The Long Beach Shakespeare Company is stepping boldly into 2026 with a theme as sweeping as the stories it plans to tell.<\/p>\n
Artistic Director Holly Leveque has unveiled \u201cThe Stuff of Legends,\u201d a season built around characters and tales that, she says, are \u201ctoo big to fade and too iconic to be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a year designed not just to experience legends, but to question the very basis of legend itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to explore how these legendary stories speak to us now,\u201d Leveque said in a recent press release. \u201cThey\u2019ve stood the tests of time, and now they offer new expectations for our present and future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The season\u2019s first two productions dive straight into the deep end of the classical canon.<\/p>\n
\u201cJulius Caesar,\u201d running Jan. 23 through Feb. 7, will set the tone with political intrigue and ambition pushed to its breaking point. Caesar\u2019s very name may be shorthand for power, but it\u2019s the play\u2019s timeless moral conflicts and philosophical musings that keep this story alive.<\/p>\n
Next, LBSC will feature one of Shakespeare\u2019s greatest tragedies, \u201cAntony and Cleopatra,\u201d from March 7 to March 22.<\/p>\n
If \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d is about puppy love, this is epic love \u2014 love that disregards borders, reason, empire, and even the notion of legacy itself. \u00a0It\u2019s a romance so outsized, Leveque notes, \u201cit becomes the stuff of legend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Summer lightens the mood with two beloved classics celebrating wit, wordplay, and the beauty of human longing. \u201cThe Importance of Being Earnest,\u201d will bring Oscar Wilde\u2019s comedy of manners to LBSC\u2019s stage \u2014 a crowd-pleaser whose sparkle hasn\u2019t dulled in more than a century.<\/p>\n
\u201cCyrano de Bergerac,\u201d will continue deep into the summer with a story of honor, poetry, and unrequited love.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve heard of this play but never seen it performed, you\u2019re in for one of theater\u2019s most irresistible tales.<\/p>\n
The character of Cyrano, Leveque says, proves that the heart of a legend lies \u201cnot in outward appearance, but in the power of words and the nobility (or ignobility) of the soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fully staged season will conclude next November and December with a new holiday adaptation of \u201cSleeping Beauty,\u201d reimagining the familiar fairytale as a winter celebration of magic and renewal.<\/p>\n
In addition to its mainstage productions, LBSC continues its popular radio-style performances \u2014 five shows that evoke the nostalgic crackle of old-time broadcasts, complete with live foley effects and original music.<\/p>\n
The series begins with Charlotte\u2019s Web in April, capturing E.B. White\u2019s famous portrait of friendship. October turns toward the macabre with a trio of classic horrors \u2014 Edgar Allan Poe, \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d and \u201cWar of the Worlds\u201d \u2014before the season closes with a warm familiar glow: \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d in December.<\/p>\n
LBSC\u2019s New Works Festival will also return next year with three weekends of emerging voices in May, June, and September, offering audiences the thrill of seeing future legends take shape. And in early October, the company once again will launch its 2026 Poetry Series, honoring verse, the Bard, and LBSC\u2019s founder and poetry advocate, Helen Borgers.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1990, the Long Beach Shakespeare Company continues on a mission rooted in literacy and community. Leveque sees this season\u2019s theme as an extension of that purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoin us in 2026,\u201d she says, \u201cas we bring legends of theater, history, prose, and poetry to our stage \u2014 honoring the unforgettable stories and voices that shape our lives and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more info, go to lbshakespeare.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Act Out<\/p>\n Act Out Theatre Company is kicking off the holiday season with one of Broadway\u2019s most beloved family musicals.<\/p>\n From Dec. 5 to Dec. 14, audiences of all ages are invited to step into 1930s New York City as \u201cAnnie\u201d returns with all its heart and\u00a0 hope intact.<\/p>\n With a book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strause, and lyrics by Martin Charnin, this timeless tale \u2014 based on the classic Little Orphan Annie comic, itself based on a late 19th century poem \u2014 remains a joyous reminder that optimism can be a superpower in the face of turmoil.<\/p>\n At the center, of course, is Annie: a plucky orphan with red hair, fierce resolve, and an unwavering belief that \u201cthe sun\u2019ll come out tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n Try, if you will, to get that song out of your head today.<\/p>\n From the drab walls of Miss Hannigan\u2019s tyrannically run orphanage to the glittering possibilities of the city, Annie\u2019s memorable escape sets the stage for a whirlwind adventure.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a story that keeps winning hearts because of its irresistible charm, bright songs, and blend of sincerity and spectacle.<\/p>\n Families can expect a full two hours of musical fun (plus a 15-minute intermission), making it a nice, plump seasonal outing.<\/p>\n Performances take place at the Hamilton Middle School Auditorium.<\/p>\n