Reviews for Zach Theatre Performances
Review: The Girl who Became Legend by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on September 30, 2023
Leaving dusty Dustbin in search of rainclouds, "Raina" (get it?) meets legends on her quest. This colorful, imaginative staging of Sarah Saltwick's play charms, surprises, and educates.
The form is familiar—this is a "quest" story in which the protagonist leaves home to wander through the unknown "beyond" to experience a series of encounters and adventures but eventually returns home wiser and accepted by former adversaries and critics. Sarah Saltwick's first modification is evident in the title, for the questor is female, an earnest, sweet, booted young teen. "Raina" -- that's a tell! -- lives with her mother in Dustbin, a huddle of …
Review: Head Over Heels by Zach Theatre
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on August 31, 2023
The crowd of chiildren and adults roared in approval as Go Go's hits were unleashed one after another. A beach party indoors, in this weather? (Yes, pleasee!)
The Go-Go's got their start in Los Angeles, California in 1978 . While there have been all female rock groups before and after, they are one of the most successful of all time. Their debut album Beauty and the Beat reached number one on the billboard chart, stayed there for six weeks, and sold more than two million copies. Their achievements continued to skyrocket and their initial break up in 1985 didn’t stop the members …
Review: ROE by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on April 14, 2023
ROE is cracking good drama although subtly slanted to views shared by most Austinites. Director Jenny Lavery and her team deliver the nourishment so badly needed after the retrograde Dobbs decision and in the face of spreading authoritarianism,
Four syllables, emblematic of the hard-won right of women to bodily autonomy accorded 7-2 by the Supreme Court fifty years ago. Playwright Lisa Loomer pries the cap off that four-syllable can of worms and portrays individuals involved in and invested in that 1973 result—above all, the titular "Jane Roe." Norma McCorvey was pregnant for a third time and simply wanted not to be pregnant. Recent UT Law School graduate (one of only forty women …
Review: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (with Deaf Austin Theatre) by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on January 31, 2023
The glam fairy godmother delivers the theme—there's music in you—but no one hears it in this evocative production, for it's only in ASL and projected lyrics.
Produced with the Zach Theatre's usual exuberance and technical elegance, the production of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a memorable evening of theatre. The audience's wildly enthusiastic reaction on opening weekend certainly confirmed that. This production also surprises and intrigues as an educational experience, thanks to the remarkable and inventive collaboration with Deaf Austin Theatre and the charismatic performances of Sandra Mae Frank and additional actors who are deaf or hard of hearing. The story …
Review: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Zach Theatre
by Justin M. West
Published on October 19, 2022
Everything in Zach Theatre's THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY works to perfection. This uproariously hilarious participatory experience is a satire that's not afraid to sink its teeth in. Buy tickets. Now. Only one weekend left!
Ed. note: CTXLT colleague Justin M. West suffered a near knockout from the 'rona but made his way to a keyboard to deliver this review. He regrets the delay. The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is scheduled to run through October 23, 2022. If you’re the type to skim or just read the first bit of a review to get the gist, this is for you: Stop reading. Buy tickets. Go see this show. …
Review: The Sound of Music by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on June 30, 2022
Dave Steakley succeeds with an innovative staging concept and sparkling cast for THE SOUND OF MUSIC; he mostly succeeds in tying fraught pre-Anschluss Austria to today's beleaguered United States.
Austin's Zach Theatre needed a big one to bust free of the COVID oppression that harmed this and other venues, and Dave Steakley has delivered handsomely. Who doesn't know The Sound of Music, the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that garnered an armload of Tony awards and was the basis of the 1963 film that swept the Oscars? Steakley's challenge: use that familiar material but make it new. He succeeds with an innovative …