Bertha in Paradise

Curtain Call Lounge
May 5–7, 2017

Tennessee Williams was often asked by admirers of A Streetcar Named Desire, “What happens next to Blanche?” His reply: she starts an affair with the asylum doctor, seduces him into granting her an early release, and then sets up a successful hat shop in the French Quarter.

Last year’s Hello From Bertha ended with the title character on her sickbed, near death. Bertha in Paradise answers the question, “What happens next to Bertha?” Our answer: instead of wilting away in her bed, Bertha raises herself from near death to sing. Maybe the magic of the other isn’t the Paradise of heaven, but the Paradise she’s singing about—the Paradise of earthly pleasure.

Bertha in Paradise is a saucy stew of bawdy songs that Anita Jackson (playing Bertha) greeted audiences with at The Rooming-House Plays for the 2016 Festival. Anita's back, crooning the blue-sy "I Want a Little Sugar in my Bowl", slipping into the cult classic "If It Don't Fit Don't Force It," and sharing the sophisticated passion of Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin." Directed by David Kaplan, featuring Anita Jackson with Charles Creath on the keyboards.

Festival and Flex pass only includes events from May 3-7, and not the encore presentations.

Tickets to Bertha in Paradise on Wednesday, May 3 include admittance to the Opening Night Party, held directly after the show.