Happy New Year! Here are some of the shows opening in our local theatres this month:

“A Misunderstanding” Leave all your preconceived notions at the door. This play is sure to turn them inside out. A playful play of ideas that challenges our understanding of reality while asking the question can two people fundamentally disagree and continue to love one another?

Written by Matt Chait and directed by Elina de Santos, it runs Jan. 4 through Feb. 3 at the Complex (Ruby Theatre) in Hollywood. For tickets, call (323) 960-4418 or visit www.plays411.com/misunderstanding.

“Desert Rats” Estranged brothers Frank and Jesse reunite to plan a kidnapping in a squalid motel room on a hellish day in Barstow. When day turns into night and their hostage is brought out of the trunk, the siblings find their troubles have just begun.

Written by Nate Rufus Edelman and directed by Angie Scott, it runs Jan. 5 through Jan. 20 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (866) 811-4111 or visit www.thelatc.org.

“Forever Brooklyn” is the story of Melvin Kaplofkis, a young man growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950s who emerges in the 1960s as Mel King, The King of Brooklyn. Young Mel entertains his family and friends by telling jokes and stories, but The Mob doesn’t want Mel to leave Brooklyn behind.

Written and directed by Mark Wesley Curran, it runs Jan. 5 through Feb. 9 at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks. For tickets, call (800) 838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets,.com/event/3613939.

“Bat Out of Hell – the Musical” is a romantic adventure about rebellious youth and passionate love, set against the backdrop of a post-cataclysmic city adrift from the mainland.

Written by Jim Steinman, with music by Jim Steinman, and directed by Jay Scheib, it runs Jan. 8 through Feb. 2 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (213) 972-4400 or visit www.AhmansonTheatre.org.

“Jocasta: A Motherf**king Tragedy” a woman who believes she can see the future helps Jocasta when she is awakened from a dream into a literal nightmare, discovering her husband Oedipus is also her son.

Written and directed by Brian Weir, it runs Jan. 11 through Feb. 10 at the Broadwater Main Stage in Hollywood. For tickets, call (310) 281-8341 or visit www.ghostroad.org.

“Our Town” The residents of the small town of Grover’s Corners remain as universal and timeless as when they first appeared on stage in 1938.

Written by Thornton Wilder and directed by Stanley Brown, it runs Jan. 11 through Feb. 16 at the Westchester Playhouse in Westchester. For tickets, call (310) 645-5156 or visit www.kentwoodplayers.org.

“The Twelfth Night or What You Will” A heroine is sent out as an emissary to the Countess Olivia who is mourning the death of her brother.

Written by Williams Shakespeare and directed by Sabrina Lloyd, it runs Jan. 11 through Feb. 17 at the Theatre Palisades Pierson Playhouse in Pacific Palisades. For tickets, call (310) 454-1970 or visit www.theatrepalisades.com.

“1776 the Musical” A deadlocked Congress attempting to adopt the Declaration of Independence is boiling over in heated confrontations.

Written by Peter Stone, based on a concept by Sherman Edwards, with music by Sherman Edwards, and directed by Glenn Casale, it runs Jan. 12 through Feb. 3 at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada. For tickets, call (562) 944-9801 or visit www.lamiradatheatre.com.

“The Diary of Anne Frank” A young Jewish girl, forced to hide for nearly two years to escape Nazi persecution, is an essential part of how we remember one of the darkest periods of our human history.

Written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman, and directed by Stan Zimmerman, it runs Jan. 12 through Feb. 24 at the Complex Dorie Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, visit www.brownpapertickets,.com/event/3921444.

“Stockholm” Meet the couple who are the perfect team. Today, it’s his birthday and she’s going to give him all his presents, treats and surprises, but actually their relationship is unravelling.

Written by Bryony Lavery and directed by Kim Rubenstein, it runs Jan. 12 through Jan. 28 at the Pico Playhouse in West Los Angeles. For tickets, visit www.stockholmla.brownpapertickets,.com.

“Driving Miss Daisy” is about the decades-long relationship between a strong-willed, well-to-do Jewish woman and her black chauffeur in the Jim Crow south.

Written by Alfred Uhry and directed by Michael Bloom, it runs Jan. 13 through Jan. 27 at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. For tickets, call (949) 497-2787 or visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com.

“The Empty Nesters” Instead of seeing a limitless horizon full of fresh possibilities, one half of the couple faces an empty chasm while the other begins to wonder if freedom is only a loss of solid footing.

Written by Garret Jon Groenveld and directed by Richard Seyd, it runs Jan. 17 through Feb. 17 at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, visit www.EmptyNestersPlay.com.

“It Is Done” A mysterious traveler, a horny barkeep and a sensuous woman are trapped in a dive bar with an abundant supply of bourbon. Anything could happen.

Written by Alex Goldberg and directed by Jeff G. Rack, it runs Jan. 17 through Feb. 19 at the Theatre 40, in the Reuben Cordova Theatre in Beverly Hills. For tickets, call (310) 364-0535 or visit www.theatre40.org.

“Brilliant Traces” A runaway bride and an oil rig worker have both run away from circumstances too difficult to endure. Over the next few days they might discover that they are kindred spirits.

Written by Cindy Lou Johnson and directed by Kiff Scholl, it runs Jan. 18 through Feb. 10 at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood. For tickets, call (440) 465-8878 or visit www.our.show/brillianttraces.

“Death House” On the night a death-house chaplain must hand over the reins to the confident young pastor set to replace him, the men encounter an enigmatic inmate who challenges their convictions and changes their lives forever.

Written by Jason Karasev and directed by Michael Peretzian, it runs Jan. 18 through March 10 at the Road on Lankershim in North Hollywood. For tickets, call (818) 761-8838 or visit www.roadtheatre.org.

“Last Call” The Vaughn family’s go-to defense mechanism of sarcasm and mordant humor falls short when the aging parents hatch a not-so-funny way to avoid the retirement home.

Written by Anne Kenney and directed by Lane Allison, it runs Jan. 18 through Feb. 23 at the Atwater Village Theatre in Atwater. For tickets, call (323) 882-6912 or visit www.openfist.org.

“Aleichem Sholom” follows the life of the beloved Yiddish story-teller and his mespoche, and the tremendous joy and optimism that kept him going against all odds.

Written by Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie, with music by Ben Weisman, Emery Bernauer, Evelyn Rudie and Sholom Aleichem, and directed by Arthur R. Tompkins, it runs Jan. 19 through Feb. 24 at the Santa Monica Playhouse in Santa Monica. For tickets, call (310_ 394-9779 Ext. 1 or visit www.santamonicaplayhouse.com/aleichem-sholom.html.

“Hir” is a dysfunctional family dramedy for a new era: a highly intelligent, heartfelt and deeply, darkly humorous portrayal of a family in crisis in which domestic abuse, the trauma of war and the acceptance of gender neutrality are illustrated in a nearly absurd, emotionally gripping, intensely real dynamic.

Written by Taylor Mac and directed by Bart DeLorenzo, it runs Jan. 19 through March 17 at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (310) 477-2055 Ext. 2 or visit www.OdysseyTheatre.com.

“The Marriage Zone” Three couples get to chatting and begin to marvel at just how much they have in common. Way too much in common, in fact – so much in common that it begins to become surreal.

Written and directed by Jeff Gould, it runs Jan. 19 through March 31 at the Santa Monica Playhouse in Santa Monica. For tickets, call (800) 838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets,.com/event/3919605.

“Rod Serling’s Stories from the Zone” consists of stage adaptations of two classic episodes of his best-loved TV series: “Mr. Garrity and the Graves” and “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”

Written by Rod Serling, adapted by Jeff G. Rack, and directed by Jeff G. Rack and Charlie Mount, it runs Jan. 21 through Feb. 17 at the Theatre Forty, in the Reuben Cordova Theatre in Beverly Hills. For tickets, call (310) 364-0535 or visit www.theatre40.org.

“An Inspector Calls” set in 1912, about Inspector Goole and his unexpected arrival at the prosperous Birling family home, shattering their peaceful dinner party by his investigations into the death of a young woman.

Written by J.B. Priestley and directed by Stephen Daldry, it runs Jan. 22 through Feb. 10 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. For tickets, call (310) 746-4000 or visit www.TheWallis.org/Inspector.

“The Cripple of Inishmaan” is set on the small Aran Island community of Inishmaan (Inis Meáin) off the Western Coast of Ireland in 1934, where the inhabitants are excited to learn of a Hollywood film crew’s arrival in neighboring Inishmore (Inis Mór) to make a documentary about life on the islands.

Written by Martin McDonagh and directed by Steven Robman, it runs Jan. 24 through March 11 at the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center in Glendale. For tickets, call (818) 506-1983 or visit www.Antaeus.org.

“Paradise” Two outsiders, a gifted Yemeni-American teenager at a poorly rated high school in the South Bronx and her disillusioned biology teacher, form an unlikely scientific partnership in the hope of securing her a scholarship.

Written by Laura Maria Censabella and directed by Vicangelo Bulluck, it runs Jan. 26 through Feb. 17 at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. For tickets, call (323) 960-7724 or visit www.Plays411.com/Paradise.

“The P.O.W. and the Girl” Torn between familial duty and a chance at love and happiness, can Sarah’s new relationship with Paul survive? Can John ever overcome the traumas of incarceration, torture and abandonment?

Written by Katrina Wood and directed by Trace Oakley, it runs Jan. 26 through Feb. 16 at the Sherry Theatre in North Hollywood. For tickets, call (800) 838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets,.com/event/3742908.

“S.O.S.” explores how political opportunists and economic systems have fed off and taken advantage of a rise in our sense of personal isolation and how we might find a way back to belonging to each other and the world we inhabit.

Written by various famous writers, and directed by Madeleine Dahm, it runs Jan. 31 through Feb. 10 at the Circle X Theatre in Atwater Village. For tickets, call (310) 746-4000 or visit www.TheWallis.org/SOS.

Enjoy life more – see a show tonight!

Steve Zall and Sid Fish of Scene in L.A. know a lot about L.A. theatre and are ready to share with CV Weekly readers. You can read more at CVWeekly.com/LEISURE.