Esther’s Descendants
Esther’s Descendants
Broom Street Theater, Sept. 9-Oct. 1
A new dark comedy from Jan Levine Thal, founder of the Kathie Rasmussen Women’s Theater, is laced with weighty themes: alcoholism and dementia. Esther’s descendants have inherited a mansion, a swamp and some bloody secrets. Parents: Get a sitter; not suitable for your descendants.
A Behanding in Spokane
Bartell Theatre, Sept. 9-24
It starts out as a simple business transaction in a seedy hotel. Two young con artists claim they have a hand for sale. This is good news for the man who has been looking for his missing left hand for 27 years. They meet. Then suddenly, it all goes wrong. Madison Theatre Guild presents this pitch-black comedy by award-winning Irish playwright Martin McDonagh.
Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Bartell Theatre, Sept. 9-24
Playwright Neil Simon has mined his own life experiences many times, and the results have been hilarious. In this autobiographical comedy, Strollers Theatre revisits the writers’ room of a weekly variety TV program in the early 1950s; it looks a lot like Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows. As the star worries about ratings and argues with the network about whether his more sophisticated comedy will play in Peoria, the writers bicker, argue and struggle to produce a great television show.
