Stage Reviews
Always, Patsy Cline Foothill Theatre Company revives its popular 1999 production with the same cast: Cara Burgoyne, a natural as strong, husky, inwardly vulnerable Patsy; and Nancy Keith as a single mom with big hair who is Patsy’s fan turned friend. The show features Burgoyne’s accurate vocals, with a live band, reprising Cline’s signature country tunes. It’s also an upbeat but not entirely frivolous retro-comedy dealing with what it meant to be a hardworking, independent woman in the late 1950s, with a few stops at a honky-tonk nightspot along the way. It’s a slice of Americana for the summer season.
Nevada Theatre; 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; $5-$21. 401 Broad Street in Nevada City, (530) 265-8587. Through August 17. J.H.
Five Women Wearing the Same Dress M-e-o-w! A quintet of bridesmaids, representing vastly different outlooks on life, retreat from the boring wedding reception to an upstairs room and let their hair down. The sometimes-catty conversation veers through current boyfriends and husbands, drugs and alcohol, former boyfriends and ex-husbands, coming of age, new boyfriends and potential husbands—you get the idea. Playwright Alan Ball (now famous for his American Beauty screenplay) blends lively characters and interesting insights into this wild situation. All five actresses get their moment to shine—especially Beth Edwards, in her best role to date. Young Michael Claudio also fares well in a difficult role as the available man who walks into the final scene.
Actor’s Theatre, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $12-$14. 1616 Del Paso Boulevard, (916) 925-6579. Through August 3. J.H.
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change Nothing succeeds like success, so it’s no surprise that the Delta King Theatre has brought back this popular revue, which enjoyed a long run last year. (The original off-Broadway production has been running for years.) It’s a well-crafted, crowd-pleasing, easy-to-enjoy string of songs and scenes about romance and marriage, about 20-somethings through senior citizens. It’s basically a hymn to middle-class life, with a few bedroom references. The book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro don’t reveal anything you didn’t know about men and women already, but there’s a kernel of truth in most of these vignettes that can wring a smile out of even a skeptic. And the music by Jimmy Roberts is a sure-handed pastiche of popular American styles. Eric Wheeler once again anchors the Delta King’s cast, and he’s still fun to watch. Co-stars are Michael R-J Campbell, Carol Miranda (formerly with Six Women with Brain Death) and Karli Raymond.
Delta King Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, $18-$25 for the show only and $40-$52 for the show and dinner. 1000 Front Street in Old Sacramento, (916) 995-5464. Through August 31. J.H.
Little Me Director Bob Irvin dusts off this almost forgotten early-1960s musical about a penniless girl from the wrong side of the tracks whose multiple marriages bring her wealth, culture, social position and fame. It’s over-the-top satirical humor with a dark and sometimes sharp edge, set to toe-tapping songs—an unusual combination. The jokes about wealth vs. poverty—written during JFK’s Camelot—hit the mark quite well in this era of compassionate conservatism. Driving the show are performers Dan Slauson in seven hapless male roles and Jen Belt as the charming, ambitious Belle he keeps falling for. Her beaus have a penchant for early, accidental deaths. This entertaining Fair Oaks Theatre Festival production also features a lot of costumes and some fairly elaborate dance numbers.
Veterans Memorial Amphitheatre; 8:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well as for a Thursday show on July 24; $10-$12. In the park, California Avenue at Temescal Street in Fair Oaks Village, (916) 966-3683. Through July 27. J.H.
Lovers: Winners and Losers Irish playwright Brian Friel’s script is a pair of one-acts, each funny and sad. The first focuses on the difficulties of love at the tender age of 17, including pregnancy, impending marriage and forebodings that an unexpected disaster is about to strike. The second deals with the awkward, funny trials of romance at midlife—including a bedridden mother and a lisping auntie, who physically embody a matriarchal family structure gone dysfunctional. Director Stephen Vargo gets some good work from actors Keith Letl, Benjamin Hanowell and Michaela Jones, but the larger scenes involving the bedridden mum aren’t as convincing.
Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, $14-$18. 1901 P Street, (916) 444-8209. Through August 2. J.H.
Othello This Shakespeare tragedy is basically about the green-eyed monster, jealousy, and other dark human traits: manipulations, accusations, back-stabbing, lusting, lying, cheating and killing—just like reality TV! Director Luther Hanson stuck with a classic rendition, with creative additions of a nice dance scene and a traveling troubadour. Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite have cast members who are in sync with each other or performers who are at ease with the material and language, not to mention a solid Othello or Iago. Overall, the performances have potential, and the production may find its rhythm during the run, but for now, it feels more like a rehearsal than a finished product.
William Carroll Amphitheater; gates open at 6:30 p.m. for picnics, and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. Thursday (check dates), Friday and Saturday; $10-$12. Othello plays July 24 and 25 and August 1 and 3 in repertory with Twelfth Night. William Land Park, (916) 558-2228. Through August 3. P.R.
Texas A visiting college boy is matched with the host family from hell: two sloppy, crazy, 20-something brothers living in a squalid, claustrophobic trailer. This testosterone-driven show features a lot of physical humor; chopped up, repeated lines of dialogue (frequently shouted); and a strong performance by Matthew Wu Robinson, who looks a little like a sumo wrestler in a cowboy hat and jeans. But as it hurtles along, the broad comedy also develops dramatic momentum. Playwright Judy Soo Hoo also scores some points about modern life in the Lone Star State, as recent immigrants adapt the vision of the Old West.
River Stage; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; $12-$14. Cosumnes River College, 8401 Center Parkway, (916) 691-7364. Through July 27. J.H.
Twelfth Night This is truly a bizarre and strangely inviting take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night from the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival. The production is dicey at the beginning, both because of the slow pacing and the kooky concept cooked up by festival director Kim McCann. But the result is a fun-filled evening: the Bard meets the Three Stooges. It’s a classic Twelfth Night—mooning lovers, mistaken identities, prattles, pranks and pratfalls—morphed into a 1920s comedy movie complete with Keystone Cops, hints of Oliver Hardy, Curly of the Three Stooges, women in flapper dresses, a man in a fez, golf clubs as fencing foils, and even period songs. Kids can appreciate the high jinks, and adults will enjoy the language, humor and twisting plot lines.
William A. Carroll Amphitheatre; gates open at 6:30 p.m. for picnics, and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. Thursday (check dates) Friday and Saturday; $10-$12. Twelfth Night plays July 27 and 31 and August 2 in repertory with Othello. William Land Park, (916) 558-2228. Through August 2. P.R.
