Last weekend to catch 11 plays and musicals (May 1-3)

by Shawn Parikh

Even though you may feel the need to stay inside and avoid infection, this is also a good weekend to live on the edge and catch show great productions that are closing:

• Frost/Nixon, presented by Dallas Summer Musicals. How did David Frost, a famous British talk-show host with a playboy reputation, elicit the apology that the rest of the world was waiting to hear from former President Richard Nixon? Award-winning actor Stacy Keach and Alan Cox lead a cast of 10 in this fast-paced Tony Award(R) nominated new play which shows the determination, conviction and cunning of two men as they square off in one of the most monumental television interviews of all time. FROST/NIXON is written by Peter Morgan, writer of "The Queen", "The Last King of Scotland", & HBO's "Longford", and directed by Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage. Purchase tickets ($20-80) online or by calling 214-631-ARTS.
• The Black Monk, presented by Undermain Theatre. An emissary from the unknown appears to a young scholar, written by David Rabe, based on an Anton Chekhov story. Kovrin, a young scholar exhausted to the point of madness by his studies decides to visit his childhood friend Tanya on her father's garden estate. The two fall in love and plan to marry. Kovrin tells Tanya the legend of the black monk whose image has been reflected in mirages for a thousand years and who will soon return in the flesh. One day in the garden, the black monk appears to the young man and claims to hold the key to an enlightenment that may lead to total devastation. Purchase tickets ($15-25) online or by calling 214-747-5515.
• Based on a Totally True Story, presented by WaterTower Theatre's Discover Series. Ethan Keene, playwright and comic book writer, is on the verge of having it all – success, money, and a Hollywood movie credit. But getting to that Hollywood Premiere may be more dramatic than the movie. His father is having a marital crisis, his boyfriend is begging for more attention, and his producer is demanding a re-write. Based on a Totally True Story is the story of one wanna-be screenwriter’s attempt to find his own happy ending before the final credits roll. Recommended for mature audiences. Purchase tickets ($20-25) online or by calling 972-450-6232.
• The History Boys, presented by Uptown Players. The story blends comedy with tragedy as an unruly bunch of bright, funny senior boys in a British boarding school are in pursuit of sex, sports, and a place at a good university. In all of their efforts, they are helped, hindered, and enlightened by a maverick English teacher who seeks to broaden their horizons, and by a young history teacher who questions the methods of their schooling. In The History Boys, Alan Bennett raises – with gentle wit and pitch-perfect command of character – not only universal questions about the nature of history and how it is taught, but also questions about the purpose of education today. Purchase tickets ($25-30) online or by calling 214-219-2718.
• King Hedley II, presented by TeCo Theatrical Productions. A petty thief named King returns after seven years in prison to the devastation of Reaganomics. The play is set in 1985 and tells the story of an ex-con in post-Reagan Pittsburgh trying to rebuild his life. Many critics have hailed the work as a haunting and challenging tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. TeCo's T-An-T (Teenagers and Theater) students culminate an intensive, four-month apprenticeship. Call the box office at 214-948-0716 for tickets ($15-20) or purchase online.
• Side Man, presented by Greater Lewisville Community Theatre. The comic and tender story of Clifford, a young man who looks back on his family life. Prior to leaving home, Clifford reconciles the role that he has long played as parent to his parents. Smoothly gliding between present and past, it tells the story of a time before The Beatles and Elvis, when jazzmen were as heroic as ball players and there was no shortage of Saturday night gigs. Side Man is both a tribute to the men whose lives were their music and a sober look at a family drama left in the wake of that passion. Call 972-221-SHOW for reservations ($10-13).
• Steel Magnolias, presented by McKinney Repertory Theatre. In the haven of Truvy's beauty salon, six very different women come together to share their secrets and bare their souls, not to mention a little gossip! From weddings to babies to funerals, they weather every event in their lives en masse with grace, determination, and perfectly coiffed hair. Purchase tickets ($11-16) online or by calling 214-544-4630.
• There’ll Be No Sad Songs, presented by Granbury Opera House. Tickets are $20-25.
• Timon of Athens, staged reading presented by Shakespeare Dallas for this weekend only. A great mystery to scholars as the only remaining manuscript seems to be unfinished, Timon of Athens is one of Shakespeare's most pessimistic tragedies. Tickets are free-$5.
• Zombie Prom, presented by Tarrant County College Southeast Campus, for this weekend only. This rock and roll musical is set in the atomic 1950's at Enrico Fermi High. Toffee has fallen for Jonny, the class bad boy. When her parents force her to end the romance, the heartbroken but angry Jonny hurls himself into a vat of nuclear waste. But that's just the first ten minutes of the show. What will happen to Toffee? How will the school deal with Jonny's death? But most important to everyone - will Principal Strict allow zombies at the prom? And what will he wear? Call 817-515-3599 for reservations (free-$6).
• Lobby Hero, presented by Theatre Northwest. Kenneth Lonergan's "Lobby Hero" is a bitingly comic exploration of the ways in which corruption, ambition, and race affect American justice. The story follows Jeff, a hapless security guard who becomes entangled in a murder investigation along with his tightly wound supervisor, William. Heading the police investigation are Dawn, an ambitious rookie, and her cynical, more experienced partner, Bill. As Jeff and Dawn discover that Bill and William are concealing embarrassing information, they are forced to take a stand. Humor abounds as the lines between loyalty and honesty, right and wrong blur beyond recognition, turning the New York apartment lobby into the ultimate grey area. Don't miss this off-Broadway hit where right and wrong is never as simple as black and white. Tickets are free-$6.