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Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes

It’s an unusual spring at the area’s theaters: They’re featuring a frighteningly good Christmas play, a sexy parking valet, a singing slaughterhouse worker and a joyous appearance from everyone’s favorite Nazi.

In April the Lantern Theater Company’s artistic director Charles McMahon helms an intriguing cast in Shakespeare’s challenging tragedy Hamlet (April 3-May 10). The production stars Geoff Sobelle in the title role. Sobelle is best known as one of the city’s top experimental theater artists, having created and performed in the Live Arts hits Fish and Fowl and the brilliant All Wear Bowlers.

Parking valets are the subject of local playwright Bruce Walsh’s latest work Whisky Neat, which is receiving its world premiere in a production from Azuka Theatre (April 2-26). Originally produced at the 2002 Live Arts Festival as the one-act play Das Ein, the new full-length drama focuses on a hunky young man named Handsome who joins a group of violent parking valets at a posh eatery.

Theatre Exile concludes its season with David Mamet’s 1977 drama American Buffalo (April 9-May 3). Set in a decrepit pawn shop, the play focuses on three men and their attempt to steal a rare buffalo nickel. A stark exploration of the thin line between capitalism and crime, the production stars Joe Canuso as

the shop owner Don, Pete Pryor as the coarse grifter Teach and Robert DaPonte as the edgy ex-junkie Bobby.

The Arden Theatre Company continues its commitment to new plays by local playwrights with the world premiere of Bruce Graham’s Something Intangible (April 9-June 7). Graham’s latest work concerns two brothers (played by award-winning actors Ian Merrill Peakes and Scott Greer) who run a movie studio built entirely on the success of a cartoon mutt named Petey Pup. Creative differences ensue when the brothers argue over the future of their prized animated hound.

The Arden ends its season with Conor McPherson’s superbly written drama The Seafarer (May 13-June 14). Set on a memorable Christmas Eve, the story revolves around a poker game with unusually high stakes. Humorous and coldly sinister, Seafarer is an example of Irish storytelling at its best.

Arab-American stereotypes are the focus of Yussef El Guindi’s Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes (April 10-May 10). A pointed satire premiering at the InterAct Theatre Company, Babes follows a talented but penniless Arab-American actor who’s offered a starring role in a major motion picture. If he accepts the part, all his financial problems will be solved. But there’s a hitch: The role is that of an evil Islamic terrorist that panders to the most outrageous Arab-American stereotypes. A rare comedy from the city’s top political theater, Babes is a humorous examination of the relationship between prejudice and profit in the entertainment business.

Temple Theaters moves its act from North Philly to Center City with the company’s production of the musical Cabaret at the Prince Music Theater. A dark and dynamic tale of Nazi oppression, Cabaret’s idealistic young characters should suit the talents of director Brenna Geffers’ cast nicely.

Clown, song, dance and text collide in Appetite, a new dance theater work created by Pig Iron Theatre Company member Sarah Sanford (who also directs) and the Toronto-based troupe the Exchange Rate Collective. A haunting tale about a slaughterhouse worker who hopes to escape his harsh reality, the highly physical piece features performers (who portray various livestock) singing, engaging in eating competitions and executing “bizarre mating dances.”

The Walnut Street Theatre hopes to brighten your mood with its production of Mel Brooks’ smash musical The Producers. Based on Brooks’ film and featuring the show-stopping tune “Springtime for Hitler,” the musical involves a shady Broadway impresario’s scheme to make money by producing the world’s worst musical. It’s an absurd plan, but then everything about this clever show is ridiculous—and funny.

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1. said... on Mar 25, 2009 at 02:09PM

“Unusual? I beg to differ. In my opinion, this spring line up is just a continuation of the same. Not for what it offers, but for what it lacks. That being dynamic, entertaining, funny, dark and compelling female roles I know Philly actresses are capable of portraying, and that will stimulate audiences just as much as those in "The Seafarer" or "American Buffalo" have and will. And no, I'm not referring to yet another production of "Steel Magnolias".

I'm in support of the Philly arts community as a whole. I've seen some fabulous theater here and some amazing performances by both men and women. Yet, I also know we're capable of so much more, which is why I'm eager to see us thrive by also telling stories that represent a wider range of female voices that go beyond stereotype. I challenge any local playwright or artistic director to create and/or seek out work that showcases a broader spectrum of human experience. I know Philly is the city of brotherly love, but come on! What about the sisters?”