PEACH WEEKENDER I THEATER

Village Players rocks 'The Undeniable Sound of Right Now'

11/8/2018

‘The Undeniable Sound of Right Now’ opens at the Village Players Friday.

The Undeniable Sound of Right Now, a play set in a Chicago rock club in 1992, opens at the Village Players Friday.

A once-popular club has been operated for 25 years by Hank, with help from his daughter Lena, but now the times, and the music, are changing. The neighborhood is being gentrified, the rents are going up, and new sounds are overtaking the rock of the era.

Also troubling Hank is Lena’s relationship with Nash, the DJ who supplies the sound for a live audience and mixes and produces records. Nash’s popularity is rising and so is electronic music.

The family conflict leads to a sad but interesting turn at the end, said Jeffrey Albright, director of the Village Players’ production.

The cast includes five actors who are brand-new to the Village’s stage, Albright said, and two of them are appearing in their first play, “so we have new faces and new talent.” The five are Mark Owen, who portrays Hank and also will perform live music in the shows, and Kathleen Hill as Lena, Charlie Pengov as Toby the bartender, Daniil Gelivera as Nash, and Lisa Flynn as Bette, Hank’s ex-wife. Zac Gilley portrays Joey, the landlord’s son. Patrick Drummond is assistant director.

Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 at the Village Players, 2740 Upton Ave. Additional shows are Nov. 15 - 17 at 8.

Tickets, $20 general admission, $18 for seniors 60 and older and students with valid ID, are available from 419-472-6817, the villageplayers.org, and at the door.

At Owens

Lovers and Madmen, an adaptation of rivalries of Shakespeare’s most infamous lovers, written by Jeremy T. Meier, interim chairman of Fine and Performing Arts at Owens Community College, premieres Thursday in Owens’ Mainstage Theatre.

The Lovers include Hamlet and Ophelia of Hamlet, Petruchio and Kate of The Taming of the Shrew, Benedick and Beatrice of Much Ado About Nothing, and the lovers of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, said director Christopher Smith, an Owens Community College alumnus. It is a battle of the sexes for modern audiences.

Lovers and Madmen explores love in different relationships, and the idea of love as almost a form of madness that the characters experience in different ways, Smith said. The scenes show the lovers in pairs; they are direct cuts from the different Shakespeare plays, but focus on the ensemble as a whole.

“It explores the similarities and differences between people who are in love, and whether that love is requited or unrequited, each character with another, there are multiple pairs throughout the play, and also a love triangle.

Performances of Lovers and Madmen, a Student Theatre Production, are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8-10, and at 3 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Mainstage Theatre on the Owens Community College campus, 30335 Oregon Road, Perrysburg, Tickets are $12 general admission, $8 for students, staff, faculty, and alumni, from 567-661- 7081, and owens.edu/​arts. The box office will open one hour prior to show time.

‘Parade’

The Tony Award-winning musical drama Parade will be presented by Perrysburg Musical Theatre in three performances beginning Friday.

The drama centers on the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory superintendent born in Brooklyn and living in Georgia, who was wrongly accused and convicted in 1913 of murdering a teenage girl he employed. In 1915 Frank was kidnapped from prison by armed men and lynched in Georgia.

Also an integral part of Leo Frank’s story is his wife, Lucille, who had the fortitude and love to work for his freedom and become his greatest champion.

Each performance of Parade will be followed by a talk-back discussion with the Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo to explore the themes of the show in relation to our world today.

Parade’s book is by Alfred Uhry, author of Driving Miss Daisy; the score is by Jason Robert Brown, who wrote music and lyrics for Songs For a New World and Bridges of Madison County.

Shows are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 871 E. Boundary. Tickets are $15 and are limited to 100 per show from perrysburgmusicaltheatre.org.

‘Clue’

Bowling Green’s Black Swamp Players will open its 2018-2019 season, its 51st, with Clue: The Musical on Friday .

It is based on the 1949 Clue board game, “an incredibly popular game that is second only to Monopoly in the United States,” said Heath A. Diehl, secretary of the organization’s board of directors.

“Like the game, we involve the audience right from the start,” he said. “Instead of being onstage, the actors will be down on the floor where audience members are seated, and from time to time interact with them and play some of the scenes.”

The first act introduces the characters and their motives for murdering Mr. Boddy, portrayed by Diehl. Each night three audience members will draw cards to decide which suspect committed the murder, which weapon was used, and where the murder took place; there are 216 possible endings. The second act introduces the Detective, played by Mac Ramsey.

Performances of Clue: The Musical are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. in First United Methodist Church, 1526 E. Wooster St., Bowling Green. Additional shows are Nov. 16-17 at 7:30 and Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets for the Friday and Sunday performances are $15 general admission, $12 for seniors and students. Tickets for a Dinner and a Show performance Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. are $25 and must be purchased one week or more prior to the show. All tickets can be purchased at blackswampplayers.org, 419- 242-2787, or at the box office

‘Biscuit’

Biscuit, the little yellow puppy who loves adventure and new friends, is the heart of books by Alyssa Satin and now a popular musical presented by ArtsPower Touring Musical Theatre Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Valentine Theatre as part of its Children’s Series. The one-hour performance is recommended: Grades Pre-K-2. Tickets, $15 for adults, $10 for children, are from valentinetheatre.com, 419-242-2787, and at the box office, 400 N. Superior St.