Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Last Call: Book of Mormon, Happy Days, Mud Blue Sky

Three high quality shows must close this Sunday, June 8.

Up to her neck in dirt, Beckett’s Winnie remains ever positive, ever hopeful — but why?
Up to her neck in dirt, Beckett’s Winnie remains ever positive, ever hopeful — but why?

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon

Maybe THE most hype-heavy show ever to come to the San Diego Civic lives up to all the accolades. Witten by the creators of South Park, the musical is guaranteed to offend everyone. Its impish spirit will also evoke waves of laughter, as young Mormon missionaries try to convert natives in a Ugandan village so bleak they curse the Almighty.

Somehow, some way, a new religion results. Along the way the wondrously crafted show brims with talent and invention, from the cast to the production numbers to the large orchestra.

One drawback: the farther from the stage you sit, the more blurry the mic’ing. Which is a crying shame. What with the prices they charge, you’d think the Civic would have worked out the problem by now.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Happy Days

Happy Days

One of Samuel Beckett’s most arresting comedy-dramas gets a first-rate staging by Sledehammer Theatre and director Scott Fedlsher.

Winnie, in her 50s, is waist-deep in a mound. Willie — maybe her husband? — sits on the other side, reading a newspaper and grunting occasionally.

Winnie pulls objects from a black bag (a revolver among them) and recalls her past in fragments. The astonishing thing given her situation: she’s upbeat. The smallest joy creates a “happy day.”

In Act two of the 90-minute piece, she’s up to her neck and still draws joy from “tender,” and smaller and smaller, “mercies.”

People say the mound represents “entropy” or the downward pull of growing old. Could be. After all, at one point Winnie shouts “earth you old extinguisher!” But that just gets you in the door. What Winnie says is what matters as she fights to keep her inner light from extinguishing.

Dana Hooley gives one of the year’s finest performances as Winnie. Make that Winnie’s, since she floats into the past and recalls the intrepid woman’s life at various stages, becoming each one along the way.


Mud Blue Sky

  • Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite N, Rolando
  • $27 - $40

Mud Blue Sky

The title intrigues, and Marisa Wegrzyn’s serio-comedy explains how the blue got so muddy.

Three flight attendants in a time of transition: Angie loved her job so much when she was laid off it broke her heart. Brave, disillusioned Beth’s contemplating retirement. And egocentric Sam probably should, since she prefers to have everything done for her.

Assemble them in room 208 of a cheap hotel near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, throw in Jonathan, a teenaged drug-pusher, innocent wunderkind, stir gently (the play does have some lulls), and Moxie Theatre serves up a very funny play with contemporary relevance.

The ensemble work is quite good, and Deanna Driscoll’s performance as see-the-blue-behind-the-mud Beth is outstanding.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Next Article

Ramona musicians seek solution for outdoor playing at wineries

Ambient artists aren’t trying to put AC/DC in anyone’s backyard
Up to her neck in dirt, Beckett’s Winnie remains ever positive, ever hopeful — but why?
Up to her neck in dirt, Beckett’s Winnie remains ever positive, ever hopeful — but why?

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon

Maybe THE most hype-heavy show ever to come to the San Diego Civic lives up to all the accolades. Witten by the creators of South Park, the musical is guaranteed to offend everyone. Its impish spirit will also evoke waves of laughter, as young Mormon missionaries try to convert natives in a Ugandan village so bleak they curse the Almighty.

Somehow, some way, a new religion results. Along the way the wondrously crafted show brims with talent and invention, from the cast to the production numbers to the large orchestra.

One drawback: the farther from the stage you sit, the more blurry the mic’ing. Which is a crying shame. What with the prices they charge, you’d think the Civic would have worked out the problem by now.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Happy Days

Happy Days

One of Samuel Beckett’s most arresting comedy-dramas gets a first-rate staging by Sledehammer Theatre and director Scott Fedlsher.

Winnie, in her 50s, is waist-deep in a mound. Willie — maybe her husband? — sits on the other side, reading a newspaper and grunting occasionally.

Winnie pulls objects from a black bag (a revolver among them) and recalls her past in fragments. The astonishing thing given her situation: she’s upbeat. The smallest joy creates a “happy day.”

In Act two of the 90-minute piece, she’s up to her neck and still draws joy from “tender,” and smaller and smaller, “mercies.”

People say the mound represents “entropy” or the downward pull of growing old. Could be. After all, at one point Winnie shouts “earth you old extinguisher!” But that just gets you in the door. What Winnie says is what matters as she fights to keep her inner light from extinguishing.

Dana Hooley gives one of the year’s finest performances as Winnie. Make that Winnie’s, since she floats into the past and recalls the intrepid woman’s life at various stages, becoming each one along the way.


Mud Blue Sky

  • Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite N, Rolando
  • $27 - $40

Mud Blue Sky

The title intrigues, and Marisa Wegrzyn’s serio-comedy explains how the blue got so muddy.

Three flight attendants in a time of transition: Angie loved her job so much when she was laid off it broke her heart. Brave, disillusioned Beth’s contemplating retirement. And egocentric Sam probably should, since she prefers to have everything done for her.

Assemble them in room 208 of a cheap hotel near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, throw in Jonathan, a teenaged drug-pusher, innocent wunderkind, stir gently (the play does have some lulls), and Moxie Theatre serves up a very funny play with contemporary relevance.

The ensemble work is quite good, and Deanna Driscoll’s performance as see-the-blue-behind-the-mud Beth is outstanding.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Next Article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader