AUSTIN THEATER REVIEWS

The Alexandre Dumas classic The Three Musketeers has been told, retold, produced and reimagined in countless ways in its 175-year history. This production is a marvelous retelling of the story from playwright Megan Monaghan Rivas with what I would term a gender-blend cast (versus gender-blind). It i...

Audiences will be thoroughly entertained by this fast-paced and funny musical, which covers a lot of territory in just one hour....

George and Charlotte Hay want to make it big. Their theatre troupe is failing, their marriage is on the rocks, the troupe's ingenue is pregnant and their big break is coming at the most inopportune time. Leave it to Ken Ludwig's fast-paced farce, MOON OVER BUFFALO at The Wimberley Players to emphasi...

Whether you're a history buff, grew up with the film or are a newcomer to the mysterious story of the lost princess, you will find something to love. Run, don't walk to catch this instant musical theatre classic before it leaves Austin on February 17th....

PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES is a Tony nominated 1981 musical written by the performance group of the same name. The group, Pump Boys and Dinettes, consisted of John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann. The members also jointly directed and starred in the original Bro...

Following the decaying marriage of Gabriela and Benito, REFERENCES TO SALVADOR DALI MAKE ME HOT by Jose Rivera at Texas State University gives a fantastical look into themes of marriage, sex and war.  While the script leaves something to be desired, director Alex Rodriguez put together a show that ...

JANE EYRE, THE MUSICAL began workshops in 1995 before moving to the La Jolla Playhouse in 1999 for pre-Broadway try-out performances. The musical premiered on Broadway in December of 2000 and closed in June of 2001, scoring 5 Tony Award nominations along the way. And deservedly so. Paul Gordon's el...

MacTheatre's production of 42ND STREET exudes pure Broadway bliss from the moment a massive line of energetic tap dancers greets the audience from behind a rising curtain. Come along and listen to the lullaby of Broadway…only it won't lull you to sleep....

Austin Opera's SILENT NIGHT A Hard Look at The Unchanged Reality of War...

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH is a 1998 Off-Broadway rock musical that won the Obie Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask and a book by John Cameron Mitchell. It is a performance by Hedwig, a genderqueer East German singer of the fictio...

Still, SHATTERED is a fascinating unscripted experience for theatre-goers. Given the nature of themes like mental health and grief, it was unclear how this new company would approach this concept. Fortunately, both cast and crew create a show that is original and entertaining to watch. Although its ...

WAITRESS is a 2015 musical with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles and a book by Jessie Nelson, which is based on the 2007 film of the same name, written by Adrienne Shelly. It tells the story of Jenna Hunterson (Christine Dwyer), a waitress in an abusive relationship with her husband Earl (Matt DeA...

SWEAT is a 2015 play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting. The play premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015 and subsequently was produced Off-Broadway in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017. The pl...

Unfolding before us in flashback mode, HEARTLAND delves into a 'West meets East meets West' tale that explores the differences and similarities between two very different cultures that fuse into one coherent story. We are reminded throughout the play of how alike human beings are and just how quickl...

THE MAGIC FIRE, by Lillian Groag, is a 1997 memory play set in Buenos Aires during the 1950s regime of Juan Peron. This cross cultural immigrant family finds their personal refuge from the fascist politics of Argentina in art, theatre and opera. Events eventually bring them to the point where they a...

Paradise perfection!Welcome to Paradise! 'A town of sinners and saints', brought to you by Austin Playhouse courtesy of Frost Entertainment. Originally produced by Ruskin Group Theatre Co of Los Angeles and now on tour, this gem is currently in Austin and what a delightful treat it is! With an incre...

This past year, I saw over 50 productions in the Austin area. As I think back over the year, there are ten experiences that have stuck with me long after the curtain call. This isn't a best of list so much as it is a list of those nights in the theatre that stand out in my memory and the experiences...

Welcome to Tuna, third - smallest town in the great state of Texas. I have been in love with it since my first visit in 1984 and it always feels like a return to the folks of my native Texan childhood. Never been to Tuna, Texas? Well I'm sorry and bless your heart, but fret not, even Yankees and for...

Decorating the stage nonchalantly, stretching and chatting with little regard to the fourth wall, six actors join together to explore the storytelling possibilities into the lives of the Herero people of Namibia. Creatively presented by Director Liz Fisher, the action onstage toggles between artisti...

FUN HOME is a musical adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori from Alison Bechdel's 2006 graphic novel of the same name. The story is a memoir of Bechdel's discovery of her own sexuality, her relationship with her gay father, and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding his life. It was also...

The Georgetown Palace Playhouse brings us silly Christmas fun from across the pond with FARNDALE AVENUE HOUSING ESTATE TOWNSWOMEN'S GUILD DRAMATIC SOCIETY'S PRODUCTION OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin, Jr, based on the work by Charles Dickens. In the United Kingdom, Christ...

In short, A CHRISTMAS CAROL is perfect holiday entertainment. This deeply affecting tale is filled with the redeeming power of love and the importance of charitable giving. Beautifully presented in a fun and festive package this production can be enjoyed by kids from one to ninety-two. Grab a cookie...

I was eager to finally experience The Santaland Diaries this year at Zach Theatre's intimate Whisenhunt Theatre, a perfect venue for this classic one-man show. I had heard David Sedaris deliver the story on NPR and I've read it a time or two over the years, but somehow never caught a production unti...

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (or, as it is sometimes called, the much shorter, 'Drood') is a 1985 musical based on Charles Dickens unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Written entirely by Rupert Holmes, it was the first Broadway musical with multiple endings determined by the audience. Holmes ...

Irving Berlin's WHITE CHRISTMAS is a 2000 musical based on Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name featuring the songs of Irving Berlin. The film itself was a remake of the film Holiday Inn. The new book is by David Ives and Paul Blake and features all of the songs from the 1954 film, along wi...