Reviews for Austin Shakespeare Performances
The Invention of Love by Tom Stoppard, Austin Shakespeare
by Michael Meigs
Published on March 07, 2015
Stoppard's 'Invention of Love' is a deliciously erudite confection, a tour de force in the literal sense that simply outruns the cultural reach of almost everyone in the audience.
A script and production can be, unfortunately, too intelligent. Live theatre is both a private and public art. Producer, director, cast and associates steep themselves in a script with the earnest desire to understand the author's intent, references and milieu, in order to deliver those as clearly and vividly as possible to an audience they already possess or hope to attract. Stoppard's The Invention of Love is a deliciously erudite confection, a tour de …
Review: Cyrano de Bergerac by Austin Shakespeare
by Thomas Hallen
Published on December 07, 2014
Austin Shakespeare has a large burden to shoulder, and many expectations to live up to. Any city's primary Shakespeare theatre must do the Bard justice and provide enough variety for the Bard-averse. I saw Cyrano on the third Saturday and returned home to read the reviews, and I find I hotly disagree with all three that CTXLT has linked to. This review is both dissent and discussion of a major artistic product from a significant …
Review: Othello by Austin Shakespeare
by Michael Meigs
Published on February 17, 2014
It is good -- very good -- to see Marc Pouhé back on the Austin stage. Tall, commanding, well-spoken and assured, he made a deep impression on theatre goers here back in 2008 and 2009 when appearing as Macbeth for Austin Shakespeare ("a formidable presence"), in The Three Sisters at Mary Moody Northen Theatre (anchoring "this lyric production. . . as a talkative, middle-aged lieutenant colonel. . . wistfully in love"), as a Dust Bowl preacher in the Zach Theatre's Grapes …
Review: The Belle of Amherst by Austin Shakespeare
by Jessica Helmke
Published on November 17, 2013
At Home with Emily Dickinson
I told myself, "I should have brought my favorite pen. Or maybe my secret stash of amateur poems? Some decorated stationary perhaps? Then again, freshly baked sugar cookies are sure to do the trick. . . ." I was finally going to meet her. The dark, secluded and intriguing poetic genius herself, Ms. Emily Dickinson. I waited patiently and quietly in my chair for over an hour, but she never showed. Instead, a woman dressed …
Review: Design for Living by Austin Shakespeare
by Christine El-Tawil
Published on February 11, 2013
Despite the speed of the exchanges and the posh accents, not one joke or pun was lost on the audience. The shifts between tense drama moments to absurdly lighthearted funny ones deeply engaged us.
Kara Bliss greets you with song as you enter the Rollins Studio Theater at the Long Center for Austin Shakespeare’s production of Design for Living by Noël Coward. Jason Connor accompanies her on the upright piano. Bliss’s soulful delivery of witty and fun compositions by Coward instantly transports you to the 1920’s. The puns and clever humor set the audience laughing even before the action began, particularly with references to “gay” behavior. In Coward’s time, “gay” usually …
Quick Comment: Design for Living by Austin Shakespeare
by Michael Meigs
Published on February 07, 2013
Helen Merino, Martin Burke and Michael Miller deliver the most exuberant, mischievous and riveting ensemble work I've seen in many a day.
The songs performed by chanteuse Kara Bliss highlight Noël Coward's sly wit, but Ann Ciccolella's staging of Design for Living proves he was no mere champagne dandy. Marvelously articulate dialogue pops and snaps, and it's full of emotion. Helen Merino, Martin Burke and Michael Miller deliver the most exuberant, mischievous and riveting ensemble work I've seen in many a day. Hits as of 2015 03 01: 755