AUSTIN THEATER REVIEWS

The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston hosted Jaston Williams, of GREATER TUNA fame, on Saturday, June 15, 2013 for two command performances of BLAME IT ON VALENTINE, TEXAS. BLAME IT ON VALENTINE, TEXAS, one of four one-man shows crafted by Jaston Williams, had its World Premiere on February 14, 20...

There's certainly a reason why the works of Gilbert and Sullivan have remained a fixture in popular culture for nearly 150 years. Their operas are fun, frivolous, and tinted with social and political satire. Though Princess Ida, their eighth operatic collaboration, may not be as well-known as some...

Sometimes there's nothing as hysterical as hysteria. That's the main premise of Reefer Madness, currently produced by Doctuh Mistuh Productions, a musical satire about the dangers of marijuana. The show, which splits its run between the Spiderhouse Ballroom and the Dougherty Arts Center, is an abs...

There are some occasions where the family fare is so well-presented that one can't help but be enchanted and enthralled. Penfold Theatre's current production of Shipwrecked! is one such occasion where children and adults are entertained and inspired by the brilliant stagecraft and the talented perf...

It doesn't get much more disappointing than Spank! The Fifty Shades Parody, an incredibly misguided spoof of the equally misguided novel Fifty Shades of Grey, where every joke is predictable, expected, bland, and punctuated by ferocious dry-humping....

We all have secrets. We all have ways of coping with disappointment or pain. Some of those coping methods do more harm than good. None of these ideas are necessarily original, and they've all been dramatized before. However, the story of an elderly couple who secretly copes by using crystal meth...

PETA supporters be warned. As Lieutenant of Inishmore hinges on the violent murder of a housecat, this show may not be for you. But for the rest of you who are curious as to how a play about kitty homicide can be one of the most intelligent and hysterical social satires in recent memory, I suggest...

Austin Theater Project's hysterical production of Avenue Q-the hit Broadway musical which beat out Wicked to win the Tony Awards triple crown of Best Book, Best Score, and Best Musical-is sure to be a must see event of the Austin summer season. Though while the show involves cute Jim Henson-esque p...

It's been said that perception is reality. While I completely agree with the statement, it is cause for one major question. Whose perception is reality? Where some of us may see empty air, others may see a 6 foot 3 ½ white rabbit. This odd and puzzling philosophical question is at the core of H...

No matter what the show, most theatrical experiences are rather similar. You park your car, show your tickets to an usher, find your seat, sit quietly for a few hours, applaud the cast, and then go home. Still, once in a while a theater company has the brains and imagination to create a truly uniq...

While it does have a few areas that could improve and may be a long night for the kids, Sam Bass's double header of The Secret Garden and The Yellow Boat is overall an enjoyable evening of theatre that will entertain and enchant the kids while moving the adults to tears....

In complete darkness, the Godlike voice of a judge echoes. To the unseen jury, the voice states, "Premeditated murder is the most serious charge tried in our criminal courts…One man is dead. Another man's life is at stake…In the event that you find the accused 'Guilty,' the bench will not ente...

A few minutes into Thoroughly Modern Millie, now playing in a delightful production at the Georgetown Place, the likable ensemble and the optimistic title character sing, "Everything today is thoroughly modern. Check your personality." A personality check may be in order for any person who doesn't...

It's been said that good news is worth repeating. I guess that adage can be modified for the arts as well. A masterpiece is worth repeating, and thankfully Blue Lapis Light has decided to reprise their stunning, site specific dance piece Heaven-Earth-One a mere seven months after its last producti...

Hurry, hurry! Step right up! The circus has come to Austin, and it's not to be missed. Filled with imagination, whimsy, and charm, The Cruel Circus, now playing the Salvage Vanguard Theatre thru May 25th, is an absolute delight and a feast for the eyes....

No story is completely original. It's all been done before. Surely we've seen shows that involve a crumbling marriage or others that involve class struggle, but rarely are those themes seamlessly interwoven as they are in James Venhaus's daring play The Happy Couple, currently playing The White Ho...

I never thought I'd see the day where a bus and truck company would actually put their bus on stage. The national tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert is here to delight Austin audiences through May 12th, and there must be a RuPaul's Drag Race contestant somewhere out there who is completely out o...

There's a song titled "It's Alright" that comes up time and time again in Passing Strange, the rock musical serving as Half & Half Productions' inaugural production. The words "It's Alright" don't come close to describing this high octane show. While the content in Passing Strange may be a bit bi...

In the second act of Hit, currently playing at Hyde Park Theatre and produced by A Chick and A Dude Productions, the tough, dangerous Asher states that the identity of the hit man has changed over the years. No longer are hit men Italian goons who kowtow to an old guy by kissing his ring or connivi...

There is an old adage in the theater: "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." Comedy is certainly harder when the material is Noises Off, the ridiculously funny farce by Michael Frayn which was named "One of the Funniest comedies ever written" by the New York Post. Still, if the cast and crew at the Aus...

It's the timeless quality of the tale that have inspired director Bernard Uzan to set his production of Faust, first produced at Arizona Opera in 2011 and now re-staged for Austin Lyric Opera, in modern times. Unfortunately, despite the impeccable performances of the incredible cast, the tone and v...

While this week's tragic Boston Marathon Bombing definitely changes the effect the story and characters have on the audience, the cast and crew at Different Stages make no apologies for doing a play about Boston at such a critical time in the city's history. Instead, they celebrate the city and the...

While Urinetown may have an unconventional subject matter (you'd be hard pressed to think of another musical that focuses so heavily on bodily functions), it doesn't kill the show at all. This may not be your grandma's musical, but (please forgive the litany of bad puns you're about to read) it's a...

Anyone who's ever been on a road trip knows that they are either incredible adventures or events you hope to never repeat. Strangely, the world premiere comedy Mad Beat Hip and Gone, written and directed by Austin's own Steven Dietz, falls somewhere in the middle. While there is much to love about...