Recent Reviews
Review: Title and Deed by Capital T Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on August 27, 2017
One speaker on a bare stage spins word webs about his world, all insubstantial and yet so vital. To what are we entitled? What are we to do? Speaking as that anonymous yearning affable individual, before disappearing from view Phelps offers us Eno's parting words in inconclusive summary.
This stark, brainy and hypnotizing production of Will Eno's curious Title and Deed placed me in a confusion of circumstances that further magnified the power of Jason Phelps's performance. In the Austin darkness outside the safe space of the Hyde Park Theatre a hurricane was brewing and coming in our direction. Placed before the darkness of the audience areas, Mark Pickell's set is an assembly of floorboards with untrimmed edges, the merest …
Review: INDUSTRY NIGHT, Fourth Season Premiere at the North Door, Austin, August 14, 2017
by David Glen Robinson
Published on August 23, 2017
With Cami Alys's torch song the audience fell to contemplation of the wild artistic beauty that takes one by surprise from anywhere, including from a downtown drinking establishment on an ordinary Monday night.
If you’ve ever wanted a confectionary sampler of Austin’s high theatrical talent, INdustry Night is the show for you. Every bi-monthly show in the series lights up a Monday night, when all the theatres are dark and the actors, dancers, and musicians in shows have the evening off. And there lies the industry in the title. The performers and technicians are available to meet, greet, and hurl cocktails within the well-appointed watering hole with the …
Review: Million Dollar Quartet by Zach Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on August 01, 2017
The premise of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET, one day in the life of Sun Records, Memphis, Tennessee, is an excuse for the music. Music Director Allen Robertson culled national talent for his performers, and they all seem to be quadruple threats—acting, dancing, singing, and playing instruments.
Musicals are what Zach Theatre does best under Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley, and Million Dollar Quartet shines near the top of the rankings. The show, with a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, is a top-shelf literary and musical property, and Zach Theatre’s production of it realizes all its potential. The audience, of course, receives full value for its ticket purchases. The show is highly recommended for audiences of all ages. The …
Review: Crave Blue by Mouth Radio
by David Glen Robinson
Published on July 22, 2017
The actors are the strength of CRAVE BLUE. They project the script’s high points right through the high concrete block walls, and not just by using volume. And would someone please give Tim Mateer a one-person show?
The Mastrogeorge Theatre is incredibly hard to find, but finding it conveys a sense of accomplishment. The place is one of those multispaces in a repurposed warehouse near the corner of Pedernales and Cesar Chaves streets.Small space, high rent, and this phrase describes unfortunately one of the few survival strategies left to the east Austin theatre community. But Heaven bless the few and the new. Crave Blue, a new play by Sarah Loucks of Mouth Radio …
Review: Hairspray by Playhouse San Antonio
by Kurt Gardner
Published on July 18, 2017
The Tony Award-winning musical comes to the Playhouse in a bright, splashy production.
Plus-sized Tracy Turnblad longs for acceptance among her peers. When she tries out for the local television show for teens, “The Corny Collins Show,” she becomes its unlikely star, demonstrating a nifty dance move she learned from a black student, Seaweed J. Stubbs. This motivates her to break through the color barrier so that African-American kids can appear on the show all the time, not just on “Negro Day.” Velma Von Tussle, the …
Review: Burning Patience by Classic Theatre of San Antonio
by Kurt Gardner
Published on July 12, 2017
Antonio Skármeta's charming work comes to the Classic Theatre in a simple yet charming production.
Those who’ve seen the 1994 Academy Award-winning film Il Postino will already know the story of Burning Patience, the story upon which it was based. The lyrical work by Antonio Skármeta translated by Tim Klinger is now playing at the Classic Theatre in a simple yet charming production. Hector Machado plays the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who lives on the remote coastline of Isla Negra. He receives frequent visits from thetown’s young …