Stage Reviews
Around the World in 80 Days With a bet on the table, Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg sets out to prove he can make a trip around the world in 80 days, using all available forms of transportation. Playwright Mark Brown uses all forms of entertainment to make his adaptation of 80 Days one of the most innovative comedies around. The dialogue is fast and fun, the actors have colorful roles and multiple personalities, and the staging is inventive and clever.
Foothill Theatre Company; 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; $5-$23. 401 Broad Street in Nevada City, (530) 265-8587. Through April 17. P.R.
Bad Dates Haley is a single mom. She’s attractive, well-dressed and smart, and she runs a great little restaurant. The only thing she needs to make her life complete is romance. But every time she goes out on a date, the guy turns out to be a loser. This makes for a story that’s easy to anticipate, but actress Deborah O’Brien makes the most of the opportunity. While primping and changing in and out of multiple fashionable outfits, she gives a winning performance in this 90-minute monologue.
Delta King Theatre; 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; $42-$49 for dinner and show, or $8-$20 for show only. 1000 Front Street in Old Sacramento, (916) 995-5464. Through May 1. J.H.
The Delicate Lines See Aram Kouyoumdjian’s new one-act, one-actress play before this impressive little production moves on to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Kouyoumdjian, who now lives in Los Angeles, is a familiar figure as producer and director. His well-regarded local company, the now-disbanded Vista Players, set the standard by which others were judged these last few years. The Delicate Lines, a well-constructed monologue written for actress Jan Ahders, is a memory play about a painter, a poet descending into madness, and the poet’s sister. The trio escapes the Armenian genocide but still has to cope inwardly with devastating aftereffects. Ahders gives a vivid, memorable performance, and the script is the strongest yet from Kouyoumdjian. The Delicate Lines is a keeper in and of itself; it’s also strong evidence that Kouyoumdjian probably could write a beautiful, important, full-length play if he set his mind to it. It’s paired with Protest, an earlier short play by Kouyoumdjian featuring J.D. Rudometkin.
California Stage; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; $15-$19. 1723 25th Street, (916) 451-5822. Through April 17. J.H.
Fortune This warm ’n’ fuzzy romantic comedy about a sassy fortuneteller and an awkward, lovelorn accountant won’t take you to places you haven’t been before. But cast members Jason Kuykendall and Elisabeth Nunziato turn in winning performances that turn this rather predictable play into an enjoyable little excursion.
B Street Theatre; 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; $20-$25. 2711 B Street, (916) 443-5300. Through April 17. J.H.
Love in the Title This Irish play has a time-travel premise, bringing together three generations of women from the same family, who don’t entirely get along. The oldest (chronologically) is represented onstage as a playful, very Catholic girl of 20, while her daughter appears as a dour 30-something housewife. The granddaughter is a single academic going on 40. Playwright Hugh Leonard uses this situation to illustrate the vast changes in Irish society over the last 80 years, as well as to rattle some skeletons in the family closet. The Irish accents are variable, but the better scenes in this thoughtful play leave a lasting impression.
Thistle Dew Dessert Theatre; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; $20, including dessert. 1901 P Street, (916) 444-8209. Reservations required. Through April 16. J.H.
Nunsense This 20th-anniversary production offers the lighthearted, laugh-oriented entertainment that’s made Nunsense (and its sequels) a dinner-theater franchise and netted millions in ticket sales through the decades. It’s got corny jokes, dancing nuns, puppeteer nuns, singing nuns, punning nuns, nuns who imitate Groucho Marx and Ed Sullivan—you get the idea. Musically, it’s a hodgepodge of everything from the blues to Nashville, and from gospel to the Andrews Sisters. As the press release observes, “It’s a vacation without the baggage.” It not high art, and it won’t tax your IQ in the least, but if you don’t catch yourself smiling at least a few times, you probably ought to check your pulse.
Garbeau’s Dinner Theatre; 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday with dinner at 6 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Sunday with brunch at 1 p.m.; $37-$43 for meal and show, or $21 for show only. 12401 Folsom Boulevard in Rancho Cordova, (916) 985-6361. Through May 1. J.H.
The Vagina Monologues This play with the gutsy title takes a taboo subject matter—a basic body part of every woman—and makes it acceptable to talk about. For this production by SacActors.com, three talented actresses trade off monologues in front of deep-red velvet panels. The performances examine not only the word, but also the body part, and all the shame, power, fear and beauty that vagina owners carry with them. The play is great fodder for after-show conversations.
Geery Theatre; 8 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; $12.50-$14.50. 2130 L Street, (916) 451-4152. Extended through April 17. P.R.
