Best 2015 Spring Theater Productions In Sacramento
California Stage
1721 25th St.
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 451-5822
www.calstage.org
Date: Through March 22, 2015
Adultery, lies, passion and death are common themes in powerful, dramatic operas, and they are present as well in Sacramento playwright Leslie Lewinter-Suskind's award-winning "Italian Opera." However, the power of Lewinter-Suskind's operetta comes from the skewering of traditional operatic art and business. This hysterically funny musical romp stars Katherine Cooper as the desperate, scheming housewife Lucrezia Scarpoletto, who plots to reengage the sexual interest of her relentlessly bored hubby, played by Jonathan Blum. Nemorino Pollione, a shameless womanizer played by Jonathan Blum, and Naomi Wilson as his coy and cloying wife, run in circles of chaos and paranoia around the dizzy Scarpoletto couple, aided by Janet Motenko as the delightfully devious maid, Zerbinetta.
California State University Sacramento
Playwrights' Theatre -- Shasta Hall 101
6000 J St.
Sacramento, CA 95819
(916) 278-6368
www.csus.edu
Date: March 11-22, 2015
Playwright Anna Deavere Smith created this powerful, Tony Award-nominated play about the legal trial of four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused of assault with a deadly weapon against Rodney King. The acquittal of the officers had an instant and long-term impact, and Smith conducted interviews with many individuals in the violent aftermath. Smith presents a wide-angle view of the situation from victims, witnesses, adversaries and other observers, using their own words, dialects, attitudes and appearances. From famous figures including LAPD's police chief Daryl Gates and democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters to a gang member, local business owners and one juror, Smith's play provides a glimpse into a volatile situation that continues to be discussed more than 20 years later.
Runaway Stage Productions
2791 24th St.
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 207-1226
www.runawaystage.com
Date: March 13 - April 5, 2015
This rollicking musical is based on the life of a real survivor of the Titanic, and is presented to Sacramento audiences with a live orchestra. The irrepressible Molly Brown had a rough start to life, after being rescued as an infant from a raging river. Living in backwoods poverty, she dreams of a life of comfort, wealth and acceptance by the beautiful socialites of Denver. She marries an impoverished prospector, who ends up striking it rich, but approval from those in high society seems impossible to come by. This funny, outrageous musical follows Molly's determined rise to acceptance in Monte Carlo, her experience on the sinking Titanic and her ultimate choice between true life and a posh life. Producer and director Bob Baxter brings this toe-tapping treat to Runaway Stage Productions in spring 2015.
Capital Stage
2215 J St.
Sacramento CA 95816
(916) 995-5464
www.capstage.org
Date: April 29 – May 31, 2015
Nobel laureate Harold Pinter wrote this Tony Award-winning two-act play, which challenges the perceptions of morality, sexuality, relationships and control. Directed locally by Janis Stevens, this powerful stage production follows a man who brings his wife of six years to London to meet his family for the first time. Their relationship is convoluted and emotionally volatile, and the man's father and brothers question and ultimately test the wife's sexual morals. Familial one-upmanship, competition, power and dominance are continual struggles, and the play has an unexpected and stunning conclusion.
Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
