Romans, revenge, love, hate. Drama, comedy, weird doctors, pies made of dubious ingredients. Harrisburg theaters are alive this season with a rollercoaster of emotions and a smorgasbord of shows that will please any taste.
Gamut Theatre Group
Gamut Theatre, located on the 3rd floor of Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg, has an exciting roster of classical fare beginning in November with William Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus,” considered one of the Bard’s greatest tragedies and one of his more provocative plays.
“It’s an amazing story,” says J. Clark Nicholson, Gamut’s artistic director and co-founder. “It’s a play that’s not done often enough, but it ought to be.”
“Coriolanus” might well reflect on modern times considering its political themes of war, power and vengeance. It tells the story of a Roman general whose arrogance leads to his own downfall.
“It proves that unmitigated bravery might not be the best quality in your leaders if not tempered with judgment,” Nicholson adds.
Gamut follows that up in February with “The Dresser,” in which an elderly actor is about to take to the stage as King Lear. Backstage reflects the action on stage in this heartfelt story about the relationship between the dresser and the actor determined to latch on to fading glory.
“Antony and Cleopatra” is Gamut’s pick for the 21st annual Free Shakespeare in the Park, May 30 to June 14, at the band shell in Reservoir Park. Bring chairs, a blanket and some light refreshments, and watch theater under the stars.
Gamut Theatre Group: www.gamutplays.org or 717-238-4111.
Open Stage of Harrisburg
Only steps away from Court Street, Open Stage of Harrisburg’s offerings include three regional premiers: “Gidion’s Knot,” “A Christmas Memory” and “Clybourne Park,” as well as its fifth production of an August Wilson Century Cycle play, “Fences.”
Open Stage’s opener in October, “Gidion’s Knot,” incorporates themes from today’s headlines. A child, possibly bullied, is suspended from school, allegedly for writing an inappropriate story. He goes home and commits suicide. The play takes in the aftermath of that event: a parent-teacher conference filled with accusations and grief.
For the holiday season, the musical, “A Christmas Memory,” takes place in the year 1933 in rural Alabama, where we find a young boy being raised by three eccentric cousins. It is a musical memoir for the entire family based on a short story by Truman Capote. In February, August Wilson’s “Fences” opens. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play tackles the issues of race and family through a former baseball star who tries to come to terms with his life and his son in 1957 Pittsburgh.
The final show in April is “Clybourne Park,” a play that also touches on race, acceptance and real estate as we view the years 1959 against 2009.
Open Stage of Harrisburg: www.openstagehbg.com or 717-232-OPEN.
Theatre Harrisburg
Whether Uptown or downtown, Theatre Harrisburg has a way of making sure that community takes center stage. The upcoming season will have three productions at the Krevsky Center on Hurlock Street and two musicals at Whitaker Center.
The season—or should I say baseball season—begins in September with the comedy “Bleacher Bums,” which showcases a gathering of Cubs fans who sometimes actually watch the game when they’re not watching each other. The Uptown space also will feature “Lend Me A Tenor” in February and the Neil Simon classic, “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” in June.
If it’s a creepy musical you’re after, Theatre Harrisburg will present “The Rocky Horror Show” in October/November with an 11:30 p.m. show on Halloween night and Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece “Sweeney Todd” in April, a show last produced by this theater in 1985. It was a production, says Executive Director Sam Kuba, which people are still talking about today.
“With the technical resources now available to us at Whitaker Center, this should be an intense, powerful and spectacular theatrical experience,” says Kuba. “Anyone who has only seen the recent movie is going to be surprised at how much more actually takes place on stage.”
Theatre Harrisburg: www.theatreharrisburg.com or 717-232-5501.
