{"id":85301,"date":"2025-03-27T09:51:31","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=85301"},"modified":"2025-03-27T09:59:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:59:20","slug":"theater-news-so-much-drama-in-long-beach-this-april-heres-whats-playing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/art\/theater-news-so-much-drama-in-long-beach-this-april-heres-whats-playing","title":{"rendered":"Theater News: So much drama in Long Beach this April; here\u2019s what\u2019s playing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or\u00a0sign up<\/a>\u00a0for our Eat See Do newsletter to get it in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cApril is the cruelest month,\u201d wrote poet T.S. Eliot, but that\u2019s only because there\u2019s so much going on \u2014 especially at Long Beach theaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what\u2019s on stage at a theater near you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Garage Theatre<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the final two weeks of \u201cThe Tragedy Giftshop\u201d at the Garage Theatre, a world premiere play written by Ryan McClary and directed by The Garage co-founder Matthew Anderson highlighting the \u201cintersection of grief and consumerism in modern day America.\u201d It continues through April 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read more about the theater marking its 25th season in a previous column<\/a> in which The Garage co-founder Eric Hamme amusingly reflects, \u201cAnyone who chooses to drive to a little sketchy part of 7th Street and park their car and walk into this little storefront and hand over their money \u2014 it\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Garage Theatre is at 251 E. Seventh St., with metered parking available on surrounding streets. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the theater\u2019s box office 30 minutes before each show or online at <\/i>TheGarageTheatre.org<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

International City Theatre<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in its 40th season, International City Theatre (ICT) is revving up to perform \u201cThe Violin Maker\u201d from April 23 through May 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum and Ronda Spinak, and directed by ICT artistic director caryn desai [sic.], the play is based on \u201cViolins of Hope<\/a>\u201d \u2014 a project by Israeli violin-maker Amnon Weinstein to restore and play violins collected since World War II that belonged to Jewish musicians during the Holocaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The play, which ICT describes as \u201cpowerful and uplifting,\u201d relates the stories behind some of those violins, interwoven with music curated by Dr. Noreen Green of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ICT\u2019s \u201cThe Violin Maker\u201d will perform at the Beverly O\u2019Neill Theater, 330 E. Seaside Way, with shows Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Paid parking is available at garages across from the theater. For tickets, call the box office at 562-436-4610 or visit <\/i>ICTLongBeach.org<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long Beach Playhouse<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comedy is on tap beginning April 5 at the Long Beach Playhouse with Neil Simon\u2019s \u201cGod\u2019s Favorite\u201d \u2014 a 1974 retelling of the biblical story of Job in which a successful businessman\u2019s faith is sorely tested by his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe jokes and tests of faith fly fast and furious as Simon spins a comedy like no other in this hilarious contemporary morality tale,\u201d says the Playhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod\u2019s Favorite\u201d will perform April 5 through May 3 at the Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Free parking is available in the lot behind the theater and surrounding streets. For tickets, call the box office at 562-494-1014 or visit <\/i>LBPlayhouse.org<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long Beach Shakespeare Company<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get lost in a fairy-filled forest with William Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cA Midsummer Night’s Dream\u201d at the Long Beach Shakespeare Company until April 13. Love potions, star-crossed lovers, love triangles, lover\u2019s quarrels and\u2026 a donkey? As they say, what happens in the forest, stays in the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d continues through April 13 at Long Beach Shakespeare Company\u2019s Helen Borgers Theatre, 4250 Atlantic Blvd., with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Metered parking is available on surrounding streets. For tickets call the box office at 562-997-1494 or visit <\/i>LBShakespeare.org<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musical Theatre West<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Musical Theatre West’s upcoming “Into the Woods” is scheduled to perform from March 28 to April 13. Photo courtesy Musical Theatre West.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Visit another kind of forest in Musical Theatre West\u2019s \u201cInto the Woods,\u201d beginning this weekend through April 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With music and lyrics by legendary composer Stephen Sondheim, the musical takes you back to fairy tale characters you learned as a child \u2014 Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack (and his beanstalk), Rapunzel, a baker and his wife \u2014 but gives them the adult \u201creality\u201d spin you\u2019ve learned since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs their desires intertwine, consequences unfold in unexpected ways as the characters explore the complexities of wishes and the responsibility of storytelling,\u201d according to the theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theater also notes that the stories use the original Brothers Grimm versions that are \u201cdarker\u201d and less \u201chappy-ending\u201d than Disney movies, including violence. In other words (having seen it before) this one\u2019s for mom and dad, not the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musical Theatre West\u2019s \u201cInto the Woods\u201d performs March 29 to April 13 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., with shows Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. Paid parking is available in a lot in front of the theater. For tickets and information, call 562-856-1999 or visit <\/i>Musical.org<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adult fairy tales, a 1974 version of the story of Job and a world premier of a play called “The Tragedy Giftshop” are just some of the options in our local theater scene.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":85305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-85301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85301"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85308,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85301\/revisions\/85308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85301"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=85301"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=85301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}