Review: DIAL M FOR MURDER Is A Blast At The Alley TheatreJune 10, 2024The audience I saw DIAL M FOR MURDER with roared to their feet after all was said and done. This is a charming production with plenty of technical eye candy and sublime campy takes on characters. These kinds of shows fit what THE ALLEY THEATRE does best: entertain and thrill us with a summer mystery. Everyone is set to have a marvelously good time.
Interview: Greg Kalafatas of HAIRSPRAY at BROADWAY AT THE HOBBY CENTERJune 4, 2024There's this obvious fantasy of the character in that we're in mid-century pinks and blues and teals and aquamarines and this whole color palette and it's a musical, and it's songs, and it's a man dressed up as a woman. But the thing the reality is that Edna turns out as a woman, and you're playing a mom, and she's and that's what she is.
Review: A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD at Stages HoustonJune 1, 2024Intimacy is one of STAGES THEATRE’s core values. And they should point to this anytime they want to proclaim proof of it. You can’t do this in a larger space. Nobody else in town could pull this off. It is a prime example of what this company does best.
Interview: Mitchell Greco of A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD at Stages HoustonMay 29, 2024It's a two-person show about two single fathers living life in Idaho. And they want to make a better life for themselves and their families. One is gay, one is straight. The gay father is trying to adopt a 2-year-old he is fostering, and the straight father is going through a divorce. It is a play about fatherhood, friendship, and hope.
Review: APPROPRIATE Stuns at Dirt Dogs Theatre Co.May 25, 2024It is a tense Southern psychodrama about family and the results of abuse on members of it. Cicadas, verbal sparring, racism, and outright brawls all make appearances as one would expect. Yet the show is still surprising in many turns and should have audiences laughing and gasping often simultaneously. The darkest of humor surfaces out of tragedy.
Interview: RON JONES of APPROPRIATE at DIRT DOGS THEATRE CO.May 22, 2024Ron Jones is a legend of Houston Theater. He's an actor, he's a director, he's a producer and a fashion icon (the man dresses to impress!). Ron helps run his own theater company, On The Verge and often directs in other places. And we're here today to discuss the upcoming APPROPRIATE, produced by the DIRT DOGS at the MATCH venue.
Interview: Cesar Jaquez of SIN MUROS LATIN X FESTIVAL at STAGES HOUSTONMay 14, 2024This year marks our seventh year, and SIN MUROS originally was to have play readings from local and Texan playwrights. But then, it's emerged into a big festival where we have performances by the LatinX community. We have an art market. And we have a salsa congress on Sunday.
Review: ON MIDNIGHT, FRIDAY THE 13TH at Ensemble TheatreMay 12, 2024Sometimes, it’s fun to watch a theatre company let their hair down and have fun. And with ON MIDNIGHT, FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH, the Ensemble Theatre does just that. This is a giggle-filled, fast-paced murder thriller in the vein of Agatha Christie being spoofed at every turn. It is high-energy, camp, and perfect if you want an evening watching a talented cast having a blast going through a farce.
Interview: Eboni Bell Darcy of OTHELLO THE REMIX at Stages HoustonMay 5, 2024It is Shakespeare's classic tragedy. Othello Retold through a hip-hop lens and so it is constant beats being spun by DJ who is present the entire time. And and the rhyme being done on top of that consistently in rhythm, just like all of Shakespeare's work was in that iambic pentameter.
Review: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at Broadway at The Hobby CenterMay 1, 2024It is not a flashy musical with special effects and huge dance numbers, but rather a somber meditation on Depression Era America and deep cuts of Bob Dylan’s songbook. It’s brilliant, and it will make you think. It’s akin to watching ghosts sing Americana arias, something you will never quite shake.
Interview: VARLA JEAN MERMAN of STAND BY YOUR DRAG at MATCHApril 28, 2024I live in Florida, and I love Florida; Florida has amazing people and an amazing LGBTQ community, but, as you know, the government really isn't on our side there. When the drag bans started to happen, it really freaked you out because it happened like suddenly you weren't allowed to perform outside in Florida. People didn't know this happened, but many of the Pride Celebrations in Florida were canceled.
Review: THE CHER SHOW at THEATRE UNDER THE STARSApril 18, 2024I am unsure if I know of any other music diva who needs three different actresses to play her, but Cher seems to have required that. We have not one, not two, but three Chers in this show. And do they trot on, do their part of life, and leave? Heck no! They all talk to each other, advise each other, and sing together all night long. It’s like the three musketCHERs or something!
Review: CLEANSED at CATASTROPHIC THEATREApril 16, 2024Should you avoid seeing the show? For God’s sake, no. You will miss what is surely going to be one of the most talked about pieces of work in Houston’s theatrical history. Go see it, and make your own call whether you love or hate it. But don’t let them brainwash you into thinking this is only about love because it is also about repulsion, and that is okay. It is very much as if David Cronenberg and David Lynch made a movie, and Jim Henson designed the sex scenes.
Review: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW at CLASSICAL THEATRE COMPANYApril 15, 2024I don’t think you are going to find a funnier TAMING OF THE SHREW easily. Director Dana Bowman has lucked out to get the cast and crew that could pull this off, and she had extreme insight into how to handle the problems the show represents to women today. You will laugh, and you will find it a delight. Sitting through TAMING OF THE SHREW was never a chore, and I was enchanted from start to finish.
Review: STAGOLEE AND THE FUNERAL OF A DANGEROUS WORD at MAIN STREET THEATERApril 8, 2024STAGOLEE AND THE FUNERAL OF A DANGEROUS WORD is a wonderful meditation on the power of words, folklore, and the human condition. It soars and becomes electric any time actors TiMOThY ERiC and Seth Carter Ramsey confront each other. It has a power and heft you do not see in most theater. It goes to an uncomfortable place and will stick with you for days later. It’s one of those pieces that you can’t shake off, no matter who you are or how you use your words.
Interview: WALT ZIPPRIAN of CLEANSED at CATASTROPHIC THEATREApril 6, 2024What drew me to the show was what drew me to the work that Catastrophic Theatre does in general. They do work that nobody else does. Work that's largely unexplored in our region, or in our country, or whatever. I'm drawn to that kind of stuff, and Sarah Kane has a unique view of love and human relationships. And I share some of those ideas.