Houston Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 33

BWW Reviews: Stage Door Inc.'s Campy LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is Endearing and Amusing
by David Clarke - April 15, 2013

Pasadena's Stage Door Inc. continues their 2013 season of murder, madness, and mayhem with a fun and campy production of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, which was inspired by Roger Corman's cult 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors. The musical is set in the late 1950s/early ...

BWW Reviews: SPELLING BEE is Musical Theatre Candy at Its Absolute Best
by David Clarke - April 14, 2013

After riveting audiences with an emotionally raw and intellectual inaugural production of Stephen Sondheim's ASSASSINS, MJR Theatricals/Music Box Musicals is serving up a wondrously side-splitting, laugh-a-minute presentation of the Tony-award winning musical THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING B...

BWW Reviews: Country Playhouse's KIMBERLY AKIMBO is Tender and Funny
by David Clarke - April 13, 2013

David Lindsay-Abaire's quirky coming-of-age tragicomedy KIMBERLY AKIMBO is closing Country Playhouse's 2012-2013 Black Box Season. The 2000 play is an incredibly gripping and compelling tale about a young woman suffering from Progeria, a disease that causes people to age exponentially faster than th...

BWW Reviews: HGO's THE MEMORY STONE is Haunting, Gorgeous, and Spellbinding
by David Clarke - April 10, 2013

Houston Grand Opera (HGO)'s 50th World Premiere Opera had its first public performance last night at Asia Society Texas Center. This enchanting chamber opera is a gorgeous and stirring piece that examines the power and necessity of memory for the advancement of the human species. It opens with rolli...

BWW Reviews: Stages' DOLLHOUSE - A Suspenseful, Thrilling Ride
by David Clarke - April 07, 2013

Stages Repertory Theatre is presenting a tense and taut production of Rebecca Gilman's DOLLHOUSE. The 2010 play is a modernized retelling of Henrik Ibsen's classic A DOLL'S HOUSE. DOLLHOUSE is set in Chicago, circa 2004. Scandals, like Enron, have rocked American society, and the financial stability...

BWW Reviews: HSPVA's RENT is an Energetic Celebration of Life and Love
by David Clarke - April 04, 2013

In all honesty, there really is nothing more fun than seeing the next generation of musical theatre talent put on a great production of one of Broadway's mega-hits. Fortunately for Houston audiences, that's exactly what is happening in HSPVA's Black Box Theatre, as the school presents Jonathan Larso...

BWW Reviews: 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL is a Toe-Tapping Good Time
by David Clarke - April 01, 2013

Adaptations of feature films to stage musicals are a dime a dozen these days. However, if you want to get a Texas audience excited really quickly, tell them you're doing a musical based on the 1980 film 9 to 5 and that Dolly Parton has written the music and lyrics for the musical you're doing. You'l...

BWW Reviews: CTC's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is Masterful, Gripping, Sharply Perceptive
by David Clarke - March 31, 2013

Houston's Classical Theatre Company (CTC) has had one amazing season at their new home at Studio 101 in the Spring Street Studios. I was impressed by their productions of MISS JULIE and UBU ROI, but their production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE deftly exposes the sincere theatrical talent that legends ...

BWW Reviews: BROKE-OLOGY - An Entertaining Familial Tragicomedy
by David Clarke - March 26, 2013

The Ensemble Theatre's 2012-2013 season theme is 'Bridge Art to the Heart,' and their current production of Nathan Louis Jackson's play BROKE-OLOGY is sure to touch and even break hearts. The tragicomedy juxtaposes an erudite man against a man who is the self-proclaimed inventor of the science of Br...

BWW Reviews: Impressive HENRY V is Energetic, Brilliant, and Alluring
by David Clarke - March 25, 2013

William Shakespeare's HENRY V is quite possibly his most well-known and celebrated history play. The famous climatic St. Crispin's day speech is full of nationalistic and patriotic rhetoric that resonates deep within the soul, mind and body while quickening the blood. Luckily for Houston audiences, ...

BWW Reviews: TCT's Impressive WAITING FOR GODOT is Absurdly Hilarious, Dark
by David Clarke - March 24, 2013

The Catastrophic Theatre(TCT) opened their new season at their new Catastrophic Theatre space with an astounding production of Samuel Beckett's stark tragicomedy WAITING FOR GODOT. The company has used the performance space in the past in collaboration with DiverseWorks, but the 1119 East Freeway lo...

BWW Reviews: CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA is Astoundingly Beautiful and Compelling
by David Clarke - March 22, 2013

Houston Grand Opera's 41st World Premiere Opera CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA/TO CROSS THE FACE OF THE MOON premiered in the Brown Theater at the Wortham Center on November 13, 2012. The performance played in front of 2,400 patrons, the largest-ever audience in the Brown Theater. Following that rousing ...

BWW Reviews: JERSEY BOYS - Strong Performances Marred by Flimsy Book and Poor Sound Design
by David Clarke - March 21, 2013

My first experience with JERSEY BOYS was the Broadway company's rousing performance at Broadway in Bryant Park last summer. After their fun, toe-tapping set, I was looking forward to seeing the 2nd National Tour company perform in Houston, TX. Last night, I took my seat for JERSEY BOYS anticipating ...

BWW Review: VOCA PEOPLE - Thrills with Electrifying Energy
by David Clarke - March 17, 2013

The engaging and amusing show VOCA PEOPLE started life as an overnight YouTube sensation. It is now a world-renowned theatrical experience that has been produced in over 20 countries since its inception in 2009. It recently closed a long and highly successful Off-Broadway run at New World Stages bef...

BWW Reviews: Stages' ALWAYS... PATSY CLINE - A Fantastic, Fun Fan Favorite
by David Clarke - March 17, 2013

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BWW Reviews: Texas Rep's COMPANY - A Gem of Theatrical Brilliance
by David Clarke - March 15, 2013

Many in the industry consider George Furth and Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY to be one of the best American musicals ever created. The piece is complicated and challenging for the cast, crew, and orchestra, but when done well is one of the most rewarding nights at the theatre for the audience. For audi...

BWW Reviews: World Premiere of OKAY BETTER BEST is Captivating, Sobering, and Funny
by David Clarke - March 13, 2013

Last night, Cone Man Running Productions presented the World Premiere performance of Michael Weems surprisingly sobering comedy OKAY BETTER BEST at Obsidian Art Space. This brand new play investigates the power of bar bets, friendships, relationships, and the devastating affects of misplaced bitter ...

BWW Reviews: Enlightening TRUMBO: RED, WHITE AND BLACKLISTED is Endearing and Witty
by David Clarke - March 11, 2013

Cone Man Running Productions' is bringing the Regional Premiere of Christopher Trumbo's 2003 play TRUMBO: RED, WHITE AND BLACKLISTED to Houston. The play mounted on Broadway with a revolving door of big name celebrities playing Christopher Trumbo's father, Dalton Trumbo. Nathan Lane, Tim Robbins, Br...

BWW Review: Houston Ballet's Must See Primal RITE OF SPRING is Riveting
by David Clarke - March 11, 2013

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BWW Review: MISS NELSON IS MISSING - A Rambunctious Comedy That Kids Will Love
by David Clarke - March 10, 2013

Main Street Theater's Theater for Youth program's continued commitment to fully produced shows for children is alive and well in their current production of Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of Harry Allard and James Marshall's MISS NELSON IS MISSING. The play is produced with the same standard for desig...

BWW Review: Cute & Charming DIXIE SWIM CLUB is Bubbly Fun
by David Clarke - March 09, 2013

Comedies about Southern women talking are a dime a dozen. Most audiences cling to Robert Harling's STEEL MAGNOLIAS, imbued with healthy doses of both comedy and drama, as the quintessential Southern women play. However, Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten's DIXIE SWIM CLUB may start giving...

BWW Reviews: QUIDAM is Dark, Thrilling, Captivaiting Cirque Fun
by David Clarke - March 08, 2013

The popular circus company, Cirque du Soleil is quickly approaching their 30th anniversary. The company premiered CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, their first nouveau cirque-a theatrical and character-driven circus without performing animals-on June 16, 1984. Since their humble beginnings, they have become a world...

BWW Reviews: The Alley's Taut and Suspenseful A FEW GOOD MEN Perfectly Handles the Truth
by David Clarke - March 07, 2013

Any mention of Aaron Sorkin's A FEW GOOD MEN makes people instantly think of Jack Nicholson yelling, 'You can't handle the truth!' Currently, the Alley Theatre is offering a production of Aaron Sorkin's play that easily surpasses the 1992 film adaptation in quality. The Alley Theatre's powerful prod...

BWW Review: EVIL IN JUSTICEBERG - Funny, Experimental Superhero Show
by David Clarke - March 03, 2013

Obsidian Art Space's resident theatre company, Big Head Productions, is bringing a fanciful little niche show to Houston audiences in their production of Crash Buist's EVIL IN JUSTICEBERG. This new comic book themed play is filled with laughs and spandex. Audiences looking for zany fun are in for a ...

BWW Reviews: TUTS' Amazing MAN OF LA MANCHA Reaches the Unreachable Star
by David Clarke - March 01, 2013

The Spanish Inquisition was a harrowing and dark time in history. It has been the fodder for countless novels, plays, and books. Yet, I never had much faith that a musical would be a good medium to explore that horrific era. I figured I wouldn't enjoy the 1965 musical adaptation of Miguel de Cervant...