Stage Reviews

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.

Mrs. California River Stage returns to its beginnings with this 10th-anniversary production of the company’s first show. It’s a comedy with social implications, set in the 1950s, but, unlike most ’50s comedies, this one doesn’t have a teenager in sight. It’s about four married women—some of whom had real jobs during World War II and enjoyed working—who are now competing in a mindless pageant that rates them on their ability to make meatloaf and iron their husbands’ dress shirts. It’s the sort of show we’ve come to expect from River Stage: It’s smart and entertaining, and it gets you thinking about who we were and who we are now. Good comic performances by the ensemble cast are well-managed by guest director Vada Russell.
River Stage; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; $13-$15. Cosumnes River College, 8401 Center Parkway, (916) 691-7364. Through May 8. 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; $14.50-$17.50. 2130 L Street, (916) 451-4152. Extended through May 22. P.R.

Waiting for Godot You’ve doubtless heard of the famously famous play Waiting for Godot, but have you ever seen it? If not, consider this production by the Actor’s Theatre of Sacramento, which features seasoned local veterans Ed Claudio and Dan Harlan as sad, hopeless Vladimir and Estragon. The two stand by a dead tree in a landscape that looks like the “end of time” and wait for … (check the title of the play, eh?). The cast also features Michael Claudio as the hapless quasi-slave, Lucky, and Mark Heckman as the overbearing Pozzo. This production is all about the acting—otherwise, it’s low-tech and modestly produced. But if you’ve never taken the time to experience Samuel Beckett’s great tragicomedy, this small-scale staging makes a good introduction.
Actor’s Theatre; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday; $12-$14. 1616 Del Paso Boulevard, (916) 925-6579. Extended through May 15. J.H.