Three poignant stories hopscotch through time in
Catherine Butterfield’s ‘Brownstone’ at Open Fist
LOS ANGELES (December 11, 2025) — “If only these walls could talk.” Open Fist Theatre Company makes that wish a reality with the Los Angeles premiere of Brownstone, a bittersweet comedic drama by Catherine Butterfield. Ron West directs the production, opening January 24 at Atwater Village Theatre and running through February 28.
Unfolding on the second floor of a classic New York brownstone at three distinct moments in its history, Brownstone’s structure is as striking as the architecture that inspired it. Three poignant, often funny stories, set in 1978, 1937 and 1999, take place in the same building, linked through time.
Deena and Maureen (Rosie Byrne and Amber Tiara) are a pair of starry-eyed aspiring actresses, newly arrived to New York in the 1970s and struggling to get their big break. We meet Stephen and Davia (Matthew Goodrich and Chelsea Spirito), a pampered, rich young couple of the 1930s who long to move to Paris. Striving for success, Jason and Jessica (Isaac W. Jay and Jade Santana) are a chillingly self-absorbed “power couple” of the new millennium. Butterfield says she wants us “to think of the stage as a time machine.”
“I’ve always had a crush on brownstones — on the architecture, on the history” she says. “They have an almost supernatural feel. Thinking about all the people who might have lived in one previously, of how the building itself and the people in it might have evolved over the years, grabbed my imagination. I wanted to experiment with the cadences and vocabulary of each era, and with how young people have changed over time. In the play, each pair of residents occupies the same space at once, so the walls reverberate with the past, almost as if there are ghosts.”
“We really see how, in a way, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same,’” says West, whose directing credits at Open Fist include deLEARious, Neil Simon’s Musical Fools and the ongoing political sketch comedy series This Week, This Week. West, who is married to Butterfield, adds, “Each era is distinct, but there’s a synchronicity among them, and with our own. Social conventions may shift, but what’s underneath rarely does.”
Originally commissioned and first produced by Laguna Playhouse, the Los Angeles Times called Brownstone “a well-crafted, involving character study” and “a theatrical pleasure.”
The Open Fist creative team includes scenic consultant Jan Munroe; lighting designer Gavan Wyrick; sound designer Kermit Frisbee; costume designer Mylette Nora; and properties designers Bruce Dickenson and Ina Shumaker. Carmella Jenkins and Beth Robbins co-produce for Open Fist Theatre Company. The production stage manager is John Dimitri.
Open Fist Theatre Company is a collective, self-producing artistic enterprise with all facets of its operation run by its artist members under the leadership of artistic director Martha Demson. The company’s name combines the notion that an open spirit, embracing all people and all ideas, is essential, with the idea that determination, signified by a fist, is necessary if the theater is to remain a vital voice for social change and awareness.
Brownstone opens on Saturday, January 24 at 8 p.m., with performances thereafter set for Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through February 28. Tickets range from $26 to $40, including fees, except opening night (Jan. 24) for which tickets are $54.75 and include a champagne reception following the performance.
Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90039. Parking is free is in the ATX (Atwater Crossing) parking lot one block south of the theater. To purchase tickets and for more information call (323) 882-6912 or go to openfist.org
Details for Calendar Listings
‘Brownstone’
WHAT:
“If only these walls could talk.” Open Fist Theatre Company makes that wish a reality with the Los Angeles premiere of Brownstone, a bittersweet comedic drama that unfolds on the second floor of a classic New York brownstone at three distinct moments in its history. Brownstone’s structure is as striking as the architecture that inspired it: three poignant, often funny stories, set in 1978, 1937 and 1999, take place in the same building, linked through time.
WHO:
• Written by Catherine Butterfield
• Directed by Ron West
• Starring Rosie Byrne, Matthew Goodrich, Isaac W. Jay, Jade Santana, Chelsea Spirito, Amber Tiara
• Produced by Carmella Jenkins and Beth Robbins
• Presented by Open Fist Theatre Company, Martha Demson, artistic director
WHEN:
Jan. 24 – Feb. 28:
• Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.
• Sundays at 2 p.m.
WHERE:
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039
• FREE parking in the ATX (Atwater Crossing) lot one block south of the theater.
TICKETS:
$26-$40 (including fees)
except opening night, Jan. 24, for which tickets are $54.75 and include a champagne reception following the performance.
HOW:
openfist.org
(323) 882-6912
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