Recent Reviews
Review: Dance on Film by the Austin Dance Festival
by David Glen Robinson
Published on March 10, 2025
The annual ADF Dance on Film delivered us not only around the world but into subcultures, relationships, and colorful, surprising imaginings.
Once again, Dance on Film (DOF), an annual feature of the Austin Dance Festival,presented a sampler of new, largely contemporary, dance from around the world. Work from as far away as the UK, Canada, and Hong Kong was shown to the delight of Austin’s dance community. The 2025 edition, presented Thursday, February 27th, at the Galaxy Theatres, central Austin, did not disappoint. Ilana Wolanow, Jennifer Williams, and Lisa Kobdish co-produced Dance on Film for …
Review: Les Misérables by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on February 20, 2025
For those who pine for the older days or start many a sentence with ‘"It was better back when . . .’" the current national tour is a complete counterstrike. LES MISÉRABLES is as enjoyable and resonant as it ever was.
A debatable but fun subject: what makes a musical different from an opera? New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini has pointed out that the most common argument of what separates the twain is that opera is highbrow with complex music while musicals are not, a contention that's completely unsubstantiated. In his opinion, the difference lies in the fact that in operas the music comes first while in musicals the words come first. Broadway’s …
Review: Nunsense: The Mega-Musical by Mary Moody Northen Theatre
by Vanessa Hoang Hughes
Published on February 18, 2025
St. Ed's brings Dan Goggin's 40-year-old cornball NUNSENSE to you with fine talent and music. The ladies in habits and their friends have a fine time with a lackluster script that's been produced more than 5000 times so far.
The quirky premise of this quirky 1985 musical entertainment is that Sister Julia Child(*) of God accidentally poisoned fifty-two members of the convent. The remaining nine nuns put on a cabaret-style show at the local high school to raise funds for the burial of their sisters. Over the last forty years, Dan Groggin's creation has racked up more than 5,000 productions world-wide. C. Patrick Gendusa directed the MMNT production with choreography by Laura Walberg. …
Review: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation), by Filigree Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on February 13, 2025
A thrilling, disturbing take on the classic tale -- delivered by a superb cast willing to split themselves just as violently as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
“From tongue to tail,” the key line in Filigree Theatre’s new production of Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde, is the acute metaphoric descriptor of the language art and sensual themes of this exquisite stage production. Role reversal and its twin, plot twist, reside in the very premise of Stevenson’s story and Hatcher’s stage version. It's a tale of doppelgangers meeting and splitting the atom upon stepping through the looking glass and shaking hands. …
Review: The Shark Is Broken by Jarrott Productions
by David Glen Robinson
Published on February 12, 2025
It's about an unseen fish—but also about the epic clashes between three moviemakers becalmed by delays, frustrations, and booze. Exceptional character work and lots of hilarious schadenfreude!
Comedies about the making and unmaking of famous movies are extremely rare. Other than The Shark is Broken about the making of Steven Spielberg’s 70s blockbuster Jaws, this reviewer can recall only Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson about the desperate writing of the 30s global gamechanger Gone with the Wind. Comparisons are inevitable, but The Shark is Broken stands up well to Moonlight and Magnolias. Inside jokes are rife, their authenticity assured by co-author Ian Shaw, …
Review: WHAT REMAINS by Ty&Co
by David Glen Robinson
Published on February 03, 2025
Impressive duets, spoking arms and legs, high-technique dance, long and demanding ensemble pieces—Ty&Co depicted the dance of life in all its emotionality.
What Remains, Ty&Co's first offering of 2025, consisted of two lengthy contemporary dance sections in conjunction with Peter Stathas Dance of NYC. The Stathas contributions were two duets, “Kathedra“ and “Assuage,” danced by Ty Graynor and NYC guest artist Lauren Twomley. Stathas’ choreography featured much spoking of arms and legs, many of which transitioned smoothly into 360-degree turns, sometimes multiples. The numbers began with the dancers perched on wooden chairs widely separated …