Robin Hood protests the prince’s removal of Girl Scout cookies in TheatreWorks of Northern Nevada’s The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, playing at the Laxalt Auditorium through Feb. 26.
’Tis the season for local theater to blossom
a
s we climb out of this soggy winter and into a (hopefully) sunnier spring, the roster of local stage offerings is blooming profusely. We have more theater companies than ever before and a few Nevada premieres. Several companies are putting new spins on old stories. Many pieces are redolent of our confused and troubled times. But in spring, we shed heaviness like winter coats, so you’ll find plenty lighthearted stuff, too.
strings attached Goodluck Macbeth
GLM’s ninth season kicked off this month with Laura Eason’s Sex with Strangers, running through Feb. 25. The show explores the dark side of ambition—and how the struggle to get what you want can sometimes turn you into someone you don’t want to be. Next comes the show Managing Director Christopher Daniels describes as “Avenue Q meets Satan.” Robert Askins’
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Hand to God is fresh off Broadway and making its Nevada premiere at GLM March 18-April 8. It’s the outrageous story of how a Texas church’s effort to teach kids bible lessons with puppets goes awry when little Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, might be possessed by Satan. Reno’s puppet pro, Bernie Beauchamp, is helping to bring this production to life. GLM goes back to the Bard April 28-May 20 with the playwright’s bloodiest tragedy: Titus Andronicus. Producing Artistic Director Joe Atack is taking the story from the last days of the Roman Empire to a women’s prison in 1920s rural Nevada, complete with an all-female cast. Tickets & information: www.goodluckmacbeth.org
dysfunc tion Junc tion
UNR Department of Theatre & Dance The University of Nevada, Reno, has fresh material this spring. Family Portrait, March 3-11, is the first English production
of a Japanese play by Shu Matsui. UNR faculty member Jessica Nakamura did the translation and directs this comedy that pokes fun at our notions about family. Another old tale is made new April 14-23 with Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice. It’s based on the ancient Greek myth about Orpheus, who travels to the Underworld to retrieve his recently deceased wife, Eurydice. Ruhl’s version tells the tale from the wife’s perspective. The department’s annual spring dance concert May 4-6 showcases faculty work and includes a guest appearance by hiphop b-girl Teena Custer. Tickets & information: www.unr.edu/cla/theatredance
classics reim agined Brüka Theatre
Just in time for Women’s History Month, Brüka presents Mary Bennett in the one-woman show Words to Live By: An Evening with Dorothy Parker, March 9-25. A collage of Parker’s life and works, the
by Jessica santina
show draws the audience into the world of the 1920s writer, whose voice seems particularly resonant today. Next comes Sam Shephard’s Tooth of Crime. Lewis Zaumeyer, who mounted the show at Jub Jub’s a couple of years ago, is taking advantage of Brüka’s space and the current resurgence of spokenword poetry to reinvent this unconventional rock ’n’ roll poem about the high price of fame, running April 7-22. Reinvention is the name of the game in May, too, when Aaron Posner’s Stupid F---ing Bird gives Chekhov’s The Seagull a new life. This new comedic retelling opening May 19 still deals with a circle of unrequited loves, but Posner’s does so from the doomed bird’s point of view. Brüka also presents its ninth season of the Brüka Theatre for Children series, with The Bremen Town Musicians, opening Feb. 23 for three public performances before it begins its tour of schools. This tale of a troupe of older animals who find they’re no longer useful on the farm is about teamwork, friendships and living the dream. Tickets & information: www.bruka.org
PHOTO/ERIC MARKS
spring forward
