The Long Beach Playhouse Studio Collaborative Series Unveils 2026 Lineup

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The Long Beach Playhouse Studio Collaborative Series is a season of plays mounted by local theater companies, performing arts organizations and individuals. It offers them the opportunity to produce their own shows in our Studio Theater during the months between Playhouse Studio seasons.

Along with the Studio Theater, these groups and individuals have access to Playhouse online ticketing and its scene shop. There is a nominal cost and ticket sales are split between the presenters and the Playhouse.

“We value our role as a community theatre,” said Madison Mooney, Playhouse Executive Director. “The Collaborative isn't just the name of the program, it's the way we engage with these members of artistic community. The entities who take part in The Collaborative get the benefits of an established theatre group. And the Playhouse benefits from the new audiences, actors, and directors that come to our theater. It's a win-win for all who are involved.”

“I find The Collaborative season creatively energizing. The shows are unique and the people who put them on are committed to their craft and their work,” said Sean Gray, Producing Artistic Director for the Playhouse. “This year our Collaborative season features three offerings from the Playhouse: Staff and Friends Cabaret, our 24-hour marathon, Plays in Day, in which authors are given 24 hours to write and present a show, and staged readings of the winning plays from our New Works Festival.”

The 13-show series opens on January 11 and closes on March 28. Following is the full list of this year's offerings including a description and pricing.

2026 STUDIO COLLABORATIVE SHOWS

THE CLUB OF BROKEN FASTS

Company: ADDSSP Inc., Dina Cataldi, Producer

Dates: Jan. 9, 10 @ 8pm, Jan. 11 @ 2pm, 2026

Tickets: $30, Students $20

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/the-club-of-broken-fasts/

The Club of Broken Fasts is a madcap take on the 1985 John Hughes classic, rendered in Shakespearian verse. You know the story: Brian the Brain, Claire the Princess, Andrew the Jock, Allison the Madwoman, and Bender the Wretch are all stuck in Saturday detention under the not-entirely-benign watch of Vice Principal Vernon. Together, they spend the day joking, musing, fighting, kissing, flouting authority, and, hopefully, growing up. Through elevated language and spectacular design melding iconic '80s looks with Elizabethan sensibilities, The Club of Broken Fasts transforms this classic coming-of-age tale into a dramatic stage comedy fit for the Globe itself!

HARRIET TUBMAN: LOVE SLAVE

Company: Terrell M. Green, Producer

Dates: Jan. 16, 17 @ 8pm, Jan. 18 @ 2pm, 2026

Tickets:
General Admission Friday: $25
Senior/Veteran Ticket Friday: $20
General Admission Saturday & Sunday: $27
Senior/Veteran Saturday & Sunday: $25
Student/Child: $20

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/harriet-tubman-love-slave/

Harriet Tubman: Love Slave — by Terrell M. Green — is a bold, rap-poetic musical remix of history, reimagining the young Harriet before she became “The Moses of Her People.” Mixing hip-hop, soul, and spoken word, it dives into the untold love story between Harriet and her first husband, John Tubman — the man who ghosted her when she chose freedom over fear. Haunted by love, faith, and the ancestors who call her forward, Harriet transforms heartbreak into a revolution. Part concert, part spiritual awakening, and all power — Love Slave asks what happens when the one who leaves you behind becomes the reason you rise.

MIXTAPE CONFESSIONS (Friday & Saturday Nights),

WAKE (the f*ck) UP! (Sunday Matinee)

Company: Long Beach Community Theater, Ann Wellman, Producer

Dates:
MIXTAPE CONFESIONS: Jan. 23, 24 @ 8pm, 2026
WAKE (the f*ck) UP!: Jan. 26 @ 2pm, 2026

Tickets: $20

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/mixtape-confessions-wake-the-fck-up/

The Mixtape Confessions – A Journey through the Beats that Broke & Built Us — Join us for a fun night of storytelling and music as we go on a musical tour of the soundtrack of our lives. Local artists will share true five-minute stories about how music shaped some of their most memorable moments as we hold space and laugh, cry, and rock the night away!

WAKE (the f*ck) UP! — was created from a workshop called "The PLAYground!" The artists met weekly for months and explored the Enneagram, deep inner work, performing arts, and the stories of their lives as they took a peek behind their masks at their shadows and mined for the GOLD hidden within. This experiential theatrical production is a heart-wide-open look at our lives and the stories we tell. It's about learning to see and accept what is — as it is — stepping into our uniquely inspired shoes, and saying "THIS IS ME."

ANYTHING BUT BROADWAY

Company: Little Renegade Productions, Kelsey Weinstein, Producer

Dates: Jan. 30, 31 @ 8pm, Feb. 1 @ 2pm, 2026

Tickets: $20

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/anything-but-broadway/

Little Renegade Productions presents Anything But Broadway, a night of live music — but there's a catch. No musical theatre allowed. Featuring a cast of performers, musicians, and Long Beach talent, enjoy a variety of music spanning a multitude of genres… except the one you'd most expect.

NODDING OFF IN CHURCH

Company: Landon Moss Productions, Landon Moss, Producer

Dates: Feb. 6, 7 @ 8pm, Feb. 8 @ 2pm, 2026

Tickets: $20

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/nodding-off-in-church/

LBP STAFF AND FRIENDS CABARET FUNDRAISER

Company: LBP, Madison Mooney, Carole Louise, & Serena Bottiani-Henderson, Producers

Dates: Feb. 13 & 14 @ 8pm, 2026

Tickets: $20

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/staff-and-friends-cabaret-fundraiser-2026/

Description:
The Staff & Friends Cabaret Fundraiser is back and better than ever! This two-night event will showcase beloved volunteers and staff members performing songs, scenes, stand-up, and more.

IT'S A BIRD… IT'S A PLANE… IT'S SUPERMAN!: THE MUSICAL

Company: Foster Cats Productions, Harry White, Producer

Dates: Feb. 20, 21 @ 8pm, Feb. 22 @ 2pm, Feb. 27, 28 @ 8pm, Mar. 1 @ 2pm, 2026

Tickets: $35

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-superman-the-musical/

From the Academy Award-winning writers of Bonnie and Clyde, Kramer vs. Kramer, and Superman (1978), and the composer of Annie and Bye Bye Birdie, comes a rarely seen, campy musical bringing the Man of Steel to the stage.

A NIGHT OF MOSTLY COMEDY

Company: Rick Reischman Productions, Rick Reischman, Producer

Dates: Mar. 6, 7 @ 8pm, Mar. 8 @ 2pm, 2026

Tickets: $20

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/a-night-of-mostly-comedy/

A series of short plays written by Rick Reischman featuring 2 dramas and 6 comedies. No two plays are alike!

THE HUMORIST Mark Twain

Company: Haven Productions, Scott Haven, Producer

Dates: Mar. 13, 14 @ 8pm, Mar. 15 @ 2pm, 2026

Tickets: $20

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/the-humorist-mark-twain/

A one-person performance drawing from Twain’s books, journals, lectures, and essays to create sharp social commentary that remains strikingly relevant today.

PLAYS IN A DAY 2026

Company: LBP, Alex Shewchuk, Producing

Dates: Mar. 21 @ 8pm, 2026

Tickets: $10

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/plays-in-a-day-2026/

Watch exhausted writers, frantic actors, and impulsive directors create and perform brand-new plays — all in one day.

LBP NEW WORKS FESTIVAL 2026

Company: LBP New Works Committee Producing

Dates: Mar. 27 & 28 @ 7pm, 2026

Tickets: Free

Ticket Link: https://lbplayhouse.org/event/lbp-new-works-festival-2026/

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