Review: IT'S ONLY A PLAY at City Theatre Austin
Terrence McNally’s 'It's Only a Play' is a masterful exploration of the entertainment world, brought to life by the talented ensemble of City Theatre and McNally's insightful writing, making it a must-see for those seeking both entertainment and introspection on the theater industry and its colorful characters.
Street Corner Arts Presents JUNK By Ayad Akhtar
Street Corner Arts will bring Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of DISGRACED, Ayad Akhtar's JUNK (Nominated for 2 Tony Awards in 2018; Best Play, Best Lighting Design). Inspired by the junk bond scandal of the 80s and set in the manic high-stakes trading shark tank of Wall Street, JUNK takes you on whirlwind ride at the genesis of debt financing which was the root cause of the recent housing crisis in this country.
BWW Review: GREAT EXPECTATIONS Delivers Great Charm
GREAT EXPECTATIONS is Charles Dickens' thirteenth novel and depicts the personal growth and development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens's second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person. The novel was first published as a serial in Dickens's weekly periodical All the Year Round, from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. In October 1861, Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes. It has been adapted into a multitude of films, television programs and stage productions. The adaptation by Barbara Field is currently on stage at The Vortex as produced by Different Stages.
BWW Review: SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE A Love Letter to Theatre
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is a 2014 stage adaptation by Lee Hall of the 1998 Academy Award winning film by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard of the same name. It was first created under the auspices of Disney Theatrical Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions. The story concerns an imaginary love affair involving Viola de Lesseps (Claire Grasso) and playwright William Shakespeare (Stephen Mercantel) while he was writing Romeo and Juliet. Many of the characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays. The production, now playing at Austin Playhouse, is one of their biggest productions to date. This script has become one of the most produced plays in America this season, and rightfully so, as it as entertaining as the 1998 film was.
BWW Review: Charming Yet Meaningful THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO From Paradox Players
Alfred Uhry's second play, THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO, is a Tony award winner for Best Play that is another exploration into the lives of Jewish southerners. Uhry first introduced this society in his Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Driving Miss Daisy. The setting and plot was developed from his own experiences growing up in a southern Jewish family, as well as from stories he heard as a child. The Ballyhoo of the title is a sort of German-Jewish debutante ball. At heart a humorous look back at a time long gone, the play is also an exploration of Jewish identity and the power of prejudice inflicted on Jews by other Jews. Uhry has deftly interwoven this theme into his story of the privileged world of the Levy / Freitag families. The Levy / Freitag families live in a big home in one of Atlanta's finest neighborhoods. They belong to an elite country club. Their daughters attend prestigious private schools. Even a Christmas tree in their window, however, doesn't change the fact that they are Jews living in a mostly Christian society. German-Jews such as the Levys and Freitags look down on "the other kind", which are the Eastern European Jews. While exploring the self hatred and class consciousness of anti-Semitism, Uhry's serious message is beautifully wrapped in witty banter, comedic moments, and colorfully comedic characters and characterizations.
Photo Flash: First Look at TexARTS' AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
For the final production of the 2015-16 professional season, TexARTS presents the classic murder mystery, Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None.' Set in a solitary island mansion, ten strangers are brought together under mysterious circumstances. All seems perfectly civilized until one by one they are murdered in poetic fashion. Find out whodunit at the Kam & James Morris Theatre, February 19-28.
Photo Flash: In Rehearsal for TexARTS' AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
For the final production of the 2015-16 professional season, TexARTS presents the classic murder mystery, Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None.' Set in a solitary island mansion, ten strangers are brought together under mysterious circumstances. All seems perfectly civilized until one by one they are murdered in poetic fashion. Find out whodunit at the Kam & James Morris Theatre, February 19-28.
TexARTS Announces Cast of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
For the final production of the 2015-16 professional season, TexARTS presents the classic murder mystery, Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None." Set in a solitary island mansion, ten strangers are brought together under mysterious circumstances. All seems perfectly civilized until one by one they are murdered in poetic fashion. Find out whodunit at the Kam & James Morris Theatre, February 19-28.
Pollyanna Theatre Company's PATTERN PEOPLE to Open 1/23
Central Texas' most well-known children's theatre company, Pollyanna Theatre in Strategic Alliance with the Long Center, presents PATTERN PEOPLE by playwright Emily Cicchini, January 23 - 31 at the Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 West Riverside, Austin, TX 78704.
Photo Flash: First Look at Austin Playhouse's SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER
This boisterous and charming comedy of mistaken identities has delighted audiences for over two centuries. Two well-bred young men arrive at the country estate of Mr. Hardcastle, intending to court his daughter Kate and her cousin Constance, but when local mischief-maker Tony Lumpkin plays a practical joke on the two urbanites, the Hardcastle household is launched into a dizzying, deliciously frothy romp that examines romance and social manners as well as the art of love. Our production will be a sumptuous celebration of the gorgeous language, elegant costumes, and outright hilarity of Goldsmith's classic.
BWW Reviews: MAURITIUS is a Witty, Smartly Staged Dark Comic Delight
Having grown up in the world of numismatics (coin collecting) and philately (stamp collecting) I was probably in a rarified group in the audience by knowing just what a Mauritius was. It doesn't matter if you don't know anything though, because the playwright, Theresa Rebeck, gets the audience where it needs to be in short order.