The picks on the Cape Cod stages this week are quite music-heavy, for those looking for lighter fare as summer approaches, but there are also two thought-provoking pieces on white privilege – men and women – and Sam Shepard’s view of family.
We have reviews online for ongoing shows: the 1950s musical “Grease” at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis; “Straight White Men” at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater; and “Silver Threads: A Musical Tribute to Linda Ronstadt” at the Cotuit Center for the Arts. Find out what our reviewers have to say at https://www.capecodtimes.com/entertainment/.
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Opening Harbor Stage Company June 16-July 9 in Wellfleet is Shepard’s “Buried Child,” described as “an uncompromising dive into the secrets of a fractured family… (which) uses dark humor to dissect the myth of a twisted American dream”. Reservations and information: http://www.harborstage.org/
In the wings:Harbor Stage season features goofy, risque comedy + 6 more plays in Cape Cod theaters
For the other shows opening this week, here’s what to expect:
The Academy stages ‘Guys and Dolls’
In a bid to put ‘a fresh coat of paint on a classic,’ the Academy of Performing Arts will bring back the ‘weird musical’ of ‘Guys and Dolls,’ about big-city gamers in the Depression era Times Square and the women who love them. The beloved score includes well-known tunes like “Luck Be a Lady Tonight” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”
Shows are at 7 p.m. June 17-18, 24-25 and July 30-July 2 and 2 p.m. June 19-16 at the Academy Playhouse, 120 Main Street, Orleans; tickets and information: https://www.academyplayhouse.org/.
College Light Opera Company launches its musicals
The 54th season of all College Light Opera Company musicals at the Highfield Theater in Falmouth will kick off June 21-25 with ‘The Gondoliers’, part of its traditional Gilbert and Sullivan fare. The rest of the season goes from fairy tales to Elvis Presley to a dark spectacle from Stephen Sondheim.
The nine-show season will continue from June 28 to July 2, “Kiss Me Kate”; July 5-9, “No, no Nanette”; July 12-16, “All Shook Up”; July 19-23, “Die Fledermaus”; July 26-30, “Cinderella”; August 2-6, “Assassins”; August 9-13, “The Scarlet Pimpernel”; and from August 16 to 20, “Elle m’aime”.
Reservations and information: http://www.collegelightoperacompany.com/.
Say hello to Charlie Brown and Snoopy
The Cotuit Arts Center will christen its new outdoor performance space with beloved comic book characters Charles Schulz in the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”. It’s just a normal day for the unfortunate boy as he navigates lunchtime, Valentine’s Day and baseball season in what is described as ‘wild optimism and utter desperation “. Dog Snoopy, his sister Sally and his friends Linus, Schroeder and Lucy are there.
Shows are at 6 p.m. June 21-24, 27, 29-30 and July 1, 5-8 at the Center, 4404 Falmouth Road (Route 28), Cotuit; $30, with discounts available; https://artsonthecape.org/.
Songs from a tough Hollywood
As part of Provincetown CabaretFest from June 21-26, which this year is themed ‘Hurrah for Hollywood’, local actress Jo Brisbane blends song and comedy for her solo show ‘Mod Hollywood: Tunes from a Town Without Pity’. His show is at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 23 at Gabriel’s, 102 Bradford St. in Provincetown
The piece is described as “a mid-century modern musical interplay” with songs from 1950s and 1960s movies, ranging “from bittersweet to boozy to bland, to dark nights seen through a door branded never again”. Reservations and information: https://www.provincetowncabaretfest.com/thursday.
Play explores the privilege of rich white women
Jim Dalglish’s solo play “The Playground” has been chosen as a finalist in the Eventide Theater Company’s 2022 Kaplan Playwright Competition, and will go to a free public reading at 2 p.m. Saturday. Anna Botsford will star in the show at the Jacob Sears Library, 23 Center St., East Dennis.
The show is about the mother of an exuberant 4-year-old daughter who leaves her titular job on the West Coast to follow her husband to New York, and stumbles into a surreal world of wealthy white privilege when she takes her son to a playground. There will be a discussion after the show.
Information: https://www.facebook.com/events
Contact Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at kdriscoll@capecodonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @KathiSDCCT.
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