Here are a few of the great shows opening up this month in our fair city:
Sweeney Todd
When: TONIGHT – September 21
Where: Circle Theatre
Reserve Your Seats: www.circletheatre.org
About the show: The rare instance of a musical thriller, Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s chilling, suspenseful, heart-pounding masterpiece of murderous barber-ism and culinary crime tells the infamous tale of the unjustly exiled barber who returns to 19th century London seeking revenge against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. His thirst for blood soon expands to include his unfortunate customers, and the resourceful proprietress of the pie shop downstairs soon has the people of London lining up in droves with her mysterious new meat pie recipe!
Sophisticated, macabre, visceral and uncompromising, SWEENEY TODD nevertheless has a great sense of fun, mixing intense drama with howlingly funny moments of dark humor. You’ll find yourself laughing hysterically one moment and gasping in surprise the next!
Sherlock Holmes Final Adventure
When: TOMORROW – September 28
Where: Grand Rapids Civic Theatre
Reserve Your Seats: www.grct.org
About the show: The world’s greatest detective has seemingly reached the end of his remarkable career when a case presents itself that is too tempting to ignore: The King of Bohemia is about to be blackmailed by a notorious photograph, and the woman at the heart of this crime is the famous opera singer, Irene Adler. With his trusted companion, Doctor Watson, at his side, Sherlock Holmes pursues first the case, and then the affections of Miss Adler—and in doing so, marches right into the lair of his longtime adversary, that malevolent genius of crime: Professor Moriarty. In this spirited, fast-moving and thoroughly theatrical adaptation, Steven Dietz presents Holmes at the height of his powers—surrounded by all the elements that fans of his exploits have come to expect: danger, intrigue, wit, humor and surprise. “The game is afoot, Watson—and it is a dangerous one!”
The Pillowman
When: September 19 – September 28
Where: Dog Story Theatre, Presented by SouthSide Theatre Company
Reserve Your Seats: www.dogstorytheater.com/2013/09/01/the-pillowman-presented-by-southside-sept-19-28/
About the show: With echoes of Stoppard, Kafka, and the Brothers Grimm, THE PILLOWMAN centers on a writer in an unnamed totalitarian state who is being interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a series of child murders. The result is an urgent work of theatrical bravura and an unflinching examination of the very nature and purpose of art.
Love! Valour! Compassion
When: September 19 – September 28
Where: Actors’ Theatre
Reserve Your Seats: actorstheatregrandrapids.org/love-valour-compassion
About the show:
In Duchess County, New York eight friends gather over the course of three summer weekends in a house belonging to aging Broadway choreographer Gregory and his younger partner Bobby, who is blind.
The guests gather, some possibly for the last time, as friendship, love, life and death take center stage in the award-winning contemporary classic by renowned playwright Terrance McNally, author of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, ‘Lips Together, Teeth Apart’, and Corpus Christi.
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