Topical Paradise

That Girl and That Writer join forces at the Herberger

Comments (0) By Robrt L. Pela Thursday, Nov 12 2009

Everyone is plotzing because Marlo Thomas is coming to town to do an Arizona Theatre Company play, but how about this? That play, George Is Dead, was written and directed by Elaine May.

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Hello! Elaine May! As in Elaine May and Mike Nichols. As in Heaven Can Wait and The Birdcage and the earliest days of improv comedy. As in Grammy awards and Oscar nominations and theater-legend stats galore.

Yeah, okay. So she didn’t have her own groundbreaking network sitcom in the Sixties. Who did? We know! Marlo Thomas did. And according to her notices, Thomas is delicious in May’s new one-act about a rich widow who winds up at the tacky apartment of one of her former employees -- a compelling premise busting with opportunities for commentary on the working class and the pain of late-life loneliness. But we’ll tell you what: We don’t care what the topical comedy’s about. While everyone in the audience is staring rapt at La Thomas, we’ll be scouring the better seats, looking for a glimpse of Elaine May.

George Is Dead officially opens with a show at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 14, at Herberger Theater Center.

Thu., Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Nov. 13, 8 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 14, 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 15, 1 & 7 p.m.; Wed., Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m.; Thu., Nov. 19, 2 & 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Nov. 20, 8 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 21, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 29, 1 & 7 p.m.; Wed., Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m.; Thu., Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Dec. 4, 8 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 5, 4 & 8 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 6, 1 p.m., 2009