Sabrina Wallace

The Wiz at Bass Concert Hall delivers dazzling visuals, standout performances, and plenty of personality. Hannah Beachler’s scenic design and Sharen Davis’ costumes are unforgettable, while Phoenix Assata La Freniere, Kyla Jade, and the charming trio of Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion keep the journey lively and fun, even when the score lacks the lasting punch of its famous Oz relatives.

The 2025–2026 Austin theatre season was bold, adventurous, thought-provoking, and funny as heck. I haven’t cried in public as much as I did this past season!

City Theatre Austin revisits Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple with nostalgic charm, a detailed lived-in set, and an entertaining ensemble led by Darwin Ragsdale and Zachary Gamble. While the pacing occasionally softens the comedy’s sharp edge, the production still delivers a fun night of classic laughs.

The 13th Annual Heller Awards for Young Artists (HAYAs) took place last night, May 6, 2026, for the first time at Bass Concert Hall, the home of Broadway in Austin, presented by Texas Performing Arts and co-produced by Impact Arts. It was a night of celebration and joy!

On Tuesday night, Topfer Theatre was packed for Zach Theater’s 2026-2027 season announcement, and honestly, seeing that many people come out on a school night to celebrate regional theatre felt wonderful. The energy in the room was electric. Austin showed up for the arts.

Austin Playhouse’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, directed by Lara Toner Haddock, is a fast, witty farce about Monty Navarro and his murderous path to inheritance. The humor lands through timing and structure rather than weight or message. I’d almost forgotten how funny it is, and it’s simply built to keep you laughing.

The world premiere of Kathleen Fletcher’s autobiographical Take Care of My Friend is a raw, funny, and unflinching portrait of life with OCD, anxiety, and depression. A powerful ensemble-driven piece that turns intrusive thoughts into theatre and breaks isolation through honesty. Worth every laugh and every tear.

Dear Evan Hansen at ZACH explores mental illness, grief, and the aftermath of a teenage tragedy in a hyperconnected world. Strong cast led by Evan Jennings, emotional music, and urgent themes left me moved, reflective, and deeply affected.

The Hidden Room’s Fire Raisers is chilling and razor-sharp, where politeness becomes peril in a world where truth is seen and still ignored. Under Beth Burns, it mirrors a culture where power bends consequence, and complicity hides in plain sight.

City Theatre Austin’s Men on Boats is a sharp historical comedy where an all women and non-binary ensemble dismantles frontier myth making. Clever staging, precise physical comedy, and bold direction turn conquest into satire.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Ground Floor Theatre delivers a stripped-down, electric experience, telling a story of identity, loss, and resilience. Fueled by a powerhouse performance, it becomes more than theater, it is a bold call to uplift and protect queer voices.

Bandwagon Arts gives Noël Coward’s Private Lives a modern twist at Ground Floor Theatre. Ex-spouses Elyot and Amanda collide on neighboring honeymoon balconies, and chaos follows. Quick wit, messy romance, and socialites behaving badly keep this classic comedy humming.

The Wimberley Players production of Deathtrap is a smart psychological thriller about ambition, legacy, and deception. The beautiful, restrained set supports suspense, and the strong cast shines all the way through.

Reefer Madness at ACC is a ferocious, laugh-out-loud takedown of moral panic, powered by fearless performances and razor-sharp satire. Campy, chaotic, and uncomfortably timely. Playing thru March 14th, 2026

Hyde Park’s production of WITCH is sharp, funny, and quietly ferocious. A Devil with a grin, a witch that questions the status quo, a town built on bargains, and ambition that bites back. You’ll leave checking your own contracts. Through March 21st.

Some plays rush. In Horton Foote’s award-winning play, The Trip to Bountiful, longing feels biblical, and patience gets tested, and City Theatre’s production reminds you how to sit still. Judith Laird is all steel beneath fragility, as an aging mother chasing the ghost of her childhood home. But what is home, if not a memory that may not wait for your return?

Big hair, bigger voices, and zero apologies. Beehive: The 60s Musical at TexARTS is pure jukebox joy: love songs turn into liberation anthems, wigs rise as the decade unfolds, and seven powerhouse women keep the audience laughing and singing along. Profound? No. A ridiculously good time? Abso-freaking-lutely.

Urinetown now playing at MMNT - A musical so funny it hits like a warning. Corporate greed, drought, revolt—and the water still runs out. Laugh. Think. Repeat.

Swing! at Georgetown Palace Theatre proves that when the set disappears, the rhythm takes over. A bare stage, a blazing live band, powerhouse vocals, and choreography that fills every inch of space. The audience was tapping along all night, me included. Theatre adapts, communities rally, and the show truly goes on. Running through Feb 15.

'The Last Match' by Anna Ziegler centers on U.S. Open semifinalists Tim Porter and Sergei Sergeyev, and their partners, blending onstage action with flashbacks and fourth-wall narration. The play explores ambition, love, and the personal cost of success.