LOCAL THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS
by Tucson Citizen on Jan. 10, 2008, under Calendar, Local
Art Almquist (left) and Lesley Abrams star in "Doubt: A Play." A panel discussion with the director and cast will take place after the show Jan. 18.
“THE BAGHDAD BURNING SUITE”: This performance piece starring Kathleen Chalfant and Liz Magnes incorporates spoken word and jazz piano compositions. It is based upon a young Iraqi woman’s blog that has been maintained since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. It is a personal commentary on the aftermath of the war in Iraq, living conditions in Iraq and the daily lives of Iraqi women during that period. When: 7:30-9 p.m. Monday Where: Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd. Price: $25 Info: 882-9721, www.invisibletheatre.com Directions: Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind
“THE BIBLE BELT … AND OTHER ACCESSORIES:” Tucsonans loved the onstage story of Johnny Roy Hobson, the teen growing up gay in a small Texas town, showcased last year in the Arizona Onstage production of “Talk of the Town.” Paul Bonin-Rodriguez wrote that play. Now he follows with the sequel. Johnny is a few years older but still living in that same town and still working at the same Dairy Queen. Johnny’s life is expanding, though. He recently won his high school economics class contest in fashion designing. He’s going to the state finals competition, where he acquires an admirer and discovers the joy of vegan tamale pie . . . and an amazingly broad use for rhinestones. Kevin Johnson directs Ryan DeLuca as Johnny in this one-man show from Arizona Onstage Productions. According to the Austin Chronicle, “You don’t need to have seen the first of this series to get the joy, the laughs and the love of “Bible Belt.” When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday (preview), 8 p.m. Opening Night Friday, continuing at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 20. Where: ZUZI! Theater, 738 N. Fifth Ave. Price: Opening night PFLAG celebration with food and drink, $25; all other performances $15 Info: 270-3332, www.arizonaonstage.org Tickets can be purchased by clicking on “tickets.”
“DOUBT” A PLAY: Set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, this play traces the bitter confrontation between Father Flynn, a charismatic young priest whose relationship with a student raises suspicions, and Sister Aloysius, the tradition-minded principal of the school. A panel discussion with the director and cast follows the Jan. 18 performance. When: Performances at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 26. Additional show at 2 p.m. Jan. 19. Where: Christ Presbyterian Church, 6565 E. Broadway Price: $15 Info: 256-6593
“DEPUTY JAN”: There’s gonna be a new sheriff in the Old West, and Deputy Jan would like the job. Trouble is, she is scared of bad guys. But when there is a robbery at the Rootin’ Tootin’ Root Beer Saloon, she comes face to face with the worst outlaws in the West. In this wild West musical adventure, Deputy Jan tries to find her courage, save her friends and show everyone that the best man for the job is a girl. All Together Theatre, Live Workshop’s Family Series, presents this production for young audiences. When: 1 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 27 Where: 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. Price: $5-$8 Info: 327-4242, www.livetheatreworkshop.org
“DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE”: Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher adapts Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of inner demons and evil unchecked in an Arizona Theatre Company world premiere directed by ATC artistic director David Ira Goldstein. Against the backdrop of Victorian London, the respected Dr. Jekyll has begun to display erratic behavior toward his friends. At the same time, a brutal figure has begun to haunt the city’s streets, committing assault and murder under the cloak of darkness and the dismal London fog. In “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Dr. Jekyll’s friend and lawyer confronts the monstrous Mr. Hyde in a series of Rashomon-like scenes that attempt to answer the puzzles at the heart of a tortured soul. The play contains mature themes and some nudity and is intended for mature audiences only. When: Previews at 8 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15-17; Opens at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 and continues at 8 p.m. Jan. 19 and 26 and Feb. 2; 7 p.m. Jan. 20; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22-25 and Jan. 30-31 and Feb. 1; matinees at 2 p.m. Jan. 20, 23, 27 and 30-31 and Feb. 2; and 4 p.m. Jan. 26 Where: Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Price: $26-$50 Info: 622-2823, www.aztheatreco.org
“FIFTH PLANET” AND OTHER PLAYS BY DAVID AUBURN (PREVIEWS): Directed by Nell Summers, the one-act plays include: • “Fifth Planet”: Charting the friendship between two observatory workers. • “Are You Ready”: Examines three people who are drawn to the same restaurant and whose lives are altered in an instant. • “Damage Control”: Looks at a politician and his aide during a moment of crisis. • “Miss You”: Explores three relationships among four people and exploits the comic possibilities of telephone hold buttons. • “Three Monologues”: Depicts a young woman’s solitude. • “What Do You Believe About the Future?”: Ten people answer the title question. • “We Had a Very Good Time”: Follows a married couple on a journey to a menacing foreign country. When: Preview performances at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17-18. Play runs Thursdays-Sundays until Feb. 10. Where: Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave. Price: $10 Info: 882-0555; www.beowulfalley.org; No one younger than 11 admitted
“THE GOAT OR WHO IS SYLVIA?”: Winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, this provocative domestic drama for mature audiences focuses on a family that is deeply rocked by an unimaginable event. Presented by The Rogue Theatre and directed by David Morden, the production includes a musical show 15 minutes before curtain. A discussion follows performances Thursday, Sunday and Jan. 17. Pay-What-You-Will nights are Thursday and Jan. 17. When: The play runs through Jan. 20. Evening shows 7:30 Thursdays-Saturdays. Matinee shows at 2 p.m. Sundays. No performance Jan. 18, but an extra performance at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16. Where: Cabaret Theatre in the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Price: $18 Info: 551-2053, www.TheRogueTheatre.org
KING OF THE KOSHER GROCERS: Catalina Players celebrates its 25th anniversary with this warm-hearted comedy about three diverse men – Izzy, Elvis and Joe – who work at the Izzy Silver market, formerly a kosher deli now selling collard greens and tortillas. After 50 years, city inspectors are threatening to close the market, but with the help of two young men, these friends scheme to defy the bureaucrats and bring the store to profitability. Directed by Ed Ortiz, the play runs through Feb. 2. When: Evening shows at 7:30 Fridays-Saturdays. Matinee shows at 1:30 p.m. Sundays Where: Academy Hall, 6653 E. Carondelet Drive Price: $18 general, $16 students Info: 800-838-3006, www.catalinaplayers.org
THE LONE STRANGER -OR- TRIGGER HAPPY!: Wearing a mask to protect his identity, The Lone Stranger fights to bring justice to the lawless frontier. Astride his white stallion, Thunder, he strikes terror into the hearts of the gunslingers of the Old West. When: Preview Thursday and opening Friday at 8 p.m. Shows at 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, and 3 and 7 p.m. Sundays until March 22 Where: The Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway Price: $16.95 adults, $14.95 students, seniors, active military, $6.95 ages 12 and younger Info: 886-9428, www.thegaslighttheatre.com
“LILIES OF THE FIELD”: The Red Barn Theatre troupe performs this story about a handy man and the relationship he develops with five nuns at the convent where he is asked to build a church. When: Evening shows at 8 Fridays-Saturdays. Matinees at 2 Sundays until Jan. 27 Where: Red Barn Theater, 948 N. Main Ave. Price: $12 general, $10 for seniors (62 and older) and students Info: 622-6973
“I OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES”: A once-successful Hollywood scriptwriter’s dry spell has shaken his confidence when suddenly he’s confronted with his past: A teenage daughter who wants him to get her into “pictures.” When: Evening shows at 7:30 Fridays-Saturdays; matinees at 3 Sundays until Jan. 27 Where: Top Hat Theatre Club, 3110 E. Fort Lowell Road Price: $18 general, $15 seniors, students and military Info: 326-6800, www.tophattheatreclub.com
“PRIVATE LIVES:” Noel Coward, that most dapper of playwrights, takes to the balconies of a high rise hotel to tell this sophisticated tale of Elyot Chase (Richard Ivey) and Amanda Prynne (Kristi Loera), once married but now divorced. Wouldn’t you know, no sooner have they married other spouses than they meet again when both accidentally decide to have their honeymoons in the same hotel. Forgetting about their new spouses, Elyot and Amanda reignite their passion for each other. Then they remember all the reasons why they made each other so angry the first time around. Trying to decide if it is love or hate is never easy. Fortunately for us, the script is full of wry jokes about the nature of marriage. Live Theatre Workshop has mounted this production, with Roberta Streicher the director and Megan Patno the assistant director. Adding to the cast are Jodi Rankin as Sibyl Chase, Eric Anson as Victor Prynne and Patno doubling as Louise. When: 7:30 Thursday, Friday (previews); opening 7:30 p.m. Saturday, continuing at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 17. Where: Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. Price: $14-$17 Info: 327-4242, www.livetheatreworkshop.org
“VITA AND VIRGINIA”: Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf, two of the greatest writers of the 20th century, met at a dinner party in 1922 and began an affair lasting 20 years. The Invisible Theatre presents this play, adapted from their love letters. It’s directed by Pamela Berlin and stars Broadway actresses Kathleen Chalfant and Patricia Elliott. When: Showtimes are 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Where: Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd. Price: $42 Info: 882-9721, www.invisibletheatre.com Directions: on the campus of the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind
