On Theater: International season set for Golden West
Travel to Ireland, England and back across the ocean during Golden West College’s upcoming season of theatrical productions, which are centered in the British Isles.
The first order of business is “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, whose 1996 black comedy was applauded in Ireland and London before crossing the pond.
The play’s 1998 New York production was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning four.
The heroine is, quite literally, a 40-year-old virgin forced to care for her cantankerous, elderly mother until potential romance with a lusty construction worker appears on the horizon.
“Beauty Queen” will be at Golden West’s Mainstage Theater from Oct. 9 to 18.
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‘Boeing-Boeing’ revives a farce
Turning the mood a little lighter will be Golden West’s next offering — a classic farce written by the French playwright Marc Camoletti and Americanized in the movie “Boeing-Boeing” with Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis.
Available since 1962, and currently enjoying somewhat of a revival, “Boeing-Boeing” centers on an airline pilot who seems to have a stewardess (this being the 60s) in every port. The Golden West version cruises in for a landing Nov. 13 and will remain through Nov. 22.
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Listening closely to rotating monologues
“Love, Loss, and What I Wore” by Nora and Delia Ephron is next on Golden West’s schedule — but don’t blink or you’ll miss it.
The 1995 show is organized as a series of monologues and uses a rotating cast of five principal women who discuss relationships, wardrobes and, at times, the intersection of the two.
This show is not included in Golden West College’s regular ticket package and will be on stage only from Feb. 12 to 14.
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Pencil in Wright’s ‘Quills’
As theatergoers may be aware, the Marquis de Sade was imprisoned in the Charenton loony bin, but he was allowed to create and stage plays (remember “Marat/Sade”?). This is the backstory for the Huntington Beach college’s next production, Doug Wright’s “Quills.”
Conflict ensues when a new jailer attempts to stop, or at least curb, the playwriting binge of the original sadist. Golden West will open the curtain on “Quills” on March 11 and close it March 20, undoubtedly suggesting it for mature audiences.
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‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ to close the season
After “Quills,” Golden West will need an antidote, and this will arrive as the last production of the season. Disney’s “Mary Poppins” will entertain from April 29 through May 8.
This musical fantasy, which won Julie Andrews her Oscar on the screen, involves a “practically perfect” nanny who glides in to supervise two young children of a businesslike British banker. A new generation will be waiting to discover this magical musical.
Playgoers may reserve season tickets or admission to individual productions by calling the box office at (714) 895-8150 or visiting at www.gwctheater.com.
–TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the daily Pilot, Coastline Pilot and Huntington Beach Independent.
