UCarmen
Oct. 2-10. South Africa’s Isango Ensemble returns to the Broad’s stage with a reimagining of Georges Bizet’s classic opera as a supernatural story of township lovers. The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica, 310.434.3200. thebroadstage.com
Annie
Opening Oct. 13. The beloved musical about the optimistic redheaded orphan returns with a brand-new incarnation that honors the classic. Original lyricist and director Martin Charnin directs the play, complete with iconic songs like “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life.“ Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 323.468.1770. hollywoodpantages.com
Kansas City Choir Boy
Opening Oct. 15. Courtney Love stars as the lover-muse in this intimate musical, written by and co-starring Todd Almond. His character looks back at their time as small-town lovers before she moved on to bigger thing. Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 213.628.2772. centertheatregroup.org
The Sound of Music
Through Oct. 31. The beloved musical’s lavish new production is directed by Tony winner Jack O’Brien and features familiar classics “My Favorite Things“ and “Edelweiss,“ among others. Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 213.628.2772. centertheatregroup.org
Carmen
Oct. 2-10. Following its extraordinary presentation of The Magic Flute on the Broad Stage last season, the internationally acclaimed Isango Ensemble returns with Carmen. The staging is inspired by Isango co-founder Mark Dornford-May’s movie U-Carmen eKhayelitsha, which won best picture at the Berlin Film Festival in 2005; it uses African-inspired music, dance and song to transform Bizet’s opera into a supernatural story of lovers in a South African township. Combining violence and passionate love, the Carmen story explores the role of a powerful woman in a masculine society and the attraction between abuser and victim. The Isango Ensemble draws artists at all stages of creative development mostly from the townships surrounding Cape Town. 1310 11th St., Santa Monica, 310.434.3200. thebroadstage.com
Carrie—The Killer Music Experience
Oct. 1-Nov. 22. This immersive staging of Carrie takes legendary musical off the stage and puts the audience right in the middle of the action, back in the rooms and hallways of high school and, of course, with a prime seat at the prom. $40+. Los Angeles Theater, 615 S. Broadway, downtown, 888.596.1027. ExperienceCarrie.com
Desdemona
Oct. 8-11. Desdemona is the most fiery angel in Shakespeare’s creation—a radiant and radical woman of independence courage and love. She is now given an astonishing and provocative further voice by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, who reveals secrets in “Othello” that will change forever our reading of the play. In a time outside of time we discover the other African in Shakespeare’s play—Barbary, the nurse who raised Desdemona on African stories and songs, stunningly embodied by the great Malian singer Rokia Traoré. As women’s voices fill the night air, we are in an intimate, spellbinding theatrical séance, both haunted and liberating, that moves in words and music across continents and centuries, connecting Elizabethan England to the Courts of Timbuktu to the future of the race—the human race—on this earth. Production is directed by Peter Sellars. Freud Playhouse, UCLA Campus, Westwood. cap.ucla.edu
Miranda July: “New Society”
Oct. 17-18. Miranda July risks all with a unique experiment in collaboration. This hilarious and moving performance artfully blends fiction and real life to create a startling chronicle of time, love and group faith. On this very special night, July tests the limits of what is possible when given two hours and a room full of strangers. $29-$49. Freud Playhouse, UCLA Campus, Westwood. cap.ucla.edu
Appropriate
Sept. 23-Nov. 1. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ family drama tells the story of three grown children who discover a gruesome relic after their plantation-owner father’s death. Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 213.628.2772. centertheatregroup.org
Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles
Through Oct. 3. An ancient Greek tragedy gets an East L.A. spin from from MacArthur Fellow and critically acclaimed author of Electricidad and Oedipus el Rey, Luis Alfaro. See it under the stars in the Getty Villa’s outdoor theater. 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy., Pacific Palisades, 310.440.7300. getty.edu
These Paper Bullets!
Through Oct. 18. Subtitled A Modish Ripoff of William Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ this play, which lends the classic work a decidedly Fab Four twist, makes its West Coast premiere, boasting songs by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. Gil Cates Theater, Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood, 310.208.5454. geffenplayhouse.com
The Object Lesson
Through Oct. 4. With boxes stacked to the ceiling, actor-illusionist-inventor Geoff Sobelle (all wear bowlers, Elephant Room) returns to the Kirk Douglas Theatre and transforms the space into an epic storage facility of gargantuan proportion. You are free to roam and poke through the clutter in this immersive theatrical installation that unpacks your relationship to everyday objects. Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., L.A., 213.972.4444. centertheatregroup.org
Real Women Have Curves
Through Oct. 4. Set in a tiny sewing factory in East L.A., this award-winning comedy from acclaimed playwright Josefina López tells the story of five full-figured women racing to meet an impossible deadline to keep their sewing factory from going under. The Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South El Molino Ave., Pasadena, 626.356.7529. PasadenaPlayhouse.org