Recent Reviews
Review: Waiting for Godot by Sam Bass Community Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on March 31, 2010
In his massive apprehension Benge works to master the uncertainity of the eternal, ever frustrated expectation of the arrival of Godot. Kanne's Gogo lives from moment to moment and from word to word, ever capable of surprise and enchanted by mystery.
Director Veronica Prior took on the job of directing this classic piece of twentieth century theatre despite some misgivings. She writes in the program, "I studied this play in college, as many of us did. I have seen several different productions over the years, and wondered what was wrong with me, that I just didn't 'get it.' I am a simple person, not a philosopher. To be honest, I know very little of the 'isms' that …
Review: The Taming of the Shrew (all-women version) by Austin Shakespeare
by Michael Meigs
Published on March 26, 2010
In the post-show discussion on opening night, University of Texas prof Dr. Emily Richmond-Garza, head of the comp lit department, reminded actors and audience that in the theatre of Shakespeare's time there were two sure-fire crowd-pleasing delights: fights and wife-beatings.
Much of the comedy in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew arises from farcical transformation. Lucentio changes places with his servant Tranio; both suitors to the fair Bianca disguise themselves as tutors; an aged traveler is intimidated into playing the part of wealthy old Vincentio, Lucentio's father. And of course, the titular shrew of the piece, "Kate the curs't," is a woman seeking to assert her rights to autonomy, choice and respect, as if she had all the …
Review: The Carpetbagger's Children by Different Stages
by Michael Meigs
Published on March 24, 2010
Ever present in the story is the land itself, the Estate that produces the revenue supplied to the good sisters and denied during Father's lifetime to the single bad seed. Family endures; the Estate lasts.
The Carpetbagger's Children, staged in 2005, was the penultimate of the Texas playwright's dramas, the next-to-the-last of from 40 (according to Wikipedia) to more than 60 (according to the New York Times). Like many of his dramas, it is set in the mythical town of Harrison, Texas, based on his birthplace Wharton, a crossroads southwest of Houston. Foote's final play was, aptly enough, a reworking of his earlier Dividing The Estate. He died last year at …
Review: Jack and Jill by Sustainable Theatre Project
by Michael Meigs
Published on March 20, 2010
Jack and Jill is an amusement for 20-somethings and 30-somethings, or perhaps for the recently divorced, individuals who are reaching out or who have been sharply slapped back.
Jack and Jill is "a romance," according to playwright Jane Martin, the mysterious alter ego of Jon Jory, retired artistic director of the Theatre of Louisville. The Mother Goose reference implies a jaunty comedy approach, but Jack and Jill is anything but that. Martin's two-character play is energetic and witty, but it's a portrait of two individuals incapable of merging two I's into a We. Jack is a big, bashful stumbling guy, all thumbs and vulnerability -- …
Review: A Raisin in the Sun by The City Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on March 11, 2010
McArthur Moore is an intense, physical actor -- not an athlete, but rather a sculptor of gesture, attention and presence. In this production he proves that his approach is as valid for drama as for comedy.
Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun was a triumph for its 29-year-old author in 1959, winning the New York Drama Critics Circle award for best play. It opened career avenues in theatre and in the cinema for a cast that included Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Louis Gossett, Jr. The play was a victory for African American arts, as well. Hansberry broke both the color barrier and the gender barrier in American theatre -- …
Review: A Midsummer Night's Dream by Chaotic Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on March 10, 2010
director Michael Floyd appeared not to have defined for his company a relation with the audience, which was full and friendly that Friday evening. Soliloquies generally went into empty air, with actor's eyes directed about two feet above the heads of the audience.
This edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream was not chaotic at all, despite the name of presenting company. It was a straight-up, by-the-rules staging of Shakespeare's most popular piece.That doesn't mean that it was tidy or even, though. Director Michael Floyd and the Chaotic Theatre band had some assorted neat ideas but little vision to tie them together.Warm-up and intermission music was by the two guitars, drum and woman singer of a combo named 11 Cent Confidence, looking …