Recent Reviews
Review: Body Awareness by Hyde Park Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on May 10, 2010
The real joke, and the one that makes this such an appealing play, is that the adults around Jarred don't have very clear answers to any of his questions.
Annie Baker's Body Awareness is a well crafted, attractive little comedy with lots of heart. I hadn't really expected that, for the Hyde Park style is more often sardonic, grimly humorous or menacing. After all, director Ken Webster had been using a publicity shot of the cast in which they looked as if they'd been arrested by the Austin Police Department at a wild party. Because of a trip out of town, my first chance …
Review: The Taming of the Shrew, original practices by Hidden Room Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on May 07, 2010
Ryan Crowder's Katherina is an intelligent woman, neglected and misprised by her father in favor of Hamilton's self-absorbed Bianca.She is tart, rather than sour, and gradually we see her beginning to appreciate Petrucio's attentions.
The excitement and cameraderie were palpable on the opening night of the Hidden Room Theatre's "original practices" staging of The Taming of the Shrew. This was a gathering of Austin's acting fellowship, in the audience as well as among the company. Director Beth Burns and assistant director Stephanie Delk greeted familiar faces; storyteller-actress Bernadette Nason served the refreshments; musician Jennifer Davis of the Baron's Men offered masks for sale at the concession stand. After the …
Review: Almost, Maine by McCallum Fine Arts Academy
by Michael Meigs
Published on May 06, 2010
Students did these pieces with energy and confidence, making the most of the humor. The ensemble curtain call was cleverly staged.
For the school's opening On Tour! production, student directors Ansley Lee and Sierra Tothero from McCallum Academy's theatre department took over the Blue Theatre, out behind the Goodwill warehouse on Springdale road. It was a friendly and successful conquest, with manager Jennie Gravenstein running concessions and generally helping out in the excited rush. Almost, Maine by John Cariani is a whimsical set of sketches about folks in the icy northern reaches of the United States. …
Review: The Dream (adapted from A Midsummer Night's Dream) by Austin Shakespeare
by Michael Meigs
Published on May 04, 2010
The Dream is Shakespeare lite, and it presents an attractive magic world for your evening in the park. There's no admission charge, so you're getting a whole lot more than you pay for.
This is Shakespeare for a summery night in Zilker Park. The slope above the Hillside Theatre is wide and gentle, the perfect place to sprawl out on a blanket as the stars come out, the players play, the music sounds, and the action flits before you. A Midsummer Night's Dream is a favorite, in part because it is sweet and not particularly demanding. Shakespeare runs masques with the Duke's court, with the fairy court, with …
Review: Agnes of God by City Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on May 04, 2010
Evil exists. Pielmeier's examination of it here is glancing and exculpatory, as is often the case in our secular society. Each of these women is a victim in some sense, and in Pielmeier's world without greater meaning there appears to be very little consolation for any of them.
Agnes of God is a dark piece, in a dark place in the soul and in the universe. The three gifted actresses in this cast are glittering points of an enigmatic constellation in that darkness. A crime has been committed in a convent. Jennifer Underwood, admant and authoritative as the mother superior, clashes with Dawn Erin's Dr. Livingston, the skeptical, chain-smoking psychiatrist appointed by the court. Laura Ray's performance as a stressed and confused young …
Review: Our Town by Zach Theatre
by Michael Meigs
Published on April 23, 2010
'Our Town' is both their town -- Thornton Wilder's Grovers Corners, New Hampshire, 1904 - 1913 -- and our town, Austin in 2010.
Our Town is both their town -- Thornton Wilder's Grovers Corners, New Hampshire, 1904 - 1913 -- and our town, Austin in 2010. Dave Steakley and the large, talented cast at the Zach have a good time with the clever palimpsest of modern Austin that they use to reinvigorate a text that many of us first read in high school. It works, too, at least most of the time. This styling reminds us gently, insistently …