Jeff Davis - Page 14

This Mother's Day weekend, Ballet Austin will present Giselle, the classic and beloved ballet of love, heartbreak and madness. Giselle is among ballet's great classics, with a lead role so challenging it has been known to make and break careers. Theophile Gautier-the influential French poet, author, critic and champion of the Romantic ballet-conceived Giselle in honor of ballerina Carlotta Grisi. With love, betrayal, heartbreak and forgiveness, Giselle brings a romantic close to the season. Giselle features choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, Music by Adolphe Adam. The score will be performed live by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. BroadwayWorld had a chance to discuss the ballet with Maestro Jeffrey Eckstein who will be conducting the Austin Symphony Orchestra.

There's a song titled "It's Alright" that comes up time and time again in Passing Strange, the rock musical serving as Half & Half Productions' inaugural production. The words "It's Alright" don't come close to describing this high octane show. While the content in Passing Strange may be a bit bizarre and occasionally jarring, this production is a rousing, thrilling introduction to a newer, little-known musical and to Austin's newest theater company.

Though we're still experiencing mild May weather, things are getting steamy at The Playhouse in San Antonio. The Playhouse's solid production of Willima Inge's Picnic, which runs through May 26th, is a riveting exploration of love and loneliness in a small Kansas town. While many other plays explore the same themes, few do so with this much heat. If there really was this much going on in Kansas, Dorothy would have had no reason to go to Oz.

In the second act of Hit, currently playing at Hyde Park Theatre and produced by A Chick and A Dude Productions, the tough, dangerous Asher states that the identity of the hit man has changed over the years. No longer are hit men Italian goons who kowtow to an old guy by kissing his ring or conniving thugs making offers no one can refuse. That idea of the true identity of a hit man is the clear focus of Hit, the gritty, daring drama written by and starring Shanon Weaver, Co-Artistic Director of A Chick and A Dude. Hit effortlessly goes underneath the tough guy exterior and reminds us that even killers-for-hire have a heart and a moral compass. They too can feel love and compassion, and they too have families. They're just like us, and the notion that these sinister characters are human after all makes Hit all the more stimulating.

Austin's Last Act Theater Company continues their 2012-2013 Season with THE HAPPY COUPLE by Texan playwright James Venhaus. James Venhaus recently answered some of BroadwayWorld's questions about his daring play.

Austin's Last Act Theater Company continues their 2012-2013 Season with THE HAPPY COUPLE by Texan playwright James Venhaus. BroadwayWorld is pleased to share a short preview of this Austin premiere production of THE HAPPY COUPLE.

Austin's Last Act Theater Company continues their 2012-2013 Season with THE HAPPY COUPLE by Texan playwright James Venhaus. BroadwayWorld Contributing Editor Jeff Davis recently interviewed the production's director, Karen Alvarado, who shared lots of interesting information about this Austin premiere.

Austin's Last Act Theater Company continues their 2012-2013 Season with THE HAPPY COUPLE by Texan playwright James Venhaus. Michael Meigs of AustinLiveTheatre.com recently sat down with the Happy Couple themselves, Austin favorites Scot Friedman and Suzanne Balling, to discuss this thrilling production. We are grateful to Mr. Meigs for sharing this content with BroadwayWorld.

BroadwayWorld is pleased to share images from Trouble Puppet Theater Company's upcoming production, THE CRUEL CIRCUS, an original play by Connor Hopkins.

Austin's Last Act Theater Company continues their 2012-2013 Season with THE HAPPY COUPLE by Texan playwright James Venhaus. The entire rehearsal process has been documented by cast member Derek Vandi via his blog on the Last Act Theater Company website which he has allowed us to post below. BroadwayWorld extends its gratitude to Mr. Vandi and the Last Act Theater Company for sharing this content with us.

Austin's Last Act Theater Company continues their 2012-2013 Season with THE HAPPY COUPLE by Texan playwright James Venhaus. Michael Meigs of AustinLiveTheatre.com recently sat down with James to discuss this thrilling production. We are grateful to Mr. Meigs for sharing this content with BroadwayWorld.

Here's what Half and Half's founders, M. Scott Tatum and Julianna Wright, have to say about their love for theater, the challenges with starting a new company, and why they decided on PASSING STRANGE as their inaugural production.

There is an old adage in the theater: "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." Comedy is certainly harder when the material is Noises Off, the ridiculously funny farce by Michael Frayn which was named "One of the Funniest comedies ever written" by the New York Post. Still, if the cast and crew at the Austin Playhouse had any difficulty with the neo-classic comedy, it certainly doesn't show. Their polished production is uproariously funny with each moment better than the last.

It's the timeless quality of the tale that have inspired director Bernard Uzan to set his production of Faust, first produced at Arizona Opera in 2011 and now re-staged for Austin Lyric Opera, in modern times. Unfortunately, despite the impeccable performances of the incredible cast, the tone and visuals of the production distract from Gounod's masterpiece rather than enhancing it.

While this week's tragic Boston Marathon Bombing definitely changes the effect the story and characters have on the audience, the cast and crew at Different Stages make no apologies for doing a play about Boston at such a critical time in the city's history. Instead, they celebrate the city and the people in it, turning Good People into an unashamedly honest celebration of the Bostonian spirit.

While Urinetown may have an unconventional subject matter (you'd be hard pressed to think of another musical that focuses so heavily on bodily functions), it doesn't kill the show at all. This may not be your grandma's musical, but (please forgive the litany of bad puns you're about to read) it's a piss-your-pants funny show. Joke after joke whiz by as the show flushes musical theater conventions down the drain.

Anyone who's ever been on a road trip knows that they are either incredible adventures or events you hope to never repeat. Strangely, the world premiere comedy Mad Beat Hip and Gone, written and directed by Austin's own Steven Dietz, falls somewhere in the middle. While there is much to love about the production, now playing at Zach's Topfer Theatre, overall it's a bit dull and not entirely memorable.

It's tough to make a romantic comedy work. The genre so easily gives way to unrealistic scenarios and corniness. The odds of someone standing on your front lawn with a boom box blasting "In Your Eyes" a la Say Anything or a wealthy businessman climbing your fire escape with a bouquet of flowers courtesy of Pretty Woman are slim to none. While Same Time Next Year has a somewhat unrealistic premise involving two married people who meet at a California resort for a romantic tryst once every year for almost 25 years, the play by Bernard Slade is surprisingly believable, in part due to his brilliant script but largely due to the incredible performances on display in Georgetown Palace's current production of the piece.

While Shakespeare's comedy The Merchant of Venice is not considered by all as one of his 'problem plays,' there are certainly many aspects about it that are problematic, namely its length and the latent anti-Semitism apparent in the text. These problems and more must be addressed for a production of the play to succeed. Sadly, as skilled as The Baron's Men are at bringing the Bard to life, they struggle with their current production of The Merchant of Venice, now playing Austin's Curtain Theater.