Best Los Angeles Plays Running in 2024

The Importance of Being Earnest, written by Oscar Wilde and directed by Gregg T. Daniel, runs at the Antaeus Theatre Company’s Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale. When bachelors Jack and Algernon both create alter egos named “Ernest” the lies quickly spiral into chaos, hilarity, cucumber sandwiches, and Victorian handbags.

Running July 14 to August 19, 2024 at the Antaeus Theatre Company in Glendale.

Clue, a new comedy written by Sandy Rustin with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price, is based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn and includes original music by Michael Holland. Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget! Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Based on the cult 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, Clue is the ultimate whodunit that will leave you dying of laughter and keep you guessing until the final twist. The New York Times said, “the show is a very fun, very silly 1950s-set whodunit that strikes some contemporary parallels on the way to its grand reveal.”

Running July 30 – August 25, 2024 at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre. 

The Brothers Size, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Bijan Sheibani, plays at the Geffen Playhouse in a co-production with The Shed. Drawing from the rich tradition of the Yoruba people of West Africa, The Brothers Size is a modern-day fable about two brothers in the Deep South. Ogun, the elder brother, embodies hard work and reliability, while Oshoosi, formerly incarcerated, is seemingly carefree and unpredictable. Their relationship is tested when the charismatic Elegba arrives, tempting Oshoosi back to his old habits. As the brothers wrestle with loyalty, freedom, and duty, their humanity is revealed through a raw and heartfelt exploration of the bonds of brotherhood.

Running August 14 – September 8, 2024 at the Geffen Playhouse.

Dragon Lady, written and performed by Sara Porkalob and directed by Andrew Russell, plays at the Geffen Playhouse. On the eve of her 60th birthday, Maria Porkalob Sr. fires up her new karaoke machine to regale her granddaughter Sara with her astonishing life story. As a lounge singer who escaped a gangster-controlled nightclub in Manila to become a free-range mother of five in the United States, Maria is a matriarch not to be trifled with. Broadway star and storyteller Sara Porkalob embodies dozens of characters in a trigenerational tour-de-force performance that fuses killer karaoke with laugh-out-loud comedy to tell her family’s incredible origin story.

Running September 4 – October 6, 2024 at the Geffen Playhouse.

Waiting for Godot, written by Samuel Beckett and directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett, plays at the Geffen Playhouse and is produced in association with Gare St Lazare Ireland. As Vladimir and Estragon wait and wait for the arrival of the elusive Godot, a cast of mysterious misfits interrupt their endless vigil in Samuel Beckett’s tragi-comic masterpiece that has captivated audiences for decades. Timeless and multi-layered, Waiting for Godot changed the course of contemporary drama and remains as resonant and riveting as ever. Gare St Lazare Ireland, “the unparalleled Beckett champions” according to the New York Times, bring their wit and skill to what promises to be a Godot for the ages featuring Conor Lovett (I’ll Find You, Versailles) and Rainn Wilson (Thom Pain, The Office).

Running November 6 – December 15, 2024 at the Geffen Playhouse.

Noises Off, written by Michael Frayn and directed by Anna D. Shapiro, plays at the Geffen Playhouse in a co-production with Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Doors slam, sardines fly, and trousers drop in Michael Frayn’s side-splitting British farce about a theater company desperately trying to get their act together. Both onstage and backstage, chaos reigns for a troupe of floundering actors whose forgotten lines, misplaced props, and steamy romantic entanglements make it nearly impossible for the show to go on. An uproarious love letter to the theater, Noises Off is a peek behind the curtain—where everything that can go wrong, does!

Running January 29 – March 2, 2025 at the Geffen Playhouse.  

Twelfth Night, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Armin Shimerman, is produced by the Antaeus Theatre Company. Separated from her twin brother in a shipwreck, Viola is forced to make her own way in the kingdom of Illyria - where, disguised as a man, she discovers unrequited passion, double-crossings, hilarity, and yellow stockings.

Twelfth Night plays from February 9, 2025 to March 17, 2025.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is written by Jack Thorne, directed by John Tiffany, with a story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany. When Harry Potter’s head-strong son Albus befriends the son of his fiercest rival, Draco Malfoy, it sparks an unbelievable new journey for them all—with the power to change the past and future forever. Prepare for a mind-blowing race through time, spectacular spells, and an epic battle, all brought to life with the most astonishing theatrical magic ever seen on stage. It’s a “marvel of imagination” (The New York Times) that will “leave you wondering ‘how’d they do that?’ for days to come” (People Magazine).

Running February 13 – June 22, 2025 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre.

Furlough’s Paradise, written by A.K. Payne and directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, plays at the Geffen Playhouse. Cousins Sade and Mina used to be inseparable. Now leading very different lives, they return to their childhood town for the funeral of their mother and aunt. While Sade is on a three-day furlough from prison and Mina experiences a brief reprieve from her career and life on the West Coast, the two try to make sense of grief, home, love, and kinship. As the clock ticks down, the cousins grapple with their conflicting memories of the past and their shared hopes for the future. Poetic and theatrical, Furlough’s Paradise explores family dreams of a utopia yet to be realized.

Running April 16 – May 18, 2025 at the Geffen Playhouse.

The Glass Menagerie, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Carolyn Ratteray, is produced by the Antaeus Theatre Company. Tennessee Williams' indelible portrait of the dysfunctional Wingfield family. Fading southern belle Amanda, and her two grown children - aspiring poet Tom and desperately shy Laura - pin their hopes on the long-awaited appearance of a Gentleman Caller in this unsparing study of memory, responsibility, and illusion.

The Glass Menagerie plays from April 27 to June 2, 2025.

The Reservoir, written by Jake Brasch and directed by Shelley Butler, plays at the Geffen Theatre in partnership with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Alliance Theatre.  Josh’s life is a mess. He’s come home to Denver from NYU to get his life together, but can’t manage to stay sober. Desperate for camaraderie, he decides to bring his four lovable grandparents on his road to recovery. He drags them to Jazzercise class. He pressures them into playing memory games. He forces them to eat spinach by the handful. And eventually, when he can no longer help his grandparents, they begin to help him. Served up with outrageous humor and truth, The Reservoir reminds us that sometimes the path forward isn’t the one we expect.

Running June 18 – July 20, 2025 at the Geffen Playhouse.