They dance whenever they’re able: The knights of TMCC’s Spamalot.
Photo/Allison Young
by Jessica sanTina
This spring, the local theater companies are all grown up
I
’ve been writing these twice-yearly theater previews for a few years, and each year I see local theater companies blazing more trails, landing bigger fish, establishing deeper roots … and lots of other clichés that mean good things for area stages. A spring theater preview may call to mind all sorts of seasonal metaphors—fledgling, blossoming, budding. A few years ago, they may have fit. But with developments such as multimilliondollar upgrades, heavyweight artists in residence, original plays and innovative art forms, those terms no longer fit. The local theater scene is officially all grown up.
Drinking age: Brüka TheaTre Raise a glass to a pillar of Reno theater: Brüka’s celebrating its 21st birthday by binging on innovation and challenge—just before construction starts on the new Virginia Street Bridge and potentially affects next season. In March, spring comes in like The Lyons, a caustic, semi-autobiographical comedy by Nicky Silver (author of Fat Men in Skirts and 16 | RN&R |
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
The Food Chain) about a terminally ill father whose wife has waited far too long to let his kids know about it. Nothing about April’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses is lamb-like—not with its stories of lust, betrayal and sexual manipulation. Director Holly Natwora sets this version in 1920s Paris, and incorporates costumes by Lady Hull that draw upon French designer Erté’s long, elegant styles, which are so iconic of the period. An icon of a different kind takes the stage in late May. Controversial President Andrew Jackson gets a 21st-century emo rock star makeover in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which Brüka calls “a Wild West rock musical.” Playwright-in-residence and director Sandra Neace returned from New York’s International Fringe Festival with Best-in-Show-winner 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche in tow. This comedy, opening in July, is set in a 1950s Cold War-era bomb shelter, where the ladies of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein have unwittingly ended up together. Brüka’s Theater for Children tackles another Brothers Grimm tale with Goldi, a contemporary retelling of the Goldilocks story in which the young home intruder is torn between two families—her own, and the one in her fantasies. For tickets and information, visit bruka.org.
LocaLs onLy: gooDLuck MacBeTh Goodluck Macbeth’s 2014 season is comprised almost entirely of original work created by Renoarea artists. Kicking things off, and running through Feb. 22, is a coproduction with improv troupe The Utility Players titled The Game Show Show. Two teams—the Utility Players and other teams of locals—will face off in two hilarious and unpredictable game show showdowns. Also in March, GLM’s Spotlight Academy for Young Actors presents John Lennon & Me, the story of a terminally ill girl with a rich fantasy life. The Memory Card is a show conceived by the Reno Video Game Orchestra and developed with Goodluck Macbeth. Opening March 21, this sci-fi story plunges an adolescent girl into the world of video games. The show combines original music, video projection and an audience-guided storyline with three possible endings, à la the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. Playwright-in-residence Stacey Spain directs her own original piece, opening May 2. The Killarney Sabbatical is a comedic drama about a teacher on sabbatical in Ireland who must deal with the daughter she left behind there years ago. Goodluck Macbeth, now a formal acting
company as of this season, hopes to tour this production around the region. Starting in late June comes one of GLM’s only non-original production of the season: Sondheim’s Company, a musical comedy about a 30-something bachelor whose married pals keep offering advice for his commitment phobia. Local dance instructor Jessica Mann choreographs this piece, which will feature Cami Thompson. A GLM summer staple gets a new look. Now in its third year, Hot August Sock Hop still immerses audiences in the music of the ’50s and ’60s. It revisits a previous character, Gertie, who is now older and the proprietress of a creaturefeatures-only drive-in theater. Then in late August comes Miss Ginger Devine: Undressed. The local drag queen’s alter-ego, Chris Daniels (a Utility Player), created this semi-autobiographical one-woman show that examines the life and ridiculousness of life as Reno’s number-one drag queen. For tickets and information, visit GoodLuckMacbeth.org
a LiTTLe kicky: universiTy of nevaDa, reno New year, new digs, new name. As the $4 million renovation to its theater space prepares
