Porgy and Bess Program [pdf] - American Repertory Theater

guide to local theater (continued)
Superior trying to cope with a young postulant experiencing “visions,”
a sensitive schoolboy in need of mentoring, a mysterious
nun visiting from Berlin and a former suitor intent on luring
her away from her vows.
DOGG’S HAMLET and CAHOOT’S MACBETH, Whistler in the
Dark, Plaza Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, 539
Tremont St., 617-933-8600. Oct 27–Nov 19. An evening of
word-wizardry combining two short Tom Stoppard plays is presented.
In the first play, three students are setting up for their production
of a 15-minute Hamlet to be performed in its original
language. The catch? These students speak Dogg—a language
comprised of English words but with different meanings. In the
second play, renegade actors stage a secret performance of
Shakespeare’s Macbeth that becomes a stark and moving
metaphor for resistance in a time of censorship.
THE DONKEY SHOW, American Repertory Theater, Oberon,
2 Arrow St., Cambridge, 617-547-8300. Ongoing. Bringing the
ultimate disco experience to Boston, this crazy circus of mirror
balls, feathered divas, roller skaters and hustle queens tells the
story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream through great ’70s anthems
you know by heart.
THE FARM, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Walcott Theatre, 949
Commonwealth Ave., 866-811-4111. Sep 29–Oct 23. Something
went wrong, but Finn’s not talking. Instead, he’s retiring, and
Parker needs to know why. But trust doesn’t come easy at the
CIA, and as the two operatives match wits, it becomes clear that
they may not even be on the same side.
FIGHTING OVER BEVERLEY, Gloucester Stage Company,
267 East Main St., Gloucester, 978-281-4433. Through Sep
11. Israel Horovitz’s romantic comedy pits three 70-somethings—Beverley,
a WWII English war bride; Zelly, her fisherman
husband; and Archie, the Brit Beverley jilted 53 years
ago—against each other as they hash out their feelings while
plotting an uncertain future.
FISHNET-NETWORKS.NET!, The Theatre at Club Cafe, 209
Columbus Ave., 866-811-4111. Through Sep 9. Economy got
you down? Job trouble? Sick of being trapped in your cubicle?
Get the urge to smack your co-workers with a fish stick (or
10)? Don’t worry! FishNet-NetWorks.Net is hiring in this hilarious,
politically incorrect audience-interactive parody of a large
American computer networking company.
THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS, American Repertory
Theater, Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, 617-
547-8300. Through Oct 2. Internationally renowned stars
Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis and David Alan Grier and A.R.T.
Artistic Director Diane Paulus take on a revival adapted by
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks
(Topdog/Underdog) and OBIE-winning composer Diedre Murray
(Best of Both Worlds). Set in 1930s Charleston, South Carolina,
this classic (which had its world premiere at Boston’s Colonial
Theatre in 1935) tells the story of beautiful and troubled Bess,
who turns to crippled beggar Porgy in search of safety after her
possessive lover commits murder, and boasts such beloved
works as “Summertime,” “Bess, You Is My Woman” and “It
Ain’t Necessarily So.”
Richard Bell:
Uz vs.Them
Ken Gonzales-Day:
Profiled
TUFTS UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY
@ THE SHIRLEY AND ALEX AIDEKMAN ARTS CENTER
THE GERSHWINS’ PORGY AND BESS 49