Recent Reviews
Review: Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage by Roxie Theatre Company
by Kurt Gardner
Published on November 09, 2016
Miss Abigail quotes from a vast collection of 1940's books to offer hilariously antiquated advice. Evidently weenie roasts were an important part of the dating scene back then.
Originally produced off-Broadway in 2010 with no less a cult figure than The Brady Bunch’s Eve Plumb as its star, Ken Davenport and Sarah Saltzberg’s Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage arrives at San Antonio’s Roxie Theatre with all the comic absurdity intact. It’s actually the perfect show for the space, relying as it does on a playful mood and lots of audience participation. Miss Abigail (Kelli Grant) quotes from a vast collection of books (mostly …
Review: The Illusionists - Live from Broadway by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on November 02, 2016
I want to gush about it and tell the reader everything I saw but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. And let’s face it, when you are talking about illusions with stunning conclusions everything is a spoiler. The show is amazing from start to finish
This exhilarating, dynamic and nearly flawless magical variety show from Broadway is both very easy and difficult to review. The difficult part is simple to explain: I want to gush about it and tell the reader everything I saw but I don’t want to give away any spoilers. And let’s face it, when you are talking about illusions with stunning conclusions everything is a spoiler. The easy part, as you would expect from a professional …
Review #2 of 2: Nevermore, The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Life of Edgar Alan Poe, Doctuh Mistuh Productions, Oct. 21 - Nov. 6, 2016
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on October 31, 2016
Style, professionalism and top-notch talents -- don’t dare to miss this thrilling evening or your fate may be the same as that of Poe which, in a word, is woe
The mood is somber, almost bleak, the lyrics are enchanting -- “All he loved he loved alone.” The words refer to our titular character who stares thoughtfully or is it mournfully into the abyss of the fourth wall.The words are lifted from Poe’s own poem “Alone” and they capture the dark, black heart of the story of a man wanton of love, friendship and happiness who seems double-crossed by fate every step of the way. …
Review: Houdini Speaks to the Living by Hidden Room Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 25, 2016
Director Beth Burns, magician Patrick Terry and ardently appreciated Ausin actor Robert Matney provide a masterful and eye-opening brief evening of entertainment and reflection.
Matriarch of the Hidden Room Theatre Beth Burns already had access to a venue appropriate for this conversation on the shadowy mysteries of the afterlife. The third-floor meeting hall of the York Rite Masonic Temple downtown on 7th Street has been an ample but problematic space for other innovative costumed works. Its long rectangular space, generally deficient lighting, platforms with throne-like wooden chairs at either extreme of the room and awkward entrances and exits have …
Review #1 of 2: Nevermore, The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe by Doctuh Mistuh Productions
by David Glen Robinson
Published on October 25, 2016
Poe aficionados don’t allow too much messing around with him. Doctuh Mistuh mastered technical issues, transcended with their technique, and gave the audience a satisfying evening of performance art on multiple levels.
Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe is aptly named. Doctuh Mistuh Productions in association with Austin Playhouse has boldly tackled this new musical by Jonathan Christenson. The scenario is straightforward, almost simple. Edgar Allan Poe (played by Tyler Jones) stands by himself on the deck of a ship returning to New York. Seemingly by chance, a theatrical troupe encounters him there. Poe is in that period of his life when he was enjoying some …
Review: Charlotte's Web by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 19, 2016
Bright, fun, and at the same time subtly educational for all ages, this happy theatrical version at the Zach's Kleberg Theatre is a gift and a reward in itself.
Bright, funny and engaging, the Zach Theatre production of Charlotte's Web is a delight, not only for the young and their parents but also for all those who had the good fortune either to read the E.B. White classic or to have it read to them. White's story, so simple and gentle, offers some comedy, a fine tale of friendship, and an ever-so-gentle brush up against the question of mortality. Fun and yet subtly educational for …