New wave of plays and musicals for DFW this weekend (Feb. 22-24)

by Shawn Parikh

Here are the shows that are about to or have just begun their run.

It's another good weekend of theater for the metroplex so make sure to check out what is opening:

• Anna in the Tropics, presented by Teatro de la Rosa. Anna in the Tropics is a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Cuban playwright Nilo Cruz. Set in a 1920s cigar factory, it portrays the lives of cigar factory workers in YborCity, Tampa, Florida, when a new lector is hired. As the lector reads from Anna Karenina, a novel of adultery set in nineteenth-century Russia, he casts a spell over the workers, transforming their passions and desires through the affirming power of art. Purchase tickets ($7-12) online or by calling 817-624-8333.
• Murder At The Howard Johnsons, presented by Pocket Sandwich Theatre. They say “All’s fair in love.” Even murder? And at a Howard Johnson’s? Is nothing sacred? Call 214-821-1860 for reservations ($10-18).
• Follow That Rabbit, presented by Creative Arts Theatre & School. There's a frantic tea party ruled over by the Mad Hatter; and a funny scene where Alice must deal with a pepper-sneezing Duchess and a baby that turns into a pig! The finale has Alice at the trial of the Knave of Hearts for stealing tarts; and she is suddenly the accused. Here's a modern view of a classic where nonsense makes good sense. And Alice even finds a new friend: the watch-carrying White Rabbit. Order tickets ($5-10) online or by calling 817-861-CATS.
• Aladdin, Jr., presented by Theatre Arlington. Welcome to Agrabah, City of Enchantment, where every beggar has a story and every camel has a tale! Watch Aladdin, Jasmine, and of course, the Genie sing an Academy award-winning score with songs including "A Whole New World" and "Friend Like Me." Filled with magic, mayhem and flying carpet rides, audiences’ spirits will soar with excitement. Make reservations ($10) online or call 817-275-7661.
• The Sugar Bean Sisters, presented by Mesquite Community Theatre. Welcome to Sugar Bean, Florida where the swamp is populated with snakes, ‘gators, flying cats, apparitions, UFOs, A reptile woman, a mysterious Bishop and three very obsessed spinster sisters: Faye wants to escape Sugar Bean forever on an alien spaceship, Willie Mae wants to escape spinster hood by finding a good Mormon husband, a la the Bishop Crumley. Videllia just wants to escape with her sister’s hidden treasure. For reservations ($8-12), call 972-216-8126.
• Junie B. Jones, presented by Casa Mañana’s Children’s Playhouse. The lovable and irrepressible Junie B. Jones is coming to Casa Mañana’s Children’s Playhouse in this all-new musical based upon the popular children’s books by Barbara Park. Taken directly from the “Top-Secret Personal Beeswax Journal”, Junie shares the stories of her challenges involving old and new friends, her need for eyeglasses, her cravings for cookies, and her yearning to be the star of the class. Everyone will enjoy seeing Junie turn lemons into lemonade! Purchase tickets ($11-16) online or by calling 817-332-2272.
• The Civil Rights Journey of a Negro Woman: Lena Calhoun Horne, presented by The Black Academy of Arts & Letters, for this weekend only. Set in Atlanta, Georgia at an NAACP Youth Conference, this dramatic play with music depicts the journey of a woman’s inner struggle for self-identify and racial equality. This piece follows Ms. Horne from her childhood in the 1920’s Jim Crow South, through her early career in Hollywood, to her triumphant civil rights stand at the 1963 March on Washington. This powerful one woman show, performed by Wendi Joy Franklin, is a must see! Hosted by Board Member Charlie Mae Smith. Tickets are $15.
• The Untimely Demise of Big Earl Jessup, presented by the Lakeside Community Theatre. Big Earl's funeral brings together six strong, Southern women whose lives he touched, literally, in this hilarious, often irreverent, and sometimes poignant adult comedy. The play begins with the death of Big Earl and the women in his life who are upset with at him, each other, and the world. It takes place two hours before Big Earl's funeral at the Hooter Brothers Funeral Home in Flatbottom, Georgia. For reservations ($10-12), call 972-727-4098 or 214-616-4289.