The West Coast premiere of Samuel D. Hunter’s award-nominated play “Grangeville” is now running at the Ruskin Group Theatre Arts Center in Santa Monica, and critics are calling it a standout production of 2026.
Directed by John P. Flynn, the play features Jeff LeBeau and Tim Cummings as estranged half-brothers Jerry and Arnold, delivering what many describe as a masterclass in acting.
The story centers on Jerry and Arnold, who grew up in rural Grangeville, Idaho, under the care of an abusive father and an alcoholic mother. Arnold, who is gay, suffered abuse not only from his parents but also from Jerry, who regularly beat him.
Twenty years ago, Arnold escaped to the Netherlands, building a new life with his husband, Bram, in Rotterdam. Jerry remained in Grangeville, caring for their ailing mother.
The play unfolds through phone calls and later a reunion triggered by their mother’s death.
LeBeau and Cummings command the intimate stage with seamless transformations. Without costume changes, Cummings shifts into Jerry’s ex-wife, while LeBeau adopts a Dutch accent to portray Arnold’s husband, Bram.
Their performances are described as honest, committed, and deeply believable.
The production’s set design by Stephanie Kerley Schwartz evolves from a stark black wall to the interior of the mother’s weathered trailer, a space that becomes a diorama of their shared past. Dan Weingarten’s lighting adds to the theatrical magic.
Flynn, a respected figure in Los Angeles theater and founding artistic director of Rogue Machine Theatre, brings sensitive direction to Hunter’s character-driven script. LeBeau, an alumnus of CalArts and member of several theater ensembles, recently received the LA Weekly/Stage Raw 2026 Best Actor Award.
Cummings, a three-time Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award winner, also teaches creative writing at UCLA.
Tickets start at $25 for performances at the Ruskin Group Theatre Arts Center, 2800 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sundays.