Albuquerque Theatre Guild Releases Their May 2010 Performance Calendar

The Albuquerque Theatre guild is an umbrella organization of live theatre companies, theater practitioners, and theater lovers dedicated to making the Albuquerque area's rich live-theatre scene better known to both residents and visitors alike. We are happy to act as your usher and guide to the wonderful wealth of entertainment possibilities that greater Albuquerque offers every weekend!

Thru May 2 | Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 2
The Prisoner of Second Avenue - by Neil Simon. A timely show first presented in NY Nov. 11, 1971, this play revolves around a high paid exec caught in economic downsizing. His wife takes a job, only to lose it. The exec is fighting against pollution that is killing everything that he tries to grow on his terrace, the paper thin walls in his high rise allow him to hear the private lives of the stewardesses next door, his apartment is burgled and his psychiatrist dies with $23,000 of his money. The recovery from his nervous breakdown is a wonderful example of the human race's resilience and will to survive. Info: East Mountain Centre for Theatre, Vista Grande Community Center, 15 La Madera Road, Sandia Park, 286-1950, www.eastmountaintheatre.org/currentseason.html Price: $15, Seniors $12 (65 and older), Students $12, Kids $8 (11 and younger)

Thru May 2 | various times.
2010 Words Afire Festival of New Plays - The University of New Mexico Department of Theatre and Dance is pleased to announce the 10th Annual Words Afire New Play Festival. A series of innovative new plays written by the talented MFA students in UNM's award winning Dramatic Writing Program. Info: Rodey Theatre and Theatre X on the UNM Main Campus, 277-4332, http://www4.unm.edu/theatre/waf/index.php Price: varies.

Thru May 2 | Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 4
The Butcher of Baraboo - by Marisa Wegrzyn, directed by Rose Provan. Valerie is the butcher of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Her husband has gone missing and everyone suspects she played a hand -- especially her nosy sister-in-law who just happens to be the town sheriff. And her daughter, a drug-pushing pharmacist, might know more than she lets on. The Butcher of Baraboo is a black comedy about a butcher, a secret, and one perfectly polished meat cleaver. Info: The Desert Rose Playhouse, 6921 E Montgomery NE, 881-0503, http://www.desertroseplayhouse.com/ Price: $12.

Thru May 2 | Saturday and Sunday at 2
The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf (Family Theatre Series) - by Val Cheatham. A courtroom has never been more lively and fun! Smart and wickedly funny, the jury must decide the outcome of the biggest trial ever in the fairy-tale world! The notorious Big Bad Wolf is being slapped with a class-action lawsuit by storybooks of quirky characters who want to get even: Little Red Riding Hood, her Grandmother, the Three Little Pigs and the Shepherd in charge of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. With Sydney Grimm as the commentator on live court TV, the two greatest legal minds in the Enchanted Forest-the Evil Stepmother and the Fairy Godmother-clash in a trial that will be remembered forever after. As our wronged fairy tale characters testify, the wolf seems deserving of all that's coming. Yet, even though the infamous Evil Stepmother resents doing pro-bono work on such an obviously futile defense, Mr. Wolf makes a good case for himself. Was he born a criminal, or made one? Info: Albuquerque Little Theatre, 224 San Pasquale SW, 242-4750, www.albuquerquelittletheatre.org Price: $10

Thru May 2 | Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 4:30
Godspell Junior - directed by Jonathan Dunski, vocal direction by Aaron Howe, choreography by Jonathan Ragsdale. Godspell Junior by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Children of Eden, Wicked) draws from various theatrical traditions, such as clowning, pantomime, charades, acrobatics and vaudeville. This "junior" version, reinvented to feature young voices and to condense playing time, is based on the groundbreaking reflection on the life of Jesus, and conveys universal messages of kindness, tolerance, and love. It features the international hit song "Day By Day." Performed by the students of PLAY Conservatory and playing in tandem with The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Info: VSA North Fourth Art Center, 4904 Fourth Street NW, 344-4542, http://www.vsartsnm.org Price: $10.

Thru May 2 | Saturday at 2 and 4:30 and Sunday at 2
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe -directed by Jonathan Dunski. Four English children accidently discover a magic land called Narnia that lies through and beyond an ordinary wardrobe. In this action-packed one-act play, Edmund betrays his siblings and the Witch schemes to keep Narnia in her possession and in a state of perpetual winter. A quest to meet the mighty Aslan ensues. Along the way, a host of Narnians appear: Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Tumnus the faun, and Father Christmas, among others. This adaptation of C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy affirms the triumph of good over evil. Performed by the students of PLAY Conservatory and playing in tandem with Godspell Junior. Info: VSA North Fourth Art Center, 4904 Fourth Street NW, 344-4542, http://www.vsartsnm.org Price: $10.

Thru May 23 | Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2
Hay Fever - by Noel Coward. The Bliss family is ultra Bohemian. Mother is a retired actress who makes a crisis out of every scene and father is a novelist. The daughter and son are handsome and ill mannered. One weekend all announce they are expecting a guest: mother has invited an athletic youth who is in love with her, Sorel has invited a diplomat, Simon an intense young woman, and David a flapper (a type he is studying for a novel). The guests receive an unusual and rude reception. Soon mother is paired off with the diplomat, Sorel with the athlete, Simon with the flapper, and father with his son's young woman. Dramatizing for all it is worth, Judith first fears she must tell her husband about her romance, then realizes her daughter is younger and more attractive to young men so she enacts a scene of noble sacrifice, and, noticing her husband's flirtation, she follows with a poor unhappy wife scene. The family is used to such displays, but the guests are bewildered. Info: Adobe Theatre, 9813 Fourth St. NW, 898-9222, www.adobetheater.org. Price: $14, Seniors and Students $12.

May 6 - 23 | Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2
Wonder of the World - by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Becca Holmes. Nothing will prepare you for the dirty little secret Cass discovers in her husband's sweater drawer. It's so shocking that our heroine flees to the honeymoon capital of the world in a frantic search for the life she thinks she missed out on. It's a wild ride over Niagara Falls in a barrel of laughs as Cass embarks on a journey of self-discovery that has her crossing paths with a blithely suicidal alcoholic, a lonely tour-boat captain, a pair of bickering private detectives, and a strange caper involving a gargantuan jar of peanut butter, all of which pushes her perilously close to the water's edge. Info: Auxiliary Dog Theatre, 3011 Monte Vista Blvd NE, 254-7716, http://www.auxdog.org. Price: $15, May 9 is pay-what-you-can.

May 7 - 23 | Fridays at 7, Saturdays at 2 and 7 and Sundays at 2
Bugsy Malone Jr. - directed by Kristin Berg and Doug Montoya. The popular pint-sized, pin-striped classic leaps off the silver screen and onto the stage. Like the film, this wild and wacky musical includes a child's dream come true: a classic pie fight fought with "splurge blasters" which spew forth "silly string" instead of pies! With a catchy, swinging score by the composer of The Muppet Movie. Info: Cardboard Playhouse Productions at The Box Performance Space, 1025 Lomas Blvd. NW, 404-1578, http://cardboardplayhouse.org/. Price: $10

May 7 - 23 | Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2
Closer - by Patrick Marber, directed by Christy Lopez. Closer revolves around the idea of truth. All the characters have a tense relationship with truth-only Alice "is not passionate about veracity. " Those who are passionate about veracity press each other to tell the complete truth, no matter the emotional pain caused by it-and the controlling irony of The Situation is that though the truth clarifies, it does not bring together. No one is made "closer" by the truth. Also being challenged and taken apart is the illusion of love and romance. The characters are driven both by a need for love and a need for sex-these needs clash at times, as when Larry (Shangreaux Lagrave) tells Dan (Ryan Jason Cook) that Alice (Tabatha Shaun) needed love, and Dan had left her for a relationship with Anna (Barbara Geary). The mythic constructions surrounding personal relationships-the myth of love and truth bringing us together is deliberately and willfully turned on its head by Marber. Info: RyBan Productions at The Filling Station, 1024 4th Street SW, 507-0598. Price: $15, Students, Seniors and Albuquerque Theatre Guild members $10. Couples Night (Fri.) and Actor Rush (Sun): $8. $1 discount when you bring a red or green apple. $5 discount when you write your own obituary.

May 11 | Tuesday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Dirty Work At Clean Water Creek - written, directed and designed by Myrna Smyer. A rip-roaring western melodrama that teaches about water conservation. Info: Once Upon A Theatre at South Broadway Cultural Center, 1025 Broadway SE, 348-1320. Price: Free.

May 15 and 22 | Saturdays at 1 and 3
Christa McAuliffe-Teacher to Astronaut directed by Patricia Decker. This teacher was the first civilian to be trained as an astronaut. In January 1986, she made her tragic but heroic flight aboard the Challenger space shuttle. Find out, in the teacher's own words, what made this such an historic flight. Info: Explora1701 Mountain Road NW, 224.8323, http://www.explora.us. Price: free with museum admission.

May 21 - 23 | Friday at 8, Saturday at 2 and 8 and Sunday at 2 and 7:30
The Wizard of Oz - directed by Nigel West. This magical production, based on the Royal Shakespeare Company's celebration of the 1939 MGM movie, is presented with breathtaking special effects that will sweep audiences away, from the moment the tornado twists its way into Kansas. Director Nigel West, choreographer Leigh Constantine and set and costume designer Tim McQuillen-Wright utilize the glamour and elegance of art deco Hollywood as the visually stunning technicolor backdrop for The Wizard Of Oz. Dorothy, Toto and their friends the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow are transported "Over the Rainbow" to adventures in Munchkin Land, the Haunted Forest and the Emerald City. Info: Popejoy Hall, UNM Campus, 277-8010, http://popejoypresents.com/2009-2010/wizard-of-oz. Price: $55, $45, $35.

May 28 - June 13 | Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2. Thursday, June 10 at 8
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas - by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson. This happy go lucky view of small town vice and statewide political side-stepping recounts the good times and the demise of the Chicken Ranch, known since the 1850s as one of the better pleasure palaces in all of Texas. Governors, senators, mayors and even victorious college football teams frequent Miss Mona's cozy bordello until that puritan nemesis Watchdog focuses his television cameras and his righteous indignation on the institution. Info: Albuquerque Little Theatre, 224 San Pasquale SW, 242-4750, http://www.albuquerquelittletheatre.org. Price: Adult $22, Senior $20, Student $18