Opening weekend for 16 productions and theater festival (Mar. 27-29)

by Shawn Parikh

It's quite a weekend for the DFW theatre community. Not only is a new theater company debuting their first show, but a theater festival is also being hosted in Deep Ellum. Make sure to see a few while you have the chance:

• 4th Annual DFW Fringe Festival, presented by Dallas Hub Theater. The 2009 DFW Fringe Festival is the largest, most diverse festival yet and for the first time includes dinner theaters. The shows this year feature shows that have performed as far as South Africa to around the United States. This pass features VIP admission to each and every show of the festival. Click here for a complete festival schedule. Festival passes are $59.95. Purchase tickets online or by calling 1-877-238-5596.
• Closer, presented by Enter Stage Left. This play is a series of pass-the-lover scenes in which a quartet of people struggle to find intimacy but can't seem to get closer. It examines what it means to love and maintain a relationship in a densely plotted, stinging look at modern love and betrayal. It has been described as a work that “gets under the audience’s skin, and…not for the emotionally squeamish.” Purchase tickets ($15-20) online or by calling 972-754-2672.
• Some People, presented by Project X. Some People is about an ordinary Dallas suburb. The husband, wife and kid, relatives, neighbors, and friends—some people who hear voices, stare off into space thinking of nothing, and have no idea how they got there. No matter how they try the world makes no sense. Is it a dream? A comic routine? What’s going on? As time and space fold and spin something happens to some people we know. Things are different…and they like it. Call 214-421-2400 for tickets ($15).
• Are We There Yet?, presented by Theatre Arlington. Blending the charm of "Everybody Loves Raymond" with the parent's version of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, this musical trip is a fresh contemporary look at the highlights of a typical family - from childbirth to senior prom, through blind dates and family trips, all the way to empty nests, constantly reminding us of what it really means to be a family. Purchase tickets ($18-20) online or by calling 817-275-7661.
• Murder on the Nile, presented by Theatre Three. An elegant honeymoon cruise on the Nile for the attractive young aristocrats turns strange and dangerous with the surprise appearance of the young husband’s stalker. Despite both the protection of the bride’s guardian (who also embarks conveniently and unexpectedly) and the odd assemblage of other passengers pursuing solutions to ancient mysteries, perils mount for the giddy romantic couple. Before the doomed ship reaches its downriver destination, an audacious conspiracy roils the waters of the timeless river and lays bare the blackest hearts of criminal intrigue. Show officially opens March 30. Purchase tickets ($15-30) online or by calling 214-871-3300.
• The Rocky Horror Show, presented by UNT. Brad & Janet are two sexually confused middle class American kids who seek aide after having tire trouble on the way to visit an old college professor. They find help at Frankenstein Manor where they are confronted by the mad ‘doctor’ Frank N. Furter from the planet Transexual in the galaxy of Transylvania. With the doctor’s decedent morality, his servants Riff Raff, Magenta, and Columbia he has created an experiment, the perfect man christened Rocky Horror. Adrift in this world of science fiction, one never knows what to expect. The Rocky Horror Show is an outrageous classic of stereo-typed science fiction movies, Marvel comics, Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello outings, and rock ‘n’ roll of every vintage. Call 940-565-2428 for tickets ($7.50-10).
• Beto’s Magical Journey, presented by Teatro de la Rosa. An original play by Rob Bosquez. A young Cuban boy, floating on a raft to the United States, is helped along by an assortment of ocean creatures. This colorful tale will incorporate large puppets and live Cuban music! Prior to the show, enjoy art work inspired by local artists, who take the play and place it on canvas in the Galería de la Rosa. Purchase tickets ($5-10) online.
• Heaven Can Wait, presented by Irving Community Theater. Celestial blunders? Angelic mishaps? Please, say it ain’t so… But when Mr. Jordan, (an angel), checks the records for Joe Pendleton, (a boxer), he finds that Joe isn’t due in Heaven for another 60 years! Comedy ensues as the saintly mistake proves very difficult to fix. But you can be rest assured that all the confusion ends heavenly. Purchase tickets ($13-18) online or by calling 972-252-2787.
• Hay Fever, presented by Fort Worth Theatre. By Noel Coward, is set in the late 1920's at a country home in England owned by the Bliss family. The eccentric Blisses live in a world where reality slides easily into fiction. Upon entering this world, the unfortunate weekend guests are repeatedly thrown into melodramatic scenes wherein their hosts profess emotions and react to situations that do not really exist. The resulting comedic chaos ends only when the tortured visitors tip-toe out the door. Call 817-921-5300 for tickets ($13-15) or purchase online.
• They Came from Somewhere, presented by Amateur Community Theatre of Rowlett. A meteor streaks out of the southern sky and lands near the town of Latigo, Texas. A place so small that it's about to drop off the map. Maybe the miracle of the meteor will attract some attention. Certainly it's attracting something! There are, indeed, creatures from an alien environment in Latigo. What the natives don't know is that they are from Poughkeepsie, New York. This comic farce could only happen when worlds apparently collide. Purchase tickets ($7-10) online.
• The Foreigner, presented by Richardson Theatre Centre. Larry Shue's play is about an Englishman who discovers many secrets while visiting an old Georgia lodge under the guise of a foreigner who knows no English. The production is rooted in the great traditions of British farce comedy, but it exhibits a uniquely American spin -- an errant evangelist, a pregnant heiress, a dim-witted brother, a Brit demolition expert, a sweet old proprietor and klutzy Klan visitors. Call 972-699-1130 for reservations ($20-22).
• The Piano Lesson, presented by Jubilee Theatre. 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. Purchase tickets ($12-20) online or by calling 817-338-4411.
• Carousel, presented by Denton Community Theatre. The serious themes of societal prejudices between classes, hypocrisy, and domestic violence are not often featured in American musicals.This hauntingly beautiful piece does explores the darker side of life, love, and ultimately, redemption and hope for a better future for members of two families in 1870's New England. This memorable story is told with beautiful imagery and powerful music. Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics and Book By Oscar Hammerstein II. Call 940-382-1915 for tickets ($10-18).
• The Night Hank Williams Died, presented by Duncanville Community Theatre. Written by Larry L. King. In a 1950's small west Texas town, dreams of big careers and warm romance collide with the harsh struggles of real life. Call 972-780-5707 for reservations ($10-12).
• Disney’s High School Musical 2, presented by Plano Children's Theatre. Adapted from the widely successful Disney TV movie, the stories follows Gabrielle, Troy, Sharpay and Ryan and friends through their summer vacation at Lava Springs County Club. Sharpay is as usual, self doubting, manipulative, and difficult. Gabrielle and Troy promise each other to have the best summer ever – together forever – but when is teen love ever simple. Not at Lava Springs Country Club. For tickets ($7-9), call 972-422-2575.
• CATS, presented by McKinney Youth Theatre. CATS is a musical in two acts about a tribe of Cats who gather once a year to choose a member of the tribe to be reincarnated. The musical showcases characters from all walks of life who are metaphors of characters from different parts of society. Their stories are told through the poetry of T.S. Eliot and relationships are presented through choreography. Call 972-422-2575 to reserve tickets ($7-9).
• Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, presented by Creative Arts Theatre & School. Peter Rabbit is lucky to have escaped Mr. MacGregor's garden, but then his cousin Benjamin suggests they go back together for Peter's missing coat and shoes. Purchase tickets ($5-7) online or by calling 817-861-CATS.