Sure, it’s Presidents Day. And Mardis Gras. But did you realize that Elizabeth Taylor would have turned 80 on February 27 this year?
Fortunately, the ever-vigilant Who Wants Cake? company in Ferndale is all over it with “Liz-a-Palooza” – not one, but TWO tribute shows that will run in repertory to honor the luscious Ms. Liz.
The first play opened this past weekend, but you can still catch it tonight (Monday, Feb. 20) at the Ringwald Theatre. It’s the World Premiere of Elizabeth the Beautiful by Michigan’s own Kim Carney, in which we find Elizabeth recovering from back surgery in an elegant Virginia hotel in 1978. After a near-fatal encounter with a chicken bone, she is visited by her ex-ex-husband, Richard Burton. But is it really Dick in the flesh, or just the med’s talking to some deeply buried, unconscious, trauma-induced fantasy? During this spectral visit, Burton ushers in notable figures from Liz’s past, all with the purpose of teaching her a valuable lesson regarding where her life is heading.
If you haven’t been paying attention, Elizabeth the Beautiful is an outlandish comedy in the best Who Wants Cake? tradition. This valentine to Ms. Taylor’s life stars Joe Bailey as Elizabeth Taylor, Mike McGettigan as Richard Burton and Patrick O’Connor Cronin as Everybody Else. The play is directed by Bryan Lark.
Next up, opening Friday, Feb. 24, is a campy rendition of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece, Suddenly, Last Summer. It’s the sordid tale of Catharine Holly (famously played by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1959 movie adaptation, here played by Marke Sobolewski) and her cousin Sebastian, whose life meets an unseemly end when they are vacationing together in Cabeza de Lobo. Will Catharine recall what really happened to Sebastian? Will his mother (played by Lauren Bickers) conceal the truth by having Catherine lobotomized? Suddenly, Last Summer also features Mikey Brown, Carrie Lynn Hall, Vince Kelley, Genevieve Jona and Anne Faba. The show is directed by Joe Plambeck.
See the Who Want’s Cake? website for dates and show times, as the two shows will run in repertory through March 12, 2012. Ticket prices are $20.00 for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday performances, $15 for 3 p.m. Sunday shows, and only $10 for Monday performances at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or at the theatre box office, which opens 45 minutes before performances.
The Ringwald Theatre is located at 22742 Woodward Avenue in Ferndale, just south of 9 Mile Road.
Comments