by Mark G. Auerbach
Elizabeth Ashley headlines the cast of The Night of The Iguana at A.R.T. in Cambridge
Road Trip: The Night of The Iguana at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge
The American Repertory Theater at Harvard, best known as A.R.T. has been, in recent years, an incubator for Broadway hits. Under the direction of Diane Paulus, A.R.T. has sent Hair, Pippin, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and Waitress to The Big Apple. Their next offering is worth the trip to Boston.
Dana Delany headlines the cast of The Night of The Iguana at A.R.T. in Cambridge
A.R.T. presents Tennessee Williams’ The Night of The iguana, directed by former Hartford Stage Artistic Director Michael Wilson, a master of Williams’ work, February 18 through March 18 at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St, Cambridge.
The Night of the Iguana premiered on Broadway in 1961, with a cast that included Patrick O’Neal, Bette Davis, and Maragret Leighton. Shelley Winters replaced Davis. Richard Chamberlain starred in a 1976 Broadway revival. Two film adaptations have been made, including the award-winning 1964 film directed by John Huston and starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr. Supposedly, Joni Mitchell based her song of the same name on her 2007 album, Shine. on the Williams play.
On the edge of the Mexican jungle in the 1940s, a group of troubled travelers seek shelter from a storm, where a hotel proprietress and the scandal-soaked Southern preacher who turns up on her veranda; a Nantucket portrait artist traveling with her ancient grandfather, a bus full of fuming Texan college administrators, and a party of vacationers collide in this drama about how far we travel to outrun the demons within.
The cast includes Dana Delany from China Beach, Body of Proof, and Hand of God; Bill Heck from Broadway’s Cabaret; Amanda Plummer from Broadway’s Agnes of God and A Taste of Honey; and acting legends Elizabeth Ashley and James Earl Jones. Set design is by Derek McLane, costume design by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by David Lander, and sound design by John Gromada.
For details: 617-547-8300 or www.americanrepertorytheater.org
Anthony Marble in A Moon For The Misbegotten at Playhouse on Park.
Keep In Mind…
A Moon For The Misbegotten, Eugene O’Neill’s classic and moving drama, plays West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park through March 5. Set in 1923 on a small farm in Connecticut within the span of a day, A Moon For The Misbegotten follows a gruff and scheming tenant farmer, Phil Hogan, and his headstrong daughter, Josie. The farm’s landlord, James Tyrone, Jr. encounters Josie and mutual attraction follows, but not without some complications. When James disappears after what Josie thought was a perfect moonlight night, all parties find that things appear differently at daybreak. Joseph Discher directs. He most recently staged Butler at 59E59 Off-Broadway. For details: 860-523-5900 x10 or www.playhouseonpark.org
WAM Theatre Girls Ensemble presents What’s That Sound? on February 17 at Shakespeare and Company’s Lenox, MA campus. The original show that the girls have developed centers on a group waiting to board a bus to go to a protest. They all bring a lot of baggage, metaphorically and literally. As they chat, questions are posed about identity, race, gender, fear, age, history, and protest. What’s That Sound?, created by young women ages 13-18 under the direction of WAM’s artistic leadership, is suitable for ages 10 and up. The performance is free of charge and open to the public. For details: http://www.wamtheatre.com
Hartford Symphony Orchestra presents Snow, Moon and Flowers as part of its Sunday Serenades series on February 26, at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford. A pre-concert gallery talk will take place at 1 pm. HSO Concertmaster Leonid Sigal will be joined by Eric Dahlin on cello, Margret Francis on piano and Robert McEwan on marimba for this performance, which includes:
Annabelle Gurwitch
Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade, Op. 2, D. 118, Takemitsu’s haunting Between Tides, and Debussy’s light and elegant Piano Trio in G Major. They also offer a musical reflection of Utamaro’s Snow, Moon and Flowers series from the Edo period, The performance will also feature two solo works by Keiko Abe for marimba, Wind Sketch and Dream of the Cherry Blossom. For details: 860-987-5900 or www.hartfordsymphony.org
I See You Made An Effort, Annabelle Gurwitch’s new one-woman stage show, based on her book of the same name comes to Citystage in Springfield on February 17-18.. Gurwitch’s solo is a one-act romp, accompanied by video and projections designed by Jason Thompson, is set on the eve of a fiftieth birthday. Gurwitch is an actress and the author of the New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize for American Humor finalist I See You Made an Effort, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up (co-authored with Jeff Kahn); and Fired! which was also a Showtime Comedy Special. . She was the news anchor on the award winning Not Necessarily the News on HBO. For details: 413-788-7033 or www.citystage.symphonyhall.com
Elizabeth Aspenleider stars in Shakespeare and Company’s Lovers’ Spat.
Lovers’ Spat showcases some of Shakespeare’s most notorious couples in love or at war, including fun couples Romeo and Juliet, Beatrice and Benedict, Kate and Petruchio, and others. Shakespeare & Company presents this famous couple encounters on February 18-19 in Lenox, MA. Artistic Director Allyn Burrows stages the show, and the cast features company members including Elizabeth Aspenlieder. For details: 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org.
Jeffrey Foucault, the American folksinger and songwriter, performs on the next Berkshire Theatre Group On The Stage Series at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA on February 23. Jeffrey’s sound is influenced by American country, blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and folk. For details: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org..
Hedda Gabler, Ibsen’s classic, as translated by Eva Le Gallienne and directed by Christina Peligrini, gets a staging by the UMass Theatre Department at The Rand Theatre on the UMass/Amherst campus February 22 through March 4. It’s a non-traditional production using an all-female cast to explore the patriarchal power of the play. For details:1-800-999-UMAS or 545-2511 or www.fineartscenter.com
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
