Opening Nights

MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN

Opens Friday, May 11 at the Lord Leebrick Theatre.

Damn this fucking war. That’s the Thirty Years War, of course, the one that decimated huge swaths of population in northern Europe in the early 1600s. Fun stuff for audiences, no? The Lord Leebrick takes on that very tragedy with a seminal work of political theater. Mother Courage is the musical translated and adapted by David Hare from Bertolt Brecht’s powerful 1939 anti-war piece. Craig Willis directs Judith “Sparky” Roberts in the title role, which Meryl Streep played, to great acclaim, last summer in New York. Show dates are May 11-13, 17-20, 24-26 & 31 and June 1-3. For tix, go to www.lordleebrick.comor call 465-1506.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Opens Friday, May 11 at the Civic Theater in Albany.

There are fairies, asses and lovers. You got your Puck, your Titania, your Oberon, your Bottom. Really, it’s the most kid-friendly Shakespeare ever! Or so people seem to believe. But entering Shakespeare’s green world can be a risk for anyone … Show dates are May 11-2, 18-20, 25-27 & 31 and June 1-2. For tix, as far as we can tell from the website (it’s not like the Civic sent us any info, sadly), you gotta go to the theater or to Sid Stevens Jewelers or to Rice’s Pharmacy in Corvallis. Um, but Shakespeare is worth it.