City Mouse's Fall Preview

I don't have a show this fall. I'm working on a handful of readings and other mini-projects but otherwise will be trying to recover fiscally from the past couple of months, hopefully taking better care of myself physically and mentally, and - if all goes well - catching up on seeing theater.

This is kind of a fun idea. Several members of the very active theater blogging community in New York each posted their top three picks for what they are looking forward to in the Fall theater season.

It made me think about what I was looking forward to in DC.

And so, in no particular order, my three picks are:

THE BLUEST EYE at Theater Alliance
I admit - I haven't read the book. And I think I will try to do so before I see this (next book club selection, anyone?). In fact, I am embarrassed to admit that I have not read any Toni Morrison. That seems kind of wrong for a member of my generation.

So I don't know the story at all to make that the draw. But it has sounded like an exciting project from the start. An adaptation that people I admire and trust really believe in, a stellar cast, a space that I love seeing shows in, and a director who clearly knows what he is doing.

TEMPODYSSEY at Studio Secondstage
Dan's writing is smart and gutsy and exciting - even the stage directions give you words to savor. Again, smart director and smart actors, so it all adds up to great potential.

And I am impressed with Studio for doing this play. It marks a willingness for DC theaters to embrace new work in a way that has been typically aligned only with Woolly Mammoth. I hope audiences get on board. With this one, I think they will.

NINE PARTS OF DESIRE at Arena
I don't know anyone associated with this production. But based on the buzz I've heard about other productions of the play, it sounds like a really human approach to political theater, which is probably the most effective way of going about it in this city.

Runner's Up:

SHE LOVES ME at Arena and MY FAIR LADY at Signature. These two shows, if done well, are two of the best constructed classic book musicals of the past century.

So says I.

Really though, they are both delightful shows that achieve exactly what they aim to achieve with simplicity, charm, frothy sensibilities, and at times - soaring musical lines. And darn it if I can't help but hum Where's My Other Shoe every time a sandal vanishes into the depths of my closet.

So - what do you all want to see?