Theaters tackle challenging productions

Leaping into 2011, the Charleston theater community opens this week with three challenging productions, all new to the Lowcountry.

First, "Blue."

The best of times is now for playwright Charles Randolph-Wright, who has performed in "Dreamgirls" on Broadway, directed feature films such as "Mama, I Want to Sing" starring Patti LaBelle, and directed "They're Playing Our Song" in Brazil (and in Portuguese).

Not bad for a native of York, who several years ago delivered a copy of "Blue" to Charleston Stage founder Julian Wiles. And Wiles has decided to mount it. With Marybeth Clark directing, it opens Friday.

Set in the fictional town of Kent, S.C., "Blue" tells of a wealthy black family that owns a funeral home. Friction occurs when Peggy, the family matriarch, insists her younger son become a singer because she greatly admires jazz vocalist Blue Williams.

Portraying Peggy is New York-based Crystin Gilmore.

"I love this play because it's not about race, but about a black family where no one is perfect," she says.

Playing the title tole is singer Ira Lindberg Harris, while Lee Hollis Bussie is Reuben Clark; William Deion Smith is Reuben Clark Jr.; and Gabriel Wright plays Samuel Clark Jr.

" 'Blue,' starring Phylicia Rashad, broke attendance records at Washington's Arena Stage, at the Roundabout Theatre on Broadway, and was staged across the country," says Randolph-Wright, who spoke to The Post and Courier by phone from New York.

Co-writer of the Tony-nominated "Just Between Friends," Randolph-Wright also directed the 75th anniversary tour of "Porgy and Bess," now headed for Europe.

"I hope I get to Charleston to see 'Blue,' " says the playwright, who has relatives here. "I've been criticized because my play is not about race. But I wanted to focus on a family, not an issue."

"Blue" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Dock Street Theatre. Other performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26-29 at 7:30 p.m. Matinees are 3 p.m. Jan. 23 and 30. Tickets are $22-$48 and may be purchased by calling 577-7183 or online at www.charlestonstage.com.

'Drowsy Chaperone'

The multiple Tony Award-winning show, "The Drowsy Chaperone," is being coproduced by the Village Playhouse and Company Company, a theater group founded by Bill Schlitt and Maida Libkin.

The musical within a comedy opens Friday at the Village Playhouse and stars Schlitt, who says he closely identifies with the main character, known simply as Man in Chair, a music lover who lives alone and mostly sits in his chair listening to show tunes.

"When I was growing up, I would sit in my room listening to 'Cabaret,' and 'Fiddler on the Roof' and let my imagination drift into the musical," explains Schlitt, known for starring in numerous local musicals.

"When my character listens to songs from the 1920s fictional show, 'The Drowsy Chaperone,' singers and dancers fill his dingy apartment, and he is no longer alone."

One actress conjured by the Man is Beatrice, as chaperone to young Broadway actress Janet Van De Graaff, who is about to marry.

"She's a diva, always tipsy or 'drowsy' because she is weary of the world, but not her champagne!" says Kathy Summer, who portrays Beatrice.

Johanna Schlitt, who plays Van De Graaff, also choreographs the show.

Director Libkin, a former Broadway pianist, says she wants "to capture the 1920s, Noel Coward-like flavor of the times." Pianist Ghavi Shayban will accompany the cast, with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison.

Performances will be at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, as well as Jan. 27-29 and Feb. 11-12. Matinees are at 3 p.m. Jan. 23 and 30 and Feb. 13. Tickets are $25-$30 and may be purchased by calling 856-1579 or at www.villageplayhouse.com.

'Outrage'

When playwright Itamar Moses was a student at Yale, he took note of the academic conflicts there and later loosely based his play "Outrage" on these events.

It will be presented beginning Wednesday by the College of Charleston's theater department with a cast of students directed by Allen Lyndrup.

In a phone interview from New York, Moses explains he had written his undergraduate thesis on historical figures who had challenged public opinion, such as Socrates and Galileo, and were punished.

"The minute I read the script I loved it because I thought it would be a challenge to students to make it understandable to the audience," says Lyndrup, adding that a Brechtian-type chorus comments on events.

Moses says the play's protagonist, a graduate student named Steven (played by Nick Smithson), is partially based on himself. But unlike Steven, who finds himself in the middle of a controversy between two professors, Moses didn't experience this.

"I'm excited that the college is staging 'Outrage,' " says Moses, who has an MFA in playwriting from New York University, where he met several times with a group of the college's playwriting students to critique their work.

"Outrage" will be performed at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and Jan. 25-29 at the Chapel Theatre, 172 Calhoun St. Matinees are at 3 p.m. Jan. 23 and Jan. 30.

Tickets are $10 and $15 and may be purchased by calling 953-5604 or at the door.