David Clarke - Page 26

As many in the Houston area are preparing their Thanksgiving feasts, the folks at Houston Ballet are putting the final touches on their annual production of THE NUTCRACKER. In anticipation of the holiday favorite's opening night, I recently spoke to Charles-Louis Yoshiyama, who was recently promoted to Soloist, about this year's production.

In March 2013, Bebe Neuwirth made her 54 BELOW debut with her one-woman cabaret STORIES WITH PIANO #4. Broadway Records preserved her cabaret by beautifully recording her Thursday, March 21 performance. Now, her ebullient and spirited cabaret has been made into a charming album entitled STORIES… IN NYC - Live at 54 BELOW. On the album, audiences are treated to Bebe Neuwirth's indefatigable Broadway belt, charismatic performances, and delightful personality as she delivers her brand of indefatigable star quality.

When Christmastime draws near, it seems that almost every theatre in town gets into the holiday spirit. As usual, Houston audiences have a plethora of choices when it comes to holiday entertainment. This season A.D. Players is presenting Thomas Ohlson's comedy GOLD, FRANKINCENSE, CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENTS AND MYRRH. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1964 at the Riverside Church and ran for 20 performances. It introduces audiences to a fourth wise man who, despite his best efforts, misses the birth of Jesus Christ.

In 1999 Jason Nodler directed Tamarie Cooper and Charles Scott as the titular characters in Infernal Bridegroom's production of Wallace Shawn's MARIE AND BRUCE. Celebrating 20 years of Jason Nodler and Tamarie Cooper making theatre together and the fifth anniversary of The Catastrophic Theatre, the company is closing their 2013 season with a revival of their acclaimed production of MARIE AND BRUCE. Jason Nodler, Tamarie Cooper, and Charles Scott are all returning to the production in their previous roles, and each ensures that Houston audiences are gifted with an incredible night of theatre.

Merriment and joviality are the key ingredients for Opera in the Height's production of Gaetano Donizetti's comedic opera DON PASQUALE. When DON PASQUALE first opened in 1843 it was instantly recognized as Gaetano Donizetti's masterpiece, and for many it still holds that distinction. In the classic opera, with a ruse and a disguise, Don Pasquale learns not to marry in old age and consents for his nephew to marry the woman of his choosing.

It takes undeniable mettle to live one's dreams, especially when that dream is to be an actress in Broadway musicals. That inspiring combination of resolve, ambition, and guts is just what Carolann Valentino is made of, and she drives this point home in the Houston Premiere of her one-woman musical comedy BURNT AT THE STEAK. Portraying a menagerie of eclectic characters and with a ton of vivacious energy, Carolann Valentino, "The Italian Rose of Texas," commands the spotlight, makes us laugh, and shares her story.

The copious genius of Stephen Sondheim has been thoroughly discussed far and wide throughout his career. Thus, it is no surprise that even songs cut from his various hit shows are brilliant and exciting as well, and that is exactly what the reworked revue MARRY ME A LITTLE, conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman Rene, exposes audiences to. The intimate show follows two lonely singles, who are just one floor away from one another, on a Saturday night as they sing about their amiable and secret fantasies.

It's incredibly rare when I venture out to see a high school production, but Houston ISD's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) definitely piqued my interest when I saw they were producing AVENUE Q. First and foremost, I wanted to see how Jeff Whitty, Jeff Marx, and Robert Lopez's irreverent and controversial musical was adjusted for high school performers. Secondly, the kids at HSPVA are being trained to be professional theater's next generation of quality talent, so having the opportunity to see incredible kids perform is always intriguing as well. Needless to say, HSPVA's production of AVENUE Q is performed well, hysterical, and only mildly toned down from the original.

David Nehls and Betsy Kelso's 2005 Off-Broadway hit show THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL has been a favorite of theatre patrons and companies ever since it first premiered. This holiday season the duo's brand new madcap musical comedy THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK CHRISTMAS MUSICAL is making its World Premiere at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston. Serving as a companion to the original show and not a direct sequel, the new musical serves up innumerous laughs to audiences both familiar and unfamiliar with the original romp.

The buzz on everyone's lips last night was that Thater LaB Houston is back. When Gerald LaBita announced that his beloved theater would be shutting its doors at Alamo Street and searching for new digs, audiences around town were crushed. The company has a sparkling reputation for presenting the best of the best of contemporary Off-Broadway gems and hosting well-known guest performers, and their current presentation of the Regional Premiere of Patrick Combs' MAN 1 BANK 0 definitely fits that bill.

No Christmas season is complete without enjoying some iteration of Dr. Seuss's classic holiday parable How the Grinch Stole Christmas! at least once. Just in time for the 2013 holiday season, Broadway Masterworks released the World Premiere Recording of the musical DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! THE MUSICAL. The show had its world premiere in 1994 by Minneapolis' Children's Theatre Company and premiered on Broadway in 2006, with Book and Lyrics by Timothy Mason and an original score by Mel Marvin. Since it's initial Broadway production it has enjoyed a second run on Broadway, a 2008 US Tour, a run in Los Angeles in 2009, and North American National Tours in 2010, 2011, and 2012.

With Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, CHICAGO has become a Broadway institution. The musical holds the distinction of being both the longest-running musical revival and the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. The iconic sleek and sexy musical is beloved the world over and was adapted into an Academy Award winning film in 2002. Currently, the latest national tour of CHICAGO is giving Houston audiences that old razzle dazzle at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

Yesterday, Broadway Across America - Houston's production of CHICAGO loaded into the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Now, the cast is ready to paint Houston red, shimmy-shake until their garters break, and give us all that jazz. I spoke with Brent Barrett, who plays CHICAGO's glib Billy Flynn and was last seen in Houston as Captain Hook in the national tour of PETER PAN, about his career and this production of CHICAGO.

Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company is currently producing Diana Amsterdam's new, darkly comic drama CARNIVAL ROUND THE CENTRAL FIGURE. As part of their mission, Mildred's Umbrella puts on 'bold, innovative and fresh theatrical works,' and CARNIVAL ROUND THE CENTRAL FIGURE perfectly upholds this banner. The work is a cacophony of noise and events told in a seemingly stream-of-consciousness chronology as it leaps through time and place with the bat of an eye. Some parts occur 10 years prior to the central plot, while others occur simultaneously. In effect, Diana Amsterdam's writing and Jennifer Decker's directing creates a living, breathing fever dream or bizarre, almost surreal events that deal with how we cope with mortality and death.

This weekend, Galveston's The Grand 1894 Opera House brought Jaston Williams' and Joe Ely's IS THERE LIFE AFTER LUBBOCK? to the Houston area for one night only. For the show, the two Texas legends combined creative juices and invited the audience in to take an intimate look at how Lubbock, Texas shaped them into the phenomenal performers that they are. Friday night's performance featured about 2 hours and 15 minutes worth of hysterical reminiscing and incredible music, making the audience whoop and holler with ecstatic joy.

Most recently wowing North American audiences as Enjolras on LES MISERABLES' 25th Anniversary Tour, Jason Forbach played with the idea of revolutionary for his latest CD single REVOLUTIONARY. In creating the song, he pulled from his experiences on the barricades and wrote "Revolution" with Wesley King. He rounded out the CD single with a rendition of the iconic "Bring Him Home" from LES MISERABLES and an instrumental version of "Revolutionary."

Robert Louis Stevenson's novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has long enthralled readers. The exploration of man's internal struggle to suppress his base animal instincts in favor of society's expected propriety in addition to the examination of good and evil simply fascinates audiences. Similarly, JEKYLL & HYDE, a musical adaptation of the novel by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse, has been appealing to audiences since its 1990 Houston World Premiere. Currently, Fort Bend Theatre is producing the musical with dazzling pizzazz despite their shoestring budget and the limitations of community theatre.

In 2003, a certain green girl flew on Broadway for the first time. In the same year, a handful of plucky performers with some ostentatiously crass puppets opened a smaller show Off-Broadway. They transferred to Broadway months before the witches of Oz made their big splash and later surprised everyone when they grabbed the coveted Triple Crown at the 2004 Tony Awards. Taking home the Tony for Best Book, Best Score, and Best Musical, AVENUE Q was truly defying gravity. More than 10 years later, the show is still running in New York City at Off-Broadway's New World Stages and in Houston Michael J. Ross's MJR Theatricals | Music Box Musicals' production is giddily showcasing why the musical has such pronounced staying power.

It is always an exciting time when Texas celebrity Jaston Williams, of GREATER TUNA fame, comes into town. He has delighted and entertained audiences all over the world for years, and his stops at The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston have been no different. For one performance only on November 8, 2013 Jaston Williams and Joe Ely are bringing their show LIFE AFTER LUBBOCK to the Houston area. To get the inside scoop on the production, I chatted with Jaston Williams about this new show.

It's that time of year again. You know the one where we break out the fishnets and take that oh so familiar step to the left followed by a jump to the right. Halloween and Richard O'Brien's THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW may as well be synonyms. Luckily for Houston audiences, Bayou City Theatrics is producing the beloved show as a one night only fundraiser on Halloween. I recently spoke with Colton Berry and Tye Blue to get the scoop on why this year's floorshow is too good to miss.