Theater fans can whet their appetites before Thanksgiving with an opera written by a 13-year-old, a reimagining of a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical and a comedy about said November holiday, all coming to stages in downtown San Jose.
Cinderella
In 2017, Opera San Jose staged the American premiere of “Cinderella” by then 13-year-old composer Alma Deutscher. After taking a revised version of her work to the Salzburg State Theatre in 2020, Deutscher, now 17, is back at the California Theatre to make her conducting debut with her fairy tale opera. Director Brad Dalton is reviving his original OSJ production.
This family-friendly work is reset at an opera company run by a scheming stepmother, in which the title character is a brilliant composer laboring as a lowly copyist. In this production, Cinderella is united with her prince not because a glass slipper fits, but with the beginning of a melody only she knows how to continue.
“Cinderella” will be sung in English, with English supertitles, with performances Nov. 12-27 at the California Theatre, 345 S. First St., San Jose. Tickets are $55-$195 at operasj.org or 408-437-4450.
Opera San Jose will be presenting a Cinderella Family Day for the matinee performance Saturday, Nov. 19, for which children’s tickets are “pay their age,” with a $5 minimum. One adult ticket must accompany the order.
Sunday in the Park
Postponed two years, due to the pandemic, San Jose Playhouse’s production of “Sunday in the Park with George” is finally set to hit the stage at 3Below Theaters.
Inspired by George Seurat’s famous painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte,” this Pulitzer-winning musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine explores the challenges in understanding life and art.
“The piece itself speaks directly to artists,” San Jose Playhouse Executive Director Scott Evan Guggenheim said in a statement.
Guggenheim, who’s directing the production, and his crew have updated the technology used to bring Seurat’s painting to life on stage with state-of-the-art animation. His brother Stephen Guggenheim is acting as musical director and playing the role of Seurat.
“Sunday in the Park with George” runs Nov. 19-Dec. 11 at 3Below Theaters. 288 S. Second St., San Jose. Tickets are $25-55 at sanjoseplayhouse.org/sunday-in-the-park-with-george.
Thanksgiving Play
In Larissa FastHorse’s comedy “The Thanksgiving Play,” a director who’s already in trouble with parents tries to get her troupe to honor both Turkey Day and Native American Heritage Month for a school’s Thanksgiving pageant, all while being culturally sensitive and mindful of vegan allies.
City Lights Theater Company’s production runs Nov. 17-Dec. 18, with Roneet Aliza Rahamim making her mainstage directing debut with the company. Rahamim is better known to City Lights audiences as an actor, with roles in “Amadeus,” “Handle With Care” and “Coney Island Christmas,” among others.
“The Thanksgiving Play” made its Off-Broadway debut in 2018 and also had an online production in 2021 starring Bobby Cannavale and Keanu Reeves. Next spring, the play is scheduled to bow on Broadway for the first time, directed by Hadestown director Rachel Chavkin and produced by Second Stage at the Hayes Theatre. This will make FastHorse the first female Native American playwright produced on Broadway, according to Playbill.
“The Thanksgiving Play” runs Nov. 17-Dec. 18 at City Lights Theater, 529 S. Second St., San Jose. Tickets are $26-$54 at cltc.org or 408-295-4200.
Source: www.mercurynews.com