Is that sew?

Sadie (Monique Gaffney) and husband Macon (Laurence Brown) apparently agree to disagree.
- Photo by Aaron Rumley

By my count, North Coast Repertory Theatre’s Gee’s Bend includes some 60 lines of dialogue framed as questions, an almost insignificant number for a two-hour play. That’s an indication right off the bat that playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder is speechifying her characters rather than developing them, and that quality pervades most of the show. The story traces the 20th-century life experiences of the fictional African-American Sadie Pettway as reflected in the quilts she and her sewing circle create. But the characters push the action forward with sentence after sentence rather than with idea after idea, and that’s tough to reconcile against the enlightened concepts the show outlines, like black property ownership and civil rights. Director Yvette Freeman directs with grace and deliberateness (watch the great Monique Gaffney in a terrific scene in which her Sadie drinks out of a white-only fountain), but the dialogue’s top-heavy quality weighs down the potential for similar production values. Gee’s Bend is a real-life Alabama town renowned for its quilt artistry, but amid their uniformly linear designs, this show’s 10 works are relatively unremarkable. Through Nov. 7 at North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987-D Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach. $30-$47. northcoastrep.org

OPENING

Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins: Horace Poore comes to terms with his sexuality during some pretty serious events of the 1970s. Opens in previews Oct. 28 at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights. $31-$33. diversionary.com

The Crucible: Mass hysteria takes over a small town when five girls claim to have been visited by the Devil. A coproduction of MOXIE Theatre and The Intrepid Shakespeare Company, it opens in previews Oct. 30 at the Rolando Theatre in the College Area. $20.

moxietheatre.com

The Rocky Horror Show: Brad and Janet look for help after blowing a tire, but they run into an alien madman with a perverse dream. Opens Oct. 29 at OnStage Playhouse in Chula Vista. $20. onstageplayhouse.org

True West: Two estranged brothers reverse roles in their lives, with neardeath the result. Produced by Lotus Theatre, it opens in previews Oct. 29 at Urban Grind coffeehouse in Hillcrest. $15, $7 for preview. lotustheatrestory.com

NOW PLAYING

A Grand Night for Singing: This Rodgers and Hammerstein revue gives a modern spin to classic musicals like Oklahoma!, The King and I and South Pacific. Through Oct. 30 at the Experimental Theatre on the SDSU campus.

$14-$16. theatre.sdsu.edu

Beauty and the Beast: Belle, whose father is imprisoned by the Beast, offers herself instead and finds the enchanted prince inside the Beast. Produced by Broadway/San Diego, it runs through Oct. 31 at the Civic Theatre Downtown. $26.50-$99.50. broadwaysd.com

Into the Woods: A group of fabled Brothers Grimm characters find that life isn’t necessarily all that happy in their “happily ever after” phase. Through Oct. 31 at New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. $20-$43. newvillagearts.org

Welcome to Arroyo’s: Alejandro and his sister Molly discover what might be a secret about their mother that could change the foundation of their lives and, possibly, the history of hip-hop. Through Oct. 31 at The Old Globe Theatre’s Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre in Balboa Park. $29-$67. oldglobe.org

Yellow Face: An Asian-American playwright gets involved in a flap over the casting of Miss Saigon and writes a play about the experience. Produced by the Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company, it runs through Oct. 31 at The Tenth Avenue Theatre, Downtown. $15-$27. moolelo.net

Brighton Beach Memoirs: Fifteen-year-old Eugene can’t think about much else except playing for the Yankees—and girls. Through Nov. 7 in repertory with Broadway Bound, its sequel, at the Old Globe Theatre mainstage in Balboa Park. $29-$85. oldglobe.org

* The Norman Conquests: This trilogy of full-length comedies (Table Manners, Round and Round the Garden, Living Together), performed in rotating repertory, focuses on Norman and his oddball in-laws. Produced by Cygnet Theatre Company, the program runs through Nov. 7 at The Old Town Theatre in Old Town. $24-$29. cygnettheatre.org

The Glory Man: Clarence Jordan, author of The Cotton Patch Gospels, founds Habitat for Humanity in the Deep South of the 1950s. Produced by Lamb’s Players Theatre, it runs through Nov. 14 at The Ione and Paul Harter Stage, 1142 Orange Ave. in Coronado. $28-$58. lambsplayers.org

* Jekyll and Hyde: The genteel Henry Jekyll whips up a potion that turns him into the cantankerous Edward Hyde, and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues. Produced by Ion Theatre Company, it runs through Nov. 20 at BLK BOX @ 6th & Penn in Hillcrest. $21-$25. iontheatre.com

The Spitfire Grill: A feisty parolee follows her dreams to a small town in Wisconsin and finds a place for herself working at Hannah’s grill, which she raffles off. Through Nov. 20 at The Poway Performing Arts Company in Poway. $15- $17. powpac.org

*miXtape: Life was just beginning for Generation X in this musical look at the 1980s. Produced by Lamb’s Players Theatre, it runs through Nov. 21 at The Horton Grand Theatre, Downtown. $28- $58. lambsplayers.org

Bram Stoker’s Dracula: The Big Guy finds himself in a frantic search for the human blood that means the difference between life and death. Through Nov. 28 at The Coronado Playhouse, 1835 Strand Way in Coronado. $18-$25. coronadoplayhouse.com

Shotgun Wedding Anniversary: What happens after 25 years in a less-than-blissful marriage? For Basil and Petals, it can mean murder. Through Dec. 24 at Mystery Cafe, in the Imperial House restaurant in Bankers Hill. $59.50, including dinner. mysterycafe.net

Is that sew?

Gee’s Bend and the rest of this week's theater listings