Dain Geist News

Part of the genius of THE OUTSIDER is it is pure farce. Characters and plots are played larger than life, and doors constantly swing open with new surprises behind them. We’re not in the sturm and drang of THE WEST WING, but rather the territory of a silly sitcom like VEEP. Physical comedy, verbal banter, and just plain stupid stuff happens, and this cast is up to the challenge of delivering all of it. The director has found some of Houston's funniest, most likable actors.

Any production of a show has to do with relationships. These actors are here because they believe in Tracy and Kara. Most of them have worked with me last year, so hopefully they believe in me, too. It is a little bit of sacrifice all the way around, and that's sort of how a lot of theater gets made.

The George Theater is presenting A Texas Carol this holiday season. A Texas Carol is a zany and heartfelt ode to families that despite their dysfunction somehow manage to keep moving forward in love. Learn how to purchase tickets!

With the classic comic Boom! and Pow!, Stages continues its excellent season with Inda Craig-Galvain's Black Super Hero Magic Mama. Hot off the heels of the epic jukebox musical, You Are Cordially... by ShaWanna Renee Rivon, Black Super Hero Magic Mama truly represents the magnificence of Houston theatre. 

Shannon Emerick’s portrayal of Isabelle Arc is the performance on which MOTHER OF THE MAID hinges, and she manifests a miracle consisting of fully-realized characterization and range. Rarely will you see an actress wholly embody a role so fully and disappear completely into another person.

Main Street Theater is offering a riveting new play to Houston audiences: Mother of the Maid by Jane Anderson. The production opens Saturday night, February 5 at 7:30pm and runs through February 27 at MST – Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd.

The Houston Equity Festival is a collection of local professional actors, all members of the union Actors' Equity Association, each of whom is mounting her/his own show during the summer and fall of 2019.  Actor Dain Geist spearheaded the creation of the Festival "While we may be individual artists," says Geist, "Together we help to build a community."

THE EFFECT sets a high bar for the rest of The Houston Equity Festival. It's a testament to what impact a small intimate theater space can do with outstanding actors and a daring piece of written work.

The Houston Equity Festival is a collection of local professional actors, all members of the union Actors' Equity Association, each of whom is mounting her/his own show during the summer and fall of 2019.  Actor Dain Geist spearheaded the creation of the Festival "While we may be individual artists," says Geist, "Together we help to build a community."

This is an intense drama exploring the depths of a man who feels ostracized by a group that is already shunned by society. It's a play about loneliness and deathwishes that spiral out of control.

THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR is a fluffy piece, but has real bite when we look across at our current state of political officials. It almost hurts to laugh so hard at the Russians.

Main Street Theater opens its 42nd Season with Enemies by Maxim Gorky, adapted by David Hare.  Enemies tells the story of Russian society in 1905 when the country sat ready for revolution.  Directed by MST Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden, this collaboration with the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance features a cast of 24, 8 of whom are UH students.

Motherhood Out Loud, written by a collection of celebrated American writers, unfolds a series of monologues on the many aspects of maternity and shines a light on issues of motherhood in the 21st Century.  The show makes its Houston debut at the MATCH (Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston) for 8 performances May 11- 14 and May 18 - 21.  

BWW Review: LOVE AND INFORMATION At Main Street Theater

Main Street Theater is extending its production of Noel Coward's Fallen Angels through August 10. 4 performances have been added: Thursday, August 7 at 7:30pm, Friday, August 8 at 8pm; Saturday, August 9 at 8pm; Sunday, August 10 at 3pm. Scroll down for a look at the production!

With a suggestive title and a fascinating premise, Mike Bartlett's COCK is making a stir in Houston. Produced by Theater LaB Houston at Obsidian Art Space, the 90-minute one-act play that took London by storm in 2009 and received glowing reviews in New York City in 2012, lives up to its in-town and out-of-town hype. Be warned though, this show is for adults only, and patrons under the age of 18 will not be admitted.

Boldly re-envisioning classical drama is the mission of Classical Theatre Company, and their production of DOCTOR FAUSTUS, written by Christopher Marlowe and adapted by Timothy N. Evers, is theatrical magic that Houston audiences can savor. The company is breathing vibrant life into the playwright's fascinating tale about the dangers of hubris and presenting Houston's first-ever professional premiere of the 420-year-old work.

The Classical Theatre Company's (CTC) winter production of their 2013-2014 Main Stage Season will be Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. The production runs three weeks from today, January 29th-February 16th, 2014 at The Barn.

The Classical Theatre Company's (CTC) winter production of their 2013-2014 Main Stage Season will be Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. The production runs three weeks from January 29th-February 16th, 2014 at The Barn.

Even after interviewing Classical Theatre Company's Artistic Director and Director of William Shakespeare's HAMLET JJ Johnston, I was highly skeptical about this production. HAMLET set in the post September 11th world with inspiration from Edward Snowden sounded like a gaggle of confused metaphors looking for destruction. For whatever reason, I couldn't wrap my head around this vision for the piece. Walking into the theatre didn't allay those concerns. The set looks more like a modern prison than a castle, with stark grays, dull blues, and a splash of orange in its color palette. Surveillance cameras are positioned along the top of the structure. There are corrugated Plexiglass windows, rivets, rust, and fencing to be seen as well. "Denmark's a prison," says Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Act II, Scene 2 of the play, and Jodi Bobrovsky's set design nailed that on a literal level.