TRIPLE PLAYS

It’s a Science Fiction Triple Feature at the Coterie Theatre (Crown Center, 2450 Grand) as the young-audience venue presents three one-acts. In Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt, two children love their virtual-reality playroom — a predatory African setting — a little too much. In Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon has an IQ of 68, but an experiment increases his IQ to 185, and Charlie’s fate is foretold by the experiment on lab mouse Algernon. And in Stephen Vincent Benét’s By the Waters of Babylon, the son of a priest sneaks away to the Place of the Gods to learn about the beings whose reign ended when fire fell from the sky. Each performance includes all three masterpieces and lasts about 70 minutes. Under the concept and direction of artistic director Jeff Church, the triple bill in this Coterie series offers substance for adults as well as for preteens and adolescents. It runs through October 17.
For tickets, call 816-474-6552 or see
coterietheatre.org. — Robert Folsom

Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.; Wednesdays-Fridays, noon; Fridays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: Sept. 21. Continues through Oct. 15, 2010