Two serious offerings balanced out by silly riff
Two of the most challenging works of theater you’re likely to see in Phoenix this year are onstage right now. Luckily, there’s also a sublimely silly palate cleanser. You just might need the break.
Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★
Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★
‘Caroline, or Change’ makes a mountain out of a molehill, in the best possible way
The plot of “Caroline, or Change,” the 2003 musical by “Angels in America” playwright Tony Kushner and “Fun Home” composer Jeanine Tesori, is as mundane as could be. The title character is a black maid in 1963 Louisiana who works for a middle-class Jewish family. When 8-year-old Noah’s stepmother decides to teach the boy a lesson about the value of money, she tells Caroline that she should take home any spare change that he leaves in his laundry. But with the help of a surreal conceit, giving singing parts to such characters as the Washing Machine, the Moon and the Bus, this show packs enough humanity into that tiny plot to make your heart burst. Black Theatre Troupe’s current revival features a powerhouse performance by Jennifer Robinson as Caroline, who brings “Dreamgirls”-level belting to the souland gospel-inspired score, but in the service of a severe, nettlesome character. The beauty of it is that Robinson creates a character who is not always likeable but becomes enormously sympathetic in her struggle. There’s a lot more to this important work, which also channels klezmer music and operatic sung dialogue and explores racism in the civil rights era as well as the universal experiences of loss and grief. But the heart of the show is Caroline, and it’s a huge one.
Bottom line: In a large ensemble cast, there are a few weaker performances. But this hardly matters in a show that delivers complex characters and complex music that challenge the mind and the soul.
Details: Reviewed Friday, Sept. 15. Continues through Sunday, Oct. 1. Helen K. Mason Performing Arts Center, 1333 E. Washington St., Phoenix. $38. 602-2588129, blacktheatretroupe.org.
‘Complete Works’ give the Bard a beatdown with nonstop punch lines
“The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” a comic riff on the Bard’s 37-play canon, grew out of a Renaissance-festival skit to become a staple at theaters across the country. And it never gets old, partly because the flexible script allows for ad-libs and updated pop-culture references, and partly because of the enduring comic appeal of having a 14-year-old Juliet played by a man. The latest version at Southwest Shakespeare does up the cannibalistic Titus Andronicus as Paula Deen, while Macbeth meets his end in a golfing duel and the ghost of Hamlet Sr. haunts the stage on a “hoverboard.” The cast is terrific, with Alexis Baigue as a supercilious scholar, Louis Farber as a bro-doofus and Breona Conrad making the most of her straight-man parts while getting in plenty of yuks on her own.
Bottom line: “Complete Works” is merciless in spoofing a literary giant — it reduces 17 comedies into one generic mashup — but a love for Shakespeare shines through every double-entendre and sight gag.
Details: Reviewed Saturday, Sept. 16. Continues through Saturday, Sept. 30. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St. $18-$44. 480-644-6500, mesaartscenter.com, swshakespeare.org.
Betrayed with a ‘Kiss’: Stray Cat’s latest isn’t going where you think it’s going
“Kiss,” the first English-language play by the Chilean innovator Guillermo Calderón, is a challenging work, and most of all for the reviewer. That’s because it hinges on a startling turn that’s much more than a cheap Shyamalan twist but nonetheless should not be spoiled. So if you already know you want to see Stray Cat Theatre’s 16th-season opener, just stop reading now. For the rest, a bit of tiptoeing that almost certainly reveals more than Calderón wants his audience to know. The first half is a play-within-a-play, a script that has emerged from war-torn Syria, an overthe-top soap opera about four friends and a love triangle that plays almost as farce. Then come the curtain call and a “talkback” during which the actors are chagrined — nay, horrified — to discover that even though their translation is word-for-word accurate, there is so much that they did not understand. From there, “Kiss” delves into darker territory that turns farce intro tragedy and makes a powerful political statement.
Bottom line: For fans of Stray Cat’s boldly intellectual side, “Kiss” offers plenty of grist for contemplation. It’s also kind of hard to sit through. The funny part might not be quite funny enough — that short play feels longer than it needs to be — and what follows is confusing and pushes the limits of willing suspension of disbelief.
Details: Reviewed Saturday, Sept. 16. Continues through Saturday, Sept. 30. Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway. $15-$30. 480-227-1766, straycattheatre.org.