PEACH WEEKENDER | THEATER
2 readings on tap for Actors Collaborative
2/14/2018
Liane Golightly, left, Greg Kissner, Kate Abu-Absi, and Derek Hansen star in 'The Realistic Joneses' presented by Actors Collaborative Toledo.
Nancy Wright
Two contemporary plays, The Realistic Joneses and The Nether, will be presented in readings by Actors Collaborative Toledo this month.
In playwright Will Eno’s dramatic comedy The Realistic Joneses, two suburban couples, middle-aged Bob and Jennifer and the younger John and Pony, both with the last name Jones, are new neighbors meeting for the first time. As they talk, they discover they have more in common than their surnames as they face a common reality.
The director is Nancy Wright, and the cast features Kate Abu-Absi, Liane Golightly, Greg Kissner, and Derek Hansen. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and on Feb. 24.
The Nether, a combination of crime drama and science fiction thriller by Jennifer Haley, may seem to be set in a perfect world of pleasure, but in this virtual environment, a detective uncovers a world of terrible darkness.
The Nether is directed by Barbara Barkan and features Brandie Culbreath, Ella Culbreath, John DuVall, Tom Hofbauer, and Dominic Shamas. Performances are at 8 p.m. Saturday and Feb 23. The play has adult themes and isn’t recommended for those under 18.
All performances are at Trinity Episcopal Church, 316 Adams St. Tickets are $10 at the door and in advance from act419.org.
At BGSU
The Language Archive, by Julia Cho, winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize awarded to women playwrights, will be presented by the BGSU Department of Theatre and Film in nine performances this month.
The play tells the story of George, who is dedicated to archiving dying languages. But when he can’t solve the mystery of some notes sent by his wife, Mary, he doesn’t know what to say when she leaves him. And he doesn’t understand what Emma, his lovestruck lab assistant, wants to tell him.
The Language Archive, directed by BGSU faculty member Sara Lipinski Chambers, features Connor Long and Felita Guyton as George and Mary, Laura Beth Hohman as Emma, and Hope Eller and Michael Tosti as an Elloway-speaking couple George turns to for help in preserving their language.The cast also includes Isaac Batty, Anna Hawersaat, and Megan Kome.
The Language Archive will be presented at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday in Eva Marie Saint Theatre in the Wolfe Center for the Arts on the BGSU campus. Additional performances are at 8 p.m. Feb. 22-23, and at 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 24. Advance tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for seniors, $5 for students. Tickets purchased on the day of performance are $20. Tickets are from bgsu.edu/arts, 419-372-8171, or the Arts Box Office in the Wolfe Center.
Oregon Theatre
Driving Miss Daisy, a play by Alfred Uhry that won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, will be presented by Oregon Community Theatre beginning Friday.
Set in 1948 in the Deep South, the play follows Daisy Werthan, a rich and feisty 72-year-old Jewish widow whose son, Boolie, tells her she must rely on a chauffeur after she wrecks another auto, and Hoke Coleburn, an unemployed African-American man Boolie hires as his mother’s driver. The two clash at first because Miss Daisy resents having a driver and Hoke resents what he considers her prejudiced attitude. But over the next 25 years Daisy and Hoke find common ground and close friendship.
“I think the theme is that love and friendship can go above and beyond racism and age,” director Kevin Harrington said.
The cast features Judi Pollock as Daisy, Michael Rywalski as Hoke, and David LaGrange as Boolie.
Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday in Fassett Auditorium, 3025 Starr. Ave. Additional shows are at 8 p.m. Feb. 23-24. Tickets are $14 general admission and $12 for seniors and students from oregoncommunitytheatre.org, 419-691-1398, and at the door.
At UM
You For Me For You, a play by Mia Chung, will be presented by the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance on Thursday through Sunday.
The seriocomedy centers on two sisters living in North Korea. Both attempt to escape but only one is able to. The play follows one sister’s adjustment to her new home of New York City as the other remains in a world where doublespeak is one’s only hope of moving forward, according to press materials.
The show is presented in collaboration with the UM Nam Center for Korean Studies. A panel discussion of the play with playwright Mia Chung, director Priscilla Lindsay, and David Chung will be at 1 p.m. Friday in 1010 Weiser Hall.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre in the Michigan League at 911 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor. Tickets are $24-$30 from tickets.music.umich.edu and 734-764-2538.
Acting classes
Toledo Repertoire Theatre will present Craft of Acting II: Advanced Course , taught by Deborah M. Coulter-Harris, who has appeared in and directed more than 126 productions and has studied acting at the renowned Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
The course is designed for semiprofessionals and for professionals who want to improve their craft. Classes will meet from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Saturdays from Feb. 24 to April 21 at the Rep, 16 10th St., and are open to adults 18 and older who have previous training or theater experience. Enrollment is limited.The fee is $200. For information, contact education@toledorep.org or call 419-243-9277.
Contact Sue Brickey at sbrickey@theblade.com