Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or sign up for our Eat. See. Do. newsletter to get it in your inbox.
Long Beach is fortunate to have so many theater venues to choose from, whether you like musicals, Shakespeare, comedies or dramas.
But if you’d like to get off the beaten track while still staying local, here are three different kinds of theatrical events to consider this weekend.
“In the (Belmont) Heights” block party: In advance of staging Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “In the Heights” next month, Musical Theatre West is throwing a free community party at 4350 E. Seventh St. this Saturday, March 21, from 2 to 5 p.m.
“The event celebrates the vibrant Latinx and Chicanx cultures that help shape Long Beach,” the theater says. “The afternoon will be filled with great visuals and community energy, including salsa dancing led by the CSULB Salsa Club and live music performances throughout the event.”
Besides music and dancing, there will be food such as street tacos and opportunities for hands-on instrument making with musician Martin Espino, interactive art activities and games.
The theater is teaming up with community partners Aquarium of the Pacific, Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA), History Society of Long Beach and Friends of the Long Beach Public Library for the event.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to highlight local culture and preview the spirit of ‘In the Heights’ ahead of its opening at Musical Theatre West,” the theater says.
“Afrique en Cirque” is a unique show by Cirque Kalabanté performing one night only this Saturday, March 21 at 8 p.m. at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St.
Created by Guinean-born multidisciplinary artist and former Cirque du Soleil performer Yamoussa Bangoura, the show highlights “the strength, agility and communal traditions of West African culture in a performance for all ages,” the theater says.
This Long Beach stop on Cirque Kalabanté national tour offers a “rare opportunity” to experience a contemporary circus shaped by West African performance traditions inspired by daily life in Guinea, the theater says.
The show features “gravity-defying acrobatics and human pyramids,” as the theater describes it, set to live Afro-jazz, percussion and kora, a stringed instrument made from a gourd.
And bonus! The theater is offering a special discount of buy three tickets, get one free with code FAMILY4PACK. For tickets and information, visit CarpenterArts.org.
“Crabs in a Bucket”: And finally for something different, though this one is an actual play, it’s a boldly relevant student production by California Repertory, the producing arm of CSULB’s theatre department.
“Equal parts feral comedy and heartbreaking truth,” Cal Rep describes, “‘Crabs in a Bucket’ skewers the grind of ambition with clown-infused chaos, blistering wit and a painfully familiar question: Why do we tear each other down when we could lift each other up?”
Written by Mexican playwright Bernardo Cubría — who calls Los Angeles home and has won several local awards for his work — the show explores ambition and social struggle, with characters trapped in a cycle of competition, sabotage and systemic inequality.
As the title implies, the play features a bucket full of crabs who “claw, curse and scramble for a chance of freedom, only to drag each other down,” the theater says. When a bright-eyed newcomer crashes into their world, “the whole ecosystem cracks wide open.”
The show is co-directed by CSULB alum Carolina Montenegro, who has acted in “General Hospital” and “Teen Wolf: The Movie,” and Turner Munch, founder of a clown comedy group who has directed animated shorts for Mattel, the maker of Barbie.
“With sharp dialogue and strong physical movement, ‘Crabs in a Bucket’ offers a powerful commentary on the pressures that shape our lives,” the theater says, “and challenges audiences to reflect on the complex dynamics of humanity and what it means to succeed.”
California Repertory’s “Crabs in a Bucket” is performing at The Players’ Theatre on the CSULB campus March 18 to 28, with shows daily except Monday at 7:30 p.m., plus 2 p.m. matinees on weekend dates. For tickets and information, visit CSULB.edu.