Stage Reviews

Boesman and Lena Celebration Arts Theatre has been exploring the plays of noted South African writer Athol Fugard for eight years now, and it’s become a notable dramatic project, unlike any other in town. This year’s installment is perhaps the bleakest yet, involving the random displacement of “colored” workers, an emotionally and physically abusive relationship between the two title characters, and a Xhosa-speaking, homeless wanderer who stumbles into their squalid encampment. Strong acting from James Wheatley, JG Gonsalves and especially Lisa Tarrer Lacy make these obscure characters—human discards, as they come to see themselves—into compelling personalities onstage.
Celebration Arts Theatre; 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; $10-$12, but all seats are $6 on Thursday. 4469 D Street (at 45th Street), (916) 455-2787. Through September 13. 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. Extended through September 21. J.H.

Merry Wives of Windsor Merry Wives is a light comedy that bypasses dramatic depth, and director Lynne Collins wastes no time looking for what isn’t there. Her production exchanges Shakespeare’s Olde England for Windsor, N.C. (post-Civil War). It works: Confederate sabers, Southern accents, gallantry and hoop skirts evolved from Elizabethan styles. Gary Wright’s young Falstaff is fat, but he does a cartwheel. Ted Barton’s a scream as Ford, the jealous husband. Mounted in July at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, this show now alternates with A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Foothill Theatre Company’s Sierra Shakespeare Festival.
Nevada County Fairgrounds; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday; $5-$21. Gate 4 at the fairgrounds in Grass Valley, (530) 265-8587, www.foothilltheatre.org. Through September 21. J.H.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Director Sands Hall plays Dream for contrasts. The repressed human characters wear buttoned-up costumes in formal 16th-century style. But the spirits of the fairy kingdom are dressed as sensuous gypsies in more revealing, colorful garb. Hall also shifts gears. Some scenes play as antic comedy, and at other times, he slows down the pace and conjures a mysterious atmosphere that lets the script’s poetry come through. It’s a good Dream; the problem is that this festival has staged this comedy three times in the last eight years. It’s time to branch out. Mounted in July at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, this show now alternates with Merry Wives of Windsor at Foothill Theatre Company’s Sierra Shakespeare Festival.
Nevada County Fairgrounds; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday; $5-$21. Gate 4 at the fairgrounds in Grass Valley, (530) 265-8587, www.foothilltheatre.org. Through September 21. J.H.

Murder at Howard Johnson’s There are a couple murders afoot in Rancho Cordova, dastardly deeds plotted at the local Howard Johnson. For the next six weeks, Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre is reproducing a HoJo as the setting for a crime scene, and the theater company has recruited a talented trio to portray clumsy wannabe killers in the farce. This over-the-top comedy is about three self-centered dopes trying to dupe each another in a love triangle gone loopy. It’s simple fare, but it’s done well, with much physical comedy, silliness and funny lines. The energy drops off in the third act, but there are still enough laughs to make the trip worthwhile.
Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre; 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday (dinner seating at 6 p.m.) and 2:30 p.m. Sunday (brunch seating at 1 p.m.); $29-$34 for the show and a meal or $20 for the show only. 12401 Folsom Boulevard in Rancho Cordova, (916) 985-6361. Through October 5. P.R.


The Rainmaker This handsomely mounted Western romance features several assets, starting with the script by N. Richard Nash—a little gem from the 1950s that’s now obscure. The story involves a father, two sons and a daughter, who’ve drifted into some negative family patterns. In particular, the intelligent daughter worries that she’s “plain”; a brother predicts she’ll never get a man. But everything’s changed when a dubious, good-looking stranger arrives and offers to make rain (badly needed) in exchange for a hundred bucks. Actor Dick Mangrum is a standout as the strong, stoic dad, a role that’s right up his alley. Sarah Cohen wins you over as the daughter who’s having trouble believing in herself.
Woodland Opera House, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, $7-$14. 340 Second Street in Woodland, (530) 666-9617. Through September 28. J.H.

Sexual Perversity in Chicago David Mamet’s comedic 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. In these skits, we watch as desires and fears both help and hinder a blossoming relationship between two of them. The cast members of this show, which ran last winter at the Geery Theater, 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.
SacActors.com at California Stage, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $12.50-$14.50. 2509 R Street, (916) 451-4152. Extended through September 13. P.R.

Two for the Seesaw T Street Players are currently celebrating their 100th theatrical production with William Gibson’s 1958 play. The question is: Why? The play’s tired plot, dialogue and gender roles just don’t hold up under present-day scrutiny. Perhaps this comedy about two lonely souls that seek companionship and understanding in New York was considered a bit shocking when it first came out, but now it just seems like a cliché of another era. The T Street Players have good intentions and enthusiasm going into this Seesaw, but because of the constricted script and 1960s sitcom-style acting, it feels more like a Nick at Nite rerun.
T Street Players at Coloma Community Center, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $10-$14. 4623 T Street, (916) 808-8890. Through September 6. P.R.