DON'T MISS…
Good People. David Lindsay-Abaire’s affecting drama is about Margie, a single mother from the working-class area of Boston known as Southie, and Mike, also from Southie, who got away and lives a comfortable life in upscale Chestnut Hill. When Margie, looking for work, re-introduces herself to Mike, the stage is set for a moving meditation on class, race, and memory. Sept. 7-Oct. 2, American Stage Theatre Company, 163 3rd St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-823-PLAY, americanstage.org.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This Tony award-wining adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel by the same name revolves around 15-year-old Christopher, a brilliant but damaged adolescent who finds himself a suspect in the disappearance of a neighbor’s dog. In his efforts to find the real culprit, he takes us on an eye-opening tour of his startling, disorienting reality. Nov. 8-13, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa, 813-229-STAR, strazcenter.org.
The Realistic Joneses. Will Eno's play is about two couples named Jones who try to know each other and the universe as they contend with life-threatening illness and the difficulties of communication. Eno's dialogue is tender but odd, spiked with irrelevancies and non sequiturs that eventually begin to feel as realistic as the Joneses. Mixing anguish and humor, Eno goes wide and deep. A Tampa Rep production, Nov. 11-20, HCC Studio Theatre, 15th Street & Palm Avenue, Ybor City,Tampa, 813-783-5465, tamparep.org.
ALSO ON THE RADAR…
Pyscho Beach Party. What the world clearly needs is a drag parody of the American beach movie, wherein the Gidget character has a shadow side that wants to be “dominatrix Empress of the Planet Earth.” Why not? Oct. 6-23, Stageworks Theatre, 1120 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, 813-374-2416, stageworkstheatre.org.
Assassins. This musical look (by Stephen Sondheim) at eight successful and failed presidential assassins is either shockingly irresponsible or brilliantly insightful. You decide. Oct. 8-Nov. 6, freeFall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-498-5205, freefalltheatre.com.
Lizzie. Rock out with an inventive and raucous musical about Lizzie Borden, who either did or didn’t kill her parents in Fall River, Massachusetts one day in 1892. Oct. 14-Nov. 6, Jobsite Theater, Shimberg Playhouse at the Straz Center, Tampa, 813-229-STAR, jobsitetheater.org.
A Bicycle Country. A Simple Theatre presents a staged reading of Nilo Cruz’s play about three Cuban exiles and their harrowing journey across the Caribbean in search of freedom. Oct. 18, Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Dr. NE, St. Petersburg, asimpletheatre.org.
Tartuffe. American Stage producing artistic director Stephanie Gularte has adapted Molière’s classic play so that it’s about a cunning, lusty political operator and his dupe, businessman Orgon. Oct. 26-Nov. 20, American Stage.
The Great Gatsby. Alas, poor Jay Gatsby, chasing the evasive Daisy through book, multiple film and now, the play. Does the green light at the end of her dock shine any brighter on the legit stage? Dec. 1-18, Stageworks.
An American in Paris. As much about dance as it is about song, this contemporary adaptation of the 1951 film features a gorgeous, newly liberated Paris, wonderful George Gershwin songs, and a delightfully romantic outlook. Dec. 20-25, Straz Center.
Grounded. Local star Emilia Sargent is slated to appear as an adrenalin-loving fighter pilot who, after she gets pregnant, finds herself grounded and assigned to pilot a drone from a base near Las Vegas. Jan. 6-22, Tampa Rep at USF Studio 120, 3837 USF Holly Dr., Tampa.
As You Like It. You can find just about anything in the Forest of Arden: love, philosophy, safety, redemption. Jobsite Theater updates Shakespeare’s classic comedy so that it takes place in present-day Tampa. Jan. 13-Feb. 5, Jobsite.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. August Wilson’s remarkable play is about the residents of a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911, one of whom is still searching for the wife he lost 10 years before. Jan. 18-Feb. 19, American Stage.
Romeo and Juliet. The famous star-crossed lovers turn out also to be stellar singers in Charles Gounod’s opera (in French, with English supertitles). Maybe this time they’ll grow old together? Jan. 20-22, Opera Tampa at the Straz Center.
Cabaret. There’s lots of stylish decadence at Berlin’s Weimar-era Kit Kat Klub, some unforgettable characters, and a few indelible songs like “Willkommen,” “Maybe This Time” and, of course, “Cabaret.” Jan. 24-29, Straz Center.
This article appears in Aug 25 – Sep 1, 2016.
