Recent Reviews
Review: Disney's Frozen by touring company
by Vanessa Hoang Hughes
Published on June 10, 2024
FROZEN's songs and spectacular action made excited kids bounce in their seats and grown adults cheer as if they were six years old again.
Disney’s animated film Frozen is a core memory for me and for the rest of Gen Z. It was released in 2013, and I’ve been a die-hard fan ever since. I have many fond memories of singing and twirling around to “Let it Go” in front of the TV when I was small. The movie shaped our childhoods. A cultural and social phenomenon, Frozen was inevitably turned into a Broadway musical. It went on tour …
Review: KING OF HEARTS by Alchemy Theatre Company, May 31 - June 16, 2024
by Michael Meigs
Published on June 07, 2024
Alchemy Theatre's magic takes place almost within reach of the audience in a whimsical, savagely satirical and charming "lost" musical from 1976.
Alchemy Theatre’s magic is potent, both because of its powerful ingredients and because it’s been brewing for a long time. Artistic Michael Cooper’s concept of reviving neglected musicals dates back to before 2020, for that’s when Alchemy cast Mack and Mabel, the 1974 musical that closed after 66 Broadway performances. COVID delayed the Austin production until 2022. In 2023 the company recreated the 1976 musical The Baker’s Wife, which toured the U.S. but never made …
Review: Kaleidoscope (2024) by Ventana Ballet and Austin Camerata
by David Glen Robinson
Published on May 26, 2024
In the second edition of KALEIDOSCOPE these talented companies and gifted performers emphasized the intersections that exist between music, dance, and with other artistic media. Let's hope they establish KALEIDOSCOPE as an enduring annual event.
Kaleidoscope is a collaboration between Ventana Ballet and Austin Camerata music, but duality has little to do with it. In Kaleidoscope, each click-twist of the tube tumbled every movement and note into new intersections and visions of dance and modern music, never to be repeated exactly in the world of art. This quality placed a high premium on the eye-witness experience, well worth the ticket. The Draylen Mason Music Studio in the KMFA studios is …
Review: Smoke, A Dance in Several Parts, by Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company
by David Glen Robinson
Published on May 21, 2024
The dancers in Kathy Dunn Hamrick's SMOKE created these palettes of imagination and released them to the audience as invitations to unlock their own dreamlike imagery.
Frenzy. Dreams. Desire, confidence, touch, smoke, departure. Stillness… . These are some of the images and impressions of the mosaic abstract Smoke, A Dance in Several Parts, a new contemporary dance performance from the Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company. The dance is a composite of choreographed and improvisational sections created by the five highly skilled dancers of the company. Acting Artistic Director Alyson Dolan directed the ensemble. Their own choreography had to include an extended …
Review: MoonFall by Red Nightfall Dance Theatre and Density512, Austin
by David Glen Robinson
Published on May 20, 2024
Firmly rooted in the classical tradition and benefiting from live music, multimedia, and multimodal art, MOONFALL compares favorably with Austin's most accomplished dance productions. We are so lucky.
So powerful, and then so tender. Not often are such disparate qualities drawn so beautifully into juxtaposition. Gentle love duets turn into angry ensemble conflicts. The shambling, morose movements of sun-scorched villagers segue into the powerful dances of the magician, seemingly in a heartbeat. That note is key, because while MoonFall, the newly premiered ballet by Red Nightfall Dance Theatre and Density512 danced to an original score by Sam Lipman deals directly in duality and …
Review: The Prom by Zach Theatre
by Vanessa Hoang Hughes
Published on May 19, 2024
THE PROM at Zach Theatre was full of fun surprises, eye-catching visuals, and electrifying entertainment, balanced with quiet moments of love and acceptance.
“This is our moment to change the world, one lesbian at a time!” When their musical about Eleanor Roosevelt fails spectacularly, four proud Broadway thespians explore ways to save their reputations through an attention-grabbing act of kindness and generosity. They brainstorm heart-pulling and tear-dropping causes, seeking one that won't require too much work. They find one in a Twitter headline: Indiana highschool cancels prom because of one lesbian couple! Like the hosts of Queer Eye, …