Fountain Theatre presents SoCal premiere of funny,
provocative Confederates by Dominique Morisseau

Two Black women. Two eras.
One fight to claim their own power.

LOS ANGELES (September 8, 2026) — Musta’ been all that freedom talk. Fountain Theatre artistic director Raymond O. Caldwell directs the Southern California premiere of Confederates, a smart, funny and moving comedy-drama by Tony Award-nominated playwright and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Dominique Morisseau. Performances run October 30 through December 13 at the Fountain Theatre, with two previews on October 28 and 29. Tickets are on sale now at FountainTheatre.com.

Fiercely funny and fearless, Confederates is a provocative examination of American institutions and Black womanhood. In The 15 most intriguing theater offerings hitting SoCal stages this fall, Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty calls the play “[a] sharp-eyed satire examining an unbroken thread of racial and gender bias in American history.”

Nedra Ryan Taylor (The First Deep Breath at the Geffen, Clyde’s at CTG) stars as Sara, an enslaved woman who becomes a Union spy during the Civil War, opposite Sarah Scott Davis (previously seen at the Fountain in Last Summer at Bluefish Cove) as Sandra, a tenured political science professor at a prestigious university in the year 2026. Their lives might be separated by more than 150 years, but the forces they navigate around race, gender, power and institutional betrayal prove disturbingly
similar.

Moving between past and present with biting humor and theatrical ingenuity, Morisseau connects these two women across generations as each must decide whom she can trust, what she is willing to risk, and how to take control of her own story.

“I love this play, just as I love Morisseau’s entire canon, because it asks audiences to engage in complex conversations and to navigate the true cost of freedom,” says Caldwell. “It’s sometimes easy to assume that slavery was a Southern problem, not a West Coast problem. What Confederates makes clear is that Southern plantations were simply the springboard for the institutionalization of Black oppression as a core American value. It begs the question: how do we move on?”

Also in the cast are Sufe Bradshaw (VEEP) last seen at the Fountain in Roe, and Mara Klein (The Pitt), who starred in the Fountain production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ An Octoroon. Daks McClettie II, whose credits include Destination Procrastination: Break the Bullies, makes his Fountain Theatre debut.

The distinguished creative team includes scenic designer Matt McCarren; lighting designer Alison Brummer; sound designer Andrea “Slim” Allmond; and costume designer Wendell C. Carmichael. The assistant director is RheAnn Mennefield and the production stage manager is Lanae Wilks. The Fountain Theatre’s Community Partner for this production is Black Women for Wellness.

Confederates opens Friday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m., with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Dec. 13. (No performances on Thursday, Nov. 26 or Friday, Nov. 27). There will be three additional performances on Monday evenings at 8 p.m. on November 16, 23 and 30. Preview performances take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 and Thursday, Oct. 29.

Community Conversations, unique opportunities for audiences to explore themes from the play, will take place after Friday evening performances. Friday, Nov. 13, is “Black Out Affinity Night,” an opportunity for an audience self-identifying as Black to experience the performance together. (Non-Black-identifying patrons are encouraged to select a different performance.) A day-long Black Wellness Summit featuring Black wellness leaders and organizations will take place on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Ticket prices range from $5 to $75. The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles. Patrons are invited to relax before and after the show in the Fountain Theatre Café, which will feature wines from Brown Estate, a Black-owned Napa Valley winery, throughout the run.

For reservations and information, call (323) 663–1525 or go to FountainTheatre.com.

Details for Calendar Listings
Confederates

WHAT:
The Fountain Theatre presents Confederates, a smart, funny, provocative and moving satire by Tony Award-nominated playwright and MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Dominique Morisseau. Two Black women, an enslaved woman who becomes a Union spy during the Civil War and a professor at a contemporary university, are having parallel experiences of institutional racism, though they live more than 150 years apart.

WHO:
• Written by Dominique Morisseau
• Directed by Raymond O. Caldwell
• Starring Sufe Bradshaw, Sarah Scott Davis, Mara Klein, Daks McClettie II and Nedra Ryan Taylor
• Community Partner: Black Women for Wellness
• Presented by The Fountain Theatre, Raymond O. Caldwell, artistic director

WHEN:
Oct. 28–Dec. 13
Previews: Oct. 28–29
• Wednesday at 8 p.m.
• Thursday at 8 p.m.
Performances: Oct. 30–Dec. 13
• Thursdays at 8 p.m. (dark Nov. 26)
• Fridays at 8 p.m. (dark Nov. 27)
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.
• Sundays at 2 p.m.
• Mondays at 8 p.m.: Nov. 16, Nov. 23, Nov. 30 ONLY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• Community Conversations, unique opportunities for audiences to explore themes from the play, will take place after Friday evening performances
• Friday, Nov. 13 is “Black Out Affinity Night,” an opportunity for an audience self-identifying as Black to experience the performance together. (Non-Black-identifying patrons are encouraged to select a different performance.)
• A day-long Black Wellness Summit featuring Black wellness leaders and organizations will take place on Saturday, Nov. 14.
• Patrons are invited to relax before and after the show in the Fountain Theatre Café, which will feature wines from Brown Estate, a Black-owned Napa Valley winery, throughout the run.

WHERE:
The Fountain Theatre
5060 Fountain Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(Fountain at Normandie)

TICKET PRICES:
$5–$75

PARKING:
• Secure, on-site parking: $5
• Street parking available in the neighborhood north of Fountain Ave.
• No parking after 6 p.m. on Mariposa or Alexandria Avenues south of Fountain Ave.
• Allow extra time to find street parking; make sure to read all parking signs

HOW:
FountainTheatre.com
(323) 663-1525

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