Christian Gill

Of the many things I could compliment about TUTS’ production of Sweeney Todd (the songs, the costumes, the lighting) perhaps the most important is that it’s authentic. This is as close to the original Angela Lansbury/Len Cariou (later played by George Hearn) production as we can reasonably hope.

Inspired by classic science fiction, the 'Honeycomb Trilogy' is an epic journey that spans three riveting plays: 'Advance Man,' 'Blast Radius,' and 'Sovereign.' Audiences will be immersed in a dystopian future where humanity's survival is at stake.

One of the most fun people I've had the pleasure to speak to, Christina Wells currently lives the dream as a professional singer and motivational speaker. Now she's playing 'Mama' in the national tour of Chicago.

'I just really like the challenge of stage acting: repeating a performance and having it be different every time. In the theatre, all the time is spent socializing with people, working with people, and getting to know people. I've always loved the social aspect of the theater and acting is the best thing.'

'That's a lot of laughs in there,' one kind audience member said to me during one of the intermissions. 'A lot of witticisms.' There's something special about seeing a piece of work from almost two hundred and fifty years ago manage to play to a modern audience.

We need more writers telling stories from this authentic point of view where disability is not a manipulative plot point, or where we feel sorry for a character or something like that. We need more people writing stories where people with disabilities are individuals that live their life this way or are just going about their lives and then something happens.

That's the truth I'm hoping to be a part of. I'm hoping to be a part of a movement where the face of black men isn't just always so frownish. They're just more opportunities to see men as fathers who love the opportunity to be a father. I'm hoping that the writing gives that opportunity for us to see a black man enjoying being both a husband and a father and his voice in the community and what that meant and how reverberated in his community. That's important to me.

Everyone has those important artists they dream of seeing together, the genius writers who if locked in a room together would have some of the greatest conversations. The wonderful thing about fiction is how we can bring life to those conversations and make them just as exciting as we imagine they are.

There's an unmistakable sadness to Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's Bob: A Life in Five Acts. What makes the show stand out is the playwright's choice to present Bob's life story in the form of an absurdist comedy. When tragedy strikes, as it does suddenly and often, it always comes in the form of something completely ridiculous.

Liz Duffy Adams' Dog Act is as much a depiction of the future as it is a nostalgia play about theatre people. The characters have no audience other than each other, and while they find joy in their own performance, the actors seem to feel the same love.

'I think I write parts that actors want to play. Because, in a way, I'm writing parts that I would want to play. It's this sort of language and storytelling and character-driven nature of my work, even as you know, the heart is the humanity of it. And I think that's attractive to actors, and hence to directors and audience.'

This take on Jane Austen's classic novel, adapted by Kate Hamil, adds a great deal of humor to the surroundings of the story. The production could have easily lost the heart of the piece by over bloating the comedy, but by keeping it, for the most part, with the ensemble players we're allowed to take in the breadth of the emotions.

There's a question at the heart of Chisa Hutchison Amerikin. Should we sympathize with hateful people? The piece in many ways acts as an exercise in empathy. We have characters willing to do reprehensible things yet suffer great turmoil. Do they deserve sympathy? If they do, whose job is it to give it to them?

The story of Vichet Chum's High School Play revolves around the Texas UIL program but it's also about everything. If you have any sort of experience with High School Theater then this play will likely speak to you.

Classical Theatre Company has brought R.U.R. to Houston. It quickly became apparent that there were no clear rules on what could happen next. A transition could cover ten years or a few seconds. A character's attitude on death could be funny or horrifying. As the play went on it became clear that this performance would stick in my head for a while.

After a two-year absence, Mildred Umbrella comes back with the regional premiere of El Huracan by Charise Castro Smith. This production reopens a theatre, reestablishes their commitment to telling female-centric stories, and promises a more diverse future for Mildred's Umbrella where they continue to tell stories about people from many different backgrounds. To do all this, and probably a lot more, they've come back with a play that's up to the task.

Review: 72 Miles to Go is how every character has a life beyond the central issue.

Immersion begins with the space. A company makes a statement as soon as the audience steps through the door. The space can be pretentious, epic, ominous, and so much more. In the case of the Firecracker Production's performance of Dominique Morisseau's Pipeline I would describe the space using the words 'intimate' and 'endearing.' There's a special charm to a play being performed out of a warehouse. My favorite quirk is the sound of cars driving outside in the middle of the night. Who's to say the characters aren't hearing those same cars?

The plight of the blue-collar workers in Reading, Pennsylvania reflects the tensions facing many working Americans. For some people, it's easier to blame those close by than the real causes of their pain. For many Americans people of color become the fall guys that excuse the greed of the rich and powerful. A detail that sticks out to me from Lynn Nottage's Sweat is how much time blue-collar characters spend blaming a black woman for her moderate gains, while barely any blame gets thrown at the CEO of the company ripping them off. If you can't hurt the people in charge, then you might go after someone you can.

Apprentice Productions opens in Houston with a production of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED).