New round of plays, musicals, and a festival this weekend (Mar. 6-8)

by Shawn Parikh

Regional and world premieres, the anticipated Out of the Loop Festival, and a plethora of college shows take over all of DFW.

Some great premieres, college productions, classic shows, and the always-desirable Out of the Loop Festival are hitting the town this weekend so this is your chance to find something well-suited to your theatrical taste:

• Psychos Never Dream, presented by Kitchen Dog Theater & Project X. Ex-hippies shed all vestiges of idealism in the Idaho town that was once the site of a commune. A scathing satire on greed and murder. Pay what you can for first 25 people on Wed & Thurs shows. Purchase tickets ($15-30) online or by calling 214-953-1055.
• This is Our Youth, presented by Upstart Productions & Project X. This play is a lacerating look at three young Manhattanites of the early 1980s living a doped-out Bohemian lifestyle. Dennis -- with a famous painter for a father and a social activist mother -- is a small-time drug dealer and a full-time slacker. His hero-worshipping, maladjusted friend Warren has just impulsively swiped $15,000 from his father, an abusive lingerie tycoon who is "not a criminal, just in business with criminals." When Jessica, an ambitious fashion school girl, shows up for a date, Warren pulls out a wad of bills and whisks her away (awkwardly) for a night of New York seduction. How will Warren turn out? Will he continue to follow Dennis in his debauchery, or will he discover a way out? Remarkable in its understanding of contemporary urban youth, This Is Our Youth is a living snapshot of the moment between adolescence and adulthood when many young people first go out into the world on their own. Purchase tickets ($10-20) online or by calling 877-238-5596.
• 2009 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival, presented by WaterTower Theatre. A 10-day celebration of theatre, dance, music and art, the Out of the Loop Fringe Festival features performances by arts organizations from the local area and region. The Festival will run March 5 – 15, 2009. Performances will be held at the Addison Theatre Centre, which contains three performance venues: the Festival Main Stage (seating approximately 200), the Studio Theatre (seating approximately 70), and the Stone Cottage (seating approximately 50). National, regional and Dallas-based artists in theatre, dance, music, comedy, puppetry, and poetry will be presented side by side throughout the Festival. Festival Passes, which include one admission to each festival event, are currently available for $60 by calling the WaterTower Theatre Box Office at 972-450-6232. Single tickets go on sale February 17 and can be purchased online or by calling 972-450-6232. Click here for a complete festival schedule.
• The Twilight Zone, presented by The Butterfly Connection. The Twilight Zone comes to life in a new adaptation featuring two of the most beloved episodes of all time with The Butterfly Connection. Jamie Kinser adapts and directs "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", and Shawn Gann recreates "Two", in an evening of fear and fascination! "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" (Season 1, Episode 22), originally aired when memories of the Second Red Scare were still fresh in the minds of viewers, the episode is often presented commercial-free as part of the Cable in the Classroom series, to teach kids about the dangers of prejudice and hysteria. The question of whether the monsters of the title are the suspected aliens or the prejudiced residents of Maple Street is open to interpretation. "Two" (Season 3 - Episode 66), is a jungle, a monument built by nature honoring disuse, commemorating a few years of nature being left to its own devices. But it's another kind of jungle, the kind that comes in the aftermath of man's battles against himself. Hardly an important battle, not a Gettysburg or a Marne or an Iwo Jima. More like one insignificant corner patch in the crazy quilt of combat. But it was enough to end the existence of this little city. It's been five years since a human being walked these streets. This is the first day of the sixth year, as man used to measure time. The time? Perhaps a hundred years from now. Or sooner. Or perhaps it's already happened two million years ago. The place? The signposts are in English so that we may read them more easily, but the place is the Twilight Zone. For tickets ($7), call 817-451-1193.
• Around the World in 80 Days, presented by Rover Dramawerks. World premiere. Phileas Fogg has determined, with mathematical precision, that the world can be circumnavigated in 80 days. On this belief, he has wagered his entire fortune. Will an act of chivalry, an unreliable but ever faithful valet, and an unrelenting inspector from Scotland Yard keep him from his impossible task? Follow Mr. Fogg aboard steamships, locomotives, and pachyderms as he learns about love, himself, and a world that he never anticipated. Purchase tickets ($15-18) online or by calling 972-849-0358.
• The Beverly Hillbillies, presented by Garland Civic Theatre. Starting in the Clampett’s mountain cabin, the play follows them through the discovery of oil, their improbable invasion of hi-falutin’ Beverly Hills society and the absurd adventures and ridiculous romances they encounter there. An outrageously funny evening for the entire family! Call 972-205-2790 for tickets ($6-20).
• My Fair Lady, presented by Artisan Center Theater. Everyone loves this timeless story about the cockney flower girl, her magic transformation into a genteel lady and the professor who falls in love with her. One of the greatest musicals ever written comes to life on our stage. Won’t it be just “loverly!” Call 817-284-1200 for tickets ($6-15).
• Cheating Cheaters, presented by Azle Arts Association’s Popcorn Players. What do you get when you cross two middle-aged sisters that scam for a living, a cat burglar who is not all that he appears to be and a lowly policeman with suspicious intentions? Throw in the surprise of a "loving" niece coming to live in the house and you have a rousing comedy of who is actually cheating who. Purchase tickets ($5-10) online or by calling 817-238-PLAY.
• Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr., all-youth production presented by Theatre Arlington. This fast-moving, fun musical based on the Emmy award-winning educational cartoon series brings school lessons to life in a hip, entertaining treat that shows everyone that learning can be as much fun as you choose to make it! "Unpack Your Adjectives" and hop on at "Conjunction Junction" for this rollicking treat for kids of all ages! Purchase tickets ($10) online or by calling 817-275-7661.
• Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, presented by Collin Theatre Center. Follows young Huck in pre-Civil War America. Huck is torn between the choices of living a wild, responsibility-free life with his abusive drunken father versus holding to the strict expectations of the townsfolk who have taken him in. The young Huck also has to deal with his confusion about what is right or wrong in the world. Huck stages his own death so he can seek adventures elsewhere, and he and runaway slave Jim board a raft down the Mississippi. There, they find much conflict and great joy as they encounter a slew of unique characters and situations. They also learn a lot about friendship and themselves. The story of their journey downstream is an American classic. Show is perfect for the entire family. Purchase tickets ($10-15) online or by calling 972-881-5809.
• The Robber Bridegroom, presented by UTA Department of Theatre Arts, for this weekend only. A funny, rowdy, sexy musical adaptation of Eudora Welty's famous novel set in Natchez, Mississippi, about a "gentleman robber," the girl he wants, the greedy, sex-crazed stepmother who wants to seduce him and kill her, the idiot thieves who mistakenly kidnap the stepmother, and lots more zaniness, all set to an infectious Broadway/bluegrass hybrid of a score. Call 817-272-2669 for tickets ($7-10).
• Dial M for Murder, presented by TCC Southeast Drama, for this weekend only. Tony Wendice has married Margot for her money and plans to murder her for the same reason. He blackmails an old schoolmate into strangling her for a fee of one thousand pounds and arranges a brilliant alibi for himself. When the attempted murder goes wrong, Tony tries a different way of getting rid of his wife. Can the police inspector and the man who really loves Margot discover the truth and save her? Call 817-515-3599 for reservations (free-$6).
• Deathtrap, presented by TCC Theatre Northwest, for this weekend only. Sidney Bruhl needs a killer idea. Once the toast of Broadway, his plays were masterpieces of the murder genre, but it has been years since his last hit. When unknown playwright Clifford Anderson sends Bruhl a script to die for, the desperate writer sees a lethal opportunity. This perfect plot is about to bend, to spiral, to spin totally out of control. And in Sidney Bruhl's isolated American home, enjoyable fatal fiction will become shockingly fatal fact. Call 817-515-7724 for reservations (free-$6).
• Twelfth Night, presented by TCC Northeast Playhouse, for this weekend only. All shows are general admission seating and tickets (free-$6) can be reserved by calling the Box Office at 817-515-6687.
• Urinetown, presented by Richland College, for this week only. All performances are free.