This story was published in the Long Beach Post on Jan. 3, 2025.
A new year can offer opportunities for all kinds of new experiences — including the dramatic. Fortunately, Long Beach has several live theaters in which to immerse our emotions and imaginations, including the intimate Long Beach Shakespeare Company (LBSC).
Nestled in the heart of Bixby Knolls at the Helen Borgers Theatre, LBSC is set to explore the theme “So this is love?” during its 2025 season.
First up is this weekend’s “Ever Will” — a new project by writer Pamela Gilbreath Kelly about the early and older years of William Shakespeare told through music and song, performing on Jan. 4 and 5.
LBSC will then stage Shakespeare’s “Richard III” later in January and early February — “the winter of our discontent,” as per the play — which the theater describes as a historical tragedy exploring the limits of familial love.
LBSC Artistic Director Holly Leveque calls staging the play both “exciting and challenging” — and pertinent today.
“The political landscape in America made this a powerful choice, a scary choice, and it is a story that should be told,” she said. “You don’t want to miss this one.”
LBSC is also planning four other plays: Shakespeare’s comedies “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in spring and “Much Ado About Nothing” in summer, followed by Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” in fall and “Cinderella: Holiday Edition” in winter, which the theater describes as “a festive twist on the classic romantic fairy tale.”
“I always try to pick a season theme that is already out there in the world, that is familiar to the ear,” Leveque explained. “And I could just not get the Disney song ‘So This is Love?’ from ‘Cinderella’ out of my head.”
She added that the audience might reflect on their own feelings of love as they experience these plays.
“Is this feeling actually love? Is it lust? Is it friendship?” she posited. “Or maybe love for your country? Is this feeling actually hate? Or maybe it’s revenge?”
In addition to staged plays, LBSC will continue to offer its retro radio shows, converting the theater into a 1940s “KBRD” radio station, with actors speaking into microphones while playing instruments and creating sound effects.
This year’s radio shows include “The Wizard of Oz,” “Arsenic and Old Lace” and LBSC’s perennial spooky rendition of “War of the Worlds” in October and holiday-inspired “A Christmas Carol” in December.
Since becoming artistic director two years ago, Leveque introduced two new LBSC programs to add to the mix — a New Works Festival in May and June and a three-day poetry series in October.
The New Works Festival will feature six original scripts, whether one-acts, full-length plays or musicals, all in various stages of development. And SoCal poet Brian Sonia-Wallace will curate the poetry series with activities, readings and a new work of horror poetry inspired by Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.”
Leveque said it’s been a “delight and an honor” to showcase the work of new playwrights during the festival.
“In life, you don’t always get to help someone in that type of way — to uplift them, celebrate them and get to help them achieve their dream of seeing their work on our stage,” Leveque said.
“The 2024 New Works Festival featured an East Indian romantic comedy, ‘Pyar aur Coffee,’ that was such a hit we had to add an additional performance,” she added.
LBSC’s mission since 1990 has been both pro-literacy and pro-community, Leveque noted. “We love the arts and our neighbors,” she said. “We hope to share and build on that love with our 2025 season.”
The Long Beach Shakespeare Company performs at the Helen Borgers Theatre, 4250 ½ Atlantic Ave., Long Beach. For tickets and information, call the box office at 562-997-1494 or visit LBShakespeare.org.
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