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French playwright Yasmina Reza’s piece God of Carnage (translated by Christopher Hampton) was inspired by a real conversation between Reza and a mother whose teenage boy got into a fight with another boy, resulting in a broken tooth. Reza had asked the mother after the incident how her son was doing and the mother responded, with disbelief, that the parents of the other boy in the fight didn’t even call her. “It was suddenly, click!” Reza says. “I thought, ‘This is an incredible theme.’”
God of Carnage features two sets of parents in a similar situation, except they agree to meet to discuss the matter. “What starts as a civilized meeting soon turns childlike as drinks are downed, alliances are formed and things are destroyed,” says Off the Wall Theatre associate director, Jeremy C. Welter. Alongside Max Williamson (Michael), Donna Lobacz (Annette) and Michelle White (Veronica), Welter portrays Annette’s husband, Alan. He says one of the main themes of the show is “social behavior within the framework of parenthood and marriage. These couples disintegrate within minutes, becoming, as the play states, Neanderthals. I think we all are still children at heart. This play shows it at its worst.
“The show is funny because we can see ourselves in the situations,” Welter adds. “This is 90 minutes of discussion that can be painfully serious, but thanks to a few crazy moments and four adults acting like children, we laugh.”
God of Carnage runs Feb. 19-March 1 at Off the Wall Theatre, 127 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 414-484-8874 or visit offthewalltheatre.com.
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Theatre Happenings
■ The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts presents a short run of Mamma Mia!, a feel-good musical about a daughter’s quest to find her father on the eve of her wedding day. Get your fill of ABBA hits such as “Dancing Queen” and “Take A Chance on Me” Feb. 20-22 at 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org.
■ French chanteuse singer/songwriter Christine Zufferey (also known as Mary Zoo) will make her Midwest premiere at Theatre Gigante alongside acclaimed American guitarist and composer Catherine Capozzi. This performance is part of Theatre Gigante’s new Studio Series and runs Friday, Feb. 20 and Saturday, Feb. 21 at 706 S. Fifth St. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 414-961-6119. For more information, visit theatregigante.org.
■ UW-Parkside Theatre’s FreshINK Series, which offers free staged readings of new plays, presents How The World Began, a powerful psychological investigation featuring a Manhattan science teacher who visits a town in Kansas after a tornado. Show runs Feb. 20-22 in Studio A of the Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities, 900 Wood Road, Kenosha. For more information, call 262-595-2564 or visit uwp.edu.
CORRECTION: Soulstice Theatre will be presenting the contemporary rock musical BARE: A Pop Opera Feb. 13-March 1 in place of WASP and Other Plays.
