Wilmington theater: 9 shows to see in March
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This tragicomic play by Marie Jones features two actors — Braxton Lathan Williams and Jacob Keohane — playing 15 roles in a story about a Hollywood movie filming in rural Ireland and its impact on the inhabitants there. Skip Maloney directs what is a deep, funny and compelling production. Details: 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show, Friday and Saturdays through March 30. $44-$47, includes dinner and show but not beverages or tip. $20-$26 show only. 910-399-3669 or TheatreWilmington.com.
Thalian Hall Cube Theatre presents Tennessee Williams' tragic play about a woman who witnesses the murder of her cousin, a trauma that sends her to a psychiatric hospital. But she then must fend off her cousin's mother, Violet Venable (Kitty Fitzgibbon), who wants the sordid details of her son's death to remain secret. Don Baker directs. Details: 7:30 p.m. March 15-16, 21-23, 25 and 28-30, 3 p.m. March 17, 24 and 31 at Thalian Hall's Ruth and Bucky Stein Theatre, 310 Chestnut St., Wilmington. $28 plus taxes and fees. 910-632-2285 or ThalianHall.org.
Thalian Association Community Theatre presents the only farce Neil Simon ever wrote. Set during a New York City couple's 10th wedding anniversary party, it spins a non-lethal gunshot and a series of epic miscommunications into a wild, fast-paced story. Details: 7:30 p.m. March 15-16 and 22-23, 3 p.m. March 17 and 24 at the Scottish Rite Temple Theater, 1415 S. 17th St., Wilmington. $20-$25. 910-251-1788 or Thalian.org.
The Cucalorus Festival presents this super-naughty neo-burlesque and comedy act billed as "uninhibited, undressed and unhinged!" Featuring Ula Uberbusen, James & the Giant Pasty and Shirley Gnome. Gnome has performed her one-woman show in Wilmington before, a mix of stand-up comedy and tuneful, brilliantly constructed, often-X-rated songs. Details: 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. show March 19-20 at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, 111 Grace St., Wilmington. $13, $25 VIP. TaintedCabaret.com
Broadway tour of the musical about the rise of popular singing group The Four Seasons. Featuring such hits as "Sherry," "Big Girls Don’t Cry," "Walk Like a Man" and more. Details: 7:30 p.m. March 19-20 at CFCC Wilson Center, 703 N. Third St., Wilmington. $45-$95 plus taxes and fees. 910-362-7999 or CapeFearStage.com.
StarNews Wilmington Theater Awards
Join the StarNews, Thalian Hall and hosts Steve Vernon and Randy Davis as we celebrate the best of Wilmington theater from 2018 at the 8th annual StarNews Wilmington Theater Awards. Featuring award presentations; performances from the best play and musical nominees; and a ceremony honoring longtime Wilmington technicians Scott Davis and Jeff Loy, recipients of this year's Lela Thompson Award for Enduring Contribution to Wilmington Theater. Details: 7:30 p.m. March 20 at Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St., Wilmington. $20, plus taxes and fees. 901-632-2285 or ThalianHall.org.
Tony Choufani directs the play by Bekah Brunstetter for the UNCW Department of Theatre's Terry Rogers Student Lab series, which is staged entirely by theater students. It's about a cake baker, Della, who has to decide what to do when a girl she helped raise comes back to their North Carolina town to marry a woman, something that conflicts with Della's Christian beliefs. She just can't bring herself to bake a cake for such a wedding. Or can she? Details: 8 p.m. March 21-23 and 2 p.m. March 24 at the SRO Theatre in the UNCW Cultural Arts Building. $10, $3 for students. 910-962-3500 or UNCW.edu/Theatre.
Brunswick Little Theatre presents the 1950s musical comedy by based on the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea." Details: 7:30 March 21-23 and 28-30, 3 p.m. March 23-24 and 30 at Brunswick Little Theatre, 8068 River Road SE, Southport. $20. 910-447-2586 or BrunswickLittleTheatre.com.
The third annual event, which aims to promote theater in the Wilmington area, is sponsored by Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts and the Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County. The public will be able to learn about upcoming shows, auditions, classes and volunteer opportunities. Light refreshments will be served. Details: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. March 23, Thalian Hall ballroom, 310 Chestnut St., Wilmington. Admission is free. Light refreshments served. 910-632-2285. For info on table reservations by theater companies, which are $25, call 910-632-2241 or email friends@thalianhall.org.
Big Dawg Productions presents the Wilmington premiere of this play by Lauren Gunderson. Set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror in 1793, it centers on four women trying to beat back the extremists: playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen Marie Antoinette and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle. It's billed as a "grand and dream-tweaked comedy (about) violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world." Details: 8 p.m. March 27-30 and April 4-6 and 11-13, 3 p.m. March 31, April 7 and 14 at the Cape Fear Playhouse, 613 Castle St., Wilmington. $25, $22 seniors/students/military and $18 on Thursdays. Opening night is "pay what you can." 910-367-5237 or BigDawgProductions.org.
Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.