‘Born With Teeth’ looks at Shakespeare, Marlowe together

Theater is all about telling a good story. Tall tales. Ribald romps. Musical meanderings.

So it is only logical that theater lore itself would be the source of a few good stories, especially a somewhat scandalous tale of the stage’s most shining star.

For centuries, the debate has raged (simmered, bubbled, ebbed) that 16th-century works of William Shakespeare were in fact penned by Christopher Marlowe. And while that fable is generally thought to be “much ado about nothing,” what if they worked together?

A collaboration between the two is the comedic circumstance behind “Born With Teeth,” Liz Duffy Adams’ story about Marlowe and Shakespeare working in the back room of a pub to write a history play cycle.

The show, a Louisiana premiere, takes to the stage of Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré at 7:30 p.m. Friday and runs through May 12, with matinees and student performances planned.

Directed by Michael Aaron Santos, the show features veteran talents Ian Hoch as Marlowe and Dylan Hunter as Shakespeare. Drew Stroud will appear as Marlowe for certain performances. 

The show “is a battle of wits from two of the greatest minds of the Elizabethan era — William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe,” said Don-Scott Cooper, Le Petite’s executive producing director, adding the two actors “bring tremendous chemistry and humor to their portrayals of these titans of English theater.”

The show runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through May 12. A 2 p.m. matinee is scheduled May 11 and a 10 a.m. Thursday student matinee is May 2. Tickets start at $15 for students, $35 for adults at the theater at 616 St. Peter St. lepetittheatre.com.

Opening this week April 25-May 1

“THE CEMETERY CLUB”: Opening 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; The Azienda Theater, 2000 Paris Road, in Chalmette. The Company: A St. Bernard Community Theatre joins in the the comedy-drama of three Jewish widows who gather for a trip to their late husbands’ graves each month, meeting for tea before they go. Tickets start at $12. thecompanystb.com.

In production

“DESIGNING WOMEN”: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Cutting Edge Theater, 767 Robert Blvd., Slidell. Julia Sugarbaker and company are back, including Suzanne, Charlene, Mary Jo and some new faces added to the mix set in 2020 and focusing on current events and the possibility of the women going their separate ways. Tickets start at $35. cuttingedgetheater.com. 

“THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST: A TRIVIAL COMEDY FOR SERIOUS PEOPLE”: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays through May 5; 30 by Ninety Theatre, 880 Lafayette St., Mandeville. Oscar Wilde’s look at Victorian attitudes about romance and marriage, a farcical satire centering on Jack Worthing and his friend Algernon Moncrieff, both of whom assume different identities from their country abodes to their lives in the city. Tickets start at $17. 30byninety.com.

“LEGALLY BLONDE”: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Slidell Little Theatre, 2024 Nellie Drive. Lyrical legal legacy of sorority sister Elle Woods as she takes on Harvard Law to win back her pedigreed boyfriend and discovers her strengths while surprising all the doubters and winning her case in more ways than one. Tickets start at $25. slidelllittletheatre.org.

“THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; Loyola University’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, Marquette Theater, Marquette Hall, 6363 St. Charles Ave. The angst, anguish and exhilaration of middle school spelling competitions are the unlikely realm for a Tony-winning musical, but that’s exactly where to find the musical that looks at six “mid-pubescents” who hope to walk away with the title and a lifetime of memories. The audience also gets a chance to get involved as some will be enlisted to participate in the bee. Tickets start at $8. cmm.loyno.edu.