Founding Artistic Director Tim Robbins has valiantly guided this company, located at the Ivy Substation in Culver City, while navigating his career as an Oscar-winning actor. His vision, at once socially committed and artistically rambunctious, blends commedia dell’arte-style clowning with zealous political drama. Each summer, the Actors’ Gang presents Free Shakespeare in the Park for Families at Media Park in Culver City. This year’s show, “Two Gentlebots of Verona” (11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Aug. 1-23), will also travel to Burbank’s Buena Vista Branch Library at 300 N. Buena Vista St. (noon, Aug. 29-30).

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Among the cultural riches to be found in the Coachella Valley are the Broadway musicals presented under the stars by Desert Theatricals at this enchanting outdoor venue. Led by artistic director Ray Limon, who also directs and choreographs, and managing director Joshua Carr, the music director and conductor, the organization has a reputation for delivering the glitz as well as the bite of these classic shows. Beating the desert heat, the 2026-27 season runs from October to April and includes “Into the Woods,” “Sister Act” and “Man of La Mancha.”

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Over the last century, countless concertgoers have sung praises of the majestic Hollywood Bowl, but across Cahuenga Boulevard resides its earthier counterpart, the Ford. Nestled deep in the craggy terrain of the Hollywood Hills, this 1,200-seat outdoor amphitheater is a popular stop for the more offbeat among L.A.’s artistic community. Primarily known for its eclectic music and dance performances, the Ford also hosts the occasional theatrical offering. The 2026 season includes the Improvised Shakespeare Company (Aug. 8) and Summertime! with Bob Baker Marionettes and Kate Micucci (Aug. 9).

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If you’re in Los Angeles in September and have a penchant for Greek and Roman classics, the Getty Villa’s annual outdoor theater production is an experience you shouldn’t miss. The museum’s exquisite grounds are part of the experience. Are you above the Pacific Coast Highway or in the hills of some antique Mediterranean village? The sea air, wafting the fragrance of the Villa’s Roman garden, adds to the bliss of watching these ancient tragedies and comedies reborn in the 21st century. Contemporary theatergoers may be less attentive than their Athenian forebears, but they are just as eager to delve into the ethical and metaphysical conundrums that still define the human condition, no matter the technological breakthroughs. The Getty Villa Museum and Latino Theater Company will present Evelina Fernández’s adaptation of Sophocles, “Antigone: In the Language of Kings,” as the 20th annual “Outdoor Classical Theater” from Sept. 10 to Oct. 3.

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A seasonal favorite of Angelenos, Independent Shakespeare Co. is beloved for its free annual summer Shakespeare festival in Griffith Park, which attracts thousands of picnic-packing theater lovers to its outdoor amphitheater at the Old Zoo each year with fresh, inventive takes on revered classics. Married co-founders David Melville and Melissa Chalsma take turns directing and starring and are known for goosing their interpretations with modern twists and unexpected turns. The company is devoted to all things Elizabethan and often includes Shakespeare’s contemporaries in its offerings. This season includes “Coriolanus” (7 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday, through July 26) and “The Comedy of Errors” (Aug. 5 to Sept. 6). Colloquially known as Indie Shakes, the company also produces work at the Studio, a 75-seat space located at Atwater Crossing.

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The Hollywood Bowl is not just a venue but a cultural symbol of Los Angeles. Known primarily as Southern California’s premier outdoor forum for live music, it would qualify as an important L.A. theater based solely on the long list of concerts by some of the most talented musical theater performers on the planet, including Liza Minnelli, Hugh Jackman, Josh Groban and Harry Connick Jr. But the Bowl, which staged a historic production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” directed by Max Reinhardt in 1934, has an even more substantial theatrical pedigree. The annual musical revival returned this summer with a sensational “Jesus Christ Superstar” starring Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert that had not just the city but the internet in a frenzy. These productions, while powered by a top-notch orchestra, have sometimes seemed star-driven and under-rehearsed. But when everything comes together, as it did this year and in the 2019 production of “Into the Woods,” the Bowl becomes the most enchanting spot in all the world to rediscover the joy of musicals.

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Set on the UC Irvine campus, this open-air, Elizabethan-style portable theater is one of the hidden gems of the SoCal Shakespeare scene. The productions in the festival’s summer repertory season, full of lunar magic, are distinguished as much for their poetic sensitivity as for their interpretive boldness. Founding Artistic Director Eli Simon leads a company composed of professional guest artists, UCI alumni, current graduate and undergraduate drama students, and faculty. The dramaturgical intelligence and deep humanity that characterize the approach to Shakespeare more than make up for any shortfalls of polish or experience. Summer 2026 offers “Romeo & Juliet” (through Aug. 29) and “The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove” (through Aug. 30).

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Rising from the ashes of an arson fire, the 620 seat Lowell Davies Festival Theatre has become one of the leading outdoor venues for summer Shakespeare in the country. The quality of the productions under the leadership of artistic director Barry Edelstein has been outstanding. Edelstein scored a great success in staging “Henry 6,” a two-part adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” trilogy that turned the early history play into a thrilling pop culture ride. The Old Globe completed the Shakespeare canon with this 2024 production in kinetically entertaining, action flick style. This was Shakespeare for the people, a populist approach to the Bard that allows the plays to live again in all their wayward human glory. The Balboa Park setting is beautifully incorporated into the design of this open air Elizabethan-style theater, which blends naturally into the hillside landscape. Shakespeare, who was drawn to the enchantment of forest settings in his comedies, would have been right at home in this Californian Eden. Obviously, he would have loved the weather. But even more, he would have been impressed by the standard of the work, which has remade an old theatergoing tradition into a 21st century San Diego cultural treasure. Edelstein directs “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, Aug. 2-30.

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The postcard setting of this open-air theater in rustic Topanga enhances the pleasures of whatever is on the bill. Founded by actor Will Geer from “The Waltons,” the theater is still run as a family enterprise — and everyone who enters the bucolic grounds is made to feel immediately at home. Shakespeare has pride of place, but Artistic Director Ellen Geer has a refreshingly capacious definition of the classics. Plays rarely seen anymore but worthy of renewed attention are revived along with updated versions of canonical gems such as Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and Moliere’s “Tartuffe.” Large casts are no problem for a theater with such a robust communitarian spirit. The quality of the productions can vary, but the beauty of the landscape, the integrity of the mission and the utopian idealism that suffuse every aspect of the operation deservedly make this one of Los Angeles’ most beloved cultural treasures. This season’s repertory includes Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” (through Sept. 26) and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (through Oct. 10); an adaptation of “Treasure Island” (through Oct. 3); and Noël Coward’s “Waiting in the Wings” (through Oct. 3).

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