It’s been so long since I felt this indelible feeling of magic while watching a play but the world premiere of John Guerra‘s Room By The Sea, a triple co-production with Coin & Ghost, After Hours Theatre Company, and Outside In Theatre, has achieved just done that. This is a tale that not only transports the audience to a fantastical place but like the best of genre, it creates a haunting parallel to our current world. And best of all, the immense efforts to incorporate significant global majority and accessibility presence is truly what Los Angeles theatre at its finest is all about.

At the center of the Room By The Sea is a disabled teenager who uses a wheelchair and wants control over his own life. He lives with his father, an immigrant architect, under a ruler who ties safety to obedience. When the father is asked to design a sealed environment meant to contain someone deemed dangerous, his work pulls him deeper into a system that defines care through control. As the son pushes toward independence, the father becomes increasingly bound to the logic of containment. Alongside them, the ruler’s daughter observes the effects of isolation, secrecy, and inherited fear. Room by the Sea examines when love and protection begin to feel restrictive. The play asks how much control can exist inside care, and how fear shapes decisions made in the name of safety. Architecture and space function as tools of governance, shaping who is allowed to move freely and who is confined for the comfort of others.

There is a lot of tremendous work that is done behind the scenes to conjure that feeling of magic, that wonder that these artists standing before you have effectively carried you away to another world. But such a thing becomes immediately evident as you are about to find your seat as the hallway leading to the stage becomes a pathway to another world that is made possible by the gorgeous music composition by Cooper Baldwin, the lighting & shadow puppet design by Chu-Hsuan Chang, and the scenic design by Mark Kanieff. In fact, it is these three elements that are characters in themselves in how much they contribute to the worldbuilding without it being too distracting or underwhelming. These design elements are bolstered by a beautiful script written by John Guerra that together, creates that kind of whimsical effect Studio Ghibli films often imbues, particularly Castle in the Sky.

I am so happy to report that even though the cast of characters in this play could have been played by any ethnicity, it brings sheer joy to see so much global majority representation in many of the key roles, whether it be the Father (Robert Paterno), the Girl (Carene Rose Mekertichyan), and the King (Bruce Lemon Jr.) who all play their roles with such gravitas and heart, especially with Paterno and Mekertichyan. By also having the Boy be played by an actual disabled actor (Cole Massie), the efforts of these theatre companies to incorporate such diversity only contributes to that magic of a theatre company walking the talk of fulfilling the initiatives of inspiring change in how theatre is not only run but represented and seen.

It is incredibly challenging for a play to have music play such a component in the background without it being too distracting but Cooper Baldwin‘s score is just that good that it might be one of the best I’ve ever experienced in a play’s usage of music (mind you, a straightforward play and not a musical where music is obviously a key component in that) that I will remember the echoes and the feelings that stirred within me for quite some time. All these design elements are put together with such cohesive vision by director Brian Hashimoto and effective stage managing by Kimberly Jimenez that is only amplified by the audio caption in the back managed by assistant stage manager Natalie Nicole Dressel, a move not utilized in theatre at all to make it accessible for the hearing impaired.

There are a few critical points worth mentioning, which is that s poetic and wonderful as the script is, it unfortunately utilizes the rather cliche dead wife/mother trope not only with one of their main characters but two; one with the architect & his son and the other with the king & his daughter. It is such an overused trope that I could only wish that it was the mother who was the architect and/or the matriarch being the ruler of the island. And yes, this play is based on the Greek mythology of King Minos and the architect Daedalus & his son Icarus but because they take SOME inspiration from it, I do believe some liberties can be taken especially if the king has a daughter for this story. Second, the lengthy monologues several of the key characters have, as gorgeous as they are, do unfortunately create many pacing issues that could have been tightened up.

Ultimately, there is so much care and love that is placed all throughout this play so if you want to experience that kind of magic that only highlights what the best of theatre can do, then go watch Room By The Sea as soon as possible. The production will be performed at Outside In Theatre’s ArtSpace, located at 5317 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042. The run includes preview performances February 14–21, 2026, with opening on February 22, 2026 at 3:00 PM. Regular performances will take place Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM, Mondays at 8:00 PM, and Tuesdays at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $45 for General Admission and $25 for Students and Seniors during the regular run and are available here. Select performances will include “Talk Back Tuesdays” pre-show conversations on topics including access-informed theatre and the experiences of working artist parents. “Talk Back Tuesdays” will take place on February 24, March 3, and March 10 at 7pm in Outside In’s cafe & lounge The Lobby.