Recent Reviews
Review: Little Mother by Twin Alchemy Collective
by Michael Meigs
Published on April 02, 2014
Katie Green's gently melancholy creation is a surprise, less an entertainment or a didactic presentation on injustice and exploitation than a quiet contemplation of desperation. There is a story, and it's simple and desperately sad, but Green and her Twin Alchemy Collective apply techniques to engage our emotions and our minds. The distancing effect somewhat resembles Brecht's use of alienation, the deliberate interruption of narrative in order to engage the moral sentiments of the audience. …
Review: Ordinary Days by Penfold Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on March 26, 2014
Ordinary Days is a vigorous, sharp and entertaining ninety minutes of uninterrupted entertainment, a clever piece that touches the heart.
Adam Gwon's Ordinary Days is a fairytale, and an appealing one, set firmly in the city that O. Henry once called "Baghdad-on-the-Hudson." He gives us the portraits of four yearning young folk in their late 20s or early 30s, all unattached, all working to sort out their own identities and places in the world (or in the City). A couple of them are lonely singles who'll eventually meet one another; the other two characters, a man and …
Review: The Odd Couple by The City Theatre Company
by David Glen Robinson
Published on March 24, 2014
Putting together a theatre season boils down to nothing but choices, and for eight years Austin's City Theatre has created worlds of delight for theatergoers. Earlier this season the company gave us the uproarious Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, as evergreen as Christmas and Hanukkah, and The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, a drama that taught us that every being seeks his own Promised Land. Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, City's current production, is famous for the high ratings on the …
Review: The Crapstall Street Boys by Trouble Puppet Theatre Company
by David Glen Robinson
Published on March 03, 2014
Trouble Puppet Theatre Company has stepped to the fore in current Austin theatre with its reprise of The Crapstall Street Boys. A shorter version of the concept played in 2012 in the Fronterafest Long Fringe festival. Lest anyone take a “been there, done that” attitude toward the new Crapstall, a reassurance: this fuller realization of the story is well worth a revisit. The Crapstall Street Boys centers on the misfortunes of You Lad, who opens the story …
Review: Wicked
by Michael Meigs
Published on February 22, 2014
The musical Wicked is certainly epic. It's in its tenth year on Broadway, with no signs of flagging. The 2014 touring company visits Austin for a three-week run only two years after the last tour date here. They'll depart for Cinncinnati and then they'll be back to Central Texas to perform at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio March 12 - 30. I saw Wicked in Chicago almost nine years ago and enjoyed it greatly. After that interval I …
Review: Circle the Wagons by The Exchange Artists
by David Glen Robinson
Published on February 18, 2014
Circle the Wagons is now playing through March 3rd in eight cars and one red pickup truck in the parking lot of Hyde Park Christian Church on 45th Street in central Austin. This one is pretty close to unique for stage presentations, and in keeping with Exchange Artists’ reputation, the quality of each of the five-minute playlets performed in eight vehicles is exceptional. Five playwrights produced the work for Exchange Artists, and Content Love Knowles composed …