Reviews for Zach Theatre Performances
Review: A Christmas Carol: A Rockin' Family Musical by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on December 05, 2019
Dave Steakley's happy jukebox interpretation of A Christmas Carol is set in a world of diversity and human warmth that's too Austin to be true, and it's all the more appealing for that. Constant celebration overshadows Ebenezer's redemption.
Zach Theatre's A Christmas Carol is back for the sixth year, and Dave Steakley's canny jukebox presentation is a charming delirium. Zach's producing artistic director again takes the simple structure of the much loved tale of redemption and decorates it with celebratory rock and roll the way folks all across the nation are dangling ornaments and tinsel on forests of Christmas trees. Sometimes the connections to Dickens' simple, sturdy plot are not entirely evident, but …
Review #2 of 2: Dracula: Mina's Quest (adapted by Dietz) by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 07, 2019
Steven Dietz's reworked Dracula at the Zach Theatre is a loud, over-the-top version played out on a set that looks more appropriate for Cartoon Network or THE ADDAMS FAMILY. And to tell the truth, we found it really boring.
We looked at one another at the intermission and had to decide if we were just going to walk out on this one. Steven Dietz's reworked Dracula at the Zach Theatre is a loud, over-the-top version played out on a set that looks more appropriate for Cartoon Network or The Addams Family. And to tell the truth, we found it really boring. Dietz, brought to UT some years ago from Seattle to teach playwriting, is …
Review: Jungalbook by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 04, 2019
Big John Christopher as Baloo the Bear is the sweet, avuncular conscience repeatedly admonishng the young -- wolf cubs -- and the adult anthropomorphic animals of the law of the jungle. JUNGALBOOK is a lot of fun, and not just for kids.
Jungalbook is a lot of fun, and not just for kids. It's fast and colorful, an imagining of the same narrow selection from Kipling's 1894 story collection used for the Disney animated film in 1967. Playwright Edward Mast's reworking provides the same principal characters but without the sugar coating; Mowgli the protagonist becomes "humancub" in the Zach retelling, a nod to today's sensibilities about gender and roles, but also an opportunity to draw on all …
Review #1 of 2: Dracula (adapted by Dietz) by Zach Theatre
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on October 02, 2019
There is a line in that play that suggests that what man recognizes as evil takes the deepest root in those that are most pure. Yet Sarah Kimberley Becker as Mina the heroine shows that there may be some so pure that evil may never truly take root in them at all.
Just in time for the spooky days of autumn and the celebrated night of All Hallows’ Eve, ZACH Theatre presents the classic story of the original vampire, Count Dracula. The plot is taken from the original Bram Stoker novel with updates by prolific American playwright Steven Dietz. Dietz has composed more than 30 original pieces and 11 adaptions. His Dracula was originally produced in 1996 but has been given a twist and restaged in …
Review #2 of 2: ANN, by Zach Theatre
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on August 06, 2019
Libby Villari was firing away on all cylinders, creating the feeling of a southern revival in the Topfer Theatre. The audience laughed, pumped up and not afraid to call out with applause and shouts of approval.
There was never any doubt Libby Villari could hold the audience entranced with her snappy accent, comically vitriolic outbursts, clever banter, and engaging storytelling, but this production of Holland Taylor’s Ann is well paired with a great set and spot on lighting design. Lghting designer Sarah EC Maines emphasized the three-act arc of the story -- pre-Governor, Governor, and post-Governor-- with a subtle but deft shi the lightfts between lighting schemes. They evojke the moody …
Review #1 of 2: ANN by Zach Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on August 06, 2019
This gem is an extended encomium to Governor Ann Richards of Texas. Some of the production choices in this 100X magnification level of scrutiny of Gov. Richards are almost mysterious.
Ann Richards would have been proud to be called First Hometown Girl of Texas. That much is clear in Act I of Ann, the new play by Holland Taylor currently up on Zach Theatre’s Topfer stage. Also clear in Act I, Richards was explicitly proud to claim the title of Second Female Governor of Texas (after Ma Ferguson). Benjamin Endsley Klein directs this gem as an extended encomium to Governor Ann Richards of Texas. …