Carry That Weight

There are people who will judge you based on your taste in music, but none are worse than Beatles' fans. The Zeppelin folks can be a little haughty, and the Stones' fans usually black out before too long, but the Beatles people are stunningly persistent in their proselytizing. And it is Beatles fanatic Prudence who is currently hounding Sam, a twenty-something Chicagoan who has recently discovered his girlfriend's infidelity. Prudence is Sam's downstairs neighbor, and she's one of those encyclopedic Fab Four fans — and she's blind. She's also nosy and pushy when it comes to the facts of Sam's life, pursuing him with the same doggedness she utilized to uncover the minutiae of Beatles' lore. While Sam struggles with the potential end of his relationship, he listens to records with Prudence and talks it over with his crudely funny friend Danny. Candlestick Park, written by Elizabeth Birkenmeier, winner of the 2008 A.E. Hotchner playwriting competition, is about the magic of music, love and life. The Washington University Performing Arts Department presents Candlestick Park at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (March 26 through 29) at the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theater in Washington University's Mallinckrodt Center (6445 Forsyth Boulevard; 314-935-6543). Tickets are $10 to $15.
March 26-29, 2009