Review
“Calendar Girls” — St. Francis Performing Arts Center, 4625 E. River Road. As one gets older, the idea of nudity loses its appeal. Yet it’s off with their clothes for the group of women in Tim Firth’s “Calendar Girls,” now at the St. Francis Theatre. Based on the 2003 film of the same name, the story centers on a group of older women who decide to strip down for a calendar they’ll sell to raise money for a charity.
Samantha Cormier directed this cast of 12, most of whom showed plenty of courage in their willingness to undress for a photographer — with props in strategic places, of course. Colleen Zandbergen plays Chris, the instigator behind the calendar, with bossy sass, and Sue Bishop is impressive as the shy, hesitant Ruth, who will do what she must in order to please.
However, the performance we saw was flat. That may be because we saw it on the night after opening, when energy can be lower.
Or it could be because the play does not have the charm of the movie.
Our guess is that as performances continue, the pace and spirit will pick up.
It’s 7:30-9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3-5 p.m. Sundays through March 24. $25. 329-2910.
Opening
“Death and the Maiden” — Bisbee Royale, PO Box 1275, Bisbee. Last Minute Productions and Holy Buddha Productions stage this chilling drama by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman. A lawyer gets a flat tire, and a good Samaritan doctor helps him with a lift home. The lawyer thinks the doctor is a nice guy, his wife thinks he’s the man who beat and raped her while she was a political prisoner. 7-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through March 23; 3 p.m. March 17. $15. 520-432-5546.
“Love Letters”— Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. A couple of troopers come to town to perform this sweet A.R. Gurney play: Barbara Eden (yes, she of “I Dream of Jeannie” fame and a Tucson native) and Hal Linden, who entertained television audiences for years with his TV show “Barney Miller.” “Love Letters” covers 50 years of a correspondence between two close friends. We discover who they are, what they hoped for and what they got through a series of letters read by the actors. 7-9 p.m. March 17. $24-$64. 547-3040.
Last chance
“The Secret in the Wings” — The Rogue Theatre, 300 E. University Blvd. in the Historic Y. The Rogue does a knockout job with this Mary Zimmerman play, based on fairly obscure fairy tales. It is dark, often funny, and performed beautifully. Cynthia Meier directs, and the cast is made up of Bryn Booth, Patty Gallagher, Holly Griffith, Claire Hancock, Hunter Hnat, Ryan Parker Knox, Joseph McGrath, Aaron Shand and Matt Walley. Final performances are 7:30 p.m. March 14-16 and 2 p.m. March 17. $38. It runs 80 minutes, with no intermission. 551-2053, TheRogueTheatre.org
Continuing
“American Mariachi” — Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. Arizona Theatre Company stages this José Cruz González play. Set in the 1970s, it is about a teen girl who wants to learn mariachi music so she can play it for her mother, who has Alzheimer’s. That music is the only thing that reaches her mother. Christopher Acebo directs, and the cast is made up of Christen Celaya, Satya Jnani Chavez, Diana Burbano, Danny Bolero, Alicia Coca, Eduardo Enrikez, Osiris Cuen, Marlene Montes and Sol Castillo. The final preview is 7:30 p.m. March 14; opening is 7:30 p.m. March 15. Continues through March 30. It runs about 100 minutes with no intermission. $25-$90. arizonatheatre.org, 622-2823. See review in the March 17 Arizona Daily Star.
“Richard III” — Marroney Theatre on the UA campus, 1025 N. Olive Road. Richard III tells the tale of Shakespeare’s most notorious villain. Misshapen in both body and mind, the Duke of York conspires and kills his way to the crown. Through cunning language and dastardly deeds, he seduces everyone in his path. But can he maintain his ill-gotten reign, or will the ghosts from Richard’s past pull him down? Staged by Arizona Repertory Theatre. 1:30-4 p.m. March 17; 7:30-10 p.m. March 14-16, 21-22. Through March 31. $17-$28. 621-1162. See review in March 17 Star.
“Time Stands Still” — Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway. This Donald Margulies play about a photographer recouping from a war injury and her internal and external struggles gets a bang-up staging by Live Theatre. Carley Elizabeth Preston and Christopher Younggren give performances that are honest and moving. Eva Tessler directs. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through March 30. There is an additional 3 p.m. matinee March 30. $20; $15 on Thursdays. 327-4242, Livetheatreworkshop.org
“The Belle of Tombstone” — The Gaslight Theatre, 7010 E. Broadway. Go back to the days of barroom brawls, stagecoach robberies and high-stepping saloon girls. Call for show dates and times. Through March 31. $22.95. 886-9428.
“The Brave Knight, Sir Lancelot” — Live Theatre Workshop, 5317 E. Speedway. Join Lancelot on his quest to find action, adventure, dragons, and damsels in distress, all in the hopes of becoming a brave knight. 12:30-1:30 p.m. March 17. Through March 24. $10. 327-4242.
