Learning Spanish

This well-intentioned dramedy, a new play by Leslie David Perry and directed by Ray Tatar, has a bit of melodrama, yet rests easily on the shoulders of lead actors Gladys Imperio Acosta (Loretta) and Wayne Cook (Henry). In east Los Angeles, a homeless Latina woman flees domestic violence with her two daughters (a pair of young scene-stealers, Alejandra Iskow and Alejandra Montezuma) and is helped by a lonely African-American security guard, all of which offers the opportunity to address issues of housing, immigration, violence and intra-ethnic prejudice. F, Sa 8pm; Su 2pm. Through 3/24. $12-$20. California Stage at the Wilkerson Theatre, 1721 25th St.; (916) 451-5822; www.calstage.org.