Theatrical shows registered on the Better Lemons calendar!
For more shows visit our Calendar.
For shows with a LemonMeter rating, visit our LemonMeter page.
Invisible Tango
“Magic sensation Helder Guimarães returns to the Geffen with the world premiere of his one-man show, Invisible Tango. Directed by legendary film producer and director Frank Marshall (Jurassic World, Indiana Jones, Goonies, Back to the Future), Invisible Tango explores the nature of secrets and how far we are willing to go to discover them. In the midst of the information age and our culture of over-sharing, Guimarães challenges our interaction with the unknown and explores how we can embrace the magic of wonder and mystery. Guimarães last amazed and charmed Geffen audiences in the smash hit Nothing to Hide, the two-man magic show that extended four times before transferring to New York. ”
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SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
“The Tap-Happiest Show Ever! GOOD MORNING TO YOU! LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS & McCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT (celebrating its 25th Silver Anniversary at the theatre) are thrilled to present SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, based on the greatest movie musical of all time with screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green and songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. The fresh new production will be directed & choreographed by Spencer Liff (Emmy nominee for TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and Broadway’s Head Over Heels, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Falsettos), associate director is Cynthia Ferrer (original “Kathy Selden” in the first National Tour of Singin’ in the Rain) with musical direction by Keith Harrison.”
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EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED
“ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the fourth show of its 40th Anniversary Season, the Southern California premiere of the stunning and wildly popular novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED, adapted by Simon Block and directed by Jonathan Fox.
Jonathan, a young Jewish-American writer, travels to Ukraine to seek out the woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He hires Alex, a young Ukrainian tour guide who takes him on a hilarious road trip in search of the woman’s village. Along the way, they confront haunting memories as Jonathan and Alex’s histories become entwined.”
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Moving On: The One-Acts 2019
“Moving On: The 2019 One Acts features a mix of established playwrights and exciting, emerging younger talent.”
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Boxing Lessons
“A ferociously dark and hilarious new comedy by award-winning playwright John Bunzel (63 Trillion, Death of a Buick). When a famous writer dies under mysterious circumstances, family and friends gather in his cabin on a remote island in the Puget Sound to box up his belongings. As they go through the clutter dad left behind, hidden family secrets come to light — and they come to realize just how much they both despise and love one another.”
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A Bad Year for Tomatoes
“Fed up with the pressures and demands of her acting career, the famous Myra Marlowe leases a house in the tiny Vermont hamlet of Beaver Haven, and settles down to write her autobiography. She is successful in turning aside the offers pressed on her by her long-time agent, but dealing with her nosy, omnipresent neighbors is a different matter. In an attempt to shoo them away, and gain some privacy, Myra invents a mad, homicidal sister – who is kept locked in an upstairs room, but who occasionally escapes long enough to scare off uninvited visitors. The ruse works well, at first, but complications result when the local handyman conceives an affection for “Sister Sadie’ (really Myra in a fright wig) and some of the more officious ladies decide it is their Christian duty to save the poor demented Sadie’s soul. In desperation, Myra announces that her imaginary sibling has suddenly gone off to Boston – which brings on the sheriff, and the suspicion of murder!”
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Twisted Broadway
“’Twisted Broadway’ promises to be an irreverent afternoon offering your favorite Broadway tunes turned upside down and inside out…Theatre LA Cares, LA’s newest producing company, is committed to empowerment, healing, and dignity, and robustly supports Time’s Up so that someday soon no one will ever have to say, “me, too” again. Time’s Up is a unified call for change from women in entertainment and for women everywhere. From movie sets to farm fields to boardrooms alike, Time’s Up envisions nationwide leadership that reflects the world in which we live.”
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The First Wives Fight Club
“A musical parody of the cult film classics “The First Wives Club” and “Fight Club” starring Raja, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Ginger Minj, Peaches Christ, and more. Written and directed by Varla Jean Merman & Peaches Christ.”
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Duet for One
“A famous concert violinist is stricken with a disease which necessitates her retirement from the stage and which threatens her marriage as well. The play is structured as a series of interviews between the violinist and her psychiatrist in which she tries to cope with her illness and its effect on her life. Featuring Mia Christou and Howard Leder. ”
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Brain Problems
“A world premiere comedy by Malcolm Barrett, directed by Bernardo Cubría. After being diagnosed with ‘brain problems,’ a cynical man copes with his life-threatening condition by retreating into his imagination.”
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The Fantasticks by Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt
“The Fantasticks by Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt
Produced through special arrangement with Music Theatre International
“Try To Remember” a time when this romantic charmer wasn’t enchanting audiences around the world. The Fantasticks is the longest-running musical in the world and with good reason: at the heart of its breathtaking poetry and subtle theatrical sophistication is a purity and simplicity that transcends cultural barriers. The result is a timeless fable of love that manages to be nostalgic and universal at the same time.”
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Dying for Our Voices
“Our journalists are in danger – being forsaken by their people and slaughtered for their pursuit of the truth. As a multidisciplinary piece performed in three different languages, Dying for Our Voices explores that pursuit’s high costs, its global impacts, and personal consequences. ”
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The End of Sex
“It’s Nancy’s birthday. Her daughter and son-in-law come to take the parents out to celebrate. But when new desires and old frustrations collide over dinner, all four slide into a tense standoff as Nancy questions her own collusion with the sexual agreements and power dynamics within her own marriage. Using cutting humor and venturing into tricky territory, The End of Sex (Or What’s Wrong With Mom) wrestles with how sexual behavior encourages and creates power arrangements – even in consensual relations.”
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Valley of the Dolls
“An all-star benefit reading of Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls, directed by Richard Hochberg. Susann’s infamous tale of cutthroat careerism, wild sex, and fierce female protagonists will be on hilarious display for two nights only. The cast features (in alphabetical order) Steve Bluestein, Wilson Cruz, Joely Fisher, Mo Gaffney, Robert Gant, Tom Lenk, Greg Louganis, Alec Mapa, Laraine Newman, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Gordon Thomson, Joan Van Ark, Bruce Vilanch, Marissa Jaret Winokur.
One hundred percent of the proceeds will benefit Alcott Center for Mental Health Services and the Los Angeles LGBT Center.”
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Wild Son: The Testimony of Christian Brando
“Set under the white-hot glare of Hollywood and Celebrity, “Wild Son: The Testimony of Christian Brando” tells the story of Marlon Brando’s troubled, headline-making son…in his own words. Written by Champ Clark and featuring John Mese as Christian, this 59-minute one-act–based on personal interviews conducted by Clark and populated by the likes of Jack Nicholson, Michael Jackson, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Anjelica Huston, Robert Blake and others–is, most importantly, the story of father and son.”
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Argonautika
“In this fresh retelling of the classic Greek myth, Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece has been reframed for our time. Join the fantastic voyage and encounter Hercules, Hera, sirens, centaurs, and more—familiar mythological figures imbued with unexpected character and depth. Discover humor, love, and the unimaginable as Tony Award® winner Mary Zimmerman reveals the humanity in the most monstrous of creatures in this unforgettable journey for the ages.”
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Noises Off
“One of ANW’s most beloved production is back: Your favorites are ready to rein in the chaos of this joyfully out-of-control British farce about the auspiciously titled play-within-a-play Nothing On. Step behind the curtain and meet the under-rehearsed and over-worked cast and crew with a penchant for drama more personal than professional. As the production progresses, the bumbling cast brings down the house—literally!
Better Lemons readers receive $5 off with the discount code ANWLemon when you purchase your tickets.”
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Let’s Write a Musical
“David Hamilton decides to write a romantic musical comedy with his wife to cheer himself up when he’s diagnosed with cancer. “Let’s Write a Musical “ is the musical they wrote together with the story of their cancer journey weaving through it. Based on a true story.”
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SkyPilot Runway – A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Divorce
“A Funny Thing …, written by Jeff Gould and directed by Margaret Starbuck, introduces three couples, all going through difficult divorces, as they anxiously and frustratingly wait in a room at a courthouse for an appointment with a mediator. Conversations begin, details of each of their troubled marriages are revealed and they eventually learn more about themselves and their relationships in just hours than they have in years of matrimony.”
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Maroo Village the Musical
“In the Korean language with English Subtitles. In the summer of 2014, Ezekiel Drama Ministry’s third project, the musical Maroo Village opened. The musical explores the definition of church and defines it as not a place, but the people themselves. Maroo Village was a success that broke records leading to multiple encore shows in the same year. The Ezekiel is now opening a remastered version that takes on the original 1hr 20 minutes of the musical Maroo Village to a full-length 2-hour musical…this creative Christian musical Maroo Village pertains to 20 actors [and]…There are 24 songs from various genres including Korean folk songs, opera, classic musical, retro rock, hip hop, and waltz.”
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WORKING 2020
“The Actors Gym, in association with the Whitefire Theatre, present WORKING 2020. Created and written by Academy Award winner Bobby Moresco (Crash, Million Dollar Baby), and members of the Actors Gym, produced by Bryan Rasmussen, Bobby Moresco, and Steven Christopher Parker. Working 2020 explores what work means to different people in different circumstances in the U.S. today, adding new characters, and this time focusing on the sadly relevant slide from middle to working class.”
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LET ME HEAR YOU WHISPER & THE STRANGEST KIND OF ROMANCE
“The Group Rep presents two unusual one-acts, Paul Zindel’s LET ME HEAR YOU WHISPER directed by Katelyn Ann Clark, and Tennessee Williams’ THE STRANGEST KIND OF ROMANCE directed by JC Gafford. LET ME HEAR YOU WHISPER concerns a cleaning lady working in a mysterious lab where experiments are being conducted on mammals. Drawn to one of the subjects, she is shocked when she learns the gentle creature’s fate is in danger. In THE STRANGEST KIND OF ROMANCE the proprietress of a boarding house tells a potential tenant that one of the former tenants left his cat behind. This highly unusual piece is peopled with fascinating, strongly-opinionated characters, and someone falls in love with … the cat.”
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Sand Moon
“What does it mean to love someone? What do we do when that person becomes unrecognizable? When a brother and sister start bringing their girlfriends on family vacations, a house built on secrets begins to shift. The push and pull of the ones we love gives us one of two options: resist or relent? WORLD PREMIERE.”
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Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz
“A vibrant, joyful family-friendly musical comedy that follows a grown-up Dorothy on the quest to return to OZ… Based on characters created by L. Frank Baum, the originator of the first fourteen Oz books … Follow the escapades of Dorothy and her companions along the windy road to that mystical place where dreams really do come true and nothing is as it seems…along the way, help Dorothy save her family farm, do battle with the vain but glorious Queen Coo-ee-oh, join forces with a vagabond princess who is revolting (although she doesn’t look it), meet a magical Patchwork Girl, a Rainbow Maiden and help to set free the King of the Rainbow, face such looming monsters as war, drought and mortgages, learn a great deal about the world around us, and even a little bit about ourselves.”
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Willy’s Lil Virgin Queen
“Winner of the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival Encore Producer’s Award. Willy’s Lil Virgin Queen illuminates one woman’s journey to discover strength and empowerment and triumph over tragedy as she finds her true power through the words of a playwright; William Shakespeare. This urgently-paced, hilarious and dark coming-of-age-story dives deeply into the many roles that a woman plays on her road from girlhood to womanhood, and it does not shy away from the darker aspects of finding one’s own purpose in a world that tells girls to shut-up and look pretty. As was true for the original Virgin Queen Elizabeth, in a man’s world it takes a woman to rule herself, and one woman in particular to learn that that within the words of the greatest playwright in history there is truth and within every woman there is a queen.”
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(mostly)musicals: KEEP THE CHANGE
“(mostly)musicals returns to Upstairs at Vitello’s with it’s 32nd edition on April 8th with a cabaret you’ll flip for! Join music director Gregory Nabours and a stellar cast of singers from LA and Broadway for an exciting evening featuring songs about changing your mind, changing the world, changing your clothes, and maybe just spare change!”
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Disrobed
“The producers of the HFF16 immersive hit, Love the Body Positive, are back with the full length comedy, “Disrobed: Why so clothes-minded?” The play has been adapted and updated by Steven Vlasak (HFF18’s Nights at The Algonquin Roundtable) from the British naturist classic, “Barely Proper” by Tom Cushing. It’s Meet The Parents with a twist! Skye is about to introduce her conservative boyfriend to her family. But she’s never told him that she and her family are all nudists! Will their relationship survive? Once again, this immersive theatre experience requires the audience to be in their birthday suits. Don’t forget to bring a clothes bag and a towel to sit on! All photography is prohibited and all cellphones must be turned off and stored in the clothes bag upon entering the venue”
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Peter and the Starcatcher
“Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s best-selling novels, including marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair… and the bonds of friendship, duty and love. ”
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Scarlett Fever
“In 1936, producer David O’Selznick began a 2 year search to find an unknown to play Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. The story unfolds in 10 moments incorporating stylized movement, dance, song, original text, several suitcases, and the great Scarlett dress. All accompanied by live percussion.”
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Homeward LA 2019
“Homeward L.A. 2019 is a program consisting of eleven monologues based on stories of people who’ve experienced homelessness. Actors of Theatre 40 will perform the show, directed by one of Theatre 40’s regular directors, Jules Aaron. Proceeds benefit Midnight Mission.”
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Old Jews Telling Jokes
“’Old Jews Telling Jokes,’ which has been called a ‘pickle-barrel full of giggles,’ showcases five actors in a revue-type production that pays tribute to and reinvents classic jokes of the past and present. It celebrates the rich tradition of Jewish humor and ‘all the rabbis, complaining wives, fed-up husbands, patience-challenged physicians, gossiping ladies, and competitive men’ populating it. The humor is suggestive and even raunchy as the ‘Old Jews’ make fun of themselves as well as followers of every other religion … Warning: adult (bawdy) humor. Not for audiences under 21.”
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WHAT I DID FOR A JOB
“In What I Did for… a Job, J. Elaine humorously reveals her unique approach to auditioning and what it took to book 10 Broadway Shows. “I had to learn to break the “rules” in order to be noticed. Many of my audition pieces were practically cabaret acts so I put them in a show.” says Broadway veteran. J. Elaine was last seen playing ‘Alexi Darling” in RENT: LIVE . “I’ve also added some inside scoop about doing RENT: LIVE.”
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Crime and Punishment
“This award-winning adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s famous novel is a thrilling 90-minute psychological inquiry into the troubled mind of a murderer. Dive into the greatest crime story ever written, a tale of murder, motive and redemption that plumbs the depths of the human soul. Written for only three actors, Crime and Punishment stars Michael Trevino (CW’s Roswell, New Mexico; The Vampire Diaries) as Raskolnikov, with Lola Kelly (Circle X, Chance Theatre, SCR, REDCAT) and Brian Wallace (End of the Rainbow at La Mirada, Cash on Delivery at the El Portal) playing all the other characters. ‘Engrossing theater… will banish any bad memories you might have of trying to struggle through Dostoyevsky’s book’”
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Yes. No. Maybe.
“What would you do for a million dollars? What would you do for someone you love? Can we ever be certain that we’ll NEVER do something like have sex for money or career advancement? Thorne & his wife Fleur find themselves in a modern day twist of the Indecent Proposal scenario. Yes, people are being targeted by sexual predators, but what about the people who consciously use sex to get ahead? “Yes. No. Maybe.” examines the moral implications of the ways in which we all prostitute ourselves to advance our careers, improve our bank balances, stay in power, keep a roof over our heads, or get whatever it is we feel we ‘need’ to survive, be happy or feel validated … ‘Yes. No. Maybe.’ is a dramedy of manners for an adult audience unafraid to consider the possibility that their morals may not be as set in stone as they’d like to believe…Comedy, drama and a splash of contemporary dance merge to create a unique theatrical experience.”
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Cirque du Giselle
“Giselle is an ethereal, “Fringe Festival” contemporary take on the classic ballet. Giselle, a sickly peasant girl , falls in love with, and subsequently dies of a broken heart after discovering her love is actually betrothed to another. A dark and tragic love story of deceit, heartbreak, consequences, and redemption – where love eventually triumphs over vengeance from the grave and beyond. Brought to life on the stage in a swirl of aerial and cirque magic!”
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Octopi Wall Street
“Octopi Wall Street addresses the subject of climate change through a series of vignettes told from the perspective of both human and non-human entities (think drunk birds, drag queen barley, algae, and a glacier). The play is based on extensive research of mainstream media articles dealing with off-beat aspects of global warming and climate change. The opening monologue of the play recently won a nationally recognized award at the Region 8 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival as its 2019 Monologue Selection.”
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