Dueling priests, scandalous letters and the candy man
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Apr. 17, 2024) — Can a young upstart teach an older, settled priest some new tricks? Playwright Bill C. Davis certainly thinks so in his comedy-drama “Mass Appeal.”
The show features Jess Rodgers as the firebrand seminarian challenging the Catholic Church’s stance on several topics, including the ordination of women. Jerry Motta portrays Father Tim Farley, a popular pastor who prefers keeping his parishioners happy rather than questioning the church’s teachings.
Produced by Plotline Theater Company, Randy Anger directs. “This is a very funny yet compassionate play, and I’m grateful to have two good actors who take direction but have wonderful ideas of their own,” Anger said.
It runs May 3-19 at the Campbell Theater, 636 Ward St., Martinez. For tickets, go to campbelltheatercompany.com.
Short stories
“Speak every single word of the text” is the mantra for Word for Word, a theater company that brilliantly brings short stories to life. I’ve seen several of their productions and am always amazed at how captivating they are.
The San Francisco company journeys to Lafayette’s Town Hall Theatre, 3535 School St., at 7 p.m. April 23 with its “Off the Page” staged reading series. The performance features Kevin Barry’s “The Coast of Leitrim.” This modern romance follows an Irish man smitten with a young Polish woman.
After the reading, the audience can talk with the company and give feedback as the production moves on to its next stage. For more information, go to townhalltheatre.com.
Synergy Theater announces its most shocking and scandalous show to date with its latest comedy improvisation. “My Dearest Love, An Improvised Series of Scandalous Letters and Dangerous Liaisons” takes place through April 28 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center, 1601 Civic Dr.
“The entire show,” said artistic director Kenn Adams, “is presented as a series of letters between the main characters as they do in the famous French epistolary novel, ‘Dangerous Liaisons.’ In each scene, the person writing the letter serves as the narrator, while the rest of the cast improvises the action and dialogue. Then, whoever received that letter writes the next letter to somebody else. And, letter by letter, we build the show.”
For tickets, call 925-943-7469 or go to www.lesherartscenter.org.
Bedford Gallery
Did you know ticket holders for performances at the Lesher Center also receive free admission to the award-winning Bedford Gallery? The gallery has so many fascinating displays to enjoy before a performance at the center. On view through June 23 is “Re-Discovering Native America: Stories in Motion with the Red Road Project.” The project highlights inspiring stories of contemporary Indigenous people through photographs and 3D artwork. “The red road” is a symbolic expression in many Native communities for living purposefully on a path of positive change. For more information, go to bedfordgallery.org.
Chocolate lovers everywhere won’t want to miss a trip to the mysterious chocolate factory with Pittsburg Theatre Company’s “Willy Wonka.” The Roald Dahl-based musical runs April 26-May 5 at the California Theatre, 351 Railroad Ave., Pittsburg. Go to pittsburgcommunitytheatre.org for tickets.
For classical music lovers, Pacific Chamber Orchestra presents Max Bruch’s “Violin Concerto #1 in G minor” with violinist Livia Sohn, Felix Mendelssohn’s “Symphony #3 ‘Scottish’ ” and Fanny Mendelssohn’s “Overture for Orchestra” at 7:30 p.m. April 27 at the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church, 49 Knox Dr., Lafayette. For tickets, visit pacificchambercrchestra.org.
Send comments to sallyhogarty@gmail.com
Sally Hogarty
Sally Hogarty is well known around the Bay Area as a newspaper columnist, theatre critic and working actress. She is the editor of the Orinda News. Send comments to sallyhogarty@gmail.com