Reviews for Roxie Theatre Company Performances
Review: Winter Wonderettes by Roxie Theatre Company
by Kurt Gardner
Published on December 05, 2017
Roger Bean’s book is simple but fun, serving as the tree on which to hang the holiday standards while the Wonderettes sing and talk sass.
Anyone familiar with the original The Marvelous Wonderettes, the long-running musical revue that introduced theatergoers to the bubbly quartet, should make sure to put Winter Wonderettes, now playing at the Roxie Theatre, on their must-see list. And if you aren’t familiar with the Wonderettes, you should do it anyhow. It will give you a delightful dose of Christmas cheer. It’s 1968. Ten years have passed since the Wonderettes performed at their high school …
Review: Disney's ALADDIN, bilingual edition by Roxie Theatre Company
by Kurt Gardner
Published on May 12, 2017
The bilingual approach gives the production a warm feeling of inclusiveness. Directed and choreographed by Jonathan Pennington, it’s also an ideal entertainment for kids, especially with so many youngsters in the cast.
Aladdin speaks only English and Princess Jasmine only Spanish in Aladdin: the Spectacular Dual Language Musical, now playing at San Antonio’s Roxie Theatre. The language barrier between them is the work of the villainous vizier Jafar, who will do anything to make Jasmine his wife. When street urchin Aladdin meets the beautiful princess, their mutual attraction is immediate, but he is arrested and thrown into prison by Jafar’s henchmen. He finds a lamp, rubs …
Review: The Rat Pack Lounge by Roxie Theatre Company
by Kurt Gardner
Published on January 19, 2017
It’s silly stuff, but director Jonathan Pennington has fun with the off-the-wall material, and his easygoing cast goes along with the gag. Virtually the entire second act is a concert.
James Hindman and Ray Roderick’s The Rat Pack Lounge is predominantly a concert tribute to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. That’s a good thing, because what plot there is seems to be a mashup of It’s a Wonderful Life and Forever Plaid that’s both bizarre and bizarrely complicated. Here’s the plot, such as it is. The Rat Packers, all happily dwelling in Heaven, are ordered by God to return to earth to stop the suicide of Vic …
Review: The Paisley Sisters' Christmas Special by Roxie Theatre Company
by Kurt Gardner
Published on December 17, 2016
The plot of Christmas Special is rudimentary, the backstage business is rather weak, but the songs are bouncy yet appropriately vanilla with a subversive undercurrent that keeps the satire on track.
The Paisley Sisters’ Christmas Special, written by Steve Silverman, Jim Ansart, Joel Benjamin and Bret Silverman, is a gently humorous sendup of the holiday specials of the past, when color television broadcasts were major events and a single sponsor ran the whole program. Now playing at the Roxie Theatre, the show provides some colorful, holiday-themed fun. The show is set in Manhattan during Christmas 1964. Color broadcasts are just coming into vogue, and networks are …
Review: Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage by Roxie Theatre Company
by Kurt Gardner
Published on November 09, 2016
Miss Abigail quotes from a vast collection of 1940's books to offer hilariously antiquated advice. Evidently weenie roasts were an important part of the dating scene back then.
Originally produced off-Broadway in 2010 with no less a cult figure than The Brady Bunch’s Eve Plumb as its star, Ken Davenport and Sarah Saltzberg’s Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage arrives at San Antonio’s Roxie Theatre with all the comic absurdity intact. It’s actually the perfect show for the space, relying as it does on a playful mood and lots of audience participation. Miss Abigail (Kelli Grant) quotes from a vast collection of books (mostly …