There’s just one more weekend to catch two local plays: B8 Theatre’s “White Guy on the Bus” and Chanticleers’ “Steel Magnolias.”
Bruce Graham’s powerful drama “White Guy on the Bus” follows a wealthy white businessman who rides the same bus week after week. He befriends a single black mom, and as their friendship grows, past tensions unfold in this dynamic exploration of race and family. I saw this show several years ago and was very impressed with the writing and discussions about white privilege and racism, which can continue long after the play has ended. As the subtitle says, “because nothing in our world is simply black or white.”
Max Minton directs B8’s production, which features Julian Christopher Geritz, Diana Lauren Jones, Stephen Rexrode, Julianna Romualdi and Maureen-Theresa Williams. The show runs Feb. 27-29 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 29 through March 1 at 2 p.m. at 3503 Clayton Road in Concord. Tickets are available at the door or online at eventbrite.com.
Chanticleers continues its successful run of “Steel Magnolias” through March 1 as well. If you only know the movie, here is your chance to see a much more intimate portrayal of the five women in Truvy’s Beauty Salon. In fact, the performance became almost too intimate several weeks ago when high winds cut the power to the Castro Valley theater in the middle of Act II.
The audience and performers wanted to go on, so ushers found every battery-powered light they could and stood in the aisles pointing them at the stage while audience members in the front row turned on the flashlight app on their phones and turned those to the stage as well. The dim light created quite a bond between audience and performers. If you decide to attend the final week, however, I’ve been assured the lights will stay on! For tickets, call 510-733-5483 or go to chanticleers.org.
Walnut Creek: One day a pushy blond and a too-friendly redhead decide to switch places for a day, leaving the world of fairytales changed forever. Or at the very least, leaving a young audience entertained and educated as to what might have happened if the three bears had encountered Little Red Riding Hood in their home and the mean old wolf had dealt with a less gullible Goldilocks at Grandma’s house.
Such is the case in Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble’s (FFAE) upcoming production “The Adventures of Goldilocks and Little Red Once Upon a Time.” The cleverly tuneful combination of the two favorite stories has the two young women switching places for a day and getting much more than they bargained for as a result.
If you’ve never attended an FFAE performance, I urge you to find a young child and go. I took my kids when they were little and then my granddaughter and have even been known to go by myself as an adult! The atmosphere FFAE creates is such a wonderful introduction to theater as costumed performers go through the audience interacting with youngsters and getting them excited for the show to come. During the performance, some lucky children can even sit on the stage and help hand the talented performers various props. It’s a very fun and positive experience.
FFAE’s “The Adventures of Goldilocks and Little Red Once Upon a Time” runs multiple times each day March 5-8 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts. Each performance is about an hour. Call 925-943-SHOW or go to lesherartscenter.org.
Albany: Three rarely produced plays by Samuel Beckett are up next for Anton’s Well Theater Company. Dedicated to Bay Area premieres or rarely performed plays, the company March 6-21 will present Beckett’s “A Piece of Monologue,” “Embers” and “All That Fall” at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1501 Washington Ave. in Albany.
“Embers” explores the imagination of Henry, a man who communicates with family ghosts and features Brian Levi and Sarah Elizabeth. In “All That Fall,” Mrs. Rooney goes on a comic journey that becomes something very different with Gigi Benson as Mrs. Rooney and also featuring Sarah Elizabeth, Kenneth Matis, Jeff Trescott and Evan Winet. Keith Jefferds takes on “A Piece of Monologue” as the Speaker, who measures out the whole of life from birth to death. Robert Estes directs. For tickets, go to antonswell.org.
Berkeley: If you haven’t had a chance to see Berkeley Rep’s remarkable production of “Gatz,” you have a few more chances. The show has been extended until March 1. Prepare for a full day at the theater: the show runs six hours with two 15-minute intermissions and a two-hour dinner break. Call 510-647-2949 or go to berkeleyrep.org.
In The City: If you happen to venture over to San Francisco, try Generation Theatre’s rendition of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Set at the time of World War II’s London Blitz, “Olivia’s Kitchen — or What the Cook Saw of Twelfth Night,” follows Shakespeare’s story with a few twists. For one, the action takes place in Olivia’s kitchen, half destroyed by the Blitz. The show runs March 7-17 at the Southside Theater, Fort Mason Center, Building D, San Francisco. For tickets, go to generationtheatre.com.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.
