Christina Hoth - Page 2

You may have not heard of DFW Community Theatre's newest leading man, Rare Orion, yet.  In the short 20 months of his theatre career, this unique actor's dance card has been steadily booked.  Now, he's looking to expand his body of work beyond his home town theatre.  

Currently on stage at Lakeside is the Greek comedy: 'Lysistrata'.  Though written by Aristophanes eons ago, this play has many shockingly contemporary, relevant themes of women rising up to have their voices heard, while men consistently fight to prove who boasts the larger... ego.  As an audience member, Director Dale Moon's forward in the playbill gives solid insight into the culture of 411 BC:  'Ancient Athens was considered to be a 'phallocracy' because of the everyday emphasis on the penis.  It was a symbol of male power, of military strength, and, most importantly, fertility, both human and agricultural.'  Lysistrata is a Grecian matriarch, although such a thing would have been largely frowned upon in her day, whose simple aspiration is to end the Peloponnesian War through drastic measures.  She proposes that the women of her nation withhold sexual interaction with their men as a means to protest their continued battles.  In turn, she hopes that the men of the nation will opt for peace in a desperate attempt to relieve their own, intimate tensions.

Kinky Boots stomped its way into the Music Hall at Fair Park this week, starting the early summer heat off on the right foot for Dallas Summer Musicals.  This high energy, feel good, family friendly show has a quiet way of loudly speaking its truth.

Uptown Players has your weekend evenings planned as they present Broadway Our Way.  BWOW is the Players' annual fundraiser that gender-bends the typical Broadway numbers and allows some of Dallas' finest actors and actresses to play the dream roles they'd never land in a heteronormative casting call.  As it is their 16th year producing this fundraiser, Craig Lynch and Jeff Rane have certainly cultivated an incredible pool of talent.

A case of Kuriosity struck Dallas/Ft. Worth this past weekend as Cirque Du Soleil rolled out the big top tents for their newest series, KURIOS, at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie.  As a premier performing arts troupe, Cirque never ceases to delight crowds with their authentically unique shows.

This Valentine's day, Dallas Summer Musicals further cultivated Dallas' love affair with the percussive performing arts powerhouse, STOMP.

As a first time traveler to Las Vegas, this reviewer thought that it would be crucial to check out one of the most well known franchises synonymous with Sin City. Cirque du Soleil holds a solid reputation as the most entrenched production company in Las Vegas culture and for good reason. Combining all of the childhood wonderment from the circus days of our younger years, Cirque du Soleil has managed to blend the highly unique talents of aerial artists, roller skaters, stilt walkers, tumblers, trampolinists, contemporary dancers, break dancers, illusionists and performers of all types and sizes to make a cohesive vision come to life.

Over the past 20 years, Jonathan Larson's RENT has become an iconic piece of American musical theater. As its anniversary tour is about to make its scheduled stop in Dallas, I had the immense pleasure of speaking with original choreographer, Marlies Yearby, about the past, process, and production of her work on this particular show.

Church bells tolled as the sound of horse hooves on cobblestone echoed to set the stage at Onstage in Bedford this weekend for the opening of Jekyll & Hyde. A twist on the classic tale of one man's struggle to conquer his inner demons, this musical version of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 tale was adapted for the stage by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. Over the past century there have been innumerable adaptations of the original novella, including over 120 versions written for stage and film. The actors and production team of Onstage continued this time honored tradition this weekend to sold out audiences.

Awash in red velvet and gold fringe, the Music Hall at Fair Park stage appeared ready to drift back to the glory days of 1930's Broadway this week as the cast of 42nd Street moved their dancing feet to the Dallas Summer Musicals leg of their national tour. Originally produced in 1980, 42nd Street quickly became a Broadway classic winning Tony Awards® for Best Musical and Best Choreography under the direction of Gower Champion. Its revival in 2001 was equally well-received with a Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical. 42nd Street is the archetypal tale of a small town girl named Peggy (played by Caitlin Ehlinger) achieving her big Broadway dreams by understudying starlet Dorothy Brock (Kaitlin Lawrence) with the grace of a hotshot producer, Julian Marsh (Matthew J. Taylor).

Wednesday night Dallas theatergoers sipped their wine and slipped back to the salacious days of the roaring 20's. The National Tour of Bullets Over Broadway landed for its Dallas premiere June 14th and the audience couldn't have been more welcoming. Written by Woody Allen based on a screenplay by himself and Douglas McGrath, Bullets offers all the bells and whistles of a solid 20's era show-decked out with drop waist dresses, showgirls, booze, and mobsters.

Upon hearing the term 'ballet' one typically envisions fluffy tutus and satin pointe shoes: the very epitome of girlish grace and beauty showcased in lithe bodies adorned in tulle and rhinestones. Ballerinas are given the stage as the protagonists, while oft times the men are utilized simply as support systems to drive the plot and lift the girls. Balletboyz, an all male company from the United Kingdom, is making great strides to break the streak of heternomativity in the dance world by giving men the right to all the 'good parts' of ballet. Company founders and Co-Artistic Directors, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, spearheaded this company with the revolutionary plan to bring men to the forefront of the ballet stage, not simply as backup to the female roles. In doing so, the hope of these collaborators is to bring the art and athleticism of ballet to broader audiences.