Recent Reviews
Review #2 of 2: Man of the People by Different Stages
by Hannah Neuhauser
Published on January 13, 2026
Dolores Diaz’s writing is utterly compelling as she depicts Dr. J.R. Brinkley’s perverse contribution to society, which bordered on the brink of insanity.
What information are you willing to stomach to believe in a future? Different Stages’ production of Dolores Diaz’s Man of the People dramatizes true events. In national radio broadcasts from 1917 to 1937 charlatan "Dr." J.R. Brinkley advertised his fraudulent treatments and medications to hopeful listeners desperate for a cure. This gripping story is rife with comedic bewilderment and tragic comprehension. Through its emotionally charged performances and interspersing of historical archives, Man of the People …
Review #1 of 2: Man of the People by Dolores Diaz, Different Stages, Austin
by David Glen Robinson
Published on January 12, 2026
Find joy in the performances of the cast of MAN OF THE PEOPLE. They are, without exception, worthy of your adulation.
Occasionally one witnesses a play onstage so exceptionally good, with superbly written dialogues given by excellent actors fully embodying their characters, that the play transcends the stumbling blocks of production insufficiencies. Such a stage presentation is Man of the People by Dolores Diaz, directed by Mary Alice Carnes and produced by the venerable Different Stages. The actors deliver a multifaceted story that performs open heart surgery on the human condition and walks away leaving it …
Review: The Duke Ellington Nutcracker by ATX Artists for Social Impact
by David Glen Robinson
Published on December 24, 2025
Two new companies, a refurbished venue, Ellington's jazz version of The Nutcracker -- with lots of innovation!
New things bring the excitement. Capital Contemporary Ballet and ATX Jazz Orchestra, both new, know this and have brought an innovative rendition of The Duke Ellington Nutcracker to Austin. The show gave us Ellington's jazz performed live and contemporary ballet performed skillfully and with considerable humor. The combination is a natural because the revered work was originally a suite of music for ballet composed by Tchaikovsky. Ever the musical innovators, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn …
Review: Beauty and the Beast by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on December 12, 2025
The touring version of Beauty and the Beast is Disney comfort food: tamiliar, targeted, and as comforting as fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.
Beauty and the Beast is a beloved Disney fan favorite that despite the addition of a few new songs does not stray very far from the original animated film. Like many Disney properties, the words “beloved” and “fan favorite” do not go nearly far enough. Just saying the title of this piece will get you the question, which one? Based on a 1740 fairy tale written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (later revised and published …
Review: PARADE by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown, Ground Floor Theatre, Austin
by Michael Meigs
Published on December 12, 2025
Rarely has Ausin seen a production as complex, powerful, accomplished and harrowing as PARADE at the Ground Floor Theatre. A must-see (or must-stream).
The disturbing themes of Alfred Uhry's Parade are intensified by Jason Robert Brown's score and by production values unsurpassed by Central Texas theatres of comparable size. This isn't musical theatre as we're used to it; it's a dark, dark story founded in actual events, one that presents characters full of nuance and ambiguity and offers no easy resolutions. Events begin with the murder of an innocent, a killing that is never resolved or even closely …
Review: NORA by Trinity Street Players
by Michael Meigs
Published on November 29, 2025
Ibsen for a Queer Eye—a stylish, roseate update that preserves the indignation 150 years after Ibsen scandalized the bourgeois.
I say it in admiration: this was Queer Eye for Ibsen, and it's too bad Trinity Street Players presented Jenny Larson-Quiñones's adaptation of A Doll's House over a single long weekend. Six performances is a healthy serving, but word of mouth might have created enough interest to support a second, perhaps abbreviated weekend for the run. Ibsen? You may think, Isn't Ibsen old hat? He was controversial in his day because he exploded the notion …