Reviews for Austin Playhouse Performances
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 that …
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 Toner's direction they …
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. Greg takes the …
Review: Dug Up by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 13, 2008
A negligée-clad long-stay tourist Marci (Liz Fisher), may have murdered her husband. Mix in a storm that may or may not be a hurricane, various clean-picked skeletons of small animals, and a larger bone that looks disturbingly like a human femur.
This show will fill the bill if you are looking for spooky entertainment for this Halloween season.Director Laura Toner and Austin playwright Cyndi Williams tell us, “Dug Up was inspired by the stories of post-Katrina New Orleans, her personal experience driving through the Louisiana bayou, the idea of Tennessee Williams writing a ghost story, and stories from her own childhood. Dug Up exists though in its own world, slightly out of time and reality. The stories and lies that …
Review: Amadeus by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on September 20, 2008
Rick Roemer owns the stage in the Austin Playhouse presentation of 'Amadeus.' He shows extraordinary attention, precision and energy throughout his nearly three hours on stage.
Rick Roemer owns the stage in the Austin Playhouse presentation of Amadeus. In his portrayal of composer Antonio Salieri, both as a 73-year-old invalid and as a 40-ish striving court composer, he is onstage during at least 80 percent of the action.Roemer shows extraordinary attention, precision and energy throughout his nearly three hours on stage. He communicates a depth of feeling that is at times hair-raising. He is deeply convincing when the playwright puts into …
Review: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Austin Playhouse
by Michael Meigs
Published on June 07, 2008
The stage is set, so to speak, for intrigue, disguises, a failed attempt to use a sleeping potion, mistaken identities, horny old guys delighted by the prospects of young flesh, and wild chases through most of Act II.
At first glance, Austin Playhouse’s 150-seat theatre at Allen Field hardly seems large enough to contain the exuberance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (May 23-June 29). Mysteriously, as we arrived in the foyer at 7:25 for an 8:00 Thursday curtain, the closed doors reverberated with the opening number, “A Comedy Tonight” - - a last-minute polishing? A run-through of a revision of the dance number? The familiar musical with a cast of 18 …