David Clarke - Page 21

Despite an extensive and impressive career, Billy Porter recently became a household name when he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. The incandescent star released a solo album of Broadway standards, titled BILLY'S BACK ON BROADWAY. He applies a big band swing, jazz, and contemporary R&B soundscape to these hit songs, giving listeners a unique perspective on these songs.

Since its World Premiere performance on February 14, 1895, Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST has been an enduring favorite of audiences. Critics recognized the play for its wit and popularity with audiences. In 2014, those same attributes hold up well. Currently, Houston's Classical Theatre Company is producing THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and earning many hearty laughs with their take on the classic.

Houston Grand Opera, which opened a lavish production of DAS RHEINGOLD this past weekend, is proudly kicking off their first Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner. Like any modern production of Wagner's Ring Cycle, Houston Grand Opera is sparing no expense. At Sunday's matinee, the audience leapt to their feet for curtain call and clamored excitedly about this show and what's still to come in the cycle.

This past Sunday, I got to crash a technical rehearsal of TUTS Underground's steamy production of MURDER BALLAD. In its Houston Premiere, the hit musical features Steel Burkhardt (as Tom), Pat McRoberts (as Michael), Lauren Molina (as Sara) and Kristin Warren (as the Narrator).

When it comes to gleeful theatrical candy, it doesn't get much better than Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts' I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE. This audience favorite holds the title of the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical. The current production by MJR Theatricals | Music Box Musicals delivers everything audiences are looking for and more with this delightful romantic revue.

Houston has been a great city for Steven Fales to perform in. As he is gearing up to take his Mormon Boy Trilogy Off-Broadway, we are lucky enough to get to be part of his out-of-town try-out for his third installment, PRODIGAL DAD. PRODIGAL DAD is a solo show in which Fales bares himself and his soul before an audience to talk about his life experiences, empowering us with his charming Mormon smile and his inexhaustible hope and love.

When it comes to describing Alan Ayckbourn's 1994 play COMMUNICATING DOORS, the Internet proudly boasts that the science fiction comedy exists at the crossroads of Back to the Future and Hitchcock. Does the Alley Theatre's stalwart and clever production live up to that assessment? In my opinion, not really. Nevertheless, it comes incredibly close to meeting that lofty mark.

Gerald LaBita, who is committed to gifting Houston with the best of Off-Broadway theatre, is bringing Steven Fales back to Houston for the third part of his Mormon Boy Trilogy, PRODIGAL DAD. Whether you've seen the other two or not, there is no reason to miss this Houston Premiere. Recently, I chatted with Steven Fales about the show and why Houston must see it.

When it comes to Southern playwrights, Tennessee Williams remains the quintessential example, and music is an inextricable element of both his cherished classics and lesser-known works. In a recent 90-minute concert, David Kaplan crafted a show that explores and celebrates the songbook of Tennessee Williams. Now, Ghostlight Records has released TENNESSEE WILLIAMS: WORDS AND MUSIC, a CD that preserves the atmosphere and idea of the concert and features Alison Fraser's soulful and gravely alto.

Houston Grand Opera's first ever Ring Cycle is about to kick off with what is promised to be a spellbinding and incredibly visual production of Richard Wagner's DAS RHEINGOLD. As audiences grow all the more eager to see the show of this groundbreaking show, I chatted with Christopher Purves, who is portraying Alberich, about his career and what audiences could expect from this and highly anticipated production.

As a YouTube sensation, many are familiar enough with Natalie Weiss' voice and face, and the largely teenage/early 20s audience last night couldn't be more enthusiastic to see her perform live. Yet, somewhere along the way, her abrasive personality overshadowed her vocal talent.

Julia Kay Laskowski and Patti Rabaza are back as Mavis and Myrtle in HUSBAND FIXIN 101. My first experience with the duo of comediennes was with their holiday themed rib-tickler and I simply couldn't wait to see what they had cooked up for HUSBAND FIXIN 101. The performance earned a lot of laughs and kept us entertained, but this show simply isn't as strong as I expected.

When Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak's musical comedy A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre, it received rave reviews and was hailed by many as the best musical of 2013. Earlier this week, Ghostlight Records released the much-anticipated OBCR of the comical musical; however, after giving the CD a few spins, I couldn't help but feel that I was missing something.

Earlier this season Houston was introduced to Lynn Nottage with a production of RUINED. Now, The Ensemble Theatre is putting this playwright on everyone's must watch list with a sterling production of her 2011 play, BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK. This intellectual comedy powerfully explores the legacy of American-Americans in 1930s Hollywood and leaves audiences with plenty to think and talk about.

Starting tomorrow night, Theater LaB Houston is presenting the World Premiere production of HUSBAND FIXIN 101. Julia Kay Laskowski and Patti Rabaza have collaborated on the musical comedy, gifting audiences with a new Country Gravy and Other Obsessions adventure. In anticipation of opening night, I spoke with Patti Rabaza about the upcoming World Premiere.

Gaetano Donizetti was a tremendous influence on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi and laid the foundation for the popularity of Italian opera in the latter half of the nineteenth century. At Opera in the Heights, their rousing production of the tragic opera fully exposes audiences to why this opera has had such staying power and was popular enough to be performed almost once a season at New York City's Metropolitan Opera from 1903 until 1972.

When BOEING BOEING first landed on Broadway in 1965, it only ran for 23 performances. However, in 2008 the French Comedy, penned by Marc Camoletti and translated by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans, was revised and re-opened on Broadway. This version fared much better, garnering positive reviews. Playhouse 1960 is producing the reworked script and showing audiences why this play is a favorite of audiences and theatre companies alike.

Donald Margulies has a lot to say about modern life in his 2009 drama TIME STANDS STILL. The multifaceted piece pins a savvy photojournalist against desires to start a family and leaves her questioning the true impact of her work. Likewise, the skillful acting that occurs on the stage at Main Street Theater - Rice Village leaves the audience with plenty to think and talk about on the car ride home.

Dan LeFranc is the winner of the 2010 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award. The Regional Premiere of his SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE, produced by Theater LaB, easily illustrates why he won such a prestigious award. It initially seems like a microcosm presentation of the affects of an ugly divorce on a modern American family; however, it becomes clear that SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE is truly a macrocosm of modern American struggles.

After almost a decade of playing Frankie Valli in JERSEY BOYS on Broadway, Jarrod Spector took to the stage at 54 BELOW and gifted New York audiences with a cabaret concert that charts the progression of the popular tenor voice in music from the early 1900s to the present day. Recorded in November 2013, this cabaret performance is now immortalized on Broadway Record's release of Spector's album A LITTLE HELO FROM MY FRIENDS - Live at 54 BELOW.