Reviews for Zach Theatre Performances
Review: The Santaland Diaries by Zach Theatre
by Justin M. West
Published on December 20, 2018
J. Robert Mooreas Crumpet the Elf will roast a good portion of those in attendance before the night is over. It’s all in good fun, and Moore should get a hell of a lot of credit for being able to roll with heckling, keep it funny, and get the show going again without missing a beat.
As a young boy, Christmas to me meant anticipation. Excitement. The joy of wadded up wrapping paper being stuffed by my parents into a plastic bag as I eagerly tried to figure out how to connect my spiffy new Nintendo Entertainment System to the TV. Yes, we used plastic bags. Plastic! Egregious of my family, I know. Free range, homeopathic, kale-infused garbage bags didn’t exist back then. I’m sure that shit is busy still not …
Review: Beauty and the Beast by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on July 26, 2018
Zach Theatre's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is familiar, polished, and entirely reassuring -- comfort food served in a lavish banquet.
With its seven-week-long production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast Austin's Zach theatre sets the stage with its familiar flourishes and mastery of theatrical design for a lavish banquet of comfort food. It's a fun evening with beloved characters in a familiar story, where the sweet, bookish heroine prevails over her caddish, smug suitor and recognizes the true worth of the towering, rude and resentful beast who turns out to be a prince in disguise. …
Review: Sunday in the Park with George by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on June 06, 2018
Artistic director Dave Steakley makes SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE an explosion of sound and image. The Zach Theatre applies its talents and vast resources to fill that virtually bare stage with a work so intense that it verges on an experiment in synesthesia.
The Zach Theatre's staging of Stephen Sondheim's 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George offers a tempting treat. Sondheim's oeuvre is extensive and varied, and I've had the opportunity to sample it only from time to time. Of course there are the most popular pieces, including West Side Story with Bernstein, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Into the Woods with James Lapine, so familiar that they now seem …
Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Zach Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on February 06, 2018
THE CURIOUS INCIDENT proceeds linearly through a series of events like gems strung on a necklace of time that holds austic protagonist Christopher deeply and forever.
Zach Theatre has done itself Austin-proud with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens. Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley directs an exceptional cast of Austin talent in a brilliant contemporary play set in England. Publicity material for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (hereafter Curious) does the production a disservice by describing only the first five minutes of the show and not even generalizing about the enormous …
Review: Singin' in the Rain by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 07, 2017
Director Reybold, choreographer Kelly and cast give us the familiar with enough innovation to bring it newly alive in Zach Theatre's lavish production.
Singin' in the Rain wasn't particularly innovative when it was first done as a movie vehicle for Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor, except of course for Kelly's wonderful dance sequence, most of which he improvised on the spot. The film was just the latest product off MGM's Arthur Freed movie musical assembly line, and the screenwriters Comden & Green happily recycled popular songs of Nacio Brown and Freed. It wasn't even particularly popular …
Review: Million Dollar Quartet by Zach Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on August 01, 2017
The premise of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, one day in the life of Sun Records, Memphis, Tennessee, is an excuse for the music. Music Director Allen Robertson culled national talent for his performers, and they all seem to be quadruple threats—acting, dancing, singing, and playing instruments.
Musicals are what Zach Theatre does best under Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley, and Million Dollar Quartet shines near the top of the rankings. The show, with a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, is a top-shelf literary and musical property, and Zach Theatre’s production of it realizes all its potential. The audience, of course, receives full value for its ticket purchases. The show is highly recommended for audiences of all ages. The premise …