Friday, October 3, 2008

Opening and preview weekend for 15 theater productions (Oct. 3-5)

By Shawn Parikh

This weekend brings in a ton of new shows, including a world premiere. Make sure to check a few out while you have the chance:

The Merchant of Venice

Sweeney Todd

Doubt

For Colored Girls...

Legends

On Golden Pond

• The Merchant of Venice, presented by Shakespeare Dallas. Greed and prejudice tell the story of The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare's suspenseful, dark comedy. In Venice, Bassanio asks the merchant Antonio for a loan which Antonio must borrow from the moneylender Shylock. While Bassanio is facing certain death, he must rely on his friends to save him from Shylock's revengeful demand of "a pound of flesh." October 1 – 5 & 8 – 11 at the Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre. October 15 – 19 at Addison Circle Park. October 24 – 26 at The University of North Texas. Purchase advanced tickets ($0-10) online.
• Sweeney Todd – Fiend of Fleet Street, presented by Pocket Sandwich Theatre. Definitely not the musical, this is another of the Pocket’s audience-participation, popcorn-tossing, comedy-spoofs. It is based on the legendary London barber, Sweeney Todd, who cut more than hair, and his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, who took care of the evidence by baking some very strange meat pies. “PG-13.” Call 214-821-1860 for tickets ($10-18).
• Menopause: The Musical. Set in a department store, where four women with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra meet by chance, the musical pokes fun at things such as hot flashes, memory loss, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats and eating binges. The show’s intended message is that menopause is a passage, but it should no longer be The Silent Passage. It is a stage in every woman’s life that is perfectly normal. For tickets ($45), call 817-886-7727 or purchase online.
• Doubt, A Parable, presented by WaterTower Theatre. Father Flynn, a charismatic young priest, is adored by his students; Sister Aloysius, an unbending principal, is pleased by the fear she invokes in them. When Father Flynn begins to take special interest in a new student, Sister Aloysius begins to think the unthinkable. But when a nun’s suspicion is weighed against the word of a priest, how does one determine the truth? The winner of 24 major awards, including the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, Doubt, a Parable is a gripping exploration of the question, “What do you do when you’re not sure?" Call 972-450-6232 for tickets. ($22-40).
• For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, presented by Jubilee Theatre. This passionately-feminist spellbinder is a fluid collection of vivid prose and free verse narratives performed by young black women. Almost exclusively concerned with the cavalier and sometimes brutal treatment accorded black women by their men, the characters capture inner feelings that infuse a unique universality. Though their performances are mainly solo, the girls are united in sorrow, spirit, pride and soul. Sometimes they sing together and dance together. Call 817-338-4411 for tickets ($12-20).
• Legends, presented by Uptown Players. An eager young off-Broadway producer named Martin Klemmer, a wheeler-dealer if ever there was one, has found what he believes is a terrifically commercial new script. Since he has produced only one thing before (an off-Broadway something called Craps!) Martin is having difficulty getting his calls returned by the kind of powerful Broadway magnates capable of getting Thelma & Louise: The Musical on the Great White Way. What Martin needs are Names—as in star Names—and who better than film legends Sylvia Glenn and Leatrice Monsee for the two leads? If Martin can sign them both he can get the money. Unfortunately, each hates the other with a deep and abiding passion and won’t be caught dead in the same room with the other—let alone onstage. Purchase tickets ($22-25) online or by calling 214-219-2718.
• On Golden Pond, presented by Contemporary Theatre of Dallas. Ernest Thompson's beloved comedy is the perfect play to launch our seventh season. Ethel & Norman Thayer return to their summer home in New England for the 18th time after as many years of marriage, their delight in one another still evident. Their contentment contrasts with the situation of their restless, divorced daughter, who plans a trip to Europe with her latest fiance, and leaves his teenage son to stay with Norman and Ethel. This initially awkward situation gives way to an idyllic one for the surrogate grandparents and "grandson" alike. Purchase tickets ($22-32) online or by calling 214-828-0094.
• Belles, presented by Mckinney Repertory Theatre. Peggy's still in Memphis caring for Mama, who's in the hospital because of some bad tuna. The phone calls Peggy makes to her five sisters to let them know set the long distance phone lines on fire and make for an intriguing story of vivid characters and involving conflicts. Purchase tickets ($13-16) online or by calling 214-544-4630.
• Barefoot in the Park, presented by Theatre Coppell. From America’s most successful comedy playwright comes the story of newlywed couple Corrie and Paul Bratter, who are setting up house in a minuscule fifth-floor walkup apartment in a downtown-Manhattan brownstone. Paul is a straight-laced attorney, Corrie a far more spontaneous free spirit. The two must contend with a lack of heat, a skylight with a gaping hole, several long flights of stairs, oddball neighbor Victor Velasco, and Corrie’s well-meaning mother, in addition to adjusting to married life. A comedy inspired by the early days of Simon's marriage, it was the longest running show in his career. Purchase tickets ($12-14) online or by calling 972-745-7719.
• Heaven Can Wait, presented by Garland Civic Theatre. Mr. Jordan is checking passengers who are to depart on an airplane to the Hereafter. The routine is interrupted by the arrival of Joe Pendleton, an attractive prizefighter who refuses to admit he is dead. Joe is not scheduled to arrive for another sixty years! But as Joe starts to return to Earth to continue his fighting, word reached Heaven that Max Levene, Joe’s manager, thinking he had been killed, had Joe’s body cremated, and Joe has no body to return to. Jordan promises to find Joe another body and is informed that the wealthy Jonathan Farnsworth is about to be murdered by his wife. So Joe suddenly finds himself in the home of the financier, visible as Joe to the audience but apparently as Farnsworth to Mrs. Farnsworth and the public. Call 972-205-2790 for tickets ($6-20).
• Big Bucks, presented by Amateur Community Theatre of Rowlett. Big "Buck" Fever is trying to protect his ranch from becoming a freeway, and now the IRS wants to know why he hasn't filed a tax return in four years. As the construction crew for the freeway begins to dig, they find a body in the front yard. Gramma Fever loads her shotgun, Mama Fever tries to keep a secret, while the cook and the rest of the family deal with the strangers in the house. Can fried chicken be the answer to the Fever family problems? Make reservations ($7-10) online.
• Cinderella, presented by Creative Arts Theatre & School. A young woman triumphs over her nasty, abusive Stepmother and Stepsisters and marries her Prince Charming, thanks to her zany Fairy Godmother, a trip to the Royal Ball in an enchanted coach and a glass slipper. The Fairy Godmother's two comical helpers keep things moving along in this delightful version of a classic known the world over. PLUS! $5 Intermission Ball with Cinderella, the Prince and more Tea Party Make your reservations early, there are only 30 seats. Purchase tickets ($5-7) online or by calling 817-861-CATS.
• Aesop’s Fables, presented by Word of Mouth productions for this weekend only. An updated version of the timeless storyteller's most popular fables, Aesop's Fables is a fast moving play in which the audience is brought into the action of the play by seeing the change from actor to character and back to actor again. Four of Aesop's best loved fables… "The Fox and the Crow," "The Hare and the Tortoise," "The Donkey In the Lion's Skin" and finally, "The Fox and the Sour Grapes," are delightfully created in this interesting approach to storyteller's theatre. For tickets ($6-8), call 214-544-4630.
• We The People: The Language of Politics and War in America, presented by TCC South Drama. A student produced performance for this election year. Box office can be reached at 817-515-4642 for tickets ($0-6).

And previewing this weekend is:

• Look What’s Happened to Pixie DeCosta, world premiere presented by Theatre Three. It's the 1930's and sisters Pixie and Margot De Costa are the darlings of Tinsel Town, until a tragic accident plunges them into a nightmare full of secrets and bad B movies! No, really! This outrageous world premiere comedy pays loving tribute to the glory years of Hollywood Noir and Grand Guignol. Show officially opens Monday, October 6. Purchase tickets ($20) online or by calling 214-871-3300.

See more stories in:

• Arts > Fine Arts > Theater