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BWW Reviews: National Tour of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is More Beastly Than Beautiful
The current touring production of Beauty and the Beast shares the songs, dialogue, title, and even the creative team of the original Broadway production, but it completely lacks any sort of purpose, save the desire to put cash in the pockets of its producers. There's no magic or life in this pitifu...
BWW Reviews: Everything in Focus at TIME STANDS STILL
It's clear even before Time Stands Still begins that the show has been carefully designed to make us ponder the effects of war. Before the actors take the stage, clips of the war-torn Middle East are projected on the stage, including images of children being indoctrinated into ISIS.
It's impossi...
BWW Reviews: NOW THEN AGAIN Proves There's a Science to Both Romance and Storytelling
Lots of things are meant to be paired together. Peanut butter and jelly, Meryl Streep and Oscar nominations, but romance and quantum physics? They might not be a logical pairing, but in Penfold Theatre's Now Then Again, the way that they come together is an entertaining thing of genius....
BWW Reviews: REX'S EXES and the Sequel Syndrome
Ask anyone you meet and they're bound to tell you that, with the possible exception of The Godfather Part II, sequels aren't as good as the original. That seems to be the case with Rex's Exes, now playing at Sam Bass Theatre. For three years in a row now, Sam Bass has opened their season a slapsti...
BWW Reviews: COCK by Mike Bartlett Takes Love and Sexuality Into the Ring
COCK, a comedy by Mike Bartlett, tells the story of John, a young man who takes a break from his boyfriend, and accidentally meets the woman of his dreams. This leaves John to grapple with self-identity, while still being deeply in love with both his partners. The problem is that everyone wants him ...
BWW Reviews: THE KING AND I at Zach Theatre is a Sumptuous, Opulent Production of an American Musical Theatre Classic
Rodgers & Hammerstein are, to me, the comfort food of musical theatre. Of all their shows, THE KING AND I holds up the best some 65 years on. It avoids the saccharine sweetness and didactic qualities of some of their other works. The musical is based on the 1944 novel 'Anna and the King of Siam' by ...
BWW Reviews: EVIL DEAD -THE MUSICAL Blasts Austin with the Boomstick
I was absolutely blown away with just how much I loved this show...and it wasn't just because of the memorable one-liners that the audience all waited for with baited breath. In this comedic take on the 1980s horror franchise, characters and demons sing and dance to catchy songs written specifically...
BWW Reviews: MacTheatre Has Definitely Got It and Flaunts It in THE PRODUCERS
"I really, really miss high school theatre."
This was the first thought I had as I entered, sat and watched, and exited McCallum Fine Arts Academy' production of The Producers. Because I first-handedly know how much work- and how much fun- it is to spend countless hours rehearsing (need to inte...
BWW Reviews: One Man HENRY V a Brisk, Wondrous Event
Conceived, adapted, and performed by Robert Faires, Henry V is a production that astounds from beginning to end. The production, which premiered in 2009, is certainly worthy of the revival its received....
BWW Reviews: STILL NOW is a Fresh Take on an Old Topic
How do you deal with cancer? How do you deal with other people's reactions to your cancer? If you're a dancer, how do you face life in all it's un-choreographed glory?...
BWW Reviews: THE ORCHID FLOTILLA is a Stunning Exploration of the Human Soul's Ability to Survive
One of my favorite descriptions of what theatre is states that "theatre is an experience, shared by a group of strangers, in the dark." This description certainly holds true for THE ORCHID FLOTILLA created by writer/director Caroline Reck, playing through Sept. 20 at The Salvage Vanguard Theater. It...
BWW Reviews: Austin Theatre Project's GODSPELL Shows Off Energetic Cast
Every once in a while, I hear comments about theater that just make me cringe. One that I've heard on more than one occasion (usually from a pre-teen who doesn't know any better) is, 'OMG! The score from Wicked has got to be the toughest thing that Schwartz guy ever wrote. How did Idina do 'Defying ...
BWW Reviews: DETROIT – Suburbia Isn't What It Used To Be
"When you are at zero, anything can happen. It's like total possibility," says Sharon, the next door neighbor to Mary and Ben, in Lisa D'Amour's DETROIT. And that is exactly what this play is about… sliding out of your place in society's economic structure and down to zero....
BWW Reviews: WE PLAY CHEKHOV is Reader's Theatre at its Finest
There's a sad phenomenon that occurs when an artist shows extreme talent and brilliance in one artistic medium. We tend to reward that talent by unjustly pigeonholing that artist into that medium alone. Case in point: Chekhov. We revere the Russian artist as a playwright, but we forget that he wrote...
BWW Reviews: URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL is a Privilege to See
Two of my very favorite things are satire and black comedy. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL has been a favorite of mine since the show took home Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical back in 2002. It is a rarity in today's musical...
BWW Reviews: A KID LIKE JAKE Explores the Line Between Acceptance and Exploitation
This is a show with one solid goal in mind: spark conversation. And that it does quite well. It's the intent of Daniel Pearle's smart and powerful play to challenge the audience's thoughts on the education system, gender identity, and relationship between the two. Even the most socially liberal a...
BWW REVIEWS: Trinity Street Players' FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is a Blessing to Austin Theatre
Tradition. The world in itself embodies the theme of the well-known and beloved musical Fiddler on the Roof. For over half a century now, the timeless tale of Teyve, a loveable yet customary man raising five daughters in 19th century Russia, has touched a plethora of audiences, ranging in age, fa...
BWW Reviews: JUNGALBOOK at Sam Bass Showcases Young Talent
If you attend Jungalbook, currently running at Sam Bass Theatre, leave your memories of the Disney movie at the door. The stage adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's short stories, written by Edward Mast, differs greatly from the iconic Disney film and from the original Kipling stories. While Kipling ta...
BWW Reviews: BRIGHT NOW BEYOND is an Enjoyable Evening of Camp and Charm
Creating a stage adaptation of beloved material is a tricky business, especially if the work is a piece of fantasy. When you add the task of making a musical out of the work, the stakes are upped considerably. BRIGHT NOW BEYOND, a new musical by Daniel Alexander Jones and Bobby Halvorson, now playin...
BWW Reviews: Cast of SummersStock Austin's FOOTLOOSE Far Exceeds Material
Austin's theater scene is currently only one degree of separation away from Kevin Bacon. SummerStock Austin's production of Footloose, one of three musicals currently running in rep at The Long Center for the Performing Arts, is a fun, upbeat, and entertaining show, despite its weak and uninspired ...
BWW Reviews: World Premiere of STONE SOUP is a Delicious, Family Friendly Treat
SummerStock Austin has a long tradition of producing one musical specifically written for the under 13 set every year. I was introduced to this tradition back in 2012 when I went to a performance of SummerStock Austin's production of A Year With Frog and Toad. As a childless twenty-something guy, ...
BWW Reviews: 7 Towers Production of ALL'S WELL Brings Out Both Comedy and Drama
Depending on who you speak with, there are between three and six "problem plays" attributed to William Shakespeare, but almost all Shakespearian scholars consider All's Well That Ends Well as one of them. On the surface, the play about unrequited love is a comedy. No one dies, and as the title sug...
BWW Reviews: 'Roxie Rocks CHICAGO'- As Does the Rest of Summer Stock Austin
As a self-proclaimed theatre nerd, I have a bit of an embarrassing confession: I have never seen Chicago on stage. I've belted the soundtrack, seen the movie countless times, and even walked past the Ambassador Theater on Broadway (that counts-right?). But I had not yet seen this musical favorite li...
BWW Reviews: A.C.T. Stages an Exuberant, Crowd-Pleasing HOW TO SUCCEED
Want to know how to succeed at producing an entertaining musical comedy? Check out Archangel Community Theatre's current production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The production, which is packed with top tier talent, is an unbridled success from beginning to end....
BWW Review: Cyrano May Be Ready for the Stage, But CYRANO Is Not
I wish I had Cyrano de Bergerac's way with words. If I did, maybe it would be easier to write what I'm about to say here. City Theatre's current production of the Edmond Rostand classic, Cyrano de Bergerac has several of the elements that a show needs to succeed. It has an incomparable lead actor, t...
Videos
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John Cameron Mitchell: Hedwig 25th Anniversary Movie Tour Emo's Austin (8/05-8/05) |
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The Fat Gator Weekend 2 Day Festival Lake Walter E. Long (6/06-6/07) |
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And Then There Were None Georgetown Palace Theatre (8/21-9/20) |
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'Light': A Solo Chinese Play of Family and Hope(5/28-6/6) Dougherty Arts Center (5/28-5/28) |
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Guns N’ Roses Globe Life Field (9/09-9/09) |
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The Robber Bridegroom The Alchemy Theatre (5/29-6/14) |
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Jack Johnson at Germania Insurance Amphitheater Germania Insurance Amphitheater (8/29-8/29) |
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Swan Lake by International Ballet Stars in Austin, TX Bass Concert Hall (4/03-4/03) |
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Destination by George Ayres Trinity Street Playhouse (5/14-5/31) |
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The Book of Mormon (Non-Equity) Bass Concert Hall (6/08-6/13) |
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