Paul Rudnick’s madcap, outrageous comedy, Valhalla, intertwines two stories: the life of Ludwig of Bavaria, the 1880s Mad King responsible for building a series of storybook castles inspired by Wagnerian opera, and the fictional adventures of James Avery, a wild Texas teenager of the 1940s. These two iconoclasts are tracked from childhood through their deaths, and although they embody separate eras, they are ultimately revealed as time-traveling soul mates.
The play explores questions of beauty and madness as both Ludwig and James pursue lives of operatic passion, bringing them in contact with such diverse figures as a high-school quarterback, the prettiest girl in Dainsville, Texas, most of the characters of Lohengrin, and Princess Sophie, who declares herself “the loneliest humpback in Europe.” This comic epic confronts the price to be paid for wanting – and getting – everything you dream of.
Added Performances: Sundays, March 11 & 25 at 3:00pm