52 San Diego Reader February 23, 2017


THEATER LISTINGS


Theater listings and commentary are by Jeff Smith unless otherwise noted. Information is accurate according to material given us, but it is always wise to phone the theater for any last-minute changes and to inquire about ticket availability. Many theaters offer discounts to students, senior citizens, and the military. Ask at the box office.


2.5 Minute Ride Diversionary Theatre offers Lisa Kron’s solo show through her “family album, focusing on her relationship with her father, a Holocaust survi- vor,” and painting a portrait of “an honorable man.” Rosina Reynolds directs. 2.5 Minute Ride runs in rep-


ertory with Kron’s Well. DIVERSIONARY THEATRE, 4545 PARK BL., UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS. 619-220- 0097. 7PM THURSDAYS, 8PM FRIDAYS, 2PM & 8PM SATURDAYS, 2PM & 7PM SUNDAYS, 7PM WEDNESDAYS.


9 to 5: The Musical San Diego Music Theater works hard to highlight inequalities between men and women in the workplace. Using well-timed factoids and witty retorts, the musical remake of the classic comic film promotes female empowerment through tongue-in- cheek circumstances and toe-tap- ping songs by Dolly Parton. Director Cynthia Ferrer successfully brings the corporate world of the 1980s to life. Though at times the sound lacks balance, the feminist story line


comes across loud and clear, slap- ping the audience with the reality that not much has improved for women in the workforce. Worth a try.


SPRECKELS THEATRE, 121 BROADWAY, DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO. 619-235-9500. 7PM THURSDAY, 8PM FRIDAY & SATUR- DAY, 2PM SUNDAY, FEB. 26.


Ajax The Old Globe & University of San Diego Shiley Graduate The- atre Program present Maura Giles Watson’s world premiere translation of Sophocles’s mighty tragedy about the Greek’s second greatest warrior at Troy. When Achillies dies, Ajax assumes he’s next in line to wear the slain hero’s armor. Agamemnon and Menelaus think otherwise, Ajax goes insane, then comes to his scattered senses. Ray Chambers and Lisa Berger direct.


UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO, 5998 ALCALÀ PARK, USD. 619-260-4600. 7PM SATURDAY, 2PM & 7PM SUNDAY, FEB. 26, 7PM TUESDAY, FEB. 28 & WEDNES- DAY, MAR. 1.


Beau Jest The Patio Playhouse stages James Sherman’s comedy about a proxy fiance needed to fool Sarah Gold- man’s Jewish parents; her real fiance is a WASP, and they would not approve, or so she fears. For this production Sarah’s brother Joel


becomes her sister Joely. PATIO PLAYHOUSE THEATRE, 116 S. KALMIA ST., NONE. 8PM FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS.


Blue Door For generations, Lewis’s family painted a door blue to keep evil spirits out and “ya soul family in.” Lewis, an African-American math


ANTI-REVIEW


FOLLOWING O.B. PLAYHOUSE’S production of Urinetown: The Musical (directed by Jennie Gray Connard), I could ramble about the ins and outs of the real-life Malthusian trap on the edge of which we, the global population, may or may not stand this very instant. I could delve into the substantive depths of private property and the tragedy of the commons, but I shan’t. I will leave those finer points for all the people who may go see the play and who are probably smarter than I am anyways. Instead, I bring to


the table two observations — one small, one slightly more expansive. First, Urinetown reminds me


of one of my favorite early-’90s action comedy flops set in a world where savage, besuited evildoers vie for control of water, the world’s most pre- cious resource. Obviously, I’m talking about Tank Girl. It’s not an exact fit. Urinetown is a good


professor, has tried to shut the door to his heritage. All he sees is oppres- sion and tries to escape. Then his wife wants a divorce. He’s alone


IAN PIKE Don’t be the bunny


play, with good music; whereas Tank Girl is a not very good (but possibly amazing depending on who you ask) movie with fantas- tic music. Seriously. It gave the


Caldwell B. Cladwell’s cheeky admonition to kill rather than be killed (he means in a capitalist sense, natch...or does he!?), the chorus gives us the line, “in re the bunny,” which is a weird and lawyerly way of saying, “in the matter of the bunny.” Now, I’m pretty sure


Cladwell vs. Strong for the right to pee!


world “Army of Me.” Second, and (slightly) more


expansively, Urinetown possibly features the most obscure song lyric I’ve ever heard; even more obscure than Warren Zevon singing about brucellosis, or the Magnetic Fields using Ferdinand de Saussure as the protagonist of a wandering meditation on the inscrutable nature of love. In the middle of “Don’t Be the Bunny,”


Hope, Compassion, Love. The Garcias will need them all tonight.


Starts Thursday! Gaye Taylor Upchurch


By Nick Gandiello Directed by


February 23 – March 26 Tickets Start at $29


and spends a “10-year night” with his ancestors learning how to paint that door. Moxie Theatre gives Tanya Barfield’s haunted drama a first-rate production, led by Vimel Sephus (Lewis) and Cortez L. Johnson (as everyone else). In 95 minutes, Barfield retells African-American history with first-hand voices.


Critic’s Pick. MOXIE THEATRE, 6663 EL CAJON BL., SUITE N, ROLANDO. 858-598-7620. 7PM THURSDAYS, 8PM FRIDAYS & SATUR- DAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS.


Bocon For four performances only, Bocon, San Diego’s newest company, dedi- cated to theater for youth, presents its inaugural production, also called Bocon. Lisa Loomer’s play tells the story of Miguel, a “big-mouthed boy on a magical and treacherous journey from his home in Central America across the border of lights into the United States, with his guitar in hand.” Artistic Director Crystal


Mercado directs. SWEETWATER HIGH SCHOOL, 2900 HIGHLAND AVE., NATIONAL CITY. 619- 474-9700. 7PM THURSDAY & FRIDAY, 2PM SATURDAY, 6PM SUNDAY, FEB. 26.


A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking Point Loma Playhouse stages John Ford Noonan’s comedy. Maude Mix, a “meticulous, proper wife,” is hav- ing a bad day. Her husband’s hav- ing a fling with his secretary, and her pesky new next-door neighbor drops in uninvited for coffee. She wants to be friends because “my back door faces your back door.”


David Sein directs. POINT LOMA PLAYHOUSE, 3035 TALBOT ST., POINT LOMA. 619-225-0044. 8PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY, 7PM SUNDAY.


(619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623) www.TheOldGlobe.org From top: Frank Pando, Antoinette LaVecchia, Nataysha Rey, and Stephen Barker Turner. Photos by Jim Cox.


Eurydice Oceanside Theatre Company pres- ents Sarah Ruhl’s modern retelling


all the Supreme Court Justices in the audience would pick up on that one, but, even when the play was on Broad- way, before hordes of rich M&A lawyers, it’s a pretty big ask for the average theatergoer to pick out an obscure


Latin phrase of jurisprudence. Although, fun fact, the “RE:” from email subject lines, which people usually think is an abbre- viated form of “regarding,” is actually a shorthand way of writ- ing “in re,” which was apparently too long for email. So, there’s that to look for in


the play. Tink of it as an Easter Egg. You’re all welcome, theater fans.


■


of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, as seen through her perspective. She has died a tragic death. But reconnects with her father in the underworld, where she relives “monumental father-daughter


moments.” Dhyana Dahl directs. SUNSHINE BROOKS THEATRE, 217 N. COAST HWY., OCEANSIDE. 760-433- 8900. 7PM FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS.


Freaky Friday The Bridget Carpenter (book), Tom Kitt (music), and Brian Yorkey (lyrics) musical may be critic proof (the La Jolla Playhouse recently extended the run another week). The title aside, this is an innocuous piece done with stopwatch preci- sion, thanks to Christopher Ashley’s inventive direction, Sergio Trujillo’s choreography, Beowulf Borwitt’s fish-eye lens set, and committed performances by Heidi Blickenstaff and Emma Hunton as the mother and daughter who change bodies and see from the other’s perspec- tive. But almost every song is blasted without nuance, the musical has a safety net beneath it, and just isn’t


all that freaky. Worth a try. LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE, 2910 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DR., UCSD. 858-550-1010. 8PM THURSDAYS & FRIDAYS, 2PM & 8PM SATURDAYS, 2PM & 7PM SUNDAYS, 7PM TUESDAYS & WEDNESDAYS.


Good People Fresh on the heels of women’s marches all over the world, David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy-drama highlights the breathtaking strug- gles of working-class women in the shadow of male privilege. The actors sometimes appear awkward, with clunky blocking and forced move- ment, but they get more into their bodies and emotions as the story goes on. With colorful characters and witty writing, the choices we all make in our lives reflect in the


life of Margie as she struggles as a


single mother. Worth a try. SCRIPPS RANCH THEATRE, 9783 AVENUE OF NATIONS, SCRIPPS RANCH. 858-578-7728. 8PM FRIDAYS & SATUR- DAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS.


Hey, I’m tha Mama! For two nights only, Spanky Wil- son and her daughter Angela Teek perform in a special engagement at the North Coast Repertory Theatre. Wilson (jazz and R&B singer) and Teek (who won Star Search and has appeared on Broadway), will com- bine their talents in a show featur- ing top 40 R&B hits and Broad- way favorites.


NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE, 987-D LOMAS SANTA FE DR., SOLANA BEACH. 858-481-1055. 7PM MONDAY, FEB. 27 & TUESDAY, FEB. 28.


Hope: an Original Sci-Fi Thriller Talent to aMuse Theatre Company presents the world premiere of O.P. Hadlock’s science fiction thriller. A six person crew, in outerspace for a year, finds a derelict spaceship called Hope. Will a fever of greed and ava- rice consume them before they reach home? Information/reservations at


619-940-6813. TENTH AVENUE ARTS CENTER, 930 TENTH AVE., EAST VILLAGE. 619-920- 8503. 8PM FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS, 4PM SUNDAYS.


An Iliad The Poet has 95 minutes to recite Homer’s epic. And she does at New Village Arts. She is Linda Libby, giv- ing one of her finest performances as a time-traveler cursed to retell The Iliad until war ceases forever. “I knew these boys,” she says, refer- ring to proud Achilles, obstinate Agamemnon, brave Hector, and Helen of Troy. Libby speaks/sings of their fall in a visceral performance that treads a flimsy line between story-telling and getting sucked in by its violence. Credit as well to Jacole Kitchen’s bold direction, John Anderson’s quietly eloquent set, and Gunnar Biggs’s backup on


string bass. Critic’s Pick. NEW VILLAGE ARTS THEATRE, 2787 B STATE ST., CARLSBAD. 760-433-3245. 8PM THURSDAYS & FRIDAYS, 3PM & 8PM SATURDAYS, 2PM SUNDAYS.


The Illusion North Coast Repertory Theatre stages Tony Kushner’s free adap- tation of Pierre Corneille’s 17th century tragicomedy. Pridamant’s son disappeared. Pridamant and Dorante try to discover why. Maybe a magician can help? David Ellen- stein directs.


NORTH COAST REPERTORY THEATRE, 987-D LOMAS SANTA FE DR., SOLANA BEACH. 858-481-1055. 8PM FRIDAYS, 2PM & 8PM SATURDAYS, 2PM & 7PM SUNDAYS, 7PM WEDNESDAYS.


In White America To mark African-American his- tory month, the La Jolla Theatre Ensemble presents a staged reading of Martin Duberman’s documen- tary play that pairs concise narra- tion with historical text and tracks over two centuries of the African


American experience. LA JOLLA LIBRARY, 7555 DRAPER AVE., LA JOLLA. 858-552-1657. 2PM SUNDAY, FEB. 26, 7PM TUESDAY, FEB. 28.


The Matsuyama Mirror SDSU’s Theatre for Young Audiences presents Velina Hasu Houston’s Japanese folktale-fantasy. “In this coming of age story, a young woman


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