Go see a movie.
Strange words to read in a theatre column. But even your intrepid reporter is dismayed by the offerings this week. Not much new stuff in town, and what is playing is more or less obscure. All of it is far from home. But if you're feeling adventurous, check out some of the following. If not, better hunting next week. In fact, we have great hopes for next week--the circus is coming to town.
Fans of German composer Kurt Weill, best known for his incomparable score of The Threepenny Opera, might be very interested in Down in the Valley. Weill composed this one-act opera in 1948 expressly for amateur groups. Stage Space, a neophyte Brookline company behind this production, is an amateur group in a technical sense only; the "Phoenix" praised the competence and the excellent voices of the performers. The story tugs at the tear-ducts, with events ending unhappily for two star-crossed lovers in Appalachia. But the music is superb, utilizing old folk songs and ballads; most viewers will recognize the haunting title song "Down in the valley,/The valley so low..." At a little church at 90 Park St. in Brookline. Call 354-3703; Special student rate.
Despite the title, Shark is not another Jaws rip-off. It concerns two days--the eve and the aftermath of a day-long golf tournament--in the lives of (what else?) several golf caddies. Playwright T.J. Camp focuses on the trivia of his characters' lives--quarrels, flirtations, games--that scratch the surface of more serious conflicts, mostly based on the black caddies' feelings about working in an all-white country club. Only the tips of these deeper issues appear, however; what dominates is verbal and slapstick wit. At the Boston Center for the Arts at the Ehrlich Theatre, 536 Tremont St. in Boston.
Mary, Mary, which opens Saturday, is strong on the verbal wit. Written by Jean Kerr, author of Please Don't Eat the Daisies and wife to critic Walter Kerr, the comedy made a star of Barbara Bel Geddes in the fifties. Admittedly a bit slow in spots, Mary contains many sharp lines: "That's what I hate about intellectuals--they're all so dumb!" is a good one to throw at pompous TA's. At the Actors Workshop Theater; call 266-6840 for the usual info. and ask about the student rate.
Are you a French concentrator, lamenting the lack of courses in modern French Lit.? Take heart: Cocteau on Cocteau offers you a visit with the poet via a one-man show which opens tonight. The man in question is Neil Armstrong, who reads from the letters and works of the warm, witty and generally delightful artist. At the French Library (where else?); call 426-5921.
A very different sort of one-man show has just opened this past Monday. Victor Borge, the "piano prince of comedy", sings, jokes, and plays --you guessed it-- his piano. Go; join the legion of Borge fans as you sink in laughter over the man's routines. At the Colonial; call 354-9466.
We've saved the best for last. The Boston Repertory Ballet is presenting Peter Martins and Heather Watts as guest artists for their Star Performances series (and for you dance fanatics). Many thanks to the New York City Ballet for lending them; many thanks to the BRT for bringing them to us. If you're a dancer, or a dance devotee, you're no excuse not to go. Oct 13 & 14 only; at John Hancock Hall. Call 267-9234.
Long Runs: Well, there's The Mamet Plays, which proves that American playwrighting talent is not yet dead; Annie, which proves that the American Musical Comedy is not yet dead; The All-Night Strut, which proves that the music of the '30s and '40s is not yet dead; and The Man of La Mancha, which proves that Richard Kiley is not yet dead. At the Charles Playhouse (426-6912), the Shubert (426-6444), the Boston Rep. Theatre (423-6580), and the Music Hall (423-3300), respectively.
