Recent Reviews
Review: Pygmalion by Different Stages
by David Glen Robinson
Published on July 09, 2014
Different Stages’ production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion at the Vortex in East Austin is low on the radar in this summer of spectacular productions, but theatergoers should search out this classic play, updated and made fresh as the violets in Eliza Doolittle’s basket by Director Norman Blumensaadt. Different Stages has much to be proud of, at most levels, in this new production of an older and well-known play. The play derives ultimately from the …
Review: Bob, A Life in Five Acts by Half & Half Productions
by Michael Meigs
Published on July 06, 2014
Contemporary San Francisco playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s quirky comedy clicks nicely into the Austin aesthetic. Hyde Park Theatre has done both Boom and Hunter Gatherers over the last couple of years, a sure sign that his work is a bit hip, upbeat, funny and intriguing. Now Joshua Denning of the newly founded Half and Half Productions has put Nachtrieb’s Bob, A Life in Five Acts together with a lively cast and a venue that in …
Review: Silence! by Doctuh Mistuh Productions
by David Glen Robinson
Published on July 03, 2014
Oh, no! It’s the musical of Silence of the Lambs! I hope they don’t hurt it! Oh, please, the thing is bulletproof and cries out for a stinging parody about cannibalistic, human skin-wearing serial torture-murderers and the daffy FBI agents who chase them. Silence! The Musical has actually been around since 2005, with its music and lyrics written by Jon and Al Kaplan, and book by Hunter Bell. But now, with ISIS rampaging through the …
Review: Psycho Beach Party by The City Theatre Company
by David Glen Robinson
Published on July 01, 2014
Psycho Beach Party is Charles Busch’s parody of California surfer culture, and, more particularly, surf movies. And there’s nothing like a sunny, open beach for a horror/mystery story, right? If you think this approach is slightly bent, then you get Charles Busch, and welcome to his world of playwriting and theatre. City Theatre, led by Andy Berkovsky, really gets it, and treats Psycho Beach Party just right. Their production is hilarious, and in this reviewer’s …
Review: Pygmalion by Different Stages
by Michael Meigs
Published on July 01, 2014
The production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion playing at the Vortex is a sparkling interpretation by Norman Blumensaadt and the Different Stages cast and crew. This is a production not to be missed by anyone who appreciates the magic of narrative theatre. Practically all of us have seen the film version of Lerner and Loewe’s musical interpretation, My Fair Lady. It was relatively faithful to Shaw’s 1913 play, so there’ll be moments when you’ll suddenly …
Review: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Zach Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on June 14, 2014
Zach Theatre Center goes for the gold this spring with Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (VSMS), the 2013 Tony Award winner for Best Play. The Zach is producing the regional premiere of the play with a cast almost completely of Actors Equity Association members, directed by first-time Zach director Abe Reybold. Again Zach gives a work its due with undoubtedly the highest production values of any theatre in Austin. The production …