Sneak a peek at some upcoming local shows

Some recently released DVDs and scripts allow theater lovers a peek at some upcoming local shows.

Remember "Reefer Madness" -- the 1936 anti-marijuana film that warned all of us that doing drugs could make you, among other things, play the piano too fast? Atlas Theatre is now in rehearsal with the musical version (for a September production). Showtime has come out with a two-CD set that presents the score of both the 2005 soundtrack and a 2007 Los Angeles original-cast recording, complete with all the depraved lyrics. If you haven't seen the original 65-minute film, 20th Century Fox DVD still has the relic on the market.

"Naked Boys Singing" is scheduled to open June 18 at the Onyx, and to get you in the proper mood, TLA Releasing has a taping of the recent off-Broadway show. No printed lyrics are included, but I suspect the lyrics are of secondary importance.

Neil La Bute's drama "Reasons to Be Pretty" -- a grim look at modern-day body image -- is up for a Tony Award on Sunday for Best Play, and it's already a part of the Nevada Conservatory's 2009-10 season. Faber and Faber Inc. has just released the script.

And since summer in the Vegas area always means Cedar City's Utah Shakespearean Festival, there's an incredible 71/2-hour master class from England's Royal Shakespeare Company titled simply "Playing Shakespeare." Interviews with, among others, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Oscar winners Judi Dench, Ben Kingsley and the late Peggy Ashcroft, offer sometimes startling opposing ways of approaching the verse and the emotion of the world's most important playwright. All the typical acting questions are explored: How important is the rhythm of the language? How much "modernism" should a performer bring to the text? Can Method acting be applied to Elizabethan drama? More interestingly is watching these actors rehearse and struggle with the text, as director (and Cambridge scholar) John Barton guides them. Sample highlight: Two actors discuss the possibility that "The Merchant of Venice" may be anti-Semitic. One argues that the script comes off that way today because of memories of the Holocaust, not because of what Shakespeare actually wrote. One claims Shylock -- the Jewish moneylender who is forced to become a Christian -- is meant to represent nothing more than an outsider. The other actor strongly disagrees. Then the pair each present four of the same scenes built on their own wildly different interpretations. It's a reminder of how an individual script contains a million possibilities. The Athena release should be mandatory viewing for actors, but its insights are likely to entertain buffs of the Bard -- especially those who enjoy a good argument.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.