2 premieres set for Magic Theatre
Magic Theatre’s 201819 season will comprise two world premieres and a legacy revival, the 51-year-old company announced Tuesday, April 3.
Kicking off the lineup in the fall is the world premiere of Ashlin Halfnight’s “The Resting Place,” which got a reading as part of the Magic’s Virgin Play Festival in December. It follows a woman who returns home when her brother dies, only to discover the rest of her family doesn’t want to honor the way he had asked to be remembered. “The Resting Place” will mark Halfnight’s first full production in the Bay Area.
Next up is the world premiere of Mfoniso Udofia’s “In Old Age,” the fifth chapter in the playwright’s nine-part “Ufot Cycle” about a Nigerian family in America. This one pits a repairman against a customer who resists desperately needed renovation. It runs in February 2019, at the same time as ACT’s recently announced production of another play in the cycle, “Her Portmanteau.”
The new year continues with a revival of Luis Alfaro’s “Oedipus el Rey,” which transports the ancient Greek tragedy to South Central Los Angeles. Reviewing the show in 2010, former San Francisco Chronicle theater critic Robert Hurwitt gave it the paper’s highest rating, calling it “sumptuously spare.”
A fourth show will be announced at a later date. Subscriptions $165$250. (415) 441-8822. www.magictheatre.org
— Lily Janiak