Venus in Boston, Playing Dead in L.A. & More Cross-Country Highlights for the New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! We can’t think of a better way to ring in 2014 than with an evening at the theater—and luckily, there’s are plenty of exciting productions to choose from across the country. Check out our first Countrywide Guide of the year, featuring Momma Rose, life and death, S&M and more!


LOS ANGELES, CA
A Magical New Year’s Scare
Leave it to Teller (the silent half of Penn & Teller) and magician Todd Robbins to create a show billed as being “inappropriate for the faint of heart—or those under 18.” Play Dead, running through January 12 at the Geffen Playhouse's Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, combines storytelling, illusion and telepathy to explore the border between life and death. The description alone gives us chills!


ARLINGTON, VA
Let Them Entertain You
It’s always a good time to see Gypsy, and one of the biggest stars of the DC theater scene, Sherri L. Edelen, will take on the titanic role of Momma Rose in Signature Theatre of Viginia’s revival. Joe Calarco directs a cast of Signature veterans in a production that was extended through January 26 even before previews began. As usual, everything’s coming up roses for this beloved musical.


BOSTON, MA
A New Touch of Venus
Catch the Tony-nominated play that The New York Times called “good, kinky fun” when David Ives’ Venus in Fur begins performances at the Huntington Theatre Company on January 3. Chris Kipiniak is cast as Thomas, a modern-day playwright/director who shares an erotically charged audition with a mysterious actress named Vanda (Andrea Syglowski). See them smolder through February 2.


ROCHESTER, NY
Step on the Gas
John Cariani’s romantic comedy Almost, Maine ranks as one of America’s most produced plays. The actor-turned-playwright returns to the Maine woods with Last Gas, which centers on a single dad who manages the last convenience store before the Canadian border. See what happens when his old flame comes back to town at Geva Theatre Center in a production running from January 7 through February 2.


GLENCOE, IL
Luck of the Irish—or Lack Thereof
Playwright Conor McPherson is a poet of the everyday, and Port Authority centers on a trio of Dublin men from different generations delivering a series of monologues that trace their response to life’s challenges. Writers Theatre’s well-reviewed production of this 2001 drama continues through February 16. Don’t miss these tales well told.