VALENTINE’S DAZE: February is the Love Month, of course, and The Tank has got it going on with the World Premiere of the offbeat comedy An Evening of Awkward Romance, which, despite the title, aims to put the fun back into Valentine’s Day. Wendy Herlich’s script introduces a collection of oddball characters on their way to find love: two proofreaders who lust over grammatical errors; a woman with a movie-related “affliction” finds her Prince Charming; a couple of misfits find true connection via a funeral home. Awk-ward! The playwright co-stars with Stefan Schick, and performances run February 11-28 at The Tank. Ruthie Levy directs. www.thetanknyc.org
TAWNY AWARD: And speaking of Valentine’s Day…Obie Award-winning playwright/performer David Drake, who made a big splash several years ago with his acclaimed solo showThe Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, makes his long-awaited return to New York with the premiere of My Tawny Valentine, a tragicomedy with music, directed by Robert LaFosse, which begins performances February 17 at The Laurie Beechman Theatre. In MTV, Drake essays the role of Tawny Heatherton, a lovably eccentric showbiz survivor and “one hit wonder” of the disco zeitgeist of the early 1980s, who comes complete with both sunny optimism and memories of the “biz” as a globe-trotting disco semi-diva. And just wait until she reunites with her long-lost aunt, Joey Heatherton, at the Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino...Performances continue through March 2. 212-352-3101
MY VERONA: And what better play could there be to wrap up the Love Month than the ultimate love play, the one most universally synonymous with great, tortured, sacrificial, all-consuming love? Well, duh: I mean the one about those starry-eyed, yet star-crossed, Verona teenagers who…but stop me if you’ve heard it. Tragedians of the City mark their premiere outing with Romeo and Juliet, beginning February 29 at the Chernuchin Theater at the American Theater of Actors. Tragedians’ version, however, comes with a twist: the play is performed by an all-male cast. (Seems things were more interesting in Verona than we thought!) Michael Piazza and John Early take the title roles, and the show is directed by Anya Saffir. www.nwptheater.com
WIDE ANGLE: Imagine the backyard of a recession-stricken Ohio town, where the beer is on ice and the citronellas are read to be lit. Enter into this bleak setting a disillusioned journalist and his freeloading best friend, about to experience a game-changing situation when Dean’s girlfriend inadvertently invites a mysterious woman from his past to the barbeque. That’s the premise of Mark Snyder’s As Wide As I Can See, which receives its World Premiere production under Dan Horrigan’s direction on the Mainstage of HERE Arts Center beginning February 23. As Wide As I Can is a production of Hand Theatre Company, whose mission is to produce new plays using environmentally conscious means, which makes them eco-friendly and audience-friendly at the same time. Can we now call that green theater? I like it. Performances through March 10. www.athandtheatre.com
GLASS HOUSES: One of Off-Broadway’s most estimable companies, Mint Theater, celebrates its 100th Anniversary Production with a rare revival of Githa Sowerby’s play Rutherford & Son, which opened at London’s Royal Court Theatre on January 31, 1912, and quickly transferred to the West End. (It opened in New York later that year.) The play is set in the industrial north of England, and tells the story of a father determined to do whatever it takes to ensure the success and succession of the family glassworks, started by his own father, but now in danger of shattering. Richard Corley directs a cast that features Robert Hogan as Rutherford, as well as Dale Soules, David Van Pelt, Eli James, Allison McLemore, James Patrick Nelson, Sandra Shipley and Sara Surrey. Performances have just begun at the Mint’s home on West 43rd Street, and opening night is set for February 27. www.minttheater.org
AROUND TOWN: Busy times at York Theatre Company: Ionescopade is up and running, and, beginning February 12, award-winning London/New York actor Peter Land opens a new solo show, Now or Never, billed as “an explosion of music and words.” Gillian Lynne directs, and the show runs for three consecutive Sundays, through Feb. 26. www.yorktheatre.org... HERE offers up another interesting selection in its ongoing StartHERE Innovative Theater for Young People program when it presents The House, a creepy comedy which brims with puppetry and cartoon-drama, courtesy of Denmark’s acclaimed Sofie Krog Teater. The show plays five performances only from February 24-26. www.here.org
