BWW Review: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE A Delightfully Near Perfect Musical Treat
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE is a parody of 20's musicals with a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. It is a show within a show told by a middle-aged, asocial Broadway musical fan, known only as Man in Chair (Scott Shipman). Seeking to cure his 'non-specific sadness', he listens to a rare recording of the fictitious 1928 musical comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone. As he listens to this cast recording, the characters appear in his crowded, tiny apartment, and it is transformed into an impressive Broadway set with footlights, period furniture, painted backdrops, shiny drapes and glitzy costumes. Man in Chair provides a running commentary throughout the show from the stage, and although he is onstage with the characters, he is invisible to the players. THE DROWSY CHAPERONE debuted in 1998 in Toronto and opened on Broadway in 2006. The show won five Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards. It is a loving valentine to a time when shows had only the barest of plots serving to showcase the songs.
TexARTS Announces THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS Cast and Creatives
The TexARTS Professional Series presents The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the spirited musical comedy that recounts the heyday and demise of the infamous "Chicken Ranch." The musical by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson with music and lyrics by Carol Hall plays August 18 - September 3, 2017 at the Kam & James Morris Theatre in Lakeway.
TexARTS' THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES Opens this Today
The TexARTS Professional Series closes its 2016-17 season with Austin premier of Roger Bean's Off-Broadway hit musical, The Marvelous Wonderettes, which will be presented February 17 - 26 at the Kam & James Morris Theatre in Lakeway.
TexARTS Announces Casting for THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES
The TexARTS Professional Series closes its 2016-17 season with Austin premier of Roger Bean's Off-Broadway hit musical, The Marvelous Wonderettes, which will be presented February 17 - 26 at the Kam & James Morris Theatre in Lakeway.
TexARTS' THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES Opens this Friday
The TexARTS Professional Series closes its 2016-17 season with Austin premier of Roger Bean's Off-Broadway hit musical, The Marvelous Wonderettes, which will be presented February 17 - 26 at the Kam & James Morris Theatre in Lakeway.
TexARTS Announces Casting for THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES
The TexARTS Professional Series closes its 2016-17 season with Austin premier of Roger Bean's Off-Broadway hit musical, The Marvelous Wonderettes, which will be presented February 17 - 26 at the Kam & James Morris Theatre in Lakeway.
BWW Review: LITTLE WOMEN Charming Family Friendly Musical
LITTLE WOMEN is a musical with a book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and music by Jason Howland. Workshop productions were presented at Duke University in 2001 and 2004 and the Broadway production opened at the Virginia Theatre on January 23, 2005. Based on the classic 1869 Louisa May Alcott semi-autobiographical novel, LITTLE WOMEN focuses on the four March sisters: aspiring writer Jo (Lilly Lane Stafford), romantic Meg (Caroline Kinnamore), the easily hurt Amy (Maddie Dennison), and kind Beth (Emily McIntyre) as well as their beloved Marmee (Maddrey Blackwood.) The women are at the family home in Concord, Massachusetts while their father is away during the Civil War. The musical begins with Jo trying to sell her stories in New York but soon brings Jo back home. While the events and timing of things aren't exactly the same as in the novel; Allan Knee's script, for the most part, is expertly condensed Alcott retaining the spirit of the characters. Jason Howland's music is pleasant, if rather unmemorable, riffing musical theatre numbers out of period waltzes, polkas, and quadrilles; supported by Mindi Dickstein's rather unmemorable lyrics. The end result feels like a lesser known Rogers & Hammerstein musical. It's just good old fashioned squeaky clean family fun.
BWW Review: THE WILD PARTY Reminds Us That No Party Lasts Forever
THE WILD PARTY is a musical with a book by Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe and music and lyrics by LaChiusa. Based on the 1928 Joseph Moncure March poem of the same name, the show is about the masks that people wear culturally and the removal of those masks over the course of a party. The 2000 Broadway production was originally presented as a series of vaudeville sketches, with signs at the beginning and the end that announced the next scene with a show card propped on an easel at the side of the stage. In this UT Department of Theatre and Dance production, that device has been abandoned. The piece, in this incarnation, uses a vaudeville straw hat act to bookend the production at open and close. The remainder of the show, for the most part, is the actual party and I found the device to be most effective putting more heart into the piece than the original concept did.
UT Theatre & Dance to Stage FAME THE MUSICAL, 11/21-12/6
The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents the pop-culture phenomenon Fame The Musical, directed by Jerry Ruiz, November 21-December 6, 2014 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre. Based on the Academy Award-winning film and hit television series, Fame The Musical is the unforgettable journey of a group of dedicated students with stars in their eyes. Be captivated as the story unfolds for these talented hopefuls studying at New York City's legendary High School for Performing Arts. Through their triumphs and tragedies, the ultimate goal remains - Fame.