Recent Reviews
Review: "Some Humans Were Harmed in the Making of this Show" by En Route Productions
by Justin M. West
Published on September 28, 2018
The final act of this brilliant piece shifts the tone from farcical to poignant -- jarring, but the pacing is spot on. What began as an absurdist, avant-garde comedy very quickly becomes far more serious and thoughtful, and we’re left feeling regretful for ever having laughed in the first place.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just saw a show that billed itself as a "drag, puppetry, self-help testimony play inspired by the 1903 public execution of Topsy the elephant" and emphatically replied. I didn’t even know who Topsy was. Surely, I thought, good or bad, this show is guaranteed to entertain. Right? "*some humans were harmed in the making of this show," written by CB Goodman and presented by En Route Productions, …
Review: Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra by Present Company Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on September 25, 2018
Kirk Lynn's bold new play offers a message transcending generations and putting us in touch with our authentic selves. It deserves heightened attention and a better venue. Leads Judd Farris and Amber Quick are dueling torches of fury.
Present Company has just mounted the regional premiere of the latest play by the Rude Mechs’ Kirk Lynn, Your Mother’s Copy of the Kama Sutra. Alexandra Bassiakou Shaw directs. The show is up currently at The Museum of Human Achievement (MoHA) on the east side. The play is an adults-only exploration of generational change in sex and sexuality in the millennial world, but one restricted to the urban upper middle class. Anyone expecting a universalizing …
Review: Black Dog by Bottle Alley Theatre Company
by Justin M. West
Published on September 14, 2018
BLACK DOG's running themes are abuse and social anxiety. Attachment and retribution. The bonds of love and friendship, and the deepest caverns of human depravity. Through lengthy monologues and thoughtful abstractions, the audience is forced to ask... why?
Bottle Alley, brainchild of local playwright Chris Fontanes, is nothing if not offbeat. If you're in the mood to dress to the nines and buy your trophy wife a $9 plastic cup half-filled with some shitty Merlot or another, this is not the theatre company for you. However, if you desire something original, risky, and challenging, and you don't mind using bug spray before watching a show in a creepy ass barn filled with shit …
Review: Monroe by Austin Playhouse
by David Glen Robinson
Published on September 12, 2018
Dr. Lisa Thompson's MONROE with its sharp script gives life to a dark period in our recent history, filling it with hope, struggle, drama, and humor. Monroe gives us a privileged, authentic look at lives hitherto unrevealed.
Once again, Austin is privileged to host a world premiere play, Monroe by Lisa B. Thompson. The Monroe of the title is Monroe, in northeastern Louisiana. At the time of the play, 1946, Monroe and its surrounding parish held the dubious distinction for the period 1877-1950 of suffering the fifth highest number of lynchings in the United States And yes, this play is about that. As Playwright Thompson writes in the program notes: “…my …
Review: Atlantis, a puppet opera by Vortex Repertory Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on September 11, 2018
Whether loose fantasia or a tale of history before history, ATLANTIS, A PUPPET OPERA offers an evening of soaring, magnificent operatic song and spectacle, enjoyable by families and all.
Things that are unique are hard to describe because there is nothing else for comparison.The best approach to Atlantis: A Puppet Opera, now playing at The Vortex on Manor Road, is to call it a composite uniqueness and merely describe the parts. The Ethos-created show was premiered at The Vortex in 2016, and its return has been eagerly awaited. As before, the show is directed to perfection by Bonnie Cullum. In Atlantis puppets …
Review: Significant Other by Jarrott Productions
by David Glen Robinson
Published on September 09, 2018
SIGNIFICANT OTHER cycles through women friends' life stages as their companion skinny, gangly, stereotypically gay Jordan Berman seeks a measured existence with integrity and honor, with the low-stakes goal of just getting through one human life.
Significant Other is a contemporary play about downtown young professionals’ lives. This genre is perennially trending, and Jarrott Productions mines the niche to great success. The company takes full advantage of Trinity Street Playhouse’s geographic positioning in the Austin downtown business/government/ entertainment/club scene. The characters of Significant Other etch their lives into the landscapes of the East Coast, but their thoughts, successes, and epic fails connect immediately with urban Southwestern audiences. Their struggles are …