The British farce Not Now, Darling, written by by John Chapman and Ray Cooney, seems so fabulously retro now. In reality, it was just another modern play of the era. But these days, thanks to TV shows like “Mad Men,” “Pan Am,” “The Astronaut Wives Club,” and the subsequent wave of nostalgia, audiences are getting a whole new look at that bygone era.
Our first round of Best of WNC results were released in this week’s print issue. The results are now posted online — in a highly visible and easily accessible format.
The modernized play runs at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, Fridays through Sundays, Aug. 7-29, at 7:30 p.m.
The show is filled with hard-to-believe conceits and antics, including cross-dressing, mixed-up identities and a few predictable twists. There are just enough sincerely sweet plot lines to make the more loony parts palatable. Regardless, the show had the audience swaying, clapping and cheering at every leg-twisting, hip-shaking turn.
Theatrical startup the Cardboard Sea debuts “If You Must” at the Magnetic Theatre on Thursday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m., and Friday July 31, and Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Twelfth Night, Or What You Will continues at Montford Park though Saturday, Aug. 1, with shows Thursday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Miss Nelson is Missing was “a favorite book growing up,” says ACA founder and director Robbie Jaeger. “The title is meaningful to many generations — our parents read it to us, our peers today are now reading it to their kids, and kids are loving it as much now as when it was originally published in the ’70s.” The play opens at N.C. Stage Co. on Thursday, July 16.
With its pop-up performances, collaborative artist workshops and a large-scale puppet show by Madison J. Cripps and Keith Shubert, this fundraiser will give attendees a taste of Fringe Arts Festival 2016.
Pump Boys And Dinettes continues its run at North Buncombe High from Friday, July 10 to Sunday, July 19, and Owen High from Friday, July 24 to Sunday, August 2.
Born from Asheville Community Theatre’s desire to attract a wider audience, this competitive runway show sees 40 local designers vying for titles in four zany categories: tape, nature, inflatables and Christmas in July.
Crest Mountain Dinner Show stages its own commemoration of country music pioneer Patsy Cline. Local vocalist Liz Aiello channels Cline with help from backing band The Bobcats on Sunday, July 5.
Local bands open and close each segment of this body-inspired entertainment extravaganza, which will be hosted at the Orange Peel on Sunday, July 5, at 7:30 p.m.
The Underpants is a play adapted by Steve Martin from an early 1900s German work by Carl Sternheim — and the results are just as madcap as you might imagine. It’s currently being staged by Attic Salt Theatre Company as part of the Catalyst Series at N.C. Stage Company.
The Merchant of Asheville launches — after more than years of looking for a home — the grand opening production of The magnetic Theatre’s new space at 375 Depot Street (strangely enough, just across the street from its original building). The play’s first lines also sum up the theater’s mission statement.
Jeff Messer turns his focus to the folk and country music contributions of Burnsville native Lesley Riddle. Esley: The Life and Musical Legacy of Lesley Riddle, runs at Parkway Playhouse Saturday, June 27-Saturday, July 11.
Local troupe Trillium Dance Company stages “Rites of Summer” on Saturday, June 27. The show includes performances by The Fox & Beggar Theater with music from Starseed, Morphonic, Earthtone Soundsystem and MeltYum.
The payoff for this year’s sleepless local filmmakers is your attendance at the videos’ official screenings at Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co. on Tuesday, June 23 through Thursday, June 25, at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. each night.
Over The River and Through The Woods continues its run at Flatrock Playhouse Downtown through Sunday, June 21. It isn’t a downer and it isn’t a comedy: it’s a deft portrait of reality, in all of its humor and sadness.
If Tarocco lacks in story, it overwhelms in sensory stimulation. There is color and light and music – and truly staggering accomplishments of mechanical know-how and finely trained muscles. Tarocco is, above all else, a visual feast.
Nunsense is as much old school variety show as anything, relying on a mixed bag formula aimed at one thing: pure entertainment. And HART delivers with a perfectly cast, and tightly directed production.
“I don’t know that anyone has really written or produced a play about Asheville, per se — what [the city] is today, what the different populations are, what the economic situation is, how things are changing in relation to tourism and beer and everything else,” Magnetic Theatre’s artistic director Steven Samuels says. “That’s what this play is really all about.”
