Opening Nights
Awake and Sing!, Ring of Fire and So Far From Shore

Awake and Sing! opens at the Very Little Theatre Friday, Jan. 18.

Happy about the recession/depression, the war, the general economic trauma suffered by recent immigrants and other working-class folk? No? Hey, head to the VLT for Clifford Odets' 1935 play, which acknowledges the roadblocks to prosperity even as it encourages its characters to pursue some version of the American dream. Or rather, it sets that pursuit in motion and lets its characters say where the dream ends. Awake and Sing! runs through Feb. 9, with talkback sessions after the Jan. 31 and Feb. 3 shows. Tix available at 344-7751.

Ring of Fire opens at Actors Cabaret of Eugene Friday, Jan. 18.

Following the success of last summer's All Shook Up (a musical with the barest thread of a plot holding together joyful celebrations of Elvis classics), ACE opens the Broadway celebration of Johnny Cash. OK, yes, Cash did some harder material than The King (in all kinds of ways), and one of the songs in the show is his cover of Trent Reznor's "Hurt," but with 14 cast members pumping out 38 (38!) Johnny Cash songs, who cares about the plot of this Broadway piece? If you liked the music of Walk the Line, you'll fall for Ring of Fire, which runs through Feb. 23. Tix available at www.actorscabaret.orgor 683-4368.

So Far From Shore opens at the Wildish Theatre in Springfield Friday, Jan. 18.

This is a play about healing from childhood sexual abuse written by a local playwright. See article on p. 32 for more information. So Far From Shore runs through Feb. 2. Tix available at www.sofartheplay.comor 606-1125.