Morna Martell

HOME FRONT – Burbank

In 1945, after news broke that World War II was over, photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt took the famous picture of a sailor jubilantly kissing a woman in Times Square. “I wondered what their lives would have been like had they been an interracial couple?” asks playwright Warren Leight. “As the son of a jazz musician, I grew up around many interracial couples, and I saw early on the pressures on their lives and marriages.” In his challenging play, Austin Highsmith Garces and C.J. Lindsey star as a white woman and an African American soldier who fall in love the night World War II ends. Jonathan Slavin plays a gay army veteran modeled after Leight’s uncle. Says director Maria Gobetti, “Racism was rampant in the military during World War II. At the time, it was still illegal to marry outside one’s race… Have things really changed all that much?” At Victory Theatre Center, 3324 W. Victory Blvd, Burbank. For tickets: 818-841-5421 or www.thevictorytheatrecenter.org

INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP – Beverly Hills 

Katie Forgette’s dramedy tells the story of an Irish-Catholic family in the 1970’s – a time when public ridicule in a close-knit, hermetically sealed Catholic parish was the ultimate nightmare. Linda, the 19-year-old narrator, is trying to re-enact the most turbulent day of her life, but her family keeps insisting on telling their side of the story. When Linda tells her younger sister about the birds and the bees, the conversation is overheard by the parish priest – and he confronts the family about “the corruption of their eldest daughter’s soul.” Actors Alison Blanchard, Milda Dacys, Danika Hughey, Ivy Khan and Patrick Skelton are directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky. Produced for Theatre 40 by David Hunt Stafford. In Reuben Cordova Theatre, 241 S. Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills. Free parking. RESERVATIONS: (310) 364-0535 and ONLINE TICKETING: www.theatre40.org

DO YOU FEEL ANGER – Atwater

In this comedy by Mara Nelson–Greenberg, the #MeToo movement meets cancel culture. When Sofia is hired as an empathy coach at a debt collection agency, she finds she has her work cut out for her. These employees can barely identify what an emotion is, much less have compassion for others. As they stumble towards enlightenment, the dynamics of their seemingly blithe workplace culture become increasingly unsettling. Says director Halena Kays, “Female trauma in America is a really tricky thing to make a comedy out of, but Mara has managed to make the subject both funny and profound.” Cast includes Paula Rebelo, Tasha Ames, Rich Liccardo, Casey Smith, Napoleon Tavale and Charlotte Gulezian. Six name actors make cameo appearances, one each week of the run. A Circle X production at Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles. TKTS: (323) 644-1929 or www.circlextheatre.org.

CAPERUCITA ROJA – Los Angeles

Theatre West’s STORYBOOK THEATRE is presenting the Lloyd J. Schwartz children’s musical “Little Red Riding Hood” and decided to add some performances in Spanish. My friend’s 4-year-old daughter Sophia is bilingual in English and Spanish, so I invited her and her mother to join me one Saturday. I don’t understand Spanish but enjoyed the show – especially Oscar Nava’s mischievous Wolf – and I could see Sophia was enraptured throughout. Her comment: “My favorite character was La Caperucita Roja. Because I liked her costume and that she was trying to get away from the wolf. I thought that the wolf was very sneaky!” Cast: Natalia Gonzalez, Zahaira Curiel, Samantha Barrios, Amelia Fiore, Melodee Fernandez, Oscar Nava, Mario Rocha, Ben Hernandez and Gabriel Gonzalez. Spanish translation by Laine Schermer. Only performance is on Saturday, January 21. At Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles. Tkts: (323) 851-7977 or www.theatrewest.org