Theatre

Beginning August 12, the national touring production of Beauty and the Beast arrives the Pantages Theatre as part of Disney’s first major North American tour of the musical in over two decades.

An enchanted classic that brings beloved characters to life, the production reunites key members of the original Tony Award-winning creative team featuring updated costume designs, dynamic sets, and stage aesthetic, including composer Alan Menken, lyricist Tim Rice, book writer Linda Woolverton, with direction and choreography by Matt West.

The touring company brings a formidable cast to the stage, featuring Kyra Belle Johnson (Mamma Mia) as Belle, Fergie L. Philippe (Hamilton) as the Beast, Stephen Mark Lukas (Funny Girl) as Gaston, and Danny Gardner (Flying Over Sunset) as Lumiere. Together, they breathe fresh energy into the timeless tale while honoring the heart and magic that have captivated audiences for generations.

In addition to iconic showstoppers like “Be Our Guest” and “If I Can’t Love Her,” audiences will recognize the production’s popular hits such as “Gaston” and “Beauty and the Beast” — the Oscar-winning centerpiece ballad sung during Belle and the Beast’s romantic ballroom dance.

Also, an animated film and live-action Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast comes alive again in this limited four-week run through September 6. Whether you’re revisiting a childhood favorite or experiencing it for the first time, this lavish production promises an unforgettable event for the whole family.

Tickets are expected to move quickly—so act fast.

For tickets and more, click here.

Grease is the word, baby! Altadena Music Theatre (AMT), returning to active production following the destruction of its performance space in the devastating fires of January 2025, will be presenting the legendary and beloved Broadway musical Grease this month.  Opening August 6, there will be eight performances only through August 16 at the Mountain View Mausoleum, 2300 Marengo Avenue in Altadena. Temporary production facilities are being constructed for this show and next month’s production of Little Shop of Horrors (stay tuned for more on that!) while the new, permanent AMT home is completed.

The appeal of Grease, which opened on Broadway in 1972 and ran for 3,388 performances, has crossed several generations. The film version, released in 1978, became one of the most successful movie musicals of all time. A celebration of teenage dreams, rebellious hearts, and the magic of first love, audiences will step into the high school hallways of the 1950s where leather jackets shake and ponytails swing to timeless hits like Summer Nights, Greased Lightning, and You’re the One That I Want. 

Directed by Oliver Azcarate with musical direction by Chris Wade, the AMT cast will feature Ruby Lewis, Bryce Ryness, Eric Stanton Betts, Cheyenne Wells, Monica Azcarate, Lauren Barette, Kir Beaux, Eugene Boyd, James Byous, Tara Carbone, Rio Colino, Romy Evans, Jake Ewan, Jalen Friday, Kasey Hentz, Brennan Hilger, Harmony Jones, Nancy Landis, Justin Anthony Long, Chelsea Maker, Robert Manion, and Scarlet Sheppard. Musical theatre under the stars — you can’t beat it!

For more, click here.

This month, Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is presenting a darkly funny, pinche (great word … it’s slang … ask AI!)new play by LA Drama Critics Circle Award-winning playwright Bernardo Cubría. The People of Pompeii is set in Topanga Canyon, the bohemian enclave that is home to both Theatricum and the playwright himself. Weeks after the Palisades fire narrowly spares their Topanga home, Carlos and Vera invite friends over for a celebratory dinner party meant to restore a sense of normalcy. But as the night descends into EDM (electronic dance music)-fueled chaos, the myth of communal harmony begins to crack wide open. The play dissects performative progressivism, gentrification, race, class, and the uneasy social dynamics between longtime canyon residents and wealthy newcomers searching for authenticity as Topanga becomes increasingly trendier and more elite. 

Co-directed by Ellen Geer and Xochitl Romero, the cast includes playwright Bernardo Cubria; Lauren Saffa, Cubria’s real-life wife; Willow Geer, a native Topangan and granddaughter of Theatricum founder Will Geer; Aaron Hendry, a Topanga native and longtime Theatricum company member; Amber Luallen as a glamorous, wellness-obsessed woman, desperate to rule every social kingdom she enters; and Jon Sprik as a “cyber truck bro” simmering with resentment and masculine insecurity beneath his polished exterior.  Opening night is set for August 1, with performances continuing through Oct 4. The People of Pompeii will run in rotation every weekend with Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,Treasure Island, and Waiting in the Wings, all of which opened earlier this summer.

For more, click here.

Tomb Quest, the newest original musical comedy from Team StarKid, combines fantasy role-playing adventure with a warm, emotional story about friendship, grief, and second chances. The action begins in a suburban basement, where five former friends reunite on the night of a sixth friend’s funeral. His final request is unusual: he wants them to finish the role-playing adventure they abandoned together after high school.

What follows is part dungeon crawl, part reunion comedy. Before the first die is cast, the group must navigate old romantic tensions, lingering resentments, forgotten rules, and the awkward realization that adulthood has changed them. Their imaginary quest becomes a way to confront the real choices, disappointments, and relationships they left unresolved.

Tomb Quest will appeal to tabletop gaming enthusiasts, fans of Stranger Things, people who like live musicals, Gen Xers who grew up playing games with friends. It runs at the Colony Theatre in Burbank from July 30 through August 23, 2026, with a professionally filmed version expected on YouTube later in the year.

StarKid has been creating musical comedies and sharing them for FREE on YouTube since 2009. Over the last 17 years, StarKid has produced 15 full length musicals (including parodies of Harry Potter, Disney, Star Wars, Batman, and The Oregon Trail), gone on national concert tours, had #1 albums on the Billboard Charts. Check it all out! 

For more, click here.