Page 69 - Sonoma County Gazette MARCH 2020

Thru - Mar 12 ~ Teen Improv Class ~ With Matlock Zumsteg: 4-5:30p, 6th Street Playhouse School of Drama, 52 W 6th St, Santa Rosa, 6thstreetplayhouse.vbotickets.com
Thru - Apr 1 ~ Pegasus Theater Company - Calling all No. Ca. Playwrights. We’ll be selecting 7 plays. Russian River Senior Resource Center, 15010 Armstrong Woods d, Guerneville, 707-869-0136, pegasustheater.com
Thru - Mar 27 ~ Imaginary Ensemble (ages 7-11) ~ For all kids who have an interest in theater; improvisation & acting, movement, writing, & singing. 4-5:30p. Performance March 27th., The Imaginists, 461 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol, theimaginists.org
Thru - Mar 28 ~ Reader’s Theater - River Friends of the Library ~ Three one-act plays. Fun & thought provoking. Free: 3/25 7p-8:30p, 3/28 2p-3:30p, Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, 707-865-9517
Thru - Mar 8 ~ A Theater For Children’s Show “Save Our Planet!” ~ Uplifting musical with catchy tunes, aliens, & a recycling rap song! $5. Steele Lane Community Center, 415 Steele Lane, Santa Rosa, 707-483-5800, atheaterforchildren.com
Mar 6 - 29 ~ Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ~ This deliciously macabre musical has shocked, awed and delighted audiences around the world. $25+, Thu, Fri & Sat 7:30p, Sat & Sun 2p, 6th Street Playhouse, G.K. Hardt Theatre, 52 W. 6th Street, Santa Rosa, 707-523-4185, 6thstreetplayhouse.vbotickets.com
Mar 6 - 29 ~ The Flick ~ By Annie Baker, Directed by Chris Ginesi, Winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. $15+, Thu, Fri, Sat: 8p, Sun: 2p, Left Edge Theatre, 50 Mark West Springs Rd, Santa Rosa, leftedgetheatre.com
Mar 13 - Apr 4 ~ The Beauty Queen of Leenane ~ This is a dark comic tale of Maureen, a plain & lonely woman & Mag, her manipulative mother. $15+, 3/13&3/20 Pay what you can. All eve performances: 8p, doors@ 7:30p, Sun matinee 2p. Gala 4/4 includes drinks & dinner, doors 7p, Russian River Hall Curtain Call Theatre, 20347 Hwy 116,, Monte Rio, 707-524-8739, CurtainCallRussianRiver.com
Mar 15 ~ UCC Everything Spring Cabaret ~ Opera, broadway and movie tunes with Bill O’Neill, Chris Alexander and stars of local musicals. $15+, 3-5p, First CongregatIonal United Church of Christ, 2000 Humboldt St, Santa Rosa, 707-892- 1315, brownpapertickets.com, dicksie.tamanaha@gmail.com
Apr 3 - 4 ~ Season Showcase ~ As far as we know, Left Edge is the only company that lets the audience decide the shows. 4/3: 7p, 4/4: 2p & 7p, Left Edge Theatre, 50 Mark West Springs Rd, Santa Rosa, leftedgetheatre.com
Reader’s Theatre Group ~ FREE; 2nd & 4th Tue; 7p, Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct, Occidental, 707-829-2176 occidentalcenterforthearts.org, joanjustjoan@hotmail.com
COMEDY
Mar 21 ~ Comedian Jenny Zigrino ~ A rising star in Hollywood and has performed on Conan O’Brien three times. $20, 7-8:30p, Buena Vista Winery, 18000 Old Winery Rd, Sonoma, 707-318-3845, Crushers of Comedy, crushersofcomedy.com, info@ thelaughcellar.com
Apr 4 ~ Co-Headliners: Comedians: Karl Hess & Greg Barris ~ In a wine cave. The show is indoors w/ seating. Guests: 21 & up. Complimentary parking. $20, 7p-8:30p, Deerfield Ranch Winery, 10200 Sonoma Hwy, Kenwood, 707-318-3845, Crushers of Comedy, crushersofcomedy.com/april-4.html, info@thelaughcellar.com
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
at Curtain Call Theatre
Martin McDonagh is a British-Irish screenwriter, director, and one of the most acclaimed play-wrights of our time whose body of work spans over two decades. As a playwright, he is celebrat-ed for his absurdist black humor and incendiary spirit that challenges the modern theatre aes-thetic.
His sensational writing has won him numerous notable awards including three Laurence Olivier Awards, and one Drama Desk Award amongst several Tony nominations. He has widely been described as the first dramatist since Shakespeare to have four works professionally pro-duced on the London stage in a single season.
The story of The Beauty Queen of Leenane tells of the dysfunctional relationship between a spin-ster and her domineering aged mother. The play was well-received on its opening night in Galway in 1996 and was later produced Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company in 1998. It later transferred to Broadway in April 1998 and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play.
Since then, McDonough's work has been widely produced on both continents and one of his most recent screenplays Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri received three Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar for its star Frances McDormatt for best actress.
This Play is a sad and jarring telling of the relationship between mental illness and elder abuse when experienced under economic and socially strained circumstances. The situation is multi-fold and exposes the inequities of present economic and social realities still extant in Ireland in general, especially around rural areas, where citizens still feel trapped economically. And when they try to improve their economic lot by seeking employment in England, they face prejudice and hardship due to their ethnic origin and their violent history with the United Kingdom.
Our ONLINE Calendar is UPDATED all month
POST your EVENTS @ SonomaCountyGazette.com
Although a serious theme, the play, nevertheless, contains much dark humor and some light moments. So feel free to find those moments of relief.
It is an important play that needs to be shared. Its many themes mirror much of what we experi-ence in our own country during these times of strife and economic inequality.
Adult themes and language. Parental guidance advised.
Curtain Call Theatre start on March 13 and continue for ten performances only through April 4 at Russian River Hall, 20347 Highway 116, Monte Rio,
Reservations Recommended at 707-524-8739.
3/20 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 69