As daylight starts sticking around longer, and warmer days draw us out of doors, local theater companies are offering warmhearted comedies, provocative dramas, playful improvisation, musicals and even a touch of the paranormal to shake us out of our winter doldrums.
Mark your calendars for these upcoming shows, and be sure to check the theaters’ websites and social media pages for up-to-date information.
Reno
Ageless Repertory Theatre
ART’s spring lineup kicks off with 12 Angry Men on Tuesday, March 12, and Friday, March 15. It’s about a 12-man jury forced to confront their own morals and values as they deliberate the future of a teenager charged with murder.
On April 16 and 19, look for Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue, about a middle-aged man who unexpectedly loses his job after 22 years, disrupting the equilibrium in his home and marriage.
One May 7 and 10, catch Senior Follies, a comedy about nine seniors at a retirement home that proves fun, sexuality and drama don’t stop in your senior years.
www.renolittletheater.org/art-at-rlt
Brüka Theatre
Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will takes the Brüka stage March 1-22. This historical drama takes place after William Shakespeare’s death, when his theater friends scramble to secure his legacy.
On the heels of its popular January-February run, Every Brilliant Thing—an honest, uplifting comedy about getting through grief and depression—returns for another weekend, April 4-7.
“The show must go on” is a theme that continues in late April with Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig. This love letter to the theater is about two fading 1950s Hollywood stars on the brink of a split who receive one last shot at stardom.
www.bruka.org
Good Luck Macbeth
GLM’s jam-packed spring starts with She Kills Monsters, March 1-23, taking audiences into the world of fantasy with Agnes, who discovers her recently deceased sister’s Dungeons and Dragons notebook and the imaginary world that became her sister’s refuge.
April is FOMO month, with four weeks of don’t-miss-out productions: Lee Hardin’s standup comedy on April 5; the Good Luck MacKart Tournament on April 6; an improv championship April 11-13; Sorry I’m Late (and Other Lies) April 18-20, by GLM’s own Mojo Montelongo, one of its parody writers; and Sex Ed: A Sexprov, April 27.
May is New Works Month, featuring three staged readings of new plays on May 3 and 4: My Father’s House, American Foursquare and Murder Mystery at the Mother Regina.
Then comes the world premiere of GLM’s next mainstage show, You May Have 6. Running May 10-25, it’s a dramedy about a dead man who’s allowed to pick six people to be with him in the afterlife.
Rounding out the spring is the return of GLM’s annual The 10-10 Minute Play Festival, May 31 and June 1.
www.goodluckmacbeth.org
Latino Arte and Culture
Reno’s Latinx arts and culture organization presents El Mago de Oz, a family-friendly, bilingual production of The Wizard of Oz, at Carson City’s Brewery Arts Center (BAC), Saturday and Sunday, March 9 and 10.
latinoarte.org
Reno Little Theater
RLT’s Broadway Our Way youth students present Generation Pan March 8-17. It delves into life in Neverland after the Darling children’s departure.
From April 12-28, RLT offers The Quality of Life by Jane Anderson, about two couples grappling with loss—one lost their home to a wildfire, while the other lost their child—and how their individual perspectives color their experiences.
Broadway Our Way students again take the stage with Disney’s High School Musical 2 Jr., May 24-June 2.
In and amongst the company’s own shows, look for Midtown Improv Jam performances every month.
renolittletheater.org
TheatreWorks of Northern Nevada
TWNN will present The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood at the company’s gala on April 20 at the Pennington Boys and Girls Club, and at the theater’s Spokane Street home April 26-28. It’s a Monty Python-esque portrayal of the original swashbuckling outlaw who, along with his not-so-bright Merry Men, encounters adventures in Sherwood Forest.
twnn.org
Truckee Meadows Community College Performing Arts
From April 18-27, catch Naomi Iizuka’s Good Kids. Set at a Midwestern high school, it explores a casual sexual encounter gone wrong and its very public aftermath. The company has placed a content warning on this for its portrayal of a sexual assault and alcohol use.
www.tmcc.edu/visual-performing-arts/performance-schedule
University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Theatre and Dance
Sexuality and the pressures put on young people, thanks to technology and social media, also will be addressed in Evan Placey’s Girls Like That, April 12-21. A young woman’s naked photograph goes viral, making her the unwitting center of attention.
www.unr.edu/theatre-dance
Sparks
Restless Artists Theatre
RAT’s spring lineup starts March 11 with a Chautauqua performance depicting Earl Warren, former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
From March 22-April 1, catch Jen Silverman’s Witch. An agent of Satan shows up in a community looking for some souls to buy. An unexpected meeting with the town witch, Elizabeth, alters his career and messes up his deals.
Another Lauren Gunderson play runs May 17-27. Toil and Trouble is a hilarious riff on Macbeth about three slackers looking to make a quick buck selling fur from an exotic animal, leading to murder, lust and mayhem.
rattheatre.com
Carson City/Carson Valley
Proscenium Players, Inc.
Neil Simon also gets a second showing, with PPI’s Fools, May 10-19 at the Brewery Art Center. Leon Tolchinsky has just landed a teaching position in an idyllic Ukrainian hamlet, but arrives to find the town has been cursed with chronic stupidity—and his job is to break the curse.
PPI recently launched free weekly improv workshops on Monday nights at the BAC, for all levels, culminating in free, optional performances on the last Monday of each month. Email [email protected] to sign up.
www.prosceniumplayersinc.com
Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company
What if Cinderella has more on her mind than a pretty dress? WNMTC presents the new Broadway version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Carson City Community Center, May 10-19. This new version features a revised, modernized script, as well as new orchestrations and choreography. A 16-piece professional orchestra provides accompaniment.
www.wnmtc.com
Wild Horse Productions
For maximum cuteness, look no further than Wild Horse Children’s Theater’s Disney PIXAR’s Finding Nemo Jr. at the BAC, April 26-May 5. See amazing costumes, the adorable Disney story you know and love, and an undersea world complete with coral and anemone, projections and even musical performances.
www.wildhorsetheater.com