Best Los Angeles Plays Running in 2025

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.

A bold world premiere comedy from Los Angeles-based playwright, Larissa FastHorse and director Michael John Garcés, about being whoever you want to be, even when it’s not who you are. In her uproarious new comedy, a collision of friends and foes within the non-profit sector sets the stage for a whirlwind of competition, chaos, and comedic revelation. Meet Wynona, the Native American proprietor of N.O.B.U.S.H., and River, her white counterpart at Indigenous Nations Soaring. Their escalating rivalry ensnares colleagues and bystanders, leading to the unraveling of secrets that highlight the absurdities of ambition and authenticity. Amidst the laughter, genuine connections form, emphasizing the value of unexpected paths to success. Fake It Until You Make It takes an absurd look at what defines who we are, and the lengths some people will go through to change it.

Running January 29 to March 9, 2025 at the Mark Taper Forum.

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.

Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel (over 15 million copies sold) is a worldwide phenomenon and opened to critical acclaim on Broadway and the West End and is now captivating audiences around the globe. After a shipwreck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four other companions—a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. What happens next leads them on an edge of your seat unforgettable journey. Told with jaw-dropping visuals, world class, innovative puppetry and exquisite stagecraft, the Broadway and West End sensation Life of Pi creates a visually breathtaking journey that will leave you filled with awe and joy.

Running May 6 - June 1, 2025 at the Center Theater Group's Ahmanson Theatre.

“So…once more… tell me about this Ghost.” That’s how the legendary story begins. But ghosts are tricky things. Especially in a world of madness, murder, and mayhem. A rich entitled Prince goes on a ferocious rampage that will lead to a massacre in the living room. Is he a tragic hero as we’ve often been told? Or a royal blooded serial killer? In this new adaptation we will step into a Shakespearian noir through a forensic investigation of the ultimate crimes of passion. It’s been a half a century since Hamlet was produced at the Taper and next season Tony Award® nominated visionary, Robert O’Hara, who directed the landmark box office hit Slave Play, returns to stage one of the most famous tales ever told.

Running May 28 - July 6, 2025 at the Mark Taper Forum.

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.