Recent Reviews
Review: DEAR V., by Blipswitch at the Curtain Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on May 08, 2021
Blipswitch has thrown down a gauntlet for other contemporary dance groups to pick up in the coming post-Covid world. Welcome the light!
At the Curtain Theatre in far west forested Austin, Texas The pandemic is dead, long live performance in live! All the permutations and iterations of flickering streaming shows comprised but a single candle against the dark, a needed guide to light the way to our artistic return. The bold performers of Blipswitch have struck out into the light of day with their show Dear V,. Obeying the protocols, the dancers of Blipswitch performed mask to …
Review: Short Play Festival by Deaf Austin Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on May 02, 2021
The first night of three short plays by Deaf Austin Theatre was an auspicious beginning by an enthusiastic group of writers and performers. We look forward to many more such evenings of theatre.
In livestreaming, the waiting is the hardest part. The happy live-chatting audience could slap brief emojis on the screen from a short menu of such provided, but that was all. The waiting and the delayed start were harbingers of the technical difficulties to come. But the performances eventually did start and run their courses, and while the technical support staff sweated bullets to drive the beast forward, they ended with a solid success for Deaf …
Review: Tameca Jones Concert by Zach Theatre
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on April 20, 2021
Tameca Jones opened up about the challenges of having to live up to so many different personas expected of her, including bad-ass, alluring, powerful, and sexy. Her true self still outshines them all.
Zach Theatre’s answer to the obstacles of practicing safe social distancing while keeping live theatre and entertainment thriving, Songs Under the Stars continues throughout the spring season with shows till May 23, 2021. The venue has done an excellent job of adopting with an outdoor stage, lighting, and sound systems enhanced by the beauty of the night sky (the clarity of the night sky not guaranteed). The staff and volunteers are well trained and social …
Review: Behind the Scenes -- The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, Bass Concert Hall, University of Texas to April 18, 2021
by David Glen Robinson
Published on April 14, 2021
This monumental mid-twentieth-century art form harkened back to the origins of painting, with the same vulnerabilities and ephemerality.
Camille Paglia, in one of her milder pronouncements repeated many times, said that cinema was the dominant art form of the twentieth century. Behind the Scenes: The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, showing now at the Bass Concert Hall of UT-Austin’s Texas Performing Arts offers a striking, monumental affirmation of that insight. The show is a collection of huge painted backdrops measuring scores of feet high and scores of feet long and all dimensions in …
Review: Legendary Ladies of the Grand Ole Opry by Zach Theatre
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on April 01, 2021
These performers delivering classic country songs with true heart and soul put to shame today’s top-40 formulaic country songs—with powerhouse renditions and wonderful jokes and anecdotes.
The Grand Ole Opry has a long history dating back to its origins as a radio show on Nashville's WSM, a radio station established by the National Life & Accident Insurance Company on November 28, 1925. George D. Hay, an immensely popular radio announcer, called his weekly show the WSM Barn Dance (the name “Grand Ole Opry” was introduced in 1927). An opry is an Americanized form of the word opera. By the 1930s, the …
Review of Cricket on the Hearth streaming production by Different Stages
by David Glen Robinson
Published on January 09, 2021
Different Stages' imaginative, effective streaming presentation features welcome familiar faces in a a clever interpretation that's close to actual in-person performance. A fine epiphany for Epiphany!
Once again, Austin's Different Stages has found a different stage, and as with many others, has mastered it. The Cricket on the Hearth was billed as a staged reading, but turned out to be considerably more than that. The costumed actors performed very much in character as the early Victorian persons Dickens enlivened to colorful perfection. Their Zoom window backgrounds revealed props or held a few set pieces, and occasional deft touches emphasized connections despite …