Two edgy, adults-only productions will have their regional premieres this week in the Rose Wagner Center.
"SEX HABITS OF AMERICAN WOMEN," a 2003 comedy that producer Nancy Roth, of Pygmalion Productions Theatre Company, promises is much tamer than the title implies, will play Friday through May 13 in the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. Broadway (300 South).
Fran Pruyn is directing a cast that includes Michael Hardy as Dr. Fritz Tittels (a character loosely based on Fritz Wittels, a real-life disciple of Sigmund Freud), who is writing a book "to elucidate the sexual elements of a woman's psyche."
Also in the cast are Reb Fleming as Agnes, Dr. Wittels' wife; Brandie Balken as Daisy, their 35-year-old unmarried daughter; Alexis Baigue as Edgar, one of the doctor's former students; and Ariana Broumas as Ruby, Daisy's friend.
Three other performers, Teresa Sanderson, Corinne Penka and Lane Richins, will be seen only in brief video and multimedia segments, which the playwright has injected to bring contemporary comments into the play.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with additional Thursday performances on May 4 and 11, and one Saturday matinee on May 13.
"FAR AWAY," staged by Tooth & Nail Theatre Company Wednesday through May 7 in the Rose Wagner Center's Studio Theatre, is an audience-participation drama described as "an apocalyptic fairy tale."
Directed and designed by Rodney Cuellar, the production is part theater and part art-installation.
Written by Caryl Churchill, "Far Away" has been described by British critics as an Orwellian "play of Armageddon created by its victims" and "a nightmarish vision of a world . . . seething with hatred and fear."
In a play that is only 45 minutes long, the plot centers around a young girl who stumbles across a horrific secret while visiting her aunt in a remote country farmhouse. The surrealistic finale includes a "hat parade" involving 20 participants from the audience. (Those interested in taking part should log onto www.toothandnailtheatre.com and click on the red circle to submit names as potential members of the parade.)
Due to the complicated visual aspects of the production, seating is limited to only 30 at each performance. "One cannot view this as one would a typical play," cautions Artistic Director Roger Benington. "You know as soon as you enter the theater that this play is not going to behave itself."
The cast includes Aimy Gaipa, Robert Scott Smith, Janice Amaya and Madeleine Ballard.
Performances are Wednesdays-Sundays at 8 p.m., with one additional performance on Tuesday, May 2. All tickets are $20. There are discounted $10 tickets for students on specific nights. Also, anyone ordering tickets for performances prior to April 24 can save $5; use the "HATS" code when booking (www.arttix.org or 355-2787).
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com