Recent Reviews
Review #1 of 2: Heartland by Vortex Repertory Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on January 28, 2019
HEARTLAND is so exquisitely written, directed and acted that it's likely to sweep Austin theatre awards. See it, and give in to an evening that will take you out of yourself and into a better place.
Heartland is a small miracle of a play. Playwright Gabriel Jason Dean, aided by director Rudy Ramirez, reconciles the ache of loss by drawing a quiet, warm portrait of a chaste love affair in the impossible circumstances of Afghanistan and evoking those memories for us in the home of an ill and grieving father. They're memories of Getee, a U.S. citizen teacher murdered by the Taliban, and they belong to Nazrullah, a fellow teacher, and to …
Review: Waitress by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on January 24, 2019
Christine Dwyer, as our titular waitress Jenna, has a goose-bump-inducing voice and an onstage aplomb that was neither over-bearing or restrained. It would be silly to say she stole the show, when she actually WAS the show.
“Sugar. Butter. Flour” These three words begin the show and are a common refrain through out the next two acts. It’s a simple and sweet refrain for a simple but not always sweet story. Our titular waitress learns in the first scene that she is expecting and must quickly re-evaluate her life -- but then again not really, because the truth is she has long known what she wants and, perhaps more tellingly, that what …
Review: The Realness (a break beat play) by New Manifest Theatre Company
by Justin M. West
Published on January 23, 2019
Refreshingly exuberant, THE REALNESS is a solid first outing from the company. A bit rough around the edges, it's passionate, sincere and unafraid. And so are the cast and crew.
The Realness, the inaugural offering from the New Manifest Theatre Company, is something of a mixed bag. In many ways the show succeeds, but it’s hampered by a script from Idris Goodwin that is overtly redolent of the 1990's and painfully light on substance. The Realness follows T.O (Justin Whitener), a college grad from the suburbs for whom a transplant into the big city is a shock to the senses. As a black kid from a …
Review: The Magic Fire by Different Stages
by Michael Meigs
Published on January 19, 2019
The script of THE MAGIC FIRE is a gem, rich of character and powerfully evocative, presented as a memory play by the narrator Lise, unashamedly an avatar of the playwright herself.
Norman Blumensaadt's Different Stages, active in Austin since 1981, isn't a repertory company in the strict sense. It's a creation of Norman's initiative and vast knowledge of mostly twentieth-century theatre literature of the U.S. and U.K., homeless and itinerant, beloved of a small but appreciative clan of actors and theatre goers. Different Stages offers its aficionados evenings of theatre they're unlikely to get elsewhere. Their current production, Lilian Groag's deeply moving The Magic Fire, has to …
Review: By Our Hands by Overtime Theater
by Michael Meigs
Published on January 17, 2019
In a plot devised to emphasize muscle and avoid weapons a defeated warrior can recover from a beating or a knockout, and most of them do. But toward the end the story takes a quick, violent and nasty turn..
Austin has no monopoly on small-scale edgy innovative theatre, folks, and San Antonio’s Overtime Theatre is proof of that. The Overtime runs year round with premieres or remounts of all-original work. Judging from the titles, posters and the PR, the Overtime appeals to audiences and performers looking for something distinctly not mainstream, folks who are receptive to parodies, takeoffs, mystery, sci fi and live serials. Performances are almost always scheduled for Fridays and Saturdays, sometimes …
Review: Paradise by touring company
by Samantha Hendel
Published on January 14, 2019
A visiting “For Profit Prophet” promises a financial revolution if the people of Paradise agree to use a reality TV show to raise money. The townsfolk aren’t completely sold; they’re just good ol’ hillbillies who enjoy their way of life.
Austin Playhouse is hosting LA-based Ruskin Theatre’s bluegrass musical comedy Paradise: A Town of Sinners and Saints through February 3. This is apparently a first for Austin’s #2 commercial stage, housed for several years now at the former Highland Mall. For well over a decade Don Toner, his daughter Lora Toner Haddock, his son Mike Toner and associates have relied on a stalwart company of local artists and a strong clientele of subscribers to …