast premiere this month from Los Angeles’s Echo Theater digs into the lives of two gay nightshift workers at a small town Costco.

Chris is a frustrated wannabe writer stuck taking care of his meth-addicted mom in the dead-end town of Clarkston, Wash. Jake is a distant relative of the explorer William Clark who’s fled his Connecticut hometown after receiving a fatal medical diagnosis. When they’re assigned to the same night shift in the warehouse, their mutual attraction grows into something more complicated. 

For Echo Theater Artistic Director Chris Fields, who is also directing the production, “Clarkston” is a love story about how American consumerism affects our ability to connect.

“Costco for me is a very difficult place. It’s sort of about gross consumerism. You go into Costco and after five minutes, you’re like, ‘There’s nothing wrong with getting 14 steaks,’” Fields says. “I think [Hunter] puts it in there because it’s really a symbol of consumerism and alienation. Now imagine being in Costco at night under the fluorescents, moving pallets of boxes of gargantuan size.” 

To prepare himself and his actors to inhabit the lives of Costco workers, Fields says he took his team to the big box store to do on-the-ground research.

“We did a field trip to Costco. We found a warehouse manager, the floor manager, and it’s like, oh, there are people that work here. And you know what? They were great. They were lovely. They couldn’t have been more charming and sweet and helpful.”

Fields says the Costco staff even gave them pallets to use on stage for that extra bit of authenticity.

“I tried to get them to give us a pallet jack, and they were like, ‘uhh …’” he says.

Hunter is best known for his play “The Whale,” which was turned into the Academy Award-winning film of the same name. 

But in contrast to the often dreary and miserable tone of that play, Fields says “Clarkston” finds great joy in the lives of its protagonists.

“There’s not only joy in the play, but one of the things that makes it so emotional is these boys get to be gay with each other,” Fields says. 

Playing the graveyard-shift lovers are LA Drama Critics Circle Award-winner Michael Sturgis and newcomer Sean Luc Rogers, a recent Yale graduate that Fields expects will make a big splash soon. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if in a couple years he couldn’t work with us because he’s in Vancouver shooting a series for the rest of his life,” he says.

They’re joined by Tasha Ames, fresh off her own LA Drama Critics Circle Award win for last year’s “Do You Feel Anger?”, playing Chris’s drug-addicted mom.

“They’re heartbreakers, you know? They come on stage and their hearts are open,” Fields says.

Fields hopes that despite the enormous struggles the characters are dealing with in “Clarkston,” audiences will leave feeling like there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

“You know, it’s hard. To get a car with gas that costs too much money, you can’t go out to eat anymore because it’s so expensive, we might be electing a fucking dictator in the study.

“It’s hard, and I think what I want them to come away with is that feeling when the good guys win. It can work out and it’s really kind of wonderful to be you, despite the fact that we make messes all the time,” Fields says.

‘Clarkston’ opens Sept 14 and runs Friday, Saturday, and Monday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 4 p.m. at Atwater Village Theater, 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles. Tickets are available here.

The hyper-masculine world of Hollywood stunt performers might not be the place you’d expect to find queer romance, but Rogue Artists Ensemble Artistic Director Sean Cawelti says he found the idea for his company’s new show, “Happy Fall: A Queer Stunt Spectacular,” among the real-life stories of stunt performers who had to remain closeted on the job.

Cawelti says he fell in love with the world of stunt performance by watching the live stunt shows at Universal Studios as a kid. 

“I started researching the stunt community and actually found articles about stunt performers that were wrestling with their identity and their sexuality and how they were treated and mistreated in the industry because of that,” he says.

Based on his idea, Rogue Artists engaged playwright Lisa Sanaye Dring to develop a script inspired by conversations with real stunt performers in the industry.  

The result is a multimedia spectacle that aspires to be a true stunt show in the vein of those old Universal Studios shows and a compelling love story about closeted performers.

“The play itself is a stunt show. It has all the things you would expect. It has audience participation, it has really amazing physical performances. And then also there are multiple camera feeds that allow us to create essentially on-the-fly cinematic experiences for the audience so that we can record things and play them back and manipulate them,” Cawelti says.

And the stunts serve as more than mere spectacle – they’re an integral part of building out the love story between aging pro Clay (played by David Ellard) and up-and-comer Felix (played by Kurt Kanazawa).

“Clay represents old school stunt world. He’s been doing this for a long time. His body is starting to get tired and is breaking down, and he loves what he does. His entire identity is baked into this notion of being this kind of invincible action hero. And he is incredibly closeted and has never been able to live fully and authentically in his life,” Cawelti says.

“And Felix, he’s new to Hollywood and is coming to the industry with a real hunger and zest, but also is living more authentically. Felix meets Clay and understands in the coded way that we often can understand that Clay is a part of Felix’s community.” 

The play arrives at a timely moment, as stunt performers have been pulled increasingly into the spotlight with the recent Hollywood rom-com “The Fall Guy,” and, for Hollywood insiders, increased attention on stunt issues in the recent SAG contract negotiations and the ongoing debate about whether stunt performances and coordination should be recognized at the Academy Awards.

Cawelti thinks the increasing attention on stunt performances stems from audience disillusionment over Hollywood’s increasing reliance on CGI to sell action.

“Maybe we are fatigued with this kind of CGI superhero cartoon disembodiment that we find in cinema so much. There’s something about seeing a real person do a real thing that feels real to the eye and has a real sense of gravity,” he says.

And, of course, that sense of gravity is amplified when you’re watching real performers on a stage in front of you, a sensation that can’t truly be copied on screen.

“A live stunt show is such an oddly surreal place that makes a really exciting playground for an experience like this,” Cawelti says. “If it was on film, there’s such a distance that’s placed where we can’t actually go into the audience, we can’t actually look at you in the eyes and talk with you and ask you questions about what you’re feeling.”

To enhance that live theatrical experience, Rogue Artists is also offering a series of complementary pre- and post-show events, including talkbacks and workshops.

“We have a really exciting slate of community programming that’s complementing the performance. You can learn stunt performance, you can take a workshop on puppetry, have conversations with the composer,” Cawelti says.

“Happy Fall: A Queer Stunt Spectacular” by Rogue Artists Ensemble plays at Renberg Theatre at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, 1125 N McCadden Place, Aug. 17-Sept. 8, Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. Full details and tickets at rogueartists.org.

Nearly 100 years before Challengers lit up screens with its teasing story of a bisexual love triangle, Noel Coward scandalized Broadway and London stages with his daring play Design for Living, that challenged norms around monogamy and sexuality with its frank portrayal of a three-way relationship. And now, Odyssey Theatre is bringing the queer classic back to the stage for a summer run from July 6-Aug 25 at the West Los Angeles venue.

Design for Living follows a trio of artists – playwright Leo, painter Otto, and designer Gilda – as they navigate an ever-shifting triangular relationship in the 1930s. It’s full of the characteristic wit that’s made Noel Coward one of the twentieth century’s most-produced comedic playwrights, but the play was considered so scandalous at the time that it the official censor of London theatre banned productions of it for six years.

Coward was inspired to write it by the open and polyamorous relationship of his longtime friends, the Broadway stars Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontane, with whom he starred in the original Broadway production.  

And while polyamory and bisexuality are hardly the taboo topics they were during the Great Depression, director Bart DeLorenzo says open and fluid relationships still challenge many people’s perceptions of propriety.

“I wouldn’t say that’s the last taboo, but it’s unusual. You see people struggling with their families and there are all sorts of heteronormative pressures,” DeLorenzo says. “I do think there are people in the world who aren’t happy themselves and don’t want other people to be happy.

“I don’t know why people want to regulate the intimate details of other people’s lives, but for some reason there’s a desire to do that. And so, I don’t think the issues of this play have really gone away.”

DeLorenzo says the play documents an important point in Coward’s life, shortly after his rise to fame, as he tries to navigate the limited opportunities he had to pursue romance and happiness as a gay man. 

“He’s writing it in the 1930s, and he’s had his first bath of success, and I think he’s looking around at the world and trying to figure out what kind of life he wants to live,” De Lorenzo says. “What’s funny about the play is that he will go on to invent a kind of a new family and a new way to live, not exactly like the play but similar. But he had no idea that that’s where he was headed.”

So even though the play is a hilarious comedy, DeLorenzo says it’s still one of the most serious dramatic works Coward wrote.

“I think it’s a look for new models because there should be more choices. There should be more possibilities. And I think it really helps to have models of people who have found other ways to be happy,” he says. “It’s about trying to find a way to live the life that you want to live, even when Society doesn’t appreciate it.”

One luxury this production has over the original Broadway production – and perhaps even over modern Hollywood fare exploring polyamory – is its freedom to bring the homoerotic sides of the polyamory polygon.

“There’s a very sexy and romantic scene between the two men. It’s a very funny scene. But I think it’s a very sexy scene but between them,” DeLorenzo notes of his production. “That’s what’s interesting about the play too. Is that Coward gives the biggest scene in the play to the two men. There’s a very nice seduction of a hetero couple in the piece but in a way, I think the gay couple gets the best romantic scene.”

Design for Living plays at the Odyssey Theatre July 6-Aug 25. 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90025. Tickets $20–$37, Fridays Pay-What-You-Can. OdysseyTheatre.com