You still have several weeks to see Cock (aka "The Cockfight Play" for journalism wimps) at Know Theatre. (It's onstage through May 11.) It's an oh-so-contemporary piece of theater about a gay man — or rather a man — who thought himself to be gay until he breaks up with his boyfriend and takes up with a woman. (CityBeat review here.) The play involves the tense dance of indecision he becomes part of as his lovers fight over him. It's about 90-minutes of fiercely acted theatrics, staged in a setting that looks like the arena where cockfighting happens. Definitely for mature audiences who appreciate shows that don't pull punches. Tickets: 513-3—-5669.
I caught the opening of Double Indemnity at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park on Thursday night. It's a theatrical take on the noir film about passion and murder from the 1940s, and it's a dandy piece of theater, recreating all the hardboiled dialogue, angular shadows and steamy sexuality you'd expect. A sultry blonde recruits a willing insurance salesman to murder her husband and collect the payout on an accident policy. Of course, things don't work out quite as expected. Staged by our best local director, Michael Evan Haney, with a strong cast and especially effective scenic design by CCM veteran Paul Shortt, using two turntables to "wipe" from one scene to the next. Through May 18. Tickets: 513-421-3888.
This weekend wraps up Northern Kentucky University's biennial YES Festival, three brand-new plays presented in rotating rep. There's a murder mystery, Heart Attack with a Knife by Oded Gross; a contemporary drama Spake by David L. Williams; and a comic fable Furbelow by J. Stephen Brantley. Performances through Sunday afternoon. Call or look online for specific days and times. Tickets: 859-572-5464
