The Playhouse had staged Simon\u2019s \u201cGod\u2019s Favorite<\/a>\u201d last spring, about a man who has it all \u2014 successful business, mansion, family, servants \u2014 until it\u2019s sadly (yet hilariously) taken away by divine forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simon\u2019s humor infuses each act of \u201cPlaza Suite\u201d with laugh-out-loud lines but also common experiences of love, marriage and relationships that evoke compassion, says the theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEach act is brilliantly constructed,\u201d said Sean Gray, the Playhouse\u2019s artistic Director. \u201cEach of the acts has surprises; some are funny, some are sad, but all pull the audience in and hold them there from beginning to end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gray added that the play\u2019s director James Rice is a \u201cmaster\u201d at drawing out emotions. And executive director Madison Mooney said costumes and set design will be \u201cvisually striking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis play exemplifies the saying \u2018If walls could talk,\u2019\u201d Mooney said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s perfect for the month of Thanksgiving. It reminds us to be grateful for what we have and look forward to what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlaza Suite\u201d will play at Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., from Nov. 1 to 29, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., with lower-priced previews on Thursday, Oct. 30 and Friday, Oct. 31. For tickets and information, call the box office at 562-494-1014 or visit <\/i>LBPlayhouse.org<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the Long Beach Landmark Theatre Company<\/b>, housed in the First Congregational Church of Long Beach at 241 Cedar Ave., is in rehearsals to perform Alanis Morissette\u2019s Tony Award-winning \u201cJagged Little Pill: The Musical,\u201d inspired by her 1995 album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set to open next weekend on Nov. 7, the show will have an \u201celectrifying score, powerful choreography and immersive staging that amplifies the show\u2019s themes of identity, addiction, trauma and what it means to be seen,\u201d according to the theater, bringing \u201craw energy and contemporary relevance\u201d to local audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Landmark\u2019s production will be the Southern California premiere of this musical, with its story written by Diablo Cody, who won an Academy Award for the film \u201cJuno\u201d in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The musical centers on the Healys, a white Connecticut family with an adopted Black daughter, whose seemingly perfect lives begin to unravel around Christmas one year, forcing them to confront hidden issues of substance abuse, addiction, gender identity and sexual assault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Director Richard J. Martinez \u2014 who has followed the musical since its original 2018 run through to its national tour \u2014 says the musical is about \u201cfinding your voice when the stakes are highest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEach time, I’ve been moved by its raw honesty and musical power,\u201d Martinez says about seeing the musical. \u201cOur Landmark production harnesses that emotional force and pairs it with bold, human-centered storytelling in one of Long Beach’s most acoustically resonant spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Curtis Heard, the company\u2019s music director, will lead a live band to perform Morissette\u2019s songs, including \u201cYou Oughta Know,\u201d \u201cHand in My Pocket\u201d and \u201cIronic,\u201d along with a few new tunes composed for the musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Landmark is especially pleased that its artistic director, Megan O\u2019Toole, will return to the stage in a leading role, playing mom Mary Jane (MJ) Healy, \u201cthe seemingly perfect suburban mother struggling to hold her family together while navigating her own unspoken crisis,\u201d according to the theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis role pushes me to face the hardest parts of myself and reminds me why I fell in love with this art form in the first place,\u201d O\u2019Toole said. \u201cThe courage it takes to face yourself, and the beauty that comes from telling the truth, even when it\u2019s messy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rest of the locally based, 21-member cast also includes the company\u2019s producing director Jay Dysart as MJ\u2019s husband Steve, who has problems of his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re squeamish about experiencing the show\u2019s difficult themes in full electric intensity, the Landmark is also rolling out a new concept with this production. Since the venue allows light through its stained-glass windows, the company has not offered matinee performances in the past \u2014 but will for this show, in a more accessible \u201cunplugged\u201d version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInspired by Alanis Morissette\u2019s iconic 1999 MTV Unplugged performance<\/a> and the Broadway production\u2019s appearance on NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk Concerts<\/a> \u2014 we\u2019re turning sunlight into an ally,\u201d the company announced last week. \u201cThese special matinees will offer an intimate, acoustic version of the show: scaled-back staging, softer lighting, and a focus on the music and story at its core.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The company says the \u201cunplugged\u201d performances will be gentler for those sensitive to light and sound, and also available for lower ticket prices due to reduced technical demands for staging. But if you can make it to a regular performance, you should, the Landmark emphasizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are investing heavily in a production concept with dynamic lighting and projection in a way never seen before on a Landmark stage,\u201d the company says. \u201cThis show is big and bold and yes\u2026 it rocks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/10\/landmark-megan-otoole-241785-hkbgijwv-118797-nvcYrVLg.jpg\")
<\/a>