The Fountain Theatre has announced four relevant, urgent, thought-provoking plays and a host of satellite events that will comprise the company’s 2026 “Season 35: Revolutions and Revelations.”
Each of the plays making up this first season to be fully programmed by the Fountain’s new artistic director, Raymond O. Caldwell, has been selected to inspire deep reflection — not only about who we are as individuals, but about who we are as a people and a community.
“I’ve been thinking about the cycles we find ourselves in, and also about the revolutionary spirit that is the Fountain,” says Caldwell. “I’m excited to share my vision of community-based artistic engagement and activism with Los Angeles, and to build upon the legacy of bold, politically centered work that audiences have come to expect and love at the Fountain Theatre.”
Launching the season at the end of January will be the West Coast premiere of Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience (previously announced for Fall 2025). What does resistance sound like? Poetry for the People is the bold, joyous, Helen Hayes Award-winning celebration, devised by Caldwell and Jordan’s longtime collaborator and life partner, composer Adrienne Torf, of one of America’s most fearless writers and human rights activists. Six dynamic performers weave together Jordan’s electric poetry with movement, live music, and selections by another Jordan collaborator, John Adams, and iconic a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, who set Jordan’s poems to song. In keeping with the Fountain vision to move productions into the community, Poetry for the People will also travel to Berkeley in partnership with UC Berkeley and The Freight. (January 31 – March 29; previews January 27– January 29)
Superstition and science intertwine in the world premiere of RETURN (Teshuvah), a dark comedy by Beth Kander set for spring. In this funny and provocative modern-day dybbuk tale about memory, grief and guilt, Miriam is a geneticist on the verge of a scientific breakthrough that could alter humanity and transform our understanding of death. (May 2 – June 21; previews April 29 and April 30)
Following Return, a summer-long Fugard Festival will celebrate Athol Fugard, the internationally acclaimed South African playwright whose work challenging that country’s system of apartheid made him a symbol of artistic resistance, and who declared the Fountain Theatre, where many of his plays premiered, his “artistic home on the West Coast.” Anchored by a mainstage production of Sizwe Bansi Is Dead directed by Simon Levy, the Festival will move into the community, partnering with other theater companies, high schools and colleges to present readings of Fugard’s work including The Island, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, The Road to Mecca, and Exits and Entrances. (July 18 – Sept. 6; previews July 15 and July 16)
In the fall, Caldwell will direct the West Coast premiere of a groundbreaking, funny, smart and moving satire by an acclaimed, Tony nominated contemporary playwright — the title of which can’t be revealed just yet, but which will be announced shortly. Stand by! (Oct. 24 – Dec. 13; previews Oct. 21 and Oct. 22)
Satellite events set for 2026 include monthly performances of The Fountain’s longtime Forever Flamenco series, created by co-founder Deborah Culver Lawlor, which will expand in the new year to feature additional evenings of World Dance; a Staged Reading Series curated by Fountain producing director Simon Levy; and a new monthly Cabaret Series offering intimate evenings with Los Angeles-based singers and musicians. The year will also be devoted to developing Embers Borne West by Maddox K. Pennington, who along with the Fountain is the recipient of a prestigious Los Angeles New Play Project (LANPP) grant, for a full Fountain production in 2027.
The Fountain continues its commitment to community with its Impact and Engagement programming: Fountain Reads sees teaching artists go into the classroom to introduce young storytellers pre-K through first grade to imaginative play, transforming stories into performances; Fountain Playwrights gives high school students agency over their own creative process, culminating with a published anthology of their work; and the Fountain Voices summer program works with young artists to devise original work focused on civic engagement and volunteerism. Fountain Connects is a monthly event that brings professional playwrights, directors and actors together to share resources and connect; Community Conversations offer unique post-performance engagement opportunities for audiences; and Intergenerational Matinees bring younger and older audiences together at every production.
The Fountain Theatre creates, develops, and produces new plays that bring to life the urgent social, political, and cultural issues of our time, reflecting the vibrant diversity of Los Angeles and the nation. Its educational outreach programs inspire young people to become engaged citizens and leaders of tomorrow. The L.A. City Council commended the Fountain for “achieving a position of leadership in the Los Angeles theatre community… producing meaningful new plays of social and political importance that enrich the lives of the citizens of Los Angeles.” The Fountain is the recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critic Circle’s Margaret Harford Award for sustained excellence in theater, presented for “outstanding productions of meaningful new plays and first-class performances spanning three decades.” Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty hailed the Fountain, stating, “No L.A. theater has done a better job of asking us to reexamine our lives through the lens of acute contemporary drama.”
For more information about the Fountain Theatre’s 2026 season, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.
