John Prosky as Archie Lee in ‘Baby Doll’. by Stephen Sachs When the movie Baby Doll was released in 1956, it was the film’s sexuality that drew all the attention. Time magazine called it “possibly the dirtiest American picture ever legally exhibited,” and the film was condemned for lewdness by the Legion of Decency. Cardinal […]
Martyna Majok Martyna Majok won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her original play Cost of Living. Staged at Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) last summer, after a brief run at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the Berkshires in Massachusetts, the play opens at the Fountain Theatre on October 20. Cost of Living tells two parallel, relationship-driven stories. […]
Mitch O’Farrell accepts last night’s Community Partner award. by Stephen Sachs Last night, I attended an event celebrating Playwrights Arena and honoring Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell. Mitch was presented with Playwright Arena’s Community Partner Award. I was asked to write the tribute to Mitch for the program: We are blessed. We are blessed to live […]
Comedy/Drama About Art Re-Titled ‘Ingen Konst’ The Stephen Sachs hit play Bakersfield Mist, which enjoyed a 7-month sold-out run in its world premiere at the Fountain in 2011, is now earning marvelous reviews in Sweden as ‘Ingen Konst’ (“No Art”) starring Peter Flack and Marie Kuhler Flack. Sachs has been invited to Sweden to attend […]
What happens when telling the truth gets in the way of a good story? The Fountain Theatre presents the West Coast premiere of the Broadway hit play, The Lifespan of a Fact, by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. Simon Levy directs for a February 18 opening, with performances continuing through April 2 on […]
How do families stay together, even when they are kept apart? The Fountain Theatre presents a gripping new docudrama, a compilation of true stories that explores the rippling impact of mass deportations on families. The world premiere of Detained, written by The Lillys 2021 Lorraine Hansberry Award-winning playwright France-Luce Benson and directed by Mark Valdez, […]
Fred Herko Audiences seeing the world premiere of the new theatre/dance work Freddy on Thursday night, September 28th, will enjoy an added treat when Fred Herko biographer Gerard Forde engages in a Q&A discussion immediately following the performance at 8pm in the Caminito Theatre at LA City College. Freddy is written by Herko friend Deborah […]
by Terri Roberts The Memorial Day holiday may have been a three-day weekend for most, but at the Fountain Theatre the cast and crew of our Los Angeles premiere of An Octoroon were digging in to rehearse the show and prepare for the long week ahead of loading in set, lights, video, and sound, all […]
Camille Spirlin and Maya Lynne Robinson, “Runaway Home” The Fountain Theatre has earned 7 Stage Raw Theater Award nominations for our world premiere production of Runaway Home by Jeremy J. Kamps, directed by Shirley Jo Finney. The Fountain production of the funny, moving, and powerful new play about community and the power of family, set in New […]
Akiva Potok with the cast from ‘My Is Asher Lev’ We were so pleased and honored to welcome a special guest to a recent performance of our critically acclaimed production of My Name Is Asher Lev at the Fountain. Akiva Potok, son of the novel’s author Chaim Potok, attended the play, engaged the audience in a […]
Casting is complete and rehearsals begin this week for the Los Angeles premiere of a radical, incendiary and subversively funny Obie award-winning play by MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” recipient Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Performances of An Octoroon will inaugurate the new outdoor stage at The Fountain Theatre on June 18. Performances will continue through Sept. 19, with […]
by Sylvie Drake When Stephen Sachs was a student at Agoura High, he won a national high school writing award and was offered several writing scholarships. He turned them all down. Why? “I wanted to be an actor,” he answered a bit sheepishly. He became one in the 1980s, but it’s the old story. As […]
The cast of “The Chosen” A select group of Fountain Theatre donors gathered at the lovely Sherman Oaks home of Director of Development Barbara Goodhill last night to meet the director and cast of our upcoming production of Chaim Potok’s The Chosen. The stage version of the beloved classic of modern Jewish literature opens at […]
Simone Missick, Taraji P. Henson, and Tina Lifford They are, first and foremost, talented actresses now starring in some of the most popular shows on television. They are strong women conquering an industry dominated by men. They are women of color leading a new wave of diversity now finally being demonstrated on TV screens. And […]