Jewel Box Series falls in 'Five Course Love'

Three actors play 15 characters in five different settings in the Scaffolding Theatre Company’s production of “Five Course Love,” the next presentation in the El Paso Community Foundation Jewel Box Series at the Philanthropy Theatre.

Performances of the irreverent Gregg Coffin musical comedy will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, January 13 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, January 14 in the Philanthropy Theatre on the second floor of the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre Annex (above the box office). Tickets are $16 at the Plaza Theatre box office, Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com, and 800-745-3000.

In “Five Course Love,” director Megan McQueen joins Algernon D’Ammassa and Brandon Brown to play 15 characters in search of true love in five different musical and physical settings — a BBQ joint, a mob hangout, a German restaurant, a Mexican cantina and a diner. “It’s kind of like five musicals for the price of one, because each has such a different, spot-on musical style,” McQueen said. “It’s sure to get the toes tapping and heart singing.”

Scaffolding Theatre Company, an affiliate of New Mexico State University theater department, performed two sold-out shows of its adaptation of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” in last season’s Jewel Box Series. The Jewel Box Series is produced in partnership with El Paso Live, and is supported by the City of El Paso’s Museums and Cultural Affairs Department.

See below for the rest of the 2017-2018 Jewel Box Series.

• “Amor” — The El Paso Society for Musicians of the Future offers another of its thematic programs, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Mezzo-soprano Cherry Duke, guitarist George Salas and violinist Sandra Rivera perform songs and music about love and romance.
2:30 p.m. Sunday, February 11

• “Hellman v. McCarthy” — Camilla Carr directs and acts in this new play by Brian Richard Mori. It’s about the legal battle that raged after writer Mary McCarthy accused fellow author Lillian Hellman of lying during an appearance on Dick Cavett’s PBS talk show.
2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 11

• “Soldadera” — Josefina Niggli’s 1938 one-act English-language drama, directed by Hector Serrano, explores how women’s roles in the Mexican Revolution helped changed Mexican society. Seven female soldiers capture a spy and must confront their own demons.
2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15

• “Nouveau Chamber” — Saxophonist Daniel Rivera and a seven-piece string ensemble will perform his original chamber works. The pieces are influenced by classical, Latin and film music, and explore travel and human history.
2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 20