Recent Reviews
Review: EXIT STRATEGY by Beyond August Productions
by Michael Meigs
Published on June 23, 2024
EXIT STRATEGY is a sensitive, impressive portrait of hopes raised and hopes menaced. Vivid characters clash; the mute witness of a Black student embodies playwright Holter's message.
No, this small, impressive play is not a comedy. That tag line was probably a marketing decision, for laughter attracts more viewers than drama, just as honey lures more bees than vinegar. The ambitious and alert Beyond August Productions brings us Exit Strategy by Chicago playwright Ike Holter. It's set firmly in Chicago's divisions of class, race, and ethnicity. Austin is but a faint echo of all that, but even so, the gentrification that …
Review #2 of 2: Disney's Frozen by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on June 20, 2024
The brave sisters of FROZEN inhabit a somewhat confused plot, but the score and voices are magnificent. Caroline Bowman's singing as Elsa incites goosebumps. Great puppetry, dancing, and special effects throughout.
I’ve never seen the movie Frozen. Chalk it up there with all of my other Disney cinematic crimes of neglect which began when I, with adolescent bravado, opted not to see The Little Mermaid. I did know and love the song “Let It Go,” a complete banger. I must also admit I hadn’t seen The Lion King movie before I saw the Broadway version and I wasn’t too lost. Frozen, on the other hand, is …
Review: A Million More to Go by Jarrott Productions
by David Glen Robinson
Published on June 18, 2024
A hugely funny and thought-provoking comedy, Max Langert's A MILLION MORE TO GO is swift and vivid with an outstanding cast of now familiar multi-talented Austin actors.
Cinnamon Path Productions and Jarrott Productions have premiered Max Langert's new absurdist comedy A Million More to Go at Trinity Street Playhouse in downtown Austin. The conjunction of forces by these two companies has salutary effects for theatre audiences: satisfying entertainment and, oddly, thoughtful commentary on current social and political issues. Langert has written much, including theatre pieces Gibberish Mostly, produced by Ground Floor Theatre, and The Pact, recently presented by Jarrott Productions, …
Review: THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD by Gilbert & Sullivan Austin
by David Glen Robinson
Published on June 11, 2024
Ravens, disguises, the escape of an unjustly condemned officer -- set in the Tower of London in the 16th century. THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD offers drama and comedy, gorgeous music and voices, in a twisty mystery plot.
Savoyards rejoice! The 2024 grand production The Yeomen of the Guard by Gilbert & Sullivan Austin (GSA) has opened at the Worley Barton Theater on the grounds of the Brentwood Christian School in north Austin. For the uninitiated: a "Savoyard" is a fan of the works of librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, fourteen comic operas staged at the Savoy Theatre during Queen Victoria's time and still very much in evidence on …
Review: Disney's Frozen by touring company
by Vanessa Hoang Hughes
Published on June 10, 2024
FROZEN's songs and spectacular action made excited kids bounce in their seats and grown adults cheer as if they were six years old again.
Disney’s animated film Frozen is a core memory for me and for the rest of Gen Z. It was released in 2013, and I’ve been a die-hard fan ever since. I have many fond memories of singing and twirling around to “Let it Go” in front of the TV when I was small. The movie shaped our childhoods. A cultural and social phenomenon, Frozen was inevitably turned into a Broadway musical. It went on tour …
Review: KING OF HEARTS by Alchemy Theatre Company, May 31 - June 16, 2024
by Michael Meigs
Published on June 07, 2024
Alchemy Theatre's magic takes place almost within reach of the audience in a whimsical, savagely satirical and charming "lost" musical from 1976.
Alchemy Theatre’s magic is potent, both because of its powerful ingredients and because it’s been brewing for a long time. Artistic Michael Cooper’s concept of reviving neglected musicals dates back to before 2020, for that’s when Alchemy cast Mack and Mabel, the 1974 musical that closed after 66 Broadway performances. COVID delayed the Austin production until 2022. In 2023 the company recreated the 1976 musical The Baker’s Wife, which toured the U.S. but …