Music/Theater

ADVENTURE ANYONE?: Strong-willed Hypatia Tarleton (Veronica Siverd), surrounded by the accoutrements of life with her wealthy parents, is looking for romantic adventures in Princeton Summer Theater’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s “Misalliance,” at Hamilton Murray Theater through August 1.

Love and Marriage, Plane Crashes, and Problematic Parenting; PST Stages Shaw’s “Misalliance,” a Witty, Wordy, Wild Frolic

Donald Gilpin

In the closing moments of Princeton Summer Theater’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s Misalliance, business magnate and bibliophile John Tarleton approaches his family and their visitors as if to speak, then decides, “Well, I suppose there’s nothing more to be said.” His spirited 23-year-old daughter Hypatia “fervently” follows up with the curtain line: “Thank goodness!”

Misalliance (1910) contains its own most fundamental criticism. Shaw, able to lampoon himself and his own play along with his numerous other political, social, and personal targets, knew he was challenging the patience of his audience with Misalliance, which he subtitled, not “A Play,” but “A Debate in One Sitting.” At about three hours, with much more talk than action despite no fewer than eight marriage proposals, a gun-wielding, would-be assassin and a plane crash, Misalliance probably contains more words than the total of the last ten movies you’ve seen.

Opera New Jersey’s Production of “Don Pasquale” Brings Humorous Absurdity to the Stage

Nancy Plum

Composer Gaetano Donizetti was the Jerry Bruckheimer of the early 19th century, but instead of producing crime dramas for television, Donizetti composed operas — more than 70 in all. Like his fellow composer Guiseppe Verdi, Donizetti created to suit the tastes of the European public, who came to the opera strictly for light entertainment.