Playbill picks: February local theater highlights

GRAB BAG: Local theaters essentially have something for everyone throughout February. Photo by iStock

If you’re a fan of local theater, Western North Carolina offers plenty of options. Below are some highlights of productions hitting stages across the region.

Are you being served?

The Masters golf tournament may have trademarked the catchphrase “A tradition unlike any other,” but N.C. Stage Company could accurately use that branding for its annual Jeeves productions. Playwright Margaret Raether‘s stage adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse’s stories regularly pack the house, and the return of Jeeves Saves the Day looks to continue that tradition. The show opened Jan. 22 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 16.

Featuring director Angie Flynn-McIver and the full cast from N.C. Stage’s 2020 production, the romp follows wealthy bachelor Bertie Wooster (Scott Treadway) as he navigates an accidental marriage engagement with additional complications arising from his bumbling cousin Egbert (Charlie Flynn-McIver), intimidating Aunt Agatha (Callan White), potential future father-in-law Sir Roderick Glossop (John Hall) and enchanting jazz singer Maisie Dawson (Maria Buchanan). As usual, only Bertie’s faithful butler Jeeves (Peter Thomasson) can get his employer out of this latest mess.

Jeeves Saves the Day is one of our most popular productions of all time and was the final show seen on our stage before COVID closures,” says Buchanan, who also serves as the theater company’s marketing and communications director.

“We are simply chuffed to bring it back to N.C. Stage five years later. We always want to offer something warm and comforting to our audience during these cold, dark winter months, so we love revisiting the smart hilarity of these Wodehousean characters during this time.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/ehh.

Knock knock

Made famous by director Stanley Kramer’s 1967 film starring Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Houghton, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is arguably even more potent in its subsequent stage form.

Adapted by Todd Kreidler from the Oscar-winning screenplay by William Rose, this romantic dramedy — about a white San Francisco-based couple whose long-held progressive values are tested when their daughter makes a surprise visit home with her Black widower fiancé — graces the Hendersonville Theater stage Thursday, Feb. 6, through Sunday, Feb. 16.

Rixa Clark and Elijah York play the blessing-seeking young couple, with Pamela Flasch and Doug Sparks as the young woman’s shocked parents.

“We’re so excited to bring Kreidler’s witty and sharp adaptation of this classic American story to the stage,” says Victoria Lamberth, Hendersonville Theater’s managing artistic director, who also directs the show. ”This play hits home in a way that feels just as powerful now as it did back in 1967, especially in a country that’s still so divided.”

She continues, “Again, we are grappling with seismic cultural and political shifts. Working with such an amazing group of actors has been a real privilege. Together, we hope to offer audiences an experience that is not only captivating and thought-provoking but also strikingly relevant to the challenges and divisions we face in today’s world.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/ehi.

Thank you for your service

Haywood Arts Regional Theater in Waynesville kicks off February with a remounting of the company’s popular 2018 staging of Women & War, which runs Friday-Sunday, Feb. 7-9.

Written by Jack Hilton Cunningham, this readers theater production blends fiction and history via correspondence and monologues to spotlight the struggles U.S. women have endured through various military conflicts. Under the direction of Julie Kinter — who also designed the show’s sound and projections — housewives, factory workers, new brides, nurses, mothers, widows and soldiers from World War I through the war in Afghanistan share their stories of triumph and heartbreak.

“At HART, we are committed to telling stories that matter, and Women & War is a powerful reminder of the strength and courage women have shown throughout history,” Kinter says. “We are thrilled to share this moving production with our audiences and hope it inspires meaningful reflection.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/ehg.

Please excuse the mess

A poster child for Murphy’s Law, seemingly all mistakes indeed occur in the hilarious The Play That Goes Wrong at Asheville Community Theatre. The show opens Thursday, Feb. 6, and runs through Sunday, Feb. 23.

Kristi DeVille directs this production of the hit comedy by the writing team of Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, in which audiences eavesdrop on opening night of Cornley University Drama Society’s staging of the fictitious 1920s-set whodunnit The Murder at Haversham Manor. From a wobbly set to a corpse that can’t sit still to creative line-recall methods, obstacles are rampant. Yet this committed ensemble — embodied at ACT by a pair of casts that alternate performances — perseveres and does whatever is necessary to finish the show.

“Directing The Play That Goes Wrong has been an absolute blast,” DeVille says. “With two separate casts, the excitement and humor is doubled, and I definitely recommend catching both versions. With everything that has happened in WNC and around the globe, it’s refreshing to relax and enjoy a performance where chaos reigns, yet the actors persist and triumph.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/ehf.

A moving musical

Following its annual Valentine’s Day Cabaret, Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 14-16, HART pivots to the musical The Story of My Life. The show opens Friday, Feb. 21, and runs through Sunday, March 2.

Featuring music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian Hill, the intimate work centers on the lifelong bond between childhood friends Thomas (played by Eric Martinez) and Alvin (Mark Jones), exploring how the stories we share and those we keep secret define our lives. Kelly Jackson serves as the show’s musical director and performs live piano accompaniment.

The Story of My Life is a look into our own personal histories to revisit the nostalgia of childhood, the metamorphosis of growing up and to reflect on our past in a new and sometimes harsher light,” says Doug Savitt, the show’s director. “But overall it’s about acknowledging truths, appreciating the memories of years gone by and then letting go to make space for the future.”

Candice Dickinson, HART’s artistic director, calls this production “a testament to what happens when the perfect team comes together.” She adds that the staging has been in the works for three years and that “the blend of talent, passion and creativity behind this show is inspiring.”

To learn more, visit avl.mx/ehg.

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About Edwin Arnaudin
Edwin Arnaudin is a staff writer for Mountain Xpress. He also reviews films for ashevillemovies.com and is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Follow me @EdwinArnaudin

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