Long Beach theater company releases 5-play season schedule

LONG BEACH – International City Theatre of Long Beach has announced its 2023 season of music, comedy and drama. 

Kicking off the season in February is “tick, tick…BOOM!”, a pop/rock musical by Jonathan Larson. The semi-autobiographical work is about an aspiring composer trying to write the great American musical before time passes him by.

Larson posthumously received three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for his other acclaimed production, “Rent.”

Opening April 28 is the West Coast premiere of “Under the Skin” by Michael Hollinger.

In “Under the Skin,” Lou, a man dying of kidney failure, asks his estranged daughter Raina to give him one of hers, and she must decide if she can put her anger aside long enough to save his life. 

When Raina meets Jarrell, a young man with whom there is an instant connection, sparks fly and secrets are revealed as they grapple with the issues of forgiveness, inheritance, and family. “Under the Skin” explores the question: what does it mean to give a part of yourself to someone else?

The season continues with “Into the Breeches!”, a comedy by George Brant opening June 9. 

It’s 1942 and the leading men of the local theater company in Long Beach are fighting overseas. A band of passionate but inexperienced performers rally together to produce the theater’s season opener: an all-female version of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” and “Henry V.” 

In August comes the world premiere of “Exit Wounds” by Los Angeles playwright Wendy Graf. 

“Exit Wounds” looks behind the sensationalist story of a horrific tragedy to explore its effect on three generations of the perpetrator’s family. 

How do you find redemption when someone you love has committed a terrible crime? Can the families of the evildoers ever live a normal life again or are they forever defined by the actions of one family member? 

Finally, just in time for Halloween, comes “Deathtrap,” a comedy thriller by Tony Award-nominated Ira Levin. 

Sidney Bruhl is a playwright desperately in need of a hit. Just in time, a former student sends him the manuscript of his first play, a murder mystery called Deathtrap. Sidney smells a hit…but he’s never been fond of sharing credit. 

The full season schedule is below. All performances take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. 

“tick, tick…BOOM!” – Feb. 17 – March 5

“Under the Skin” – April 28 – May 14

“Into the Breeches!” – June 9-25

“Exit Wounds” – Aug. 25 – Sept. 10

“Deathtrap” – Oct. 20 – Nov. 5