August Frank/Inland 360
Jennifer Opdahl plays Truvy while Hailey Falish plays Annelle in a rehearsal for the Lewiston Civic Theatre’s production of “Steel Magnolias” on Tuesday in Lewiston.
Shows coming to area stages this month include:
“Twice Upon a Time,” Moscow Community Theatre
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and April 11-12; 2 p.m. Sunday and April 13
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, 508 S. Main St., Moscow
Tickets are $15, $10 for students/seniors at the door; Safari Pearl, 660 W. Pullman Road, Moscow; and moscowcommunitytheatre.org/tickets.
Time-honored tales get a new twist in this family-friendly production that includes actors from 5 to 45 years old, Moscow Community Theatre Board of Directors Vice President Aubree Flanery said.
“It’s kind of a fractured fairy tale,” Flanery said. “Kids come to Grandma and want her to tell them some fairy tales, and Grandma doesn’t do fairy tales — she does action movies.”
Grandma tells of Little Red Riding Pants instead of Little Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Bear instead of Big Bad Wolf.
“And the kids correct her along the way,” Flanery said.
Frequent Moscow Community Theatre contributor April Layton directs, for the first time, after serving as assistant director in previous shows.
APOD Theatre Showcase, APOD Productions
7 p.m. Tuesday
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre
Free admission
Performing arts students ages 8-18 will show off what they’ve learned since classes — including choir, choreography and acting — started in September.
Teen students will perform two scenes from “The Lost Child,” written and directed by APOD’s Rebecca Payne, in a sneak peek of APOD’s coming One Act Festival (below).
One Act Festival, APOD Productions
7 p.m. April 25-26, 2 p.m. April 26
1912 Center, Lecompte Auditorium, 412 E. Third St., Moscow
Tickets, $8-$20, are at apodproductions.org/ show-tickets and at the door.
Each performance includes five one-act comedies, appropriate for all ages:
- “The Proposal,” directed by Abe Zakariasen.
- “The Lost Child,” directed by Rebecca Payne.
- “The Stepmother,” directed by Min Lee.
- “This is a Test,” directed by Mike Long.
- “Box and Cox,” directed by Zachary Spence.
“Steel Magnolias,” Lewiston Civic Theatre
7 p.m. next Thursday, April 11-12, 17-19 and 24-26; 2 p.m. April 13, 19 and 27 (no performance April 20, Easter Sunday).
Old Lewiston High School auditorium, Normal Hill Campus 1114 Ninth Ave.
Tickets, $12-$20, are at lctheatre.org/tickets or by calling (208) 746-3401.
Fans of the 1989 movie, starring Dolly Parton, Sally Field and Julia Roberts, have a treat in store, according to “Steel Magnolias” director Aidan Walsh.
“It’s everything you know and love,” Walsh said.
The story centers on a group of Southern women, and the comedy and tragedy that ensues in their everyday lives.
“It has such a lovely message, not just for women but for everyone, about the power of friendship and how important it is to have people around you who love you unconditionally,” Walsh said.
Among the cast members are Lewiston Civic Theatre regulars Jennifer Opdahl and Carrie DeBerard (who earned best supporting actress honors at last weekend’s American Association of Community Theatre Region IX Festival in Boise) and Karen McKinley and Jamie Morgan, both returning to theater after decadeslong absences. Hailey Falish and Kimberly Tolson round out the all-female cast.
The play deals with mature themes, so it’s not for young children.
Contributed photo
Returning guest actor Morgan Sheehan, of New York City, plays Lise Dassan in Regional Theatre of the Palouse’s “An American in Paris.” Nathaniel “Nate” Barry, also from New York, plays Jerry Mulligan.
“An American in Paris,” Regional Theatre of the Palouse
7:30 p.m. April 24-26, April 30-May 3; 1:30 p.m. April 26-27, May 3-4.
RTOP Theatre, 118 N. Grand Ave., Pullman
Tickets, $33 (student discount available), are at rtoptheatre.org/show s/an-american-in-paris or by calling (509) 334-0750.
“An American in Paris” marks what he believes to be another eastern Washington premiere, Regional Theatre of the Palouse Executive Director John Rich said.
The musical play, which opened on Broadway in 2015, is based on the 1951 film starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. The post-World War II love story between an American soldier and a French woman is set to a score by George and Ira Gershwin.
Andres Felipe, a professional singer, dancer and actor from the Los Angeles area, returns to Pullman to choreograph the dance-heavy show after starring in RTOP’s recent production of the musical comedy “Tootsie.”
“He really enjoyed working with us, and he saw the potential of how ‘An American in Paris’ could develop into really a special work,” Rich said.
The cast, the theater’s usual blend of national and local talent, brings “extensive” dance training to the stage, director Michael Todd said.
“ ‘American in Paris’ is a really advanced dance show, so it’ll highlight a whole other medium that audiences will appreciate,” Todd said.
“Pinocchio,” University of Idaho Theatre Arts Department
7:30 p.m. April 24-26 and May 2-3; 2 p.m. April 27 and May 4
Hartung Theatre, 625 Stadium Drive, Moscow
Tickets are $6-$26 at uitickets.com. Free for UI students.
University of Idaho students bring a “new, fast-paced, story-within-a-story version” of the classic wooden-puppet-come-to-life tale to the stage.
The show, based on the story by Carlo Collodi, is directed by Jeremiah Price, a student working toward his Master of Fine Arts degree in theater with an emphasis in directing.
