Reviews for Penfold Theatre Company Performances
Review: John and Jen by Penfold Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on February 08, 2010
Andrew Cannata has the job of growing up twice in this script. The first act features some charming and evocative brother-and-sister play before Jen leaves home. In the second act Cannata's distress with his Mom is presented.
Working with Michael McKelvey of St. Edward's University, the budding Penfold Theatre has occupied relatively unexploited theatre territory in Austin: the contemporary intimate musical. John & Jen has a genre resemblance to their pioneer show The Last Five Years. Two actors in an intimate space, with most of the story told in song and complex, sophisticated accompanying music. On his website, composer Andrew Lippa calls it a "chamber musical." The music is scored for keyboard, cello and percussion. That …
Review: Three Days of Rain by Penfold Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on February 22, 2009
Had we but world enough and time, Three Days of Rain would be one of those rare theatre pieces to attend several times. Both script and performances offer nuance, detail and revelations to deepen meanings upon each viewing.
This play by Penfold Theatre is a gem. Coming after their play The Last Five Years in January of this year, it confirms that the Penfold company has a vision and a talent for choosing and staging pieces that fit it.Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain might just as well have been titled Two Generations or Hopes and Enigmas, because those three days are mentioned only in a scribbled note in a diary. They become emblematic after the death of the man …
Review: The Last Five Years (2009) by Penfold Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on January 04, 2009
As this very handsome pair of actors work the story from both ends, we begin to realize that Brown and director Michael McKelvey are carefully dosing our emotions. Everyone loves someone who is in love.
Intimate but lonely, a haunted portrait of a relationship with the musical flair and lash of cabaret – The Last Five Years, produced by Penfold Theatre and now playing at the Larry L. King Theatre of Austin Playhouse, is a memorable evening spent with two talented characters in the most promising years of their lives. No one wants to watch the failure of a marriage, to hover as witnesses as hope, delight and enthusiasm go …