Opening weekend for 8 theater productions (June 6-8)

by Shawn Parikh

Make sure to check out these new plays and musicals while you have the chance.

Some great plays and musicals are beginning this weekend so try and see a few while you can:

Oldest Living Graduate

Gilligan’s Island: The Musical, presented by Rover Dramawerks. Regional premiere. Sherwood Schwartz, the original creator of the successful Gilligan's Island TV series, co-authored the book with his son and long-time collaborator Lloyd J. Schwartz, so audiences can be sure of a zany good time, complete with Gilligan fumbling any chance of a rescue! Throw in fun music and lyrics by Sherwood Schwartz's daughter and son-in-law, Hobe Juber and Laurence Juber (best known as a guitarist with Paul McCartney's group Wings), and the show is a natural for Rover Dramawerks and their "theatre off the beaten path" mission. Purchase tickets ($15-18) online or by calling 972-849-0358.
CLUE: The Play, presented by Company of Rowlett Performers. On a dark and stormy evening in late 1954, amidst the intrigue and paranoia of the McCarthy era, Wadsworth the butler and Yvette the maid welcome six politically-vulnerable and pseudonym-ed guests (Col. Mustard, Mrs. White, Ms. Scarlet, Prof. Plum, Mr. Green, and Mrs. Peacock) to a swanky mansion for a mysterious cocktail party. Wadsworth reveals that they have all been gathered to confront their blackmailer, the enigmatic Mr. Boddy. A shot in the dark and Mr. Boddy's body leave them all with a new problem; they must discover which one of them is the killer before the police arrive! So now, to protect their reputations and prevent the body count from rising, they must work together to find the answer to those three burning questions: Who did it? Where? And with what? Purchase tickets ($10-15) online or by calling 972-977-7710/972-412-1927.
Oil!, staged reading presented by Echo Theatre, for 2 performances only. Starring Tyne Daly. It’s 1982. Magritte Holes, the ailing, notoriously outrageous, matriarch of one of Houston’s most prominent oil families, has been hiding out in her bedroom for months. Guzzling whiskey, planning the annual Holes Barbecue, and developing an outlandish strategy to save Texas, and her family’s fortune from imminent collapse. Unfortunately, neither her high-profile guests or her colorful, dysfunctional family have any idea what she has in store for them. Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. Reservations are encouraged by calling 214-904-0500.
Cootie Pancake, presented by Hip Pocket Theatre. A dark farce by Johnny Simons. The endearing story of Cootie Pancake, a special child, who goes on an unexpected journey with his favorite traffic reporter. Gates open at 7 p.m. with the show beginning at 9 p.m. Live music before and after each performance. Click here for live music schedule. Call 817-246-9775 for reservations ($5-15) or purchase online.
Our Miss Brooks, presented by Mesquite Community Theatre. Miss Brooks has plenty of teacher troubles and her "escape" is in dreaming about her vacation. She has travel folders on several Caribbean cruises which she discusses with the athletic coach who owns his own little sailboat. Miss Brooks suddenly sees that perhaps he's "the man" for her. She's glad she isn't putting on the school play this year so she won't have to fight him for use of the gym. Then the ax falls. The play is thrust upon her! A battle royal develops. The coach's star athlete Ted gives up the team to play the leading boy's part. The daughter of the school board president is determined to play opposite him but she reads her lines so poorly that Miss Brooks gives the role to an attractive nobody with real talent. A hilarious romp through 1950's TV situation comedy. Bobbie Sox and crewcuts and petticoats....oh my!! For reservations ($8-10), call 972-216-8126.
The Oldest Living Graduate, presented by Contemporary Theatre of Dallas. The play’s title character is Colonel J. C. Kinkaid, an aging lion of Bradleyville in West Texas. The Colonel, a 75-year-old Wolrd War I veteran, has been partially paralyzed by a stroke, and is confined to a wheelchair. Cranky and on the verge of dementia, he lives in the sprawling ranch house of his son Floyd and daughter-in-law Maureen. When Floyd and his friend Clarence hatch a plan to develop some land his father has clung to for years and insisted remain untouched, the Colonel’s ornery nature erupts into full-scale conflict, especially when the Colonel resists Floyd’s attempt to promote the project through a ceremony honoring the Colonel as the “Oldest Living Graduate” of the Mirabeau B. Lamar Military Academy in Galveston. Purchase tickets ($27-32) online or by calling 214-828-0094.
Twelve Angry Men, presented by Ennis Public Theatre. The story begins after closing arguments have been presented in a murder case, as the judge is giving his instructions to the jury. According to American law (both then and now), the verdict (whether guilty or not guilty) must be unanimous. The question they are deciding is whether the defendant, a young teenaged boy from the city slum, murdered his father. The jury is further instructed that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence — the electric chair. The jury of twelve move to the jury room, where they begin to become acquainted with each others' personalities and discuss the case. Call 972-878-PLAY for reservations ($12-14).
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, presented by Plano Children's Theatre. Call 972-422-2575 for tickets ($7-14).