Lots of good stuff happening this week, let’s get right to it…
Let me put this as simply as I can. August: Osage County closes this weekend at Playhouse on the Square and if you miss it you’ve missed the boat, the whole boat, and nothing but the boat. I’d blather on longer about it but it’s probably best to read the review. Also worth checking out: Grey Gardens, the musical, which is right across the street at Circuit Playhouse. Carla McDonald (little Edie) and the wonderful Bates Brooks (Big Edie)—too long absent from local stages—do extraordinary work as the famously fallen aristocrats.
Cabaret is also closing at Theatre Memphis, an event I will not mourn. I never expected to type that, but it’s so.
The Trial of One Shortsighted Black Woman vs Mammy Louise and Safreeta Mae is a mess technically. It’s poorly staged and the set looks like it might fall down. But the script flashes with brilliance and most of the character work is top notch. It’s at the Hattiloo.
Rhodes’ McCoy Theatre opens a Mid-20th Century take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night staged by director Nick Hutchison, a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Shakespeare’s Globe. Could be a real treat and I’ll let you know more as soon as I can.
(UPDATE: Slight misunderstanding edition. Turns out it’s not a mid-20th Century take but a fusion of late 19th and early 20th-Century styles.)
Also opening this week: The Fantastiks at Germantown Community Theatre. I understand some liberties have been taken in the casting of this beloved musical comedy. Can’t wait to see how that works out.
Looking ahead to next week, Ballet Memphis opens Romeo & Juliet at Playhouse on the Square and I’ll share some fun video and commentary from an open rehearsal later this weekend. Until then, I’m off to the theater. Maybe I’ll see you at intermission.
