Off the Wall Productions lives by its name, with a mission to deliver something unexpected.
In the case of its December offerings, that would be two somethings, with dance matinees and theatrical evenings on Saturdays and the reverse on Sundays. The acting company is presenting Liz Duffy Adams’ comedy “OR,” a bioplay about one of the first female playwrights, and fireWALL, Off the Wall’s resident dance company, is introducing “Uproar,” about a female writer in the act of creating.
’Or’ (play)
When: Dec. 18-Jan. 11, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays
‘Uproar’ (dance)
When: Dec. 19-Jan. 10, Some Wednesdays and Thursdays, times vary (check www.insideoffthewall.com), 3 p.m. Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays.
Where: Off the Wall Productions at 25. W. Main St., Carnegie.
Tickets: $5-$25; www.insideoffthewall.com or 1-888-718-4253.
The company that roosts on Carnegie’s Main Street has been leaning toward a woman’s perspective in recent seasons. “OR” and “Uproar” also have in common the central character of a female writer on a tight deadline.
“Female empowerment is certainly the theme for both of those presentations, and our last two shows of the season, one has a very strong female character — it’s our first classic, ‘Ibsen’s Ghost.’ The last show is ‘The Whale,’ which is not about a female character but has a female director. We try to give the guys a break, too, and it’s a great play,” said Virginia Gruenert, artistic director of Off the Wall.
“OR,” directed by John Shepard and starring Erika Cuenca, Robin Abramson and Ethan Hova, is set in Restoration-era London and tells of one bawdy night in the life of Aphra Behn, a poet, spy and one of the world’s first professional female playwrights. Aphra is besieged by constant interruptions while she tries to write a play in one night.
“What I loved about ‘OR’ is it’s beautifully written and most of it is in verse, and yet it’s very funny at the same time,” Ms. Gruenert said. “It’s a very smart show, and I loved the whole idea of a farce with someone coming out one door as one character and out the next door as a different character. It’s amazingly difficult to direct because the precision has to be right on, but it’s hilarious. It’s hard to find a great comedy, and this is, I think, a really great comedy.”
In “Uproar,” with choreography by Elisa-Marie Alaio and music by Ryan McMasters, a circa-1960s writer also has a one-night deadline.
“What we see on stage is her imagination, in the characters she is bringing to life, either using or discarding or changing … We are watching her create this masterpiece,” Ms. Gruenert said.
In programming December shows for the Carnegie theater, Ms. Gruenert sees Off the Wall as an alternative to the usual suspects at holiday time.
“I wanted both pieces to be fun and funny,” she said. “We don’t go with the usual Christmas fare because everyone else does, and it’s wonderful, and they have those choices. So we want to be different. We always want to be different.”
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: SEberson_pg.
First Published: December 17, 2014, 5:00 a.m.
