Interview: Forest VanDyke of THE LION KING at BROADWAY AT THE HOBBY CENTERJuly 3, 2024And actually, our director, Keith Bennett, was Banzai for about twenty years before I arrived, and was so great! I was intimidated coming in because I had heard so much about the great Keith Bennett, but as soon as I came in, he made me feel so relaxed and said, “You know everybody's Banzai is different. You make this your own.”
Feature: COOL SUMMER SHOWS are ALL OVER HOUSTONJune 22, 2024Houston has several summer traditions that make this time of year even more fun, such as a homegrown musical and one of Agatha Christie’s chilliest thrillers. So let’s rundown some of the highlights coming up as the dog days of summer descend on all of us here in H-Town. Here is your Summer Theater Guide from BROADWAY WORLD!
Review: FADE TO BLACK PLAY FESTIVAL from SHABACH ENTERPRISES at the MATCHJune 20, 2024The playwriting talent on display here is awe-inspiring, and I found myself sucked in shortly after each set change and new scenario. What fascinates me most about this year is that the subject material has shifted a bit overall. FADE TO BLACK has always addressed racial issues, but now the works are taking aim at gender roles, fantasy scenarios, and even horror tropes.
Review: BETRAYAL at REC ROOM ARTS through July 6thJune 18, 2024BETRAYAL is everything you want from a REC ROOM production. It is thoughtful, well-acted, and designed especially for a small space. Sophia Watt and her company drive home the conflicts and the feelings of confusion and loss when an affair falls apart messily and mercilessly.
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.