Sweeney Todd at GCT
We’re entering the season where all of our playhouses put up their Christmas decorations, and pull out the holiday chestnuts. That’s great news for some, but it’s also the off-season for theatergoers who like meatier fare. The better news, there’s plenty of meaty fare running right now, though most of it closes this weekend. Here’s a quick rundown of the good stuff.
Cuddles at TheatreWorks
Yes, Halloween is over. No matter — Cuddles is a different kind of vampire mystery. It unravels slowly, strangely, evoking a grinding sense of dread that grows minute to minute. At its core, it’s a modern fairy tale with Gothic elements ripped from 19th-century novels where everybody seems to have a mad or embarrassing relative locked in the attic. It’s the story of Tabby, a well off, not-very-nice woman, and Eve, the bloodsucking little sister she cares for. There are men in this story too, and although we never see them, they often feel like the play’s realest characters. Their influence erodes a system of rules and rituals the sisters created to protect each other from “the hunger.”
So you’re tired of spook stories — consider this. Cuddles pulls double duty as class satire — the story of a sweet, malformed child who’s docile as long as this bitter, joyless caregiver opens up the occasional vein. It’s a good script, and New Moon Theatre’s production is creepy fun, and funnier that you might imagine.
Cuddles at TheatreWorks
Cuddles closes November 6th.
The City of Conversation at Theatre Memphis
There’s this idea that political polarization started at some specific point in time and can be described as the point when Ronnie Reagan and Tip O'Neill stopped being able to have drinks together. The City of Conversation explores this “Georgetown Rule” of “fight by day, party by night.” It’s a sharply written slice of political drama nested in a family crisis, and essentially the story of liberalism at the end of the 20th-century as Reaganite barbarians stormed the New Deal’s crumbling gates.
The plot’s beside the point, but is essentially this — a politically active Georgetown is divided when the son of a liberal activist marries a conservative. As usual Jack Yates’ sets dazzle and Amie Eoff’s period costumes pop under the lights. Veteran performer Karen Mason Riss is typically fine as the Left-leaning matriarch; Shannon Walton dazzles as the trickle-down temptress.
The City of Conversation closes November 6th.
Sweeney Todd in Concert at Germantown Community Theatre
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is back, and hungry for revenge. The GCT production places the emphasis on Stephen Sondheim’s most chilling score.
Sweeney Todd Closes November 6th.
The House That Will Not Stand at the Hattiloo Theatre
The House That Will Not Stand is one of the best-written scripts produced locally in ages. Marcus Gardley’s writing isn't just good, it’s inspiring. His play isn’t just a rehash of its source material, Garcia Lorca’s House of Bernarda Alba, it’s a funny, fierce, and convention-defying story of free blacks in 18th-century New Orleans. The production is beautifully imagined, although the casting feels a little off in some places, making the whole thing appear rougher than it might. But there are some superlative performances here, too. For all of its issues, this is probably the first real “don't miss” show of the season.
The House That Will Not Stand closes November 20th.
