October is an unusual month in terms of theater. It’s a month with very few opening nights.
Almost all area community theaters are dark in October and The Rep is not opening a show until late-November.
But at second glance shows there is no lack of theater in the area. However, you might not find it in the usual places.
Though The Rep is not producing a play this month. There is theater in the building. On Thursday, in a small black box theater on the second floor of the Capital Repertory Theatre, the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY begins its third season as a resident company at The Rep.
They are opening their season with the unknown “Berta Berta.” It’s a sensitive drama about a black man who just out of prison for a railroaded crime, knows he has but one night to explain his love to his girlfriend. A tender love story, it plays October 14-27.
Also in Albany, at Steamer No. 10, Theatre Voices begins it’s 37 season of offering free staged play readings. From Friday to Sunday, October 18-20, they are presenting the little known “The Typographers Wife.”
The plot sounds like the start of a joke. A typographer, a geographer and a stenographer walk in room to describe their work. While there is humor in the piece, it’s a play that explores how our work tends to define us.
Not only are unfamiliar plays on the schedule; others are being given a fresh look. At Curtain Call Theatre, in Latham. They are producing a new version of the classic psychological drama “Gaslight.
The play, first produced in 1938, is about a man trying to make his wife think she is crazy. It’s the source of the contemporary phrase, “Gaslighting,” which refers to those who play mind games with their partners. The work also gained great success under the title “Angel Street.” “Gaslight” plays October 24- November 11.
There are also some interesting things happening in other local venues. At Cohoes Music Hall an outside-the-area producing company has rented the facility for a one night presentation of “Saw: the Musical” on October 22.
It’s a musical parody based on the cult horror film franchise “Saw.” The first film was released in 2004 and they are now at 10 and counting. Considering the major elements of the parody have to do with chainsaws, gore and queer love, it certainly fits the category of love it or leave it.
Local colleges are another great place to experience unique theater. Indeed, October 18-23, Skidmore Theatre Department in Saratoga, offers “Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom.”
It’s about suburban kids addicted to a video game that takes place in a sterile, conformist neighborhood. It’s one exactly like where they live. The goal of the game is to crush the zombies in order to escape their bland lives. Sorry mom and dad.
Another rare theater opportunity happens at SUNY-Albany October 23-24. The university’s theater department is presenting “Machinal.” The play is based on a legendary 1928 Expressionist film, which was based on an actual crime.
An ordinary young woman marries her boss. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, she takes a lover. The two plan to murder the husband. After the lover leaves her, the wife continues with the plan and murders her husband.
Playwright Sophie Treadwell adds a dramatic courtroom scene which shows the manipulation of the wife by the men in her life. “Machinal” is now considered powerful feminist theater. It plays at State University Performing Arts Center October 23-27.
Besides these openings, there is aa area production still finishing its run. Berkshire Theater Group continues its run of the ghostly play, “The Weir” until October 27. It’s an ideal way to both enjoy a foliage drive and prepare for Halloween.
Even in a month with few major theater openings, there is still plenty of intriguing theater. Give yourself an opportunity try the unfamiliar.
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.
