Theater Week – Piano Bar

 

creativespotting.com

A listing of Triangle theater performances
through April 18, 2016

 

OPENING:

* H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor – The Durham Savoyards present Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1878 comic opera. Directed by Derrick Ivey, music director Alan Riley Jones. This week only: Thursday-Saturday 8:00, Sunday 2:00. Carolina Theatre, Durham.
durhamsavoyards.org

“Master Harold”…and the Boys – Athol Fugard’s 1982 drama set in Apartheid-era South Africa. Directed by Jesse Gephart, presented by Mortall Coile Theatre Company. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00, Sunday 3:00. Continues through April 24. Sonorous Road Theatre, Oberlin Road, Raleigh.
sonorousroad.com

* Packing: Arms in America – Triangle Playwrights presents a directed reading of short plays on the subject of firearms. One show: Sunday 3:00. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro.
artscenterlive.org

The Piano Has Been Drinking: A Tom Waits Cabaret – Benefit fundraiser for Little Green Pig. This week: Saturday 8:00, Mystery Brewery (not the Pub), Dimmocks Mill Road, Hillsborough. Repeats next Friday at Arcana, Durham.
littlegreenpig.com

* Snap Back! A Cautionary Tale – Free family-friendly show about cyber bullying, presented by Mojoaa Performing Arts Company. One show: Saturday 11:00 a.m. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro.
artscenterlive.org

* Spring Awakening – Teenagers in 19th century Germany deal with their sexuality in Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s 2006 musical version of Frank Wedekind’s still-controversial 1892 play about young love and sexuality. Presented by Pauper Players. Directed by Jackson Cooper, music director Simon Wolf. This week only: Friday 7:00, Saturday 3:00, Sunday and Monday 7:00. Closes Monday. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro.
artscenterlive.org

The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife – NRACT presents Charles Busch’s 2000 comedy about upper class New Yorkers. Directed by Timothy E. Locklear. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00, Sunday 3:00. Continues through April 24. NRACT, Lead Mine Road, Raleigh.
nract.org

The Wizard of Oz – Stage version of the L. Frank Baum fantasy, based on the 1939 film version with songs by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Presented by Cary Players, directed by Jon Todd, music director Craig Johnson. This week: Friday and Saturday 7:30, Sunday 3:00. Continues through April 23. Cary Arts Center.
caryplayers.org
 

ONGOING:

* Bob – Born and abandoned in the bathroom of a White Castle, Bob sets off on a cross-country odyssey in his quest to become a great man. Duke Theater Studies presents Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s 2011 comedic Everyman story. Directed by Ellen Hemphill. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00, Sunday 2:00. Closes Sunday. Sheafer Theater, Bryan Center, Duke West Campus, Durham.
tickets.duke.edu

Charlotte’s Web – Stage adaptation of E.B. White’s 1952 children’s book about a hapless pig under threat of death and the literate and scarily intelligent spider who saves him. Directed by Nikki Dyke. Presented by Raleigh Little Theatre Youth Series. This week: Thursday and Friday 7:30, Saturday and Sunday 1:00 and 5:00. Extended through April 23. Sutton Theatre, RLT, Raleigh.
raleighlittletheatre.org

* Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – University Theatre presents Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2009 adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson story. Director not listed. This week: Wednesday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 2:00. Closes Sunday. Titmus Theatre, Thompson Hall, NCSU Campus, Raleigh.
theatre.arts.ncsu.edu

The Elephant Man – Bernard Pomerance’s 1979 play tells the story of John Merrick. Directed by Ira David Wood III. Presented by Theatre in the Park. This week: Thursday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 3:00. Continues through April 24. TIP, Raleigh.
theatreinthepark.com

* Jacuzzi – Extended run. Ward Theatre Company presents the 2014 darkly comic thriller by The Debate Society – Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, and Oliver Butler. This week: Friday and Saturday 7:30, Sunday 3:00. Closes Sunday. Ward Theatre, Pine Cone Drive, Durham. wardtheatrecompany.com

The Nether – In the near future, when the internet has become a totally immersive virtual reality, an investigator discovers a secret domain where beauty and horror walk hand in hand. Manbites Dog Theater presents Jennifer Haley’s disturbing 2012 thriller. Directed by Jules Odendahl-James. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:15, Sunday 7:30. Continues through April 23. Manbites Dog, Durham.
manbitesdogtheater.org

Spoonface Steinberg – Stage version of Lee Hall’s 1997 radio drama about a 7-year-old autistic girl battling cancer, with a different actor for each performance. Presented by Burning Coal Theatre. Directed by Jerome Davis. This week: Thursday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 2:00. Continues through April 24. Burning Coal Theatre, Murphey School, Raleigh.
burningcoaltheatre.org

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – PlayMakers Rep presents the second area production in as many months of Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 musical thriller about a barber with a rapidly diminishing clientele and a baker with a rapidly increasing supply of free range meat pies. Directed by Jen Wineman. This week: Tuesday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 2:00. Continues through April 23. Paul Green Theatre, CDA, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill.
playmakersrep.org
 

IMPROV:

* Bull City Blues – Third episode of a new serial improv show based on police procedural tv shows. Directed by Rachel Klem. Presented by Common Ground Theatre. One performance: Friday 8:00. (Two more episodes scheduled for May 20, June 3.). Common Ground Theatre, Durham.
cgtheatre.comOne night: Friday 8:00. Common Ground Theatre, Durham.
cgtheatre.com

* Improv Percolator – Long form improv featuring Fatmouth Improv, Umlaut, and Support Group. One night: Thursday 8:00. Common Ground Theatre, Durham.
cgtheatre.com

* Third Date Improv – Yes, it’s another evening of improv by Third Date Improv about relationships! Special guest opening performance by improviser, storyteller and The Monti award winner Andrew Aghapour. One show: Saturday 8:00. Common Ground Theatre, Durham.
cgtheatre.com

 
* – Concludes this week

Please contact us with any corrections or omissions. For a more complete listing of area events, we recommend the arts calendar at Indyweek.com. For a listing of what else area theaters have in store this season, click on the Triangle Season Schedules tab at the top of the page.

 

Theater Week – When There Are Clouds in the Sky

 

The Tramp’s New World, Manbites Dog

A listing of Triangle theater performances
through December 7, 2015

 

OPENING:

Almost, Maine – Another visit to John Cariani’s popular fictional town (following Legacy Rep’s October production and Clayton Youth Theatre’s 2014 version), this time presented by One Song Productions. Directed by Anastasia LeDuc. This week only: Thursday and Friday 7:30, Saturday 2:00 and 7:30. Closes Saturday. Common Ground Theatre, Durham.
1songproductions.org

Cinderella – Raleigh Little Theatre’s annual holiday musical staging of the fairy tale, adapted and composed by Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy. Directed by Rod and Nancy Rich. This week: Friday 7:30, Saturday and Sunday 1:00 and 5:00. Continues through December 20. Sutton Theatre, RLT, Raleigh.
raleighlittletheatre.org

* Dashing Through the Snow – Family-friendly holiday comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, set in a Texas B&B. Directed by Matt Schedler, presented by Cary Players. This week only: Thursday and Friday 7:30, Saturday 3:00 and 8:00, Sunday 3:00, Monday 7:30. Closes Monday. Cary Arts Center.
caryplayers.org

The Emotions of Normal People – Love affairs, betrayal, sex, Stasi agents. Almost two years in the making, Little Green Pig’s “originalmovementtheaterwerk” deconstructs and reassembles the experiment-in-living that was the German Democratic Republic before the end of the Cold War brought it crashing down. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00. Continues through December 19. Studio 6, Swain Hall, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill.
littlegreenpig.businesscatalyst.com

* Green Porno – One-woman show by Isabella Rossellini about the odd and surprising mating rituals of insects and marine life. One performance: Saturday 8:00. Carolina Theatre, Durham.
carolinatheatre.org

Nuncrackers – Another holiday entry in Dan Goggin’s apparently inexhaustible Nunsense musical comedy franchise. Directed by Jon Todd, presented by NRACT. This week: Friday and Saturday 8:00, Sunday 3:00. Continues through December 20. NRACT, Lead Mine Road, Raleigh.
nract.org

* Once – 2012 Stage musical adaptation of the 2007 movie, presented by Broadway Series South. This week only: Tuesday-Friday 7:30, Saturday and Sunday 2:00 and 7:30. Closes Sunday. Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh.
dukeenergycenterraleigh.com

* The Sound of Music – Touring production of the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Directed by Jack O’Brien. This week only: Tuesday-Thursday 7:30, Friday 8:00, Saturday 2:00 and 8:00, Sunday 1:00 and 6:30. Closes Sunday. DPAC, Durham.
dpacnc.com

The Tramp’s New World – Charlie Chaplin’s iconic Tramp character is the lone survivor of a “super-atomic blast” in Rob Jansen’s one-man show, adapted from James Agee’s never-produced screenplay written for Chaplin. Directed by Joseph Megel, presented by Manbites Dog Theater. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:15, Sunday 2:00. Continues through December 19. Manbites Dog Theater, Durham.
manbitesdogtheater.org

The Wiz – Ease on down the road in this African American take on L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. Burning Coal presents the 1974 musical, directed by Randolph Curtis Rand. This week: Thursday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 2:00. Continues through December 20. Burning Coal Theatre, Murphey School, Raleigh.
burningcoal.org

 
ONGOING:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – An annual presentation of Broadway Series South, this stage musical version of the Beloved Holiday Classic™ is based on the venerable 1964 Rankin/Bass animated TV Xmas special (which vastly expanded the mythology of Johnny Marks’ 1949 hit song for Gene Autry — itself based on a 1939 Christmas promotional coloring book created by Robert L. May for Montgomery Ward in Chicago). Get your tickets early — this one sells faster than the bargain table at Misfit Toys “R” Us. This week: Friday 6:30, Saturday 11:00/2:00/6:30, Sunday 11:00 and 2:00. Continues through December 30. Fletcher Theater, DECPA, Raleigh.
dukeenergycenterraleigh.com
 
Peter and the Starcatcher – A prequel to J. M. Barrie’s 1904 Peter Pan, this 2009 play by Peter Elice is based on the book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Previously seen in a Broadway Series South touring production in Raleigh last March. Directed by Brendon Fox. Presented by PlayMakers Rep. This week: Tuesday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 2:00. Continues through December 12. Paul Green Theatre, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill.
playmakersrep.org
 

IMPROV:

Holiday in Rio – Transactors has the cure for your Seasonal Affective Disorder — escaping winter with a hastily improvised getaway to Rio de Janeiro, set to the bossa nova musical stylings of local Brazilian quartet Onda. One show: Friday 8:00. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro.
artscenterlive.org
 

* – Concludes this week

Please contact us with any corrections or omissions. For a more complete listing of area events, we recommend the arts calendar at Indyweek.com. For a listing of what else area theaters have in store this season, click on the Triangle Season Schedules tab at the top of the page.

 

Theater Week – What Train I’m On

Slow Down Freight Train (1946), Rose Piper. Ackland Art Museum.

A listing of Triangle theater performances
through January 12, 2015

OPENING:
Freight: The Five Incarnations of Abel Green – An African American man struggles to survive at various points in America’s history. World premiere of Howard L. Craft’s new play, featuring J. Alphonse Nicholson, directed by Joseph Megel. Presented by Streetsigns Center for Literature and Performance. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00, Sunday 3:00. Continues through January 24. Swain Hall Studio Six, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill.
piedmontperformancefactory.org

Habitus – New Triangle performance company VECTOR explores intersecting arenas of anger, education, and identity in an interactive, installation/performance. Created by choreographer Leah Wilks and visual artist Jon Haas. This week: Thursday-Saturday at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00. Continues through January 17. Manbites Dog Theater, Durham.
inthevector.com

* Love and Information – Caryl Churchill’s 2012 fragmented take on modern life, presented by The Delta Boys. This week only: Thursday-Sunday 8:00. Closes Sunday. The Carack, Durham.
thedeltaboys.squarespace.com

Sorrow’s End – Owl Tree Theater presents a new play by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer. This week: Friday and Saturday 7:30, Sunday 3:00. Continues through January 17. Cary Arts Center.
owltreetheater

Wicked – Touring production of the revisionist Oz musical returns to DPAC for a three-week run. This week: Wednesday 7:30, Thursday 2:00 and 7:30, Friday 8:00, Saturday 2:00 and 8:00, Sunday 1:00 and 6:30. Continues through January 25. DPAC, Durham.
dpacnc.com

* Wrestling Jerusalem – One-man show written and performed by Aaron Davidman, exploring the ongoing Palestinian/Israeli conflict and its affect on identity, social justice and history. Directed by Michael John Garcés. Presented by PRC Second Stage. This week only: Wednesday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 2:00 and 7:30. Closes Sunday. (Note: no online sales; phone or box office only.) Playmakers Rep, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill.
playmakersrep.org

ONGOING:
The Caretaker – South Stream Productions presents Harold Pinter’s 1960 breakthrough play, directed by Jaybird O’Berski. This week: Thursday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 2:00. Continues through January 18. Common Ground Theatre, Durham.
cgtheatre.com

* – Concludes this week

Please contact us with any corrections or omissions. For a more complete listing of area events, we recommend the arts calendar at Indyweek.com. For a listing of what else area theaters have in store this season, click on the Triangle Season Schedules tab at the top of the page.

 

Theater Week – Way Up High

A listing of Triangle theater performances
through April 14, 2014

OPENING:
The Bluest Eye – Story of a young black girl growing up in the Midwest in the 1940’s. NCCU Theatre Department presents Lydia R. Diamond’s 2005 stage adaptation of Toni Morrison’s 1970 novel. This week: Friday and Saturday 8:00, Sunday 2:00. Continues through April 20. University Theatre, NCCU Campus, Durham.
nccu.edu

* Our Country’s Good – Convicts in 18th Century Australia put on a play. Directed By Joseph Megel. UNC’s Department of Dramatic Art presents Timberlake Wertenbaker’s 1990 play. This week only: Thursday-Saturday 8:00, Sunday 2:00 and 8:00, Monday 5:00. Kenan Theatre, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill.
drama.unc.edu

Parade – Duke’s Hoof ‘n’ Horn presents Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown’s 1998 musical drama about the trial of Leo Frank. Directed by Drew Klingner. This week: Thursday and Friday 8:00, Saturday 2:00 and 8:00, Sunday 2:00. Continues through April 20. Reynolds Theater, Bryan Center, Duke West Campus, Durham.
tickets.duke.edu

* The Wizard of Oz – “You know what would make The Wizard of Oz even better? Adding some songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber!” said no one ever. Touring version of the recent Toronto production. This week only: Tuesday-Thursday 7:30, Friday 8:00, Saturday 2:00 and 8:00, Sunday 1:00 and 6:30. DPAC, Durham.
dpacnc.com

ONGOING:
* Amadeus – Leviathan Theater presents a radically revisionist take on Peter Shaffer’s 1979 account of the deadly rivalry between Mozart and Antonio Salieri. Directed by Jaybird O’Berski. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00. Closes Saturday. Common Ground Theatre, Durham.
amadeusdurham.com

Assassins – “Have an eggroll, Mr. Czolgosz!” Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s 1990 musical about presidential assassins, successful and otherwise. Did I mention it’s a musical? Directed by Mike Donahue. Presented by PlayMakers Rep. This week: Tuesday-Friday 7:30, Saturday 2:00 and 7:30, Sunday 2:00. Continues through April 20. Paul Green Theatre, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill.
playmakersrep.org

* Cymbeline – True love, disguises, jealousy, beheadings, non-fatal poisoning, and war. Must be Shakespeare. Directed by Laura Bess Jernigan. Presented by Bare Theatre. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00. Closes Saturday. Cordoba Center for the Arts (behind Golden Belt), Durham.
baretheatre.org

The Diary of Anne Frank – A family goes into hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Abdelfattah Abusrour directs the 1955 Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett stage adaptation. Presented by Burning Coal Theatre. This week: Thursday-Saturday 7:30, Sunday 2:00. Continues through April 27. Burning Coal, Murphey School, Raleigh.
burningcoal.org

* Machinal – Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 expressionist masterwork about a woman up against a world of money, men, and machines. Directed by Jules Odendahl-James. Presented by Duke Theater Studies. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00, Sunday 2:00. Closes Sunday. Sheafer Lab Theater, Bryan Center, Duke West Campus, Durham.
duke.edu

* The Odd Couple – Cary Players presents the male (1965) and female (1985) versions of Neil Simon’s mismatched roommates comedy. Directed by Staci Sabarsky and Lyman Collins. Presented by Cary Players. This week: Female version: Thursday and Saturday 7:30. Male version: Friday 7:30, Saturday and Sunday 3:00. Closes Sunday. Cary Arts Center.
caryplayers.org

* The Tempest – It’s the third Triangle production this season of Shakespeare’s late-career masterpiece. This time, director Jeremy David Clos and hiSTORYstage present such stuff as dreams are made on. This week: Thursday-Saturday 8:00, Sunday 2:00. Closes Sunday. Gaddy-Goodwin Theatre, RLT, Raleigh.
raleighlittletheatre.org

IMPROV:
Transactors Improv – Saturday 8:00. The ArtsCenter, Carrboro.
http://www.artscenterlive.org/events/transactors-improv-4/

AUDITIONS:
.

Please contact us with any corrections or omissions. For a more complete listing of area events, we recommend the arts calendar at Indyweek.com. For a listing of what else area theaters have in store this season, click on the Triangle Season Schedules tab at the top of the page.

Popular

The audience crowds the lobby of DPAC before a performance of Wicked.
Photo: Dorrie Casey

The crowds are turning out for Wicked. Now in the final week of its month-long run at the Durham Performing Arts Center, the touring production has sold out all performances. And that’s not surprising — the stage musical, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, has been enormously popular since opening on Broadway in 2003, setting box-office records there, in other productions around the world, and with its two national touring companies.

But it’s not the first hit stage musical about Oz. In 1903, one hundred years earlier, a musical version of the original novel became one of the greatest successes in Broadway history to that point.

Here’s guest blogger Marshall Botvinick with the story:

Written by Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900. In 1902, Baum, at the urging of his illustrator W.W. Denslow, wrote the libretto for a musical version of the novel, and Paul Tietjens composed the music. Producer Fred Hamlin took on the production, hiring director Julian Mitchel, who extensively rewrote the script and brought in new songwriters. Surprisingly, Baum went along with the changes, which among other revisions, removed both the Wicked Witch of the West and Toto from the story. The production eventually caused a split between Baum and his illustrator Denslow, in a dispute about the distribution of royalties.