UNDATEABLE PLAYING HOUSE JENNIFER FALLS COMEDIES

OMAHA COMMUNITY
PLAYHOUSE
Three guest
directors
have NYC
credentials
BY BOB FISCHBACH
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The Omaha Community
Playhouse has hired three guest
directors with extensive New
York City credits to helm four of
its 10 shows during the 2014-15
season. Two Omahans will direct
or co-direct three more shows.
The Playhouse typically hires
guest directors for two or three
of its nine regular-season shows
and to help with its annual productions of “A Christmas Carol.”
Next year will be different because a replacement for the Playhouse’s retiring associate artistic
director, Susan Baer Collins, has
not yet been hired.
Hilary Adams, who has New
York City credits of her own plus
a Drama Desk Award nomination, is the Playhouse’s new artistic director, effective in July. She
replaces Carl Beck, who is also
retiring. Adams said she had specific criteria in mind as she chose
the New York City directors.
“I wanted them to have a love
of and experience directing
volunteer actors,” Adams said.
“They needed a sense of humor
and a positive personality that
would enrich the experience of
the people they work with.”
She said she also sought directors willing to contribute something more than directing, such
as a professional development
workshop, while in Omaha.
Kimberly Faith Hickman, a
director and choreographer who
has worked on and off Broadway, will direct the Playhouse’s
season-opening drama, “Enron,”
which runs Aug. 15 through Sept.
14. Auditions are this weekend.
She will also direct and choreograph the Andrew Lloyd Webber
musical “Jesus Christ Superstar,”
slated March 6 through April 4.
Hickman was assistant
director of Tony-winning plays
“Clybourne Park,” directed
by Pam McKinnon, and “The
Assembled Parties,” directed by
Lynne Meadow. She worked on
BY SARA SMITH • MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
A
merica has exported Jack Bauer to London for “24: Live Another Day,” but we’re importing,
too. A lot of the “new” offerings on TV this summer have already found success outside the
U.S. • So the Swedes have already seen “Welcome to Sweden,” “Taxi Brooklyn” hails from
France, and British audiences loved Ian McKellen in “Vicious” months before PBS bought it
from ITV. NBC and the CW will air Canadian sitcoms “Working the Engels” and “Seed” on a
delayed schedule. • So after being softened up with “Downton Abbey,” we’re now regularly forced to
wait on other countries to relinquish their shows. This is a big improvement over U.S.-based networks
remaking, say, “Coupling” or “Broadchurch,” when the original would have sufficed. (It’s an old problem:
Betty White was once cast in an ill-fated adaptation of “Fawlty Towers.”) • But we’ll see the new season of “24” right away, even if the real-time format has been relaxed a bit to let Kiefer Sutherland take a
breather. He’ll be competing against more new programming than summer usually offers while he does
the CIA’s dirty work overseas. • Viewers can check out more than 30 new scripted shows this spring
and summer. All times are Central time zone.
LIVING
THURSDAY,
URSD
SD , MAY 1, 2014
SECTION E
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LIKE MOM ALWAYS SAYS...
Moms are known for their sayings.
With Mother’s Day coming up,
we want to hear the saying you
remember from your mom. Some
break out classics like, “If you
keep making that face, it’ll freeze
that way.” Some come up with
original adages. We want to hear
both. Contact reporter Mike
O’Connor, michael.oconnor@owh.
com, 402-444-1122 or 1314
Douglas St., Suite 700, Omaha,
NE. 68102.
COMEDIES
OUT THERE
A long-held rumor about the video
game industry crash of 1983 was
that Atari’s “E.T.” video game was
such a disaster that the company
buried millions of unsold copies of
the game in a New Mexico landfill.
No one could confirm the rumor
until last week when copies of the
game (and other Atari games and
equipment) were unearthed by a
team filming a documentary about
the disastrous game. Read all
about it: bit.ly/1kjrady
Have you heard about Stoffel?
He’s a honey badger profiled in
a BBC program, and he can’t be
contained. The little mammal is
mauled by a lion, and zookeepers
attempt to pen him up to get him
better. Stoffel was smart enough
to open the gates, dig out and
climb over the walls of his new
pen. A video documenting Stoffel’s
daring escapes from “Honey
Badger Alcatraz” already has
about 3.5 million views. Watch It:
bit.ly/1u0jzr5
We already like the theme to
“Game of Thrones” so much
that we sing along every time the
show starts even though it has no
words. One funny YouTuber has
added his own words to it, and
those words are “Peter Dinklage,”
the actor who portrays favorite
character Tyrion. We can’t stop
laughing. Watch It: bit.ly/1rKAn3e
UNDATEABLE
PLAYING HOUSE
JENNIFER FALLS
NBC, MAY 29 AT 8 P.M.
An experiment in letting stand-up
comics with real-life friendships
ad-lib their way through dating
struggles, this comedy comes
from Adam Sztykiel, “Due Date”
writer, and “Scrubs” creator Bill
Lawrence. With Brent Morin,
Chris D’Elia, Ron Funches, Rick
Glassman and Bianca Kajlich.
USA, APRIL 29 AT 9 P.M.
Comedians Jessica St. Clair
and Lennon Parham are single
gals raising a baby in this tale
of parenting high jinks, which is
based on their real-life friendship.
With Keegan-Michael Key, Zach
Woods and Jane Kaczmarek.
TV LAND, JUNE 4 AT 9:30 P.M.
When a career-focused single
mom (Jaime Pressly) loses
her job, she and her teenage
daughter have to move back
in with her mom. With Jessica
Walter, Jeffrey Tambor and Ethan
Suplee.
ALMOST ROYAL
YOUNG AND HUNGRY
MYSTERY GIRLS
BBC AMERICA, JUNE 21 AT 9 P.M.
The network’s first shot at
scripted comedy follows deluded,
stuffy young Brits on their first
trip to America.
ABC FAMILY, JUNE 25 AT 7 P.M.
Emily Osment is a personal chef
for a techie millionaire in this series
based on the experiences of a
San Francisco food blogger. With
Jonathan Sadowski and Rex Lee.
ABC FAMILY, JUNE 25 AT 7:30 P.M.
Former “Beverly Hills, 90210”
stars Jennie Garth and Tori
Spelling reunite for a show about
former TV stars forced into
reuniting. Ahem.
MORE ON PAGE 2E