STAGE listings
REVIEW
Complete listings at www.bestofneworleans.Com
Lauren LaBorde, Listings Editor listingsedit@gambitweekly.com 504.483.3110 faX: 504.483.3116
THEATER 6X6. Mid-City Theatre, 3540 Toulouse St., (504) 488-1460; www.midcitytheatre.com — southern rep’s showcase features six plays written by six local writers. tickets $10. 7:30 p.m. wednesday.
Gambit > bestofneworleans.com > maY 28 > 2013
THE ADVENTURES OF BUTT BOY AND TIGGER. Elm Theatre, 220 Julia St., (504) 218-0055; www. elmtheatre.org — steven Dawson’s comedy follows two men who meet online and embark on a raunchy ride through the world of internet chatting. tickets $15. 8 p.m. thursday-saturday, through June 8.
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CLYBOURNE PARK. Shadowbox Theatre, 2400 St. Claude Ave., (504) 2988676; www.theshadowboxtheatre.com — Cripple Creek theatre Company presents the regional premiere of bruce norris’ exploration of past and present race relations and middle class hypocrisies in america. Visit www. cripplecreekplayers.org for details. tickets $15. 8 p.m. friday-sunday, through June 23. CRIMES AGAINST NATURE: A LOVE STORY. AllWays Lounge, 2240 St. Claude Ave., (504) 218-5778; www. theallwayslounge.com — featuring music by ratty scurvics, the play follows two cousins who hit the road and end up in new orleans after getting caught in the act together. tickets $10 monday performances, $15 all other performances. 8 p.m. friday-saturday and monday. DRIVING MISS DAISY. North Star Theatre, 347 Girod St., Mandeville, (985) 626-1500; www. northstartheatre.com — Janet shea stars in the pulitzer prize-winning play that follows the unlikely
relationship between an elderly southern woman and her driver. tickets $30 general admission, $27 seniors, $20 students and $15 children 12 and under. 7:30 p.m. friday-saturday and 3 p.m. sunday. NEXT TO NORMAL. Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., (504) 528-3800; www.cacno.org — leslie Castay stars in the tony award- and pulitzer prize-winning rock musical about a suburban mother’s fight with mental illness and her family’s attempts to hold everything together. Visit www.southernrep.com for details. tickets $20-$35. thursday-sunday, through June 9. RE-DESIGNING WOMEN. Mid-City Theatre, 3540 Toulouse St., (504) 488-1460; www.midcitytheatre.com — Varla Jean merman, ricky graham, brian peterson and Jack long star in the send-up of Designing Women, where the tV series’ characters are reimagined as new orleans women. tickets $30. 8 p.m. thursday-saturday and 6 p.m. sunday. WICKED. Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, 1419 Basin St., (504) 525-1052; www. mahaliajacksontheater.com — the hit musical explores the story of what happened before Dorothy arrived at oz. tickets $60-$170 (plus fees). 8 p.m. tuesdaysaturday, 2 p.m. saturdaysunday, 7:30 p.m sunday.
BURLESQUE, CABARET & VARIETY BURLESQUE BALLROOM. Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, Royal Sonesta Hotel, 300 Bourbon St., (504) 553-2299; www.sonesta.com — trixie minx stars in the weekly burlesque show featuring the music of romy Kaye and the
Next To Normal photo by John barrois
thru JUNE
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Next To Normal 7:30 p.m. thu.-sat.; 2 p.m. sun. Contemporary arts Center, 900 Camp st., (504) 522-6545; www.southernrep.com
Just when pompous period melodramas like The Phantom of the Opera seemed to have cornered the market on serious musical theater, Next To Normal ran off with a pulitzer prize, among many other honors. this inventive oddity, deftly produced by southern rep, might be characterized as the revenge of the middle class. it’s contemporary, suburban and a maelstrom of psychological torments. the show is a soft rock opera. almost all the narrative is sung, and a fourpiece band under the direction of Jefferson turner accompanies the impressive cast. bill walker’s set is a two-level abstract metallic structure, and most of the time it represents the new york home of the goodman family. wife and mother Diana goodman (leslie Castay) has had bipolar syndrome since her son gabe died 16 years ago at the age of 18 months. teenage gabe (Clint Johnson) is one of the main characters, and we realize he is a ghost in his mother’s mind. Diane’s teenage daughter natalie goodman (madison Kerth) is a promising musician and hopes to earn a university scholarship. she is wretchedly jealous of her dead brother, who still dominates her mother’s affections. a ray of hope shines on her in the form of henry (matthew thompson), a musician who falls in love with her. husband Dan goodman (richard hutton) struggles to stand by his wife and help guide her back to normalcy. there are many laughs amid this wreckage, and they are all the funnier because they are not forced. the family turns to a doctor (michael Krikorian) for help and also to pills. lots of pills. when they don’t do the trick, the doctor recommends electroconvulsive therapy. the sometimes-perplexing narrative becomes clearer as you recognize how the pieces of the puzzle all fit together. the complexities are counterbalanced as cast members throw themselves into their parts with mesmerizing conviction. the singing is impressive, and Dan Zimmer’s lighting mirrors the psychic fireworks of the plot. gradually, one realizes the allure of Diana’s ghostly son has a dark side. his sweetest moments bring her perilously close to the grave, and the emotional tangle plays out interestingly. the script is more challenging than those of most musicals, and under blake Coheley’s direction the cast turns in a stunning performance. — Dalt wonK