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BWW Reviews: QUALITIES OF STARLIGHT Offers an Honest Look at Drug Abuse
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...
BWW Reviews: LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE is a Bloody Good Time
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...
BWW Reviews: AVENUE Q at Austin Theatre Project is Raunchy & Riotous
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...
BWW Reviews: HARVEY is Hopping at Austin's Zach Theatre
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...
BWW Reviews: Loaded Gun Theory's Original BROTHERS MERLIN is Campy, Frivolous Fun
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...
BWW Reviews: Sam Bass Presents Family Friendly Double Header with SECRET GARDEN and YELLOW BOAT
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....
BWW Reviews: City Theatre's 12 ANGRY MEN is Bristling with Intensity
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...
BWW Reviews: THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE at Georgetown Palace is a Valentine to Broadway
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...
BWW Reviews: Blue Lapis Light's Encore Engagement of HEAVEN-EARTH-ONE is Heavenly
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...
BWW Reviews: Trouble Puppet's CRUEL CIRCUS is Cruelly Entertaining
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....
BWW Reviews: Haves and Have Nots Square off in Last Act's HAPPY COUPLE
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...
BWW Reviews: PRISCILLA Is Anything But a Drag
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...
BWW Reviews: Half & Half's PASSING STRANGE is a Funky, Fun Inaugural Production
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...
BWW Reviews: A Chick and A Dude Productions Revives Dark Drama HIT
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...
BWW Reviews: Austin Playhouse Stages Riotous Comedy NOISES OFF
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...
BWW Reviews: Stale Aesthetics Mar Strong Performances in Austin Lyric Opera's FAUST
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...
BWW Reviews: GOOD PEOPLE is a Timely Tribute to Bostonian Resilience
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...
BWW Reviews: TSU-San Marcos Presents Wonderfully Silly URINETOWN
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...
BWW Reviews: Road Trip Tale MAD BEAT HIP AND GONE Is a Bumpy Road
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...
BWW Reviews: Georgetown Palace Stages Wonderful Romantic Comedy with SAME TIME NEXT YEAR
It's tough to make a romantic comedy work. The genre so easily gives way to unrealistic scenarios and corniness. The odds of someone standing on your front lawn with a boom box blasting "In Your Eyes" a la Say Anything or a wealthy businessman climbing your fire escape with a bouquet of flowers co...
BWW Reviews: Baron's Men Presents a Mediocre MERCHANT OF VENICE
While Shakespeare's comedy The Merchant of Venice is not considered by all as one of his 'problem plays,' there are certainly many aspects about it that are problematic, namely its length and the latent anti-Semitism apparent in the text. These problems and more must be addressed for a production o...
BWW Reviews: St. Edwards University Stages Remarkably Funny IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
It's rare for a play, especially a social satire, to endure for over a century. Times change and what was once topical and funny often loses its punch. Thankfully, Oscar Wilde's 1895 masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest has endured, and in its current production at St. Edwards University, W...
BWW Reviews: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Rocks Austin
You may see some construction around Downtown Austin next week, because the National Tour of Million Dollar Quartet just blew the roof off of the Bass Concert Hall. The show, a rollicking 110 minute salute to iconic, classic rock and rollers, seems almost tailor made for Austin, the live music capi...
BWW Reviews: MOON OVER BUFFALO is High on Slapstick but Low on Laughs
Actress Maureen O'Hara once said, "Comedy is difficult, especially slapstick. The trick is to have fun while you're performing it." As much as I love Ms. O'Hara, there seem to be a few tricks she's ignored. Though it's clear that the cast of City Theatre's current production of Moon Over Buffalo ...
Videos
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Destination by George Ayres Trinity Street Playhouse (5/14-5/31) |
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The Unknown Tour Julie Rogers Theatre (11/07-11/07) |
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The Book of Mormon (Non-Equity) Bass Concert Hall (6/08-6/13) |
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Disney’s Newsies Bastrop Opera House (9/04-9/27) |
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Austin City Limits Music Festival: Weekend One – 3 Day Pass Zilker Park (10/02-10/11) |
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Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End Austin Playhouse (5/22-6/07) |
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The Robber Bridegroom The Alchemy Theatre (5/29-6/14) |
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Stage Blood by Charles Ludlam The VORTEX (6/26-7/11) |
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& Juliet Bass Concert Hall at the University of Texas in Austin (7/14-7/19) |
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Seared Austin Playhouse (6/05-6/28) |
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