‘Hit the Wall,’ acclaimed play about Stonewall riots, adds more L.A. shows

If you missed the L.A. run of “Hit the Wall,” the popular and well-reviewed play about the 1969 Stonewall riots, you have one last chance: Five performances have been added for January.

“Hit the Wall” had its West Coast premiere at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in September. Written by Ike Holter and directed by Ken Sawyer, it re-creates the events leading up to the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village. The play tells the story from the perspective of 10 people at the riots, which are often cited as the launch of the gay rights movement.

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The show includes an acoustic band performing original music from Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go’s and Anna Waronker of That Dog.

The stage production was embraced by audiences around the same time that the unrelated feature film “Stonewall,” from writer and director Roland Emmerich, opened to widespread criticism. The film experienced an online backlash for telling the story from the perspective of one person, a fictional character, and for not giving more prominence to the drag queens, transgender people and people of color who were at the forefront of the protests.

Los Angeles Times theater reviewer David C. Nichols called “Hit the Wall” a “stunning immersive production.”

“It’s both an electrifying look back and a trenchant plea for continued progress, and not only to the LGBT community,” Nichols wrote. “Don’t miss it.”

The new shows are scheduled for Jan. 8 at 8 p.m., Jan. 10 at 7 p.m., Jan. 15 at 8 p.m., Jan. 16 at 8 p.m., and Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30. Info: (323) 860-7300 or www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatre.

Twitter: @debvankin