Friday, March 28, 2008

Last weekend to see these 12 theater productions (Mar. 28-30)

By Shawn Parikh

A lot of good theater is ending this weekend, so make sure to get your hands on a couple of these productions:

Fool For Love

• Fool for Love. Sam Shepard’s most unsettling play telling the story of a struggle, mostly of words, between two on-again/off-again lovers. Set in the barren outskirts of the New Mexico desert at a seedy Motel - May has taken refuge in her flight from Eddie, a rough-spoken rodeo performer, with whom she has had a passionate love/hate relationship. Their detrimental symbiotic natures become apparent as the accusations fly; making matters worse a young man arrives to court May, all while their caustic situation is commented upon by a mysterious, ghostly figure watching from the edge of the stage. Tickets are $10-15.
• Nipples to the Wind, presented by ICI Productions. The sassy comedy in which two actors play fourteen characters from a Little League mom who ends up in jail to a narcissistic suicide hotline operator to 3 sisters at confession, each telling their own version of the same event. The show has been on national tour and garnered rave reviews. Come see what is being called "must-see theatre." Call 877-238-5596 for tickets ($25-30).
• Tuna Does Vegas, presented by Casa Mañana. Starring the dynamic duo, Jaston Williams and Tony-Award nominee Joe Sears, in their first new show in 10 years! The hilarity begins when characters from the ‘third smallest town in Texas’ take a rambling romp in Sin City. Arles and Bertha plan to renew their wedding vows, Inita and Helen from the Tastee Kreme take a spin as showgirls, Joe Bob goes on the Rush Limbaugh diet, and Vera and Pearl battle over the slot machines. You’ll bust out laughing when Leonard’s wife accidentally stuffs a $20 bill into a male dancer’s underwear and goes back for change. What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas! Call 817-332-2272 for tickets ($25-69).
• Are You Being Served?, presented by Garland Civic Theatre. The stage version of the popular British television comedy, “Are You Being Served?” by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft. When the motley crew of the Grace Brothers Department Store prepare for a sale of German goods and then depart for a staff holiday in Spain, they survive their stay in the tropics at a one-star establishment and their encounters with the locals makes for one of the most hilarious evenings of theatre to be found! Tickets ($10-2) are available at the Arts Center Box Office or by calling 972-205-2790.
• 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).
• Opal’s Husband, presented by One Thirty Productions. Starring Gene Ray Price as the irrepressible Opal Kronkie, the junk woman and Larry Randolph as the old man who appears on her doorstep. It's a laugh a minute that will warm your heart! Purchase tickets ($16.50-17.50) online.
• The House at Pooh Corner, presented by Dallas Children's Theater and Kathy Burks' Theatre of Puppetry Arts. Pooh-mania! You asked for more! A.A. Milne’s darling, classic characters return for new and even more adorable adventures. Priceless antique marionettes bring a little boy and “the Best Bear in all the world” to life. Join Piglet, Owl, Tigger, Eeyore and more for Winnie the Pooh joy and fun. Purchase tickets ($12-21) online or by calling 214-740-0051.
• The Sound of Music, presented by Denton Community Theatre. About a very lively young Catholic postulant in Austria who was sent to be governess to the seven children of a widower, Captain von Trapp. The postulant fell in love first with the children, then with the captain. She left the abbey to marry him, and in a dramatic finale the whole family climbed over the Alps to escape from Nazi invaders of Austria just before the Second World War. Purchase tickets ($10-18) by calling 940-382-1915.
• The Importance of Being Earnest, presented by Rockwall Community Playhouse. Oscar Wilde's all-time favorite tells the tale of two men--who take to bending the truth in order to add a dash of excitement to their lives. However, their deceptions eventually cross paths, resulting in as series of crises that threaten to spoil their romantic pursuits. Call 972-722-3399 for reservations ($12-15).
• Measure for Measure, staged reading presented by Shakespeare Dallas for this weekend only. One of Shakespeare's most interesting plays, Measure for Measure is both a comedy and a tragedy. Experience a unique opportunity to explore the sensational world that Shakespeare has created to examine morality and the abuse of power. Tickets are $5.
• The LaVidas’ Landlord, presented by Theatre Three. An idealistic high school teacher rents out an apartment to a political refugee from Central America, but there are more than minor philosophical differences between the two which cannot be solved by the teacher's anxious attempts to be understanding. Purchase tickets ($25-30) online or by calling 214-871-3300.
• The Glass Menagerie, presented by Teatro delle Muse. Amanda Wingfield is a faded, tragic remnant of Southern gentility who lives in poverty in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura. Amanda strives to give meaning and direction to her life and the lives of her children, though her methods are ineffective and irritating. Tom is driven nearly to distraction by his mother’s nagging and seeks escape in alcohol and the unrealistic world of the movies. Laura also lives in her own illusions. She is crippled, and this defect, intensified by her mother’s anxiety to see her married, has driven her more and more into herself. The crux of the action comes when Tom invites a young man of his acquaintance to take dinner with the family. Purchase tickets ($20) online or by calling 972-424-MUSE.

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