Los Alamos Little Theatre Seeks Actors for Much Ado About Nothing
One audition slot remains Sunday for LALT's Much Ado About Nothing, held in the Manhattan Project mess hall where J. Robert Oppenheimer once directed.
The building at 1670 Nectar St. started as a wartime cafeteria before J. Robert Oppenheimer used it to stage community theater during the Manhattan Project. Eighty-three years later, the Los Alamos Little Theatre is casting Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing in that same structure, now listed by the National Park Service as a site of Manhattan Project historical significance. One audition session remains: Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center.
LALT, founded in 1943 as the first organization ever established in Los Alamos, staged "Right About Face" before that year was out, making it the first play ever performed in the city. Among its earliest productions was a WWII-era staging of "Arsenic and Old Lace" directed by Oppenheimer, then director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, who also appeared in a non-speaking role.
The PAC building itself was nearly lost. In 1971, when Los Alamos County planned to demolish the old mess hall, LALT intervened, renovated the structure, and secured it as a permanent home for community theater. The National Park Service later recognized the building's unique place in atomic-age history.
LALT describes Much Ado About Nothing, which premiered in 1604, as "perhaps William Shakespeare's most-enjoyed comedy." The production follows the company's launch of Shakespeare in the Park in 2025, its first outdoor Shakespeare series, which came about after county renovations temporarily displaced LALT from the PAC. The all-volunteer company produces up to five shows per season running September through May; recent productions have included "Romeo and Juliet" in fall 2025 and "A Bird in the Hand" in January and February 2026.
Auditions will use cold readings from the script, with no prepared monologue required. Callbacks, if necessary, will be scheduled during the week following the April 12 session. Rehearsal dates and the full performance run will be announced at auditions.
Interested performers can contact LALT at 505-662-5493 or lalt.org.
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