SummerStage of Delafield has picked some really good comedies for this summer. Early this season, the outdoor theater in Lapham Peak State Park played host to Larry Shue’s The Foreigner, set in rural America. Their staging of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) was precisely the kind of light comedy that works in a placid outdoor setting. Now SummerStage presents a staging of Joe DiPietro’s comedy Over the River and Through the Woods, directed by New Berlin-based theater talent Brian D. Zelinski.
The author of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change renders a story of Nick, a man from New Jersey. His parents have retired to Florida, leaving him with his grandparents. He sees them every Sunday night for dinner. They’re nice but annoying. So he’s more than happy to move away to Seattle when he gets a job offer. Upset that he’s leaving, his grandparents try to set him up with a lovely single girl named Caitlin O’Hare.
The comedy should find a cozy home at SummerStage, one of Wisconsin’s most intimate outdoor theaters. It’s big enough to feel spacious. It’s small enough to feel close to the comedy occurring onstage. It has a mood that should serve the production well.
SummerStage’s Over the River and Through the Woods runs Aug. 15-24. For tickets, visit summerstageofdelafield.org or call 262-337-1560.
Theatre Happenings
Also opening this weekend is Natalie Ryan and the Edge of Eternity. Anna Wolfe and Grace DeWolff star as mother and daughter who are roughly the same age in a time travel sci-fi comedy, Aug. 15-25 at the Arcade Theatre in the Underground Collaborative, 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, visit natalieryan.brownpapertickets.com. (Russ Bickerstaff)
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Fly Steffens’ surreal Love Is A Horse With A Broken Leg Trying To Stand While 45,000 People Watch finds an off-center staging at the beginning of next month. The production, directed by Emily Rindt, makes its way to The Red Dot, 2498 N. Bartlett Ave., Sept. 3-11. All shows start at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free with limited seating. (R.B.)
Bad Soviet Habits and Carole Alt present My Name is Rachel Corrie, Aug. 16-25 at the Plankinton Building, Suite LL1000, 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old American peace activist killed by members of the Israel Defense Forces while protesting Israel’s bulldozing of Palestinian homes and wells in the Gaza strip in 2003. This brilliant, moving, internationally celebrated play was edited from Corrie’s personal writings from throughout her life and especially the period during which she worked with the Palestinian-led nonviolent International Solidarity Movement. Three actresses play Corrie in Director Carole Alt’s production. Peace Action Wisconsin, Arab World Fest and freepali.com are sponsors. Tickets are $10 at the door or at brownpapertickets.com. (John Schneider)
TAGS: Russ Bickerstaff, SummerStage of Delafield, Lapham Peak State Park, Larry Shue, The Foreigner, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Joe DiPietro, Over the River and Through the Woods, Brian D. Zelinski, I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change
TAGS Happenings: Natalie Ryan and the Edge of Eternity, Anna Wolfe, Grace DeWolff, Arcade Theatre, Underground Collaborative, Fly Steffens, Love Is A Horse With A Broken Leg Trying To Stand While 45,000 People Watch, Emily Rindt, The Red Dot, My Name is Rachel Corrie, Bad Soviet Habits, Carole Alt
