Stage Reviews
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.
The 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 The 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 three or four 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.
Under Milk Wood This is a revival of a well-received Thistle Dew production that opened last February, drawing on Dylan Thomas’ 1953 radio play. Under Milk Wood is basically a Welsh Lake Wobegon, with a narrator introducing us to the gossip and eccentric seaside villagers of Llareggub. The Milk Wood Players present an impressive production that gives honor to Thomas’ intent that words should be felt as well as heard. The strength of the writing is in the details and descriptions. And the strength of this production lies with the talented actors and their imaginative director, who all clearly love and respect the work. This is for lovers of language and lyricism, though it can be quite dense at times and hard to follow.
Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. matinees Sunday, with reservations required; $12-$18. 1901 P Street, (916) 444-8209. Through October 5. P.R.
Wrong Turn at Lungfish The first half of this comedy has the quick banter and quirky characters of an old-fashioned television sitcom. But the second half turns schizophrenic with darker undertones and serious confrontations. Sometimes, it works; other times, it’s a stretch. But what makes this story, about a bombshell from the Bronx bringing books to a dying blind man, work is the cast, especially Chandra Ashton as Anita the Fran Drescher-sounding mangler of the English language.
Chautauqua Playhouse, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (September 21 and 28), $12. 5325 Engle Road in Carmichael, (916) 489-7529. Through October 4. P.R.
