WHAT: David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People
WHERE & WHEN: Kreeger Theater from Feb.1-Mar.10, 2013
SOUTHWEST NIGHT: Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
WHAT: Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses
WHERE & WHEN: Fichandler Stage from Feb. 8-Mar.17, 2013
SOUTHWEST NIGHT: Feb.17 at 7:30 p.m.
WHAT: Double Edge Theatre’s The Grand Parade (of the 20th Century)
WHERE & WHEN: Arlene and Robert Kogood Cradle from Feb. 6-10.
COST AND INFORMATION FOR ARENA SHOWS: Tickets vary from $25-$85 depending on performance and may be purchased online at arenastage.org, by phone at 202-488-3300 or at the Sales Office at 1101 Sixth St., SW, D.C. For info on discounts visit arenastage.org/shows-tickets/single-tickets/savings-programs
SPECIAL EVENT FOR The Grand Parade: Director Stacy Klein and members of the company discuss how Chagall’s art inspired this wordless music-infused spectacle and demonstrate through video, costumes, and props some of that artistry on stage at Arena.
WHERE & When: The Phillips Collection on Jan. 31 at 6 p.m.
INFORMATION: Feb. 6–10. $20; $8 for members. Registration required: www.phillipscollection.org/events*
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“Dreams are private myths, myths are public dreams. So said modern mythologist Joseph Campbell. Arena Stage’s three shows in February are fine examples of what he meant.
Gods and mortals gather in a giant pool in the in-the-round stage to re-enact Ovid’s lyrical ancient myths of romance, family, loss and redemption in Mary Zimmerman’s magical interpretation Metamorphoses.
MacArthur “Genius” Zimmerman has said that the stories are about the central fact of life–that change is inescapable. Myths are what binds humans together, giving comfort in that they re-affirm that change is the only constant. In this stunning production, the strange and yet familiar forces of change or Metamorphoses re-affirm that destruction can be transformed to something new.
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire says that we have this myth of the American Dream that if you work hard and make sacrifices, you can accomplish anything.
Good People, his dark comedy about class, fate and economic hardship, is set in South Boston’s Lower End, where “Southie” native Margie is a single mother facing eviction. In this hardscrabble section of the inner city — a far cry from the lush setting for the Greek gods–the dream of a myth does not add up.
Lindsay-Abaire says that you need luck and opportunity, and you need luck to recognize an opportunity. How Maggie figures out that hard work and sacrifice don’t work and comes up with a scheme to fix her financial problems might be subversive, but with a little bit of luck, maybe her dream will come through.
The Grand Parade (of the 20th Century) is an original world premiere inspired by the multi-layered paintings of Marc Chagall.
Major events of 20th century history–the landing on the moon, the world wars, the escapes of Houdini, the atomic bomb, Hitler’s concentration camps and Kennedy’s assassination– all spin together reflecting Chagall’s vision of humanity, the stuff from which myths and dreams arise.
Using trapeze, circus, dance and projections from film, television and photography, the performers with Chagall as muse recount these stories of wonders and horrors for a unique theatrical experience.
By Sheila Wickouski