Opening and preview weekend for 10 theater productions (Mar. 20-22)

by Shawn Parikh

This weekend is a big one for show openings and brings in a wide range of plays to DFW. Make sure to see a couple while you have the time:

• A Raisin in the Sun, presented by African-American Repertory Theater. Tells the story of a family living and struggling on Chicago's South Side in the 1950s. It is a fiercely moving portrait of people whose hopes and dreams are constantly deferred. The universal themes are very much relevant today. It was the first play written by an African-American woman to be produced on Broadway. Purchase tickets ($15-20) online or by calling 972-572-0998.
• Art, presented by Circle Theatre, previewing and opening this weekend. A witty, thought-provoking comedy about friendship, art, and how we define ourselves, the play explores a long-term friendship. Can three friends come to terms with the purchase of an expensive piece of modern art? Art was written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton. It was the winner of the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play and will be directed by Jaime Castaneda. Show officially opens March 21 (evening). Call 817-877-3040 for tickets ($10-25).
• The Norman Conquests, presented by Stage West. Three hilarious plays, each offering a different perspective on one weekend's romantic misadvantures. The three plays, Table Manners, Living Together, and Round and Round the Garden, will each open separately and then run in rep for three weeks. One of Stage West's first blockbuster hits, this is not to be missed. Marathon Price including Dinner and Dessert General $95, Seniors/Students $75, Season Ticket Holders $20. Purchase tickets ($15-28) online or by calling 817-784-9378.
• The Piano Lesson, presented by Jubilee Theatre, previewing this weekend. August Wilson won his second Pulitzer Prize for this haunting drama. It is 1936, and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he has to come up with the money right quick. He wants to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations, but he shares ownership with his sister, and it sits in her living room. She has already rejected several offers because the antique piano is covered with incredible carvings detailing the family’s rise from slavery. Boy Willie tries to persuade his stubborn sister that the past is past, but she is more formidable than he anticipated. Show officially opens March 27. Purchase tickets ($10) online or by calling 817-338-4411.
• The Tale of Peter Rabbit, presented by Dallas Children's Theater. The award-winning musical adaptation of Beatrix Potter's beloved and bestselling rabbit tale! New puppets based on Miss Potter's charming illustrations spring to life to re-create the tale of the naughty little bunny who has captivated our hearts for over 100 years. Purchase tickets ($12-22) online or by calling 214-740-0051.
• Night Watch, presented by Runway Theatre. Unable to sleep, Elaine Wheeler paces the living room of her Manhattan townhouse, troubled by unsettling memories and vague fears. Her husband tries to comfort her, but when he steps away for a moment Elaine screams as she sees (or believes she sees) the body of a dead man in the window across the way. The police are called, but find nothing except an empty chair. As Elaine's terror escalates, her husband, claiming that Elaine may be on the verge of a breakdown, calls in a lady psychiatrist, who agrees with his suggestion that Elaine should commit herself to a sanitarium. Momentum builds as sinister characters and a suspenseful plot bring the play to a riveting and chilling climax. Purchase tickets ($12-15) online or by calling 817-488-4842.
• First Baptist of Ivy Gap, presented by Rotunda Theatre. During WWII, six women gather at the church to roll bandages and plan the church's 75th anniversary. Overseeing things is Edith, the pastor's wise-cracking wife who dispenses Red Cross smocks and witty repartee to Luby, whose son is fighting in the Pacific; Mae Ellen, the church's rebellious organist who wants to quit but hasn't the courage; Olene, who dreams of a career in Hollywood; Sammy, a shy newcomer with a secret; and Vera, an influential Baptist with a secret of her own. Twenty-five years later, our "First Baptist Six" reunite. With humor and pathos, these six very different women find comfort, forgiveness and redemption in each other. Call 214-220-2727, ext. 228 for tickets ($6-15).
• Footlight Frenzy, presented by ONSTAGE in Bedford. Written by Ron House, Diz White, Alan Shearman, and Bud Slocomb. Zany comedy - when PTA and a washed up Broadway director undertake an amibitious fundraiser benefit play in a desperate attempt to save the school. Purchase tickets ($10-15) online or by calling 817-644-6444.
• Arsenic & Old Lace, presented by Rockwall Community Playhouse. RCP's Optional Favorite Theater brings the story of the eccentric Brewster family. In addition to the scheming old women who poison their victims with elderberry wine, the family includes Teddy, who suffers delusions that he is Theodore Roosevelt and that the Panama Canal runs through the cellar of his home. The locks he digs become convenient graves for the lonely men who fall victims to Aunt Martha and Aunt Abby’s machinations. When their nephew Mortimer discovers a body under the window seat of his aunts’ home, however, the elderly women ‘fess up’ to their deeds matter-of-factly and the events of the play become more absurd right up to the end. Call 972-722-3399 for reservations ($12-15).
• The Nerd, presented by Granbury Opera House. How do you get a total nut-job out of your life, even though he saved it? Chris Trimboli will star in the title role as THE NERD. Hailed by the media as one of the funniest plays ever written, this extraordinarily inventive, side-splitting comedy was first presented by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, then produced in Great Britian, then went on to Broadway and played 441 performances. The action centers on the hilarious dilemma of a young architect (Alex Mitchell) who is visited by a man he’s never met but who saved his life in Vietnam…the visitor turning out to be an incredibly inept, hopelessly stupid “nerd” who outstays his welcome with a vengeance. His continued presence among Willum and his friends leads to one uproarious incident after another, until the normally placed Willum finds himself contemplating violence –a dire development which, happily, is staved off by the surprising “twist” ending of the play. Purchase tickets ($20-25) online or by calling 817-573-9191, ext. 1.