In the world of theater, all of a sudden, things just got busy. Very busy. Next week, nine five shows open locally. Better yet, the mix is filled with intriguing, intense work.
But schedule wisely. For some reason, three area community theaters have scheduled their spring productions to open on March 15 and close on March 24.
But don’t worry about the professional offering of “Sweat” at Capital Repertory Theatre. The Pulitzer Prize-winning work begins previews tomorrow night, opens Tuesday and runs the rest of the month through March 31.
“Sweat” is a Pulitzer Prize-winning work that explores the dynamics of factory worker in Reading, PA. It takes place mostly in 2008, with flashbacks to 1980. It shows jobs being shipped out of the country, factory closing and labor-worker strife. Most of all, it shows how these economic dynamics affected the average worker. It also explains how today’s political divisiveness came about.
Next week, there are three more openings. Curtain Call Theatre in Latham opens the thriller “Wait Until Dark” on Thursday. The play opened on Broadway in 1966, with Lee Remick, playing the blind central character. The next year, it was made into what is now a classic film that starred Audrey Hepburn.
Playwright Frederick Knot, who also wrote “Dial M For Murder,” showed dramatical genius when he created a vulnerable and seemingly defenseless woman, who in using her ingenuity and the unique skills of a blind person, plays a true cat and mouse game with her opponents.
It’s one of those works that thrive on excellent directorial tension, superior acting, taut lighting and an ideal set. It’s a true theatrical experience. It plays at 1 Jeanne Jugan Lane in Latham through March 30. For tickets and schedule go to curtaincalltheatre.com
Another play opening next week is a modern classic that also relies on a complex set. “August: Osage County” opening at Schenectady Civic Theatre on Friday March 15 is being directed by Michael McDermott, The play uses more than a dozen characters, played by an all-star cast of local actors.
Interestingly, “August: Osage County” was written by Tracy Letts, whose play “The Minutes” just finished a successful run at Albany Civic Theatre. They both revolve about explosive secrets being revealed, but in terms of plot they could hardly be more different. This is a work about family dysfunction that has been compared to those written generations earlier by Eugene O’Neill. It’s truly an epic piece of literature that plays at 12 S. Street, Schenectady. Friday through March 24. schenectadycivicplayers.org
Continuing the theme of challenging work, another Schenectady company, Schenectady Light Opera Company, is offering “Fun Home” Friday to March 24. To make the point about challenging, the full title is “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic.” Fun home is what the family call the funeral home they operate. It’s a musical whose source material is a graphic novel created by gay cartoonist Alison Bechdel.
The work is about her father who lived a tragic life as a closeted gay man. Despite what it may appear, the material is uplifting and offers a true sense of the importance of family in a person’s life. There’s a reason it won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score. It plays at the SLOC Playhouse, 427 Franklin Street, Schenectady. sloctheater.org March 15-26.
The intensity knows no geographical boundaries. In Albany, Harbinger Theatre is presenting “In the Blood,” Suzan Lori-Parks’ play about American poverty and how it is connected to the subjugation of African-American culture. The production is the last play that will be offered in the College of Saint Rose theater. It opens Friday.
“In the Blood” is a loose adaptation of Nathanial Hawthorne’s classic work “The Scarlet Letter.” The contemporary Hester is black and has five children by different men, all of whom are absent fathers. The family lives under a bridge in abject poverty. Hester struggles to get an education but learns a person’s reputation can deny one needed help for the family. It runs March 15- 24 at 1000 Madison Avenue (by the College of Saint Rose) in Albany. For tickets and schedule go to harbingertheatrealbany@gmail.com
Also available is Creative License’s production of “Afterlife” at Cohoes Music Hall, which opened last week. The company calls it “a ghost story in the most literal sense.”
Performed in two acts, we are initially introduced to a married couple securing their beach house to handle an impending storm The storm arrives sooner than expected and act two finds them in a strange world. It includes snow, unfinished sand castles, unsent letters and strange birds. It’s all accompanied by a sense of terrible loss. “Afterlife” runs Friday to Sunday. For schedule and tickets go to cohoesmusichall.org
So there you have it, a play about the economics of race and employment, a play filled with suspense, a ghost story, a musical addressing sexual identity and a play about race and its connection to poverty. They offer a lot to think about.
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.