‘Some Brighter Distance’ Continues at City; Quantum Running ‘Ciarra’ (Tues., 2/9/16)

Ah, sweet youth. In a flashback scene, Marthe (Elizabeth Rich) gets a rise out of Rudolph’s fave flick, the sci-fi thriller “Woman in the Moon.”

1) At the end of World War II, a U.S. intelligence program called Operation Paperclip tracked down large numbers of German scientists and engineers. In the Nazi regime they had built the V-2 rockets launched against London and other Allied cities. These men were brought to the United States, where they led the design of new American rockets—first for the country’s nuclear arsenal, then for the Apollo space flights. A new play about this strange turn of events is making its world premiere at City Theatre. Some Brighter Distance is by Keith Reddin, a playwright known for dealing with moral ironies and paradoxes. Here he focuses on the story of engineer Arthur Rudolph, who became a fervid American citizen and a director of the Apollo projects, but later was forced to leave the country when controversy arose over his possible connection to Nazi-era war crimes. 7 p.m. Runs through February 14. Rudolph’s famous colleague Wernher Von Braun is also a character in Some Brighter Distance. 1300 Bingham St., South Side. (MV)

In David Harrower’s play at Quantum, the past speaks to Ciara (Mary Rawson) and Ciara talks back.

2) Every so often in its forays into the unusual, Quantum Theatre presents a play that sets out to conduct a sweeping exploration of all aspects of the human condition, or at least a lot of them. Mnemonic (performed in 2013) was one such play and Ciara is another. But whereas Mnemonic took you on a whirlwind tour of the history and mysteries of Western civilization, with parallel plots unfolding across Europe while actors hopped between multiple roles, Ciara offers a different kind of journey. This new piece by Scottish playwright David Harrower is a one-person, one-location play. The title character is a middle-aged woman who owns an art gallery. Her late father was a mobster, head of a criminal enterprise now run by her husband. At the gallery, Ciara is exhibiting an artist who ignites her passion, in more ways than one. And as she reminisces and rambles, she reveals a life in which art, crime, love, drugs, violence, and high and low society all come together, or maybe apart. Ciara was a sensation at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2013. Quantum is giving the play its U.S. premiere with Mary Rawson as Ciara. 7 p.m. Perfomances continue through February 14. At Javo Studios, 5137 Holmes St., Lawrenceville. (MV)

3) Saturday Night Fever – While it isn’t true, as many have said, that this 1977 movie killed disco, it certainly did nothing for it’s longevity. What had been an underground phenomenon created by and for the black and gay communities, somehow got turned into this turgid soap opera about a straight white guy from Brooklyn who wants to dance his way to the top. And having The Bee Gees supply “disco” music surely didn’t help matters either. It did, however, provide the breakout role for John Travolta; just think of that iconic poster of him in the white suit on the dance floor. Travolta followed Saturday Night Fever with 1978’s Grease and became the sex symbol of the late 70’s. It went horribly awry when Travolta (with Sylvester Stallone directing) made the 1983 sequel Staying Alive, considered by many to be the worst movie in the history of film. 10 p.m.  Through February 11. Row House Cinema. 4115 Butler St., Lawrenceville. (TH)

Photo credits: Some Brighter Distance, by Kristi Jan Hoover. Ciara, by Heather Mull.

Share on Social Media