Last Chance to catch the Houston, TX regional premiere of the Drama Desk, Drama League, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle award winner for Best Play, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. The Alley Theatre's mounting began previews Jan. 8, opened Jan. 13 and ends its scheduled run Feb. 6. The ironically-titled Beauty Queen tells the story of an elderly woman (Bettye Fitzpatrick) who tries to spoil her homely 40-year-old daughter's first (and possibly last) chance for romance. Elizabeth Heflin (The Government Inspector on Bway) plays daughter Maureen. Craig Bockhorn and Adam Stein co-star in the mounting, directed by Ethan McSweeny.
The Alley Theatre was named one of Playbill's top stories of 1998, for presenting the American premieres of Tennessee Williams' "lost" early play, the Broadway-bound Not About Nightingales and Frank Wildhorn's new musical, The Civil War (also headed to New York). The Texas nonprofit proved again "that American regional theatre is fertile soil, a rich testing ground for new and newly-imagined" works.
The Beauty Queen of Leenane plays at Houston's Alley Theatre, Jan. 8-Feb. 6, with an official opening on Jan. 13, 1999. For tickets or more information, call (713) 228-8421.
The Alley continues its 52nd season with Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler.
