Mark Cofta’s theater picks: From activism to escapism

January is Mary Tuomanen's month, with three projects showcasing her talents as playwright, director, and actor. First is the Tuomanen-directed remount of Chris Davis's Fringe Festival hit One-Man Apocalypse Now at the Beardcave in University City (January 11 - 18), a personal journey through the seminal Francis Ford Coppola film. (Here’s my review of the 2016 Fringe premiere.) Tuomanen also performs her own one-woman show, Hello! Sadness! (January 26 - 28) at FringeArts, spanning the centuries from Joan of Arc to 1960s Chicago to tell a unique story about social engagement with special resonance in the Trump administration's first days.

InterAct Theatre Company premieres Tuomanen’s play Marcus/Emma (January 20 - February 12), about two radicals: early civil rights leader Marcus Garvey (Akeem Davis) and feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman (Susan Stevens). Rebecca Wright directs.

In concert with Tuomanen's provocative political play, InterAct joins a nationwide network of theaters participating in The Ghostlight Project (January 19), a collective simultaneous pledge to continue vigilance and increase activism in what seems likely to be a challenging four years. InterAct also sponsors two performances of Howard Zinn's Marx in Soho (January 28 - 29), in which Bob Weick plays the father of communism, produced by Iron Age Theatre Company.

New Year's newness

Nothing's newer than Nice and Fresh from Automatic Arts (January 13 - 14), their occasional pop-up performances of original short theater and dance pieces. Playwright and producer Josh McIlvain's picks include Steve Lippe's My Fat Superman, dance by Irina Varina, and more, all for "the price of a sandwich" ($7) at Moving Arts of Mount Airy.

The Wilma Theater introduces Philadelphia to the fascinating work of British playwright Nick Payne with Constellations (January 11 - February 5), an unusual play that explores complex ideas about parallel universes through one relationship. Wilma resident actors Sarah Glicko and Jered McLenigan star.

People's Light hosts the regional premiere of Loudon Wainwright III's Surviving Twin (January 21 - February 5), an autobiographical solo play with music that the Gammy Award-winner describes as a "posthumous collaboration" with his late father, directed by Daniel Stern.

New Year's escapism

The Walnut Street Theatre starts the year with a Neil Simon double bill. Last of the Red Hot Lovers (January 10 - February 5) is his 1969 romantic comedy starring Karen Peakes and Fran Prisco that will run in the cozy Independence Studio on 3, then commence a national tour, the Walnut's seventh. Laughter on the 23rd Floor (January 17 - March 5 on the Mainstage) is Simon's 1993 semi-autobiographical comedy about his experience writing for Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows circa 1953. Frank Ferrante plays the Caesar character, Max Prince, and also directs, reprising his work in the Walnut's 1997 staging.

At right: Karen Peakes and Fran Prisco in the Walnut's production of Last of the Red Hot Lovers. (Photo by Mark Garvin)