Reviews for touring company Performances
Review #2 of 2: CHICAGO by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on November 13, 2022
The touring production doesn't attempt to redefine CHICAGO; it does an amazing job of capturing the original spirit of the show: a celebration of life while on death row. A very welcome message at this time.
All the songs are fever dreams of the incarcerated. The set is an homage to the Duke Ellington Band’s scaffolded-style stage. The spotlights dance about like police search lights. The dancing is joyous, raw, animalistic—pure visceral sensuality and unbridled passion. If “writing about music is like dancing about architecture,” then the choreography speaks in sublime sentences that form poetic paragraphs . The music slinks like Eliot’s scampering marmoset. The show elevates the timeless romanticism …
Review #1 of 2: CHICAGO by 2022 touring company
by Michael Meigs
Published on November 03, 2022
Chicago's message: Life is a vaudeville, old chum. Come to the vaudeville!
Why should one bother to see yet another production of Chicago? The musical debuted nearly fifty years ago, in 1975; the film came out in 2002; and the work long ago proliferated among regional, community, educational, and even kiddie theatre companies. CTXLiveTheatre records ten productions of Chicago across the region, including a 2013 national tour, versions by Austin Playhouse, the Georgetown Palace, San Antonio's NESA high school arts program, and even a 2016 staging by …
Review: Blue Man Group by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on November 02, 2022
The Blue Man Group disguises low art as high art for an adoring public. Still, with the vast improvement and innovations in technology in the last thirty years, the ‘toys’ now available to them have a lot more potential.
Whenever possible, I like to go to any and every live production cold. No foreknowledge whatsoever. Of course, this is sometimes difficult with extremely popular works and often impossible if it’s a classic. Now, I wasn’t particularly worried about spoilers when it came to the Blue Man Group, but all I really knew about it was that there would be Blue Men and lots of drumming. I also assumed there would be a lot of …
Review: Hadestown by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on October 06, 2022
HADESTOWN is a bluesy allegory about the hero's journey, a realistic one not at all diminished by defeat. Doing what is right is both the journey and the journey’s end.
Let us thank the gods for Hadestown! Let us thanks Hades for showing us who are the true gods! And let us thank Hadestown the musical for not only finally giving the trombone its due but reviving and revitalizing modern day Broadway! Here is a production with its heart in the right place, for it has a devout appreciation for live music in its heart! If this beginning sounds like the praiseful …
Review: Mean Girls by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on August 08, 2022
The MEAN GIRLS touring cast and producers relied on the material and not the performances to deliver the goods. The tap-dancing scene felt phoned in, but the comedic material is strong enough to provide a full night of entertainment.
The city of Austin is fortunate to be a perennial stop for touring Broadway productions. There are nearly thirty different touring productions visiting approximately 240 different cities in the United States in a single year. The newly renovated Bass Concert Hall has all the bells and whistles necessary to accommodate such large performances. It also has recently reconfigured their security, making it much easier to enter the venue which is a greatly welcome alteration—especially considering …
Review: The Lion King by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on April 24, 2022
Reflections by a reviewer who's never seen THE LION KING: visually impressive, a light-hearted romp well designed for kids (and the kids within adults). Mesrmerizing, occasionally over long, often hilarious.
The Lion King really needs no introduction. The original, a 1994 animated film, was an enormous success both domestically and internationally. Featuring songs by Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice and a musical score by Hans Zimmer, it was released during a time known as the Disney Renaissance. The voicework was done by an all-star cast including Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Rowan Atkinson, and Whoopi Goldberg. Yet although it …