Stage Reviews
Copenhagen At long last, a local production of Michael Frayn’s physically compact, intellectually vast script. The occasion is a mysterious meeting in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1941. German physicist Werner Heisenberg, on the Nazi payroll, makes a difficult re-acquaintance with his former mentor Niels Bohr, who is part Jewish and who will escape to the West soon. Director Ken Kelleher and actors Julian López-Morillas, Jessica Powell and Alex Moggridge do a bit of magic with an enormously potent piece of writing.
B Street Theatre ; 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Additional Wednesday matinees are November 27; December 4, 11 and 18; and January 8. $16.50-$20.50. 2727 B Street, 443-5300. Through January 12. J.H.
Fully Committed Our tour guide into the culinary confusion and demanding upscale clientele of a four-star New York restaurant is Sam, an out-of-work actor and restaurant employee in charge of the reservation list. This one-man theatrical tour de force is presented by Matt K. Miller, who masterfully portrays more than 40 different characters—changing personalities and accents within nanoseconds. Miller plays Sam as well as the pushy patrons, the chaotic kitchen staff and the cantankerous chef.
Sacramento Theatre Company ; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; $18-$36. 1419 H Street, 443-6722. Through January 5. P.R.
Hurlyburly The setting is Tinsel Town in the early 1980s, in a “stag apartment” replete with weed, pills, coke and booze—served for breakfast. The major players are four men on the fringes of the business who are angry with their former wives and who are amnesiacs concerning the children they have spawned along the way—totally selfish. They are too smart by half, and they haven’t an ethical bone in their bodies. But they do possess a bizarre, humorous charm, even as they bed their best friend’s girlfriend behind his back. Hurlyburly features strong performances from community actors.
Actors Theatre , 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, $12-$14. 1616 Del Paso Boulevard, 925-6579. Through December 8. J.H.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Several aspects of this large-scale show deserve high commendations, most notably Scott Divine’s rebellious, taut performance as the personally magnetic mental patient R.P. McMurphy opposite Sandra McCord as the icy, controlling nurse Ratched. It’s also hard to keep your eyes off tall, often silent Derek Byrne (as Chief Bromden). And Susan McCandless’ set is the essence of impersonal, pale green institutionalism. But Divine’s direction isn’t quite as sustained as his acting. Still, this ambitious production by Main Street Theatre Works trembles on the brink of a higher rating.
Sutter Creek Theatre , 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $10-$14. 44 Main Street (Highway 49), Sutter Creek, (209) 267-5680. Through November 30. J.H.
“?” The 12-member Abandon Productions troupe, under the guidance of founder and artistic director Doniel Soto, presents vignettes that combine vocal experiments, dramatic interpretations and physical movements. The troupe’s current production brings all these aspects together. The a cappella vocals range from doo-wop to Gregorian chants and strange, tribal rhythms, while the movements portray spider webs, roller coasters, the Eiffel Tower, rivers, mountains and high-concept themes. The joy these performers project is highly infectious as they emote with their bodies, their faces and their voices. It’s a shared experience, with not a single selfish performance or ego-driven action onstage.
The Space , 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $10-$13. 2509 R St., 737-2304. Through December 21. P.R.
Sexual Perversity in Chicago David Mamet’s look at the 1970s dating and mating scene is about sex. It’s also about Chicago, with four characters in 33 short scenes throughout the city, and a bit of perversity. But, although the language is raw and the sexual portrayals explicit, the content is hardly shocking. It’s more like a little titillating. In the skits, we watch as desires and fears both help and hinder a blossoming relationship between two of them. The cast members manage to add pathos and vulnerability to their scenes while making us care about four singles awash in a sea of sexual misadventures and emotional near misses. An impressive debut for new theater company SacActors.com.
Geery Theatre , 8 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, $12.50-$14.50. 2130 L Street, 451-4152. Through December 14. P.R.
Woody Guthrie’s American Song Woody Guthrie’s classic songs about the Dust Bowl, the Depression, union organizing and American life in general form the center of this ensemble revue. It’s not a docudrama: Guthrie’s character is embodied by three different actors representing different aspects of his personality as he moves through life—hitching a ride on a passing freight train or singing to a crowd of unemployed laborers in shantytown in the upper Sacramento Valley. Things move at a leisurely pace, but director Luther Hanson paints effective tableaux, and music director Jesse Valerio doesn’t let his band overpower the singers.
Art Court Theatre , 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, with a 2 p.m. matinee Thursday, December 12, $7-$12. On the Sacramento City College Campus, 3835 Freeport Boulevard, 558-2228. Through December 14.
Stage reviews compiled by critics
