Recent Reviews
Review: Peer Gynt by Last Act Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 28, 2014
Henrik Ibsen's second-floor apartment is maintained and curated today as a major tourist attraction in Oslo, the capital of Norway. This past summer we found it rather impressive; it's so centrally located that in the last years of his life the grumpy little man with sideburns and top hat could easily take his daily constitutional down to the Grand Cafe for cigars and coffee. By that time he was a Great Man, eagerly pointed out …
Second Review: The Society for Hard Determinists by Twin Alchemy Collective
by David Glen Robinson
Published on October 27, 2014
People have different opinions about audience participation, so be aware that this show is 100 percent audience participation. On the other hand, those who prefer to receive their theatre insights sitting comfortably in their seats may be pleasantly surprised at what they can enjoy as the performing guests of honor in this innovative show. The audience donned hooded robes and plain white masks, and then they were led by the hand through the ritual. With …
Review: The Society for Hard Determinists by Twin Alchemy Collective
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 24, 2014
Trust. Trust is essential. Trust is fundamental to theatre art. We the audience come to the appointed place and time, trusting the actors with our attention and our time; company and audience understand the unwritten rules of the playing space. We depart trusting one another on a journey of defined duration, even consenting to turn off our cell phones and other noise-making devices so that, like airline passengers, we're locked away in a shared reality …
Review: Arden of Faversham by Hidden Room Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 22, 2014
Who knew that dusty old unperformed plays could be such fun? The Hidden Room, that admirable project of Beth Burns, is devoting three weekends to bringing back to life Elizabethan scripts that may -- or may not -- have had William Shakespeare as an unacknowledged collaborator (mind you, almost everyone was uncredited in the theatre of the day). Scholars have attributed 37 works to the Bard, and there's always speculation about more. These are not …
Review: Blithe Spirit by Fredericksburg Theater Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 21, 2014
The very first sight of the set for the Fredericksburg Theater Company production of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit illustrates a familiar and gratifying aspect of many a community theatre, including the Wimberley Players, the Gaslight Baker Theatre in Lockhart and the Sam Bass Theatre in Round Rock. Perhaps this care comes from an awareness of being away from the usual metropolitan art centers; perhaps it's a determination to show the world that 'community' doesn't mean …
Review: The Tempest by Present Company Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on October 19, 2014
Below and all about the looming presence of the monumental set by the wonderfully imaginative Ia Ensterä there's a tribal intensity in Present Company's rendering of The Tempest. Structures are cleverly clad with discarded shipping pallets and decorated with bric-a-brac. The spectacle is augmented by the washes and color shifts of Christina Barboza's lighting design, no mean accomplishments in an outdoor setting that's really a farmyard. Before the action commences, the audience is treated to …