Back in 1967, a shiv of a play by Barbara Garson knifed its satirical way into the hearts of U.S. theatergoers.
MacBird!, Garson's take on Lyndon Johnson, the eponymous title character, with Lady Bird Johnson modeling as Lady MacBird, was a sign of those dicey times.
Times change.
For more than a decade or so, Rick Miller has weighed in with MacHomer, a one-man cover of Macbeth, detoured through the addled character of Homer Simpson and dozens of other voices from the animated TV series.
In October, Miller will bring his wildly popular spoof to West Philadelphia as part of the Annenberg Center's 2009-2010 season, Penn Presents. The season, the 38th at the Annenberg, 3860 Walnut St., on the University of Pennsylvania campus, once again highlights the Zellerbach Theatre and its sister venue, the Harold Prince Theatre, as showcases of the city's presenting calendar.
Miller's goofy rendering is not the only Shakespeare scheduled to hit the Annenberg's boards. Nor is theater the only discipline slated for the venues. Dance and music of all kinds, with an emphasis on jazz, will be well-represented.
And performers from around the world will be augmented by the Annenberg's By Local series, which features area artists, among them dancer and choreographer Silvana Cardell, whose performance, The Vertex, will be paired at the Prince with Curt Haworth's The Compromise in October.
The Annenberg also has announced that it is holding the line on ticket prices for the forthcoming season - a bow to the recession.
Dance will be featured prominently throughout the Annenberg season. The 28th season of the Dance Celebration series will feature seven companies in 31 performances. Dance Celebration is presented by Dance Affiliates and Penn Presents under the artistic direction of Randy Swartz.
In October, Thank You Gregory, A Tribute to the Legends of Tap, opens the season, starring Maurice Hines, with Jason Samuels Smith. Maven of postmodern hip-hop, Doug Elkins & Friends brings Frulein Maria, a takeoff on Rodgers & Hammerstein's spoof-inviting The Sound of Music, arrives in November.
MOMIX returns with Moses Pendleton's Botanica in October. Elizabeth Streb, known as the Evel Knievel of Dance, debuts Brave in February, featuring dancers flying and falling off moving sets. Rasta Thomas' Bad Boys of Dance makes its Philadelphia debut in April.
