Recent Reviews
Review: A Christmas Carol: A Rockin' Family Musical by Zach Theatre
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on December 12, 2021
Zach Theatre’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL is a wonderful response to the difficulties the Austin theater world has faced over the last few years, declaring that just as Dickens's tale is timeless, so is the spirit of creative endeavor of those who channel it.
Upon entering the Topfer Theatre at Zach to watch its first indoor production since the pandemic began, one discovered a stark reminder of the significance of this moment: a simple piece of paper on each seat stating, “This seat has been empty for 626 days.” The choice of play with its triumphant ending matched the celebratory attitude that dominated the crowd who'd made donations to purchase glow sticks to enliven the party atmosphere of singing, …
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Review: Hamilton by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on December 12, 2021
This touring of HAMILTON production is certainly worth the wait and its creative, near-improvisational reworkings are a treat to old and new fans alike.
"The tension was palpable. . . ." We're all familiar with the phrase, and that was certainly the case among the audience waiting for the show to begin at the Bass Concert Hall on December 8. The stage set with stairs, risers, shipping ropes, and balconies was starkly simple, its texture complexly detailed with time-worn grey bricks and weathered wood. It was later revealed to be a rotating stage which gave …
Review: Unexpected Joy by Ground Floor Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on December 09, 2021
Musical theatre is back in Austin. In this homecoming story set about 2016, tension in this family of rock singers starts high and launches higher. It gives the pandemic its final stomping into the ground.
Musical theatre is back in Austin. The Ground Floor Theatre (GFT) production of Unexpected Joy reestablished the place as a venue for well-produced musical theatre in Austin. In the hands of director Lisa Scheps and the design and production team at GFT, the musical with book and lyrics by Bill Russell and music by Janet Hood, gave us an evening of entertainment and thoughtfulness that could and should be seen everywhere in our nation. …
Review: Strange but Perfect by Street Corner Arts
by Michael Meigs
Published on December 09, 2021
In this vivid, small-scale human comedy Carlo Lorenzo and Natalie Garcia acknowledge our pandemic times and take us away from them. May they continue to exercise that gift of magic.
A message to Garcías: thanks for relocating from Chicago to Austin. Back in 2017, wasn't it? Carlo Lorenzo appeared in Street Corner Arts' Pocatello in December of that year, and Austin's B. Iden Payne (BiP) committee put him on the list of nominees for best lead actor (walking out of the Hyde Park Theatre that evening, I was convinced that they would). And two years later when he directed The Butcher of Baraboo for …
Review: In Situ by Kathy Dunn-Hamrick Dance Company
by David Glen Robinson
Published on December 05, 2021
This show was immensely complex. All the elements of IN SITU addressed in some way Kathy Dunn-Hamrick's responses to the pandemic lockdown we have endured for almost two years now.
Kathy Dunn-Hamrick speaks the language of movement. That’s not a huge statement; all choreographers speak it. But with In Situ at Café Dance this past weekend the movement was vastly more communicative than the usual athletic and abstract contemporary dance--typically, make of it what you will, have a good time, go home. In this presentation one sensed a certain insistence on conveying exact meanings and feelings at this time of being freed (almost) from the …
Review: The Thanksgiving Play by Different Stages at the Vortex, Austin
by Michael Meigs
Published on November 25, 2021
The Thanksgiving Play, a waggish four-actor satire, had the opening night audience roaring with laughter and delight. Director Melissa Vogt and the quartet of fresh faces of this cast make it easy to enjoy both the holiday and this gentle comedy.
Happy conjunctions: -- For this 2021 Thanksgiving season Norman Blumensaat's Different Stages company elected to stage Larissa Fasthorse's The Thanksgiving Play, a waggish four-actor satire that had the opening night audience roaring with laughter and delight throughout its uninterrupted presentation. -- Second, the production is the normally busy Different Stages' return to live performance after the terrible COVID interruption, prepared with careful precautions for a thoroughly vaccinated and masked audience. -- And this …