Recent Reviews
Review: Dani Girl by Trinity Street Players
by David Glen Robinson
Published on May 20, 2017
The cast of DANI GIRL includes some of Austin’s best theatrical singers and a successful set in Trinity Street Players' intimate inviting space. The only real ding on Dani Girl is the song and scene about the kids forming a suicide pact.
Dani Girl is a musical story about children with cancer. The action takes place in a ward of a children’s hospital. It may seem macabre to produce a show with dying kids loaded full with laughs and hilarity, but such oddball sensibilities never stopped Steven Sondheim or John Waters. Composer Michael Kooman and lyricist/writer Christopher Dimond leap headlong into the field filled with risk and for the most part succeed in their musical efforts.Thanks to the producers, …
Review: Bus Stop by Classic Theatre of San Antonio
by Kurt Gardner
Published on May 14, 2017
The Classic’s production, directed by Kelly Hilliard Roush, does well by the playwright’s words, and the ensemble cast works together beautifully
Human relationships can develop in a number of different ways, as demonstrated by the cross-section of characters that populate William Inge’s Bus Stop, now playing at San Antonio’s Classic Theatre. Passengers on a westbound bus find themselves delayed by a blizzard which has closed the highway. They find refuge at Grace’s Diner, a greasy spoon located some 40 miles outside of Kansas City. There’s Cherie (Alison Bridget Chambers), a self-styled “chanteuse” who dreams of …
Review: Disney's ALADDIN, bilingual edition by Roxie Theatre Company
by Kurt Gardner
Published on May 12, 2017
The bilingual approach gives the production a warm feeling of inclusiveness. Directed and choreographed by Jonathan Pennington, it’s also an ideal entertainment for kids, especially with so many youngsters in the cast.
Aladdin speaks only English and Princess Jasmine only Spanish in Aladdin: the Spectacular Dual Language Musical, now playing at San Antonio’s Roxie Theatre. The language barrier between them is the work of the villainous vizier Jafar, who will do anything to make Jasmine his wife. When street urchin Aladdin meets the beautiful princess, their mutual attraction is immediate, but he is arrested and thrown into prison by Jafar’s henchmen. He finds a lamp, rubs …
Review: Urinetown by Playhouse San Antonio
by Kurt Gardner
Published on May 11, 2017
The production is superlative, the cast terrific, and all voices strong. This bizarre concept for a musical is well realized and quite hilarious.
Despite its unsavory title (which even the characters make fun of), Urinetown: the Musical is a family-friendly show that contains a few mild double entendres and some groan-worthy toilet humor. In a dystopian future, a 20-year drought has made private toilets unthinkable. The oppressed populace is forced to pay to use public facilities, all of which are controlled by the megacorporation Urine Good Company (UGC). The literally unwashed masses are waiting their turn …
Review: Phantom of the Opera by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on April 28, 2017
By bringing each scene to a towering set in the middle of the stage, the director and designers show characters essentially trapped like mice by a prowling Phantom who may appear any place at any time. Yet this setting is intimate and realistic, even gritty.
The play begins with a count-down. An auctioneer’s resonant bellow calls out various lot numbers. The numbers eerily foreshadow as we approach the dreaded lot 666: a once shattered chandelier from what “some of you may recall the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera, a mystery never fully explained.” The chandelier has been fully restored for the auction and before the people’s eyes it bursts into life, rising phoenix-like to the ceiling and …
Review: Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill by Zach Theatre
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on April 20, 2017
Chanel as Lady Day is surrounded by ghosts, adoring fans, beautiful music, a supportive band and the shadowy pull of drug addiction. She owns every square inch of the stage.
Hey, Lady Day! NOTE: Zach Theatre is extending the production May 18 - June 11, 2017, and moving it to the Kleberg Stage. There is no question that her presence is regal if not refined. Chanel playing the titular role of Lady Day enters the stage via the audience. Her presence is so bold, sassy and commanding that spotlights are rendered redundant. She sweeps over the crowd with her gaze and the sterling luminosity …