Reviews for Austin Playhouse Performances
Review: Age of Arousal by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on April 13, 2009
'Age of Arousal' is a strange, febrile comedy. It's like Dickens on drugs, if Dickens were to write about a closed circle of odd women.
Age of Arousal is a strange, febrile comedy. It's like Dickens on drugs, if Dickens were to write about a closed circle of odd women.These women are "odd" both in the numerical meaning of "not in a pair" and in the metaphorical meaning of "singular" or "remarkable." They are not "unique," because playwright Linda Griffiths intends them to represent for us the plight of women in late 19th century England, where by demographic quirk women …
Review: A Flea in Her Ear by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on April 02, 2009
J. Ben Wolfe does a wonderful slow burn, complete with barely visible facial tic. His single-minded comic stalking of Lucienne and a non-existent lover throw delicious danger and thrill into otherwise frivolous caperings.
In the madcap 19th century world of French playwright Georges Feydeau, two qualities in farce are certain to produce merriment: man's unfulfilled desire and woman's unsatisfied curiosity.No one ever says that, of course. This is not Oscar Wilde, his contemporary from across the channel.The ample, delighted laughter at Austin Playhouse's production of A Flea in Her Ear is provoked by antics, deceptions and astonishing coincidences that bring respectable bourgeois folk sneaking into the shady world …
Review: Heroes by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on February 22, 2009
The fact that Sibleyras can now mock those valiant geezers and the first half of France's twentieth century is a sign that, at last, his countrymen are beginning once again to feel at ease in their skins.
A quiet word in your ear: do not expect too much of this gentle little three-character play. Don't over analyze it, and don't expect to the whip-smart verbal play typical of Tom Stoppard's own work. Author Gérard SIbleyras isn't loading symbolism onto his 2005 creation.Three ageing French military officers in an old soldiers' home, in 1959. They meet daily, for hours, on a secluded terrace with a view of fields and, in the distance, a …
Review: Dancing at Lughnasa by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on January 29, 2009
This is the melancholy, nostalgic side of the Irish -- not the wake, but the dirge.
Ah, sweet Jesu, the Irish! A gifted lot, you know, close to the earth; fine women and, o' course, those charmin' but useless men of theirs. Think back with me, now, to the early days, and by that I mean, say, 1936, when the Mundy sisters had just gotten their radio, which back then they called a "Marconi. . . "An ensemble piece for five women actors, Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasagives us an Ireland …
Review: It's A Wonderful Life, a Live Radio Play by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on December 08, 2008
You’ll grin when J. Ben Wolfe morphs from quavering Angel Second Class Clarence Oddbody to the exuberant immigrant Mr. Martini to George’s youngest son. Wolfe has twelve assigned roles plus participation in crowd scenes
Here’s a warm, vivid and imaginative presentation that’s a time machine back to simpler pleasures.As part of the audience for a 1946 radio presentation of It’s A Wonderful Life, you enjoy the magic of radio drama. Five actors do double duty – as multivoiced interpreters for that imaginary radio audience out there, and as an ensemble of 5 radio pros working a script in front of you. Yes, they're holding scripts -- but under Lara …
Review: Sylvia by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on November 29, 2008
After setting up that impasse, Gurney funks it. He ends the action and brings two of his characters onstage to speak directly to the audience. Their pair of whimsical, regretful little speeches dissolve the premises of the dilemma and essentially remove the enchantment that allowed Sylvia to talk.
On first impression, A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia, now playing at the Austin Playhouse, comes across as brainless, harmless fun, mostly thanks to the gleeful, energetic actress Andrea Osborne, portraying Sylvia, the stray dog found in a New York City park. Sylvia’s playful, adoring behavior completely captivates Greg (David Stahl), the middle-aged empty-nester who has relocated from the suburbs to the city, where he and his brainy wife Kate have found new jobs and a new life. …