stage matters / By William Kowinski

Dolled Up

Ferndale Rep has announced its intriguing season: Beth Henley’s family drama Crimes of the Heart opens Oct. 8, followed by the musical Oliver! in November, the mystery Wait Until Dark in February and the Don Quixote musical Man of La Mancha in April. Also in April, the teen company revives the satirical Beyond the Fringe. The regular season ends with Same Time Next Year in May and the musical Rent in August.

Dell’Arte is packaging its company and student performances into a formal season this year, beginning with Joan Schirle in Inverted Alba, opening Oct. 9, followed by the Commedia Christmas Carol in November and an evening of Spanish language theatre with HSU’s Teatro Hispanico in December. In March there’s a Dell’Arte Cabaret and another community-based project. Dell’Arte School’s second-years do adaptations in December, tragedy in April and storytelling in June. The first-years perform commedia in February, melodrama in March, and clown around in April. Then there’s the Thesis Festival and the Finals in May, and the Mad River Festival in June.

HSU’s Theatre, Film and Dance department combines with the Music Department to start its season with the musical City of Angels beginning Oct. 22. After a first screening of a new feature film by HSU’s David Scheerer in November, Christopher Durang’s comedy The Marriage of Bette and Boo opens in December. Harold Pinter’s drama The Homecoming follows in February, Mark Medoff’s fantasy Stefanie Hero in April, as well as the annual spring trifecta of the dance show, Humboldt Film Festival and the Ten Minute Play Festival.

(Check my July 30 column for the North Coast Rep season.)

In the blogosphere: Calder Johnson, who has done nearly everything (act, stage design, lighting, etc.) for just about every theatre on the North Coast, has started a blog as an outgrowth of his thesis on sustainable theatre, at sustaintheatre.blogspot.com. Apart from my Stage Matters blog (stagematters.blogspot.com), it’s the only locally produced blog on theatre I’m aware of. If there are others, please let me know.

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