Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Colleges and universities all over the metroplex opening theater productions this week

By Shawn Parikh

Most theater departments around DFW are gearing up to present the first show of their spring semester. Because it is college theatre, certain shows begin in the middle of the week and have very short runs ... even closing this weekend. If you need another incentive, most shows are relatively cheap or even free. Here is what is coming at you:

Private Lives

• Collin Theater Center: Li’l Abner, from February 28 - March 9. When residents of Dogpatch, USA are notified by the government that they must evacuate, they try to persuade the government that their town is worth saving. Meanwhile, Earthquake McGoon wants to marry Daisy Mae; Daisy Mae wants to marry Li'l Abner ... and Li'l Abner just wants to go fishing. Then, it is learned that Abner's Mammy's Yokumberry Tonic might be enough to save the town. Abner offers the tonic to Washington, but General Bullmoose wants it too, so Bullmoose tries to trap Abner into marrying his attractive but ditzy executive secretary, Appassionata. Meanwhile, Daisy Mae pledges herself to Earthquake in marriage in exchange for rescuing Abner from Bullmoose. Will Abner and Daisy Mae ever finally get together? Li'l Abner is a classic musical cartoon based on beloved characters created by Al Capp. Request tickets ($10-15) online or by calling the box office at 972 881-5809.
• Richland College: Guys and Dolls, from February 27 - March 1. Guys and Dolls is a musical, with the music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on The Idyll Of Miss Sarah Brown, a short story by Damon Runyon. In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a cold female missionary to Havana, but they fall for each other, and the bet has a hidden motive to finance a crap game. All performances are free.
• SMU: Trouble in Mind, from February 27 - March 2. Written by Alice Childress, this play revolves around Wiletta Mayer, an African-American actress of a certain age who has spent her career playing stereotypes, trapped on a merry-go-round of mammies, maids and other menials. The curtain rises on the first day of rehearsal for “Chaos in Belleville,” a Broadway-bound play that tackles the harsh truths of racism in America. But when those truths spill out of the play and into the rehearsal hall, will Wiletta’s insistence on her dignity cost her the work she desperately needs? Call 214-768-ARTS for tickets ($7-13).
• Tarrant County College South Campus: Medea Odea, from February 28 - March 1. An evening of works by female playwrights. Women's History Month Presentation. No reservations taken and tickets are free-$6.
• Tarrant County College Southeast Campus: Proof, from February 28 - March 1. Following the death of her brilliant but unstable father, Catherine must deal with the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire, and the attentions of her father's former student, Hal. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father's madness—or genius—will she inherit? Tickets (free-$6) can be reserved by calling the box office at 817-515-3599.
• TCU: Private Lives, from February 26 - March 2. Amanda and Elyot have been divorced for five years after a tempestuous three year marriage. They have each remarried – he to the very young and silly Sibyl, and she to the very repressed and pompous Victor. By a terrible twist of fate, the two couples book adjoining honeymoon suites at a seaside hotel in France. One brief meeting on the balcony and Amanda and Elyot elope together to Paris, stranding their unwitting new spouses. The rest of the play chronicles their second attempt at living together and how Sibyl and Victor cope with it. For reservations, call 817-257-5770.
• Texas Woman's University: Proof, from February 28 - March 2. The play is set in Chicago, where Robert, a former genius of a mathematician who suffered from mental illness, has recently died. Robert appears in the play talking with his daughter Catherine, a depressed college drop-out who stayed at home and cared for her father over the last few years of his life. As preparations are made for the funeral and Catherine’s sister Claire returns from New York, Catherine forms a tentative friendship with Hal, a mathematician who is one of her father’s former students. For ticket reservations ($5-10), call 940-898-2020.
• UNT: Wait Until Dark, from February 29 - March 2. Sam Hendrix was persuaded by a strange woman to transport a mysterious doll across the Canadian border, not knowing several grams of heroin were sewn inside. Unexpectedly the woman is murdered. A sinister con man and two ex-convicts trace the doll to the apartment of Sam and his blind wife, Susy where they try to convince Susy the police have implicated Sam in the woman's murder and the doll is key to his innocence. When she refuses, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensue where her survival waits in the dark. The box office can be reached at 940-565-2428 for tickets ($5).
• UTA: The Tempest, from February 27 - March 2. Shakespeare meets the Big Easy! Set in the New Orleans' French Quarter, post Katrina, THE TEMPEST explores political intrigue, romance, and redemption. Conjure-man Prospero seeks to exact revenge on his backstabbing brother with the aid of the supernatural. But will the spirit of the Vieux Carré first work its own magic? For reservations ($5-8), call the Box Office at 817-272-2669.

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• Colleges & Universities > Southern Methodist University
• Colleges & Universities > Texas Christian University
• Colleges & Universities > Texas Woman's University
• Colleges & Universities > University of North Texas
• Colleges & Universities > University of Texas at Arlington
• Community Colleges > Collin County Community College
• Community Colleges > Richland College
• Community Colleges > Tarrant County College
• Arts > Fine Arts > Theater