Performing Arts Happenings

 In San Diego, L.A County and New York

These first months of the year are coming in strong. In addition to everything else, companies and events are still taking place, bringing smiles and thoughts to our lives. Here are some events that landed in the From Another Zero inbox. If you would like your event to be considered, please email us. 

San Diego

Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Sugar) and Matt Loehr (Joe). Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Set in Chicago when Prohibition has everyone thirsty for a little excitement, SOME LIKE IT HOT is the “glorious, big, high-kicking” (Associated Press) story of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they catch a cross-country train for the life-chasing, life-changing trip of a lifetime. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw and featuring costume designs by Gregg Barnes—both proud San Diego Junior Theatre alums—this Tony Award-winning duo has made Some Like It Hot the name on everyone’s lips!

Cygnet Theatre Announced the Cast and Creative Team of Other Desert Cities. Performances will run in Old Town from February 5 to March 2

It’s an exciting year for Cygnet as they will be moving to a new space in Liberty Station, where their season 21 will take place this coming September. Titles include Follies, Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, A Christmas Carol, Cygnet’s A Magical Holiday: Christmas at The Joan, Somewhere Over The Border, The Lehman Trilogy, and The SpongeBob Musical.

OnStage Playhouse Presents the San Diego Premiere of Alabaster From February 7 to March 2 in Chula Vista.

Starring Amy Dell, Vic Terry, Ray-Anna Ranae, and Jillian Jones, Alabaster follows the journey of June, a reclusive folk artist scarred by tragedy, and Alice, a world-renowned photographer who specializes in capturing the stories of women with physical and emotional scars. As their paths intertwine, both women confront their pain, vulnerabilities, and the transformative power of art and compassion.

Located in the  Mission Valley Mall at 1640 Camino Del Rio North, Suite 129, San Diego, CA 92108.

Scripps Ranch Theatre Announces the San Diego Premier of WHITE. By James Ijames, the 2022 Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright of Fat Ham. Directed by Yolanda Marie Franklin. Performance dates: February 14 – March 9.

Ivan Hernandez. Photo Courtesy La Jolla Playhouse

3 Summers of Lincoln is a gripping new musical that tells the inspirational story of one of the most important friendships in our nation’s history and a divided country coming together. Summer, 1862. President Abraham Lincoln must find a way to end the Civil War. Enter powerful abolitionist Frederick Douglass. If he can meet Lincoln face to face, he can help the president cement a vision of the future that ends slavery along with the war — all while preserving the Union. Just three meetings took place between the two men — pivotal conversations between two brilliant leaders that shaped the course of history. This is the sixth Playhouse collaboration between Joe DiPietro and Christopher Ashley (including the hit shows Babbitt and Memphis). Composer Crystal Monee Hall and lyricist Daniel J. Watts complete the multi-award-winning creative team. With an epic original score blending gospel, R&B, and powerhouse anthems, 3 Summers of Lincoln is the next unmissable world premiere from La Jolla Playhouse.

Oceanside Theatre Company shared its 2025 lineup. Once on This Island, Latin History for Morons, and Spring Awakening. I have not seen a local production of the last two titles, which is exciting. OTC will also have a variety of exciting events at the historic Sunshine Brooks Theater,

Los Angeles

community leader Nobuko Miyamoto. Photo credit: Theresa Chavez

Students from the Math, Science, and Technology Magnet Academy at Roosevelt High School interviewed four community leaders whose work in social justice movements inspired the creation of these four new student-written short plays that will be fully staged and performed by these students. The teaching artists who mentored students include Carene Rose Mekertichyan, Brandon Rachal, Robert Paterno, Catherine Dee Holly, and Young Theaterworks Program Manager and Lead Teaching Artist Marlene Beltran along with the theater classroom teacher Jo Anna Mixpe Ley, MFA. Beltran and Ley will co-direct the performance.

Carolyn Dunn (Tunica-Choctaw/Biloxi, Mvskoke), Harriette Feliz (Chumash), Zoey Reyes (Dinéh and Chicana), and Jehnean Washington (Yuchi, Seminole, and Shoshone) star as four First American women desperate to find missing friends and relatives in the face of apathetic sheriffs and dwindling clues. Are their loved ones lost? Were they taken? Are they even alive? This moving new play celebrates the power of community as the four women seek answers against all odds. Their roller-coaster journey involves mystery, grief, prayer, and moments of sudden joy.

Kamal Bolden. Photo by Daniel Reichert

Photo courtesy Fly PR.

March 28th through April 13th at Plaza de la Raza’s Margo Albert Theatre.

A brand new iteration of the original theaterwork co-written/directed by mother-son team, Theresa Chavez and Gabriel Garza. Performed in real-time with original music, this brand new iteration of Adobe Punk finds a trio of young musicians squatting in one of L.A.’s oldest adobe homes in early 1980s Bell Gardens. Inspired by the bands X, Bags, and the Minutemen, the group rehearses in preparation for their debut show. Finding respite and repulsion amongst one another, a fire is starting within the group. Will they be able to harness the flame, or will it burn them down? Original songs by Nina Diaz (music) and Chavez (lyrics), and an evocative set and soundscape by Dorothy Hoover and Sage Lewis, respectively. The multi-talented cast features actor/musicians Margarita Brighton, Isaac Cruz, and Sara Runge.

New York

Blue Man Group, original co-founders Chris Wink, Matt Goldman, and Phil Stanton made their triumphant return this month, performing as Blue Men for the first time in years to a sold-out crowd. Their unforgettable performance marked the beginning of a special farewell celebration for the group’s legendary New York residency at the Astor Place Theatre (434 Lafayette Street).

Fans who missed the electrifying show have another chance to witness history as the co-founders will perform again during a special performance on Friday, January 24 at 8:00 PM. Tickets for this highly anticipated event are available now at www.blueman.com

For over 30 years, three bald and blue men have taken millions of people beyond any language barrier, introducing a new imaginative art form through music, comedy, and unexpected elements of surprise. Blue Man Group’s euphoric expression of shared humanity became a cultural icon thanks to the vibrant New York theatre community and the unwavering support for their unique vision.

Blue Man Group’s final performance in New York will take place on February 2. The group remains committed to their unique theatrical spectacles with ongoing residencies in Boston (entering its 30th year), Las Vegas (entering its 25th year), and a new production opening in Orlando in April 2025. 

Thomas Middleditch, Amber Gray, Bill Irwin, Chelsea Yakura-Kurtz, and Jessica Hecht ©Jeremy Daniel

Eureka Day, a play by Jonathan Spector, directed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro (Broadway: August: Osage County), has been extended for the second time. After opening December 16, 2024, to rave reviews, Eureka Day will now run through February 16, 2025, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). Manhattan Theatre Club—Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director and Chris Jennings, Executive Director, were pleased to announce. 

Sam Kissajukian in 300 Paintings © Photo by Carol Rosegg

Vineyard Theatre, in association with Sally Horchow and Matt Ross, announced that due to popular demand Sam Kissajukian: 300 Paintings, has returned to Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15th Street) for six weeks after opening this fall to critical acclaim and sold out audiences.

In 2021, Sydney comedian Sam Kissajukian decided to quit standup, rent an abandoned cake factory, and become a painter. Over the course of a six-month manic episode, he created 300 large-scale paintings, unknowingly documenting his mental state through the process. In this hilarious, fascinating, and wildly original show, Kissajukian brings audiences on a rollercoaster ride that explores the ties between art, mental health, and creativity.

The show is accompanied by a curated exhibition of Sam’s acclaimed artwork in Vineyard Theatre’s lobby spaces, which audiences are invited to tour before and after the show.

300 Paintings was a sold-out hit at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and winner of 8 Fringe Festival Awards in Australia, including the Sydney Fringe Festival Award for Best Comedy and Directors Choice Award. Currently playing until February 23.

Also from MTC, Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, starring two-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters and Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, is presented by MTC in association with Cameron Mackintosh and Daryl Roth. Old Friends will open April 8, 2025 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). Previews begin Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Tickets are on sale at Telecharge.com and at the Samuel J. Friedman box office.

 

The Company of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends in rehearsal at Manhattan Theatre Club © Matthew Murphy

Newly announced to join Peters and Salonga are Jacob Dickey (Broadway & National Tour: Aladdin, Company) and Kyle Selig (Broadway: Water for Elephants, Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon). The production also stars Jasmine Forsberg, Kate Jennings Grant, David Harris, Bonnie Langford, Tony Award winner Beth Leavel, two-time Tony Award nominee Gavin Lee, multiple-time Olivier Award nominee Jason Pennycooke, two-time Olivier Award winner Joanna Riding, Jeremy Secomb, Maria Wirries, and Daniel Yearwood. The company will also include Kevin Earley, Paige Faure, Alexa Lopez, and Peter Neureuther.

 

Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles will present the North American premiere of Old Friends at the Ahmanson Theatre from February 8 through March 9, 2025 in advance of the Broadway premiere.

 

Old Friends is a great big Broadway show born out of Cameron Mackintosh and Stephen Sondheim’s lifetime of friendship and collaboration. The two of them came up with the idea during the pandemic, drawing on the many shows that they had done together in collaboration with their good friend Julia McKenzie. Once theatres reopened in London and New York in the fall of 2021, Mackintosh was able to visit Sondheim again and this new show remained something they continued to discuss; but, sadly, shortly after, Sondheim passed away in November 2021. It fell to Mackintosh to pick up where he and Sondheim left off, collating their notes, and structuring the show that would initially become a spectacular star-studded gala at the Sondheim Theatre in London’s West End in May 2022 to celebrate Sondheim’s life and work, and also raise funds for the newly formed Stephen Sondheim Foundation. The gala won Best Theatre Event at the 2023 WhatsOnStage Awards and was subsequently broadcast on TV by the BBC.