David Clarke - Page 34

Last night, The Alley Theatre hosted the press opening night of Bernard Pomerance's well-known 1977 tragic drama THE ELEPHANT MAN. The nearly 100-minute one act production is a fascinating look at the life of Joseph 'John' Carey Merrick, who began developing severe bone and skin abnormalities by age two. The play takes place from 1884 to 1890, focusing primarily on the parts of Joseph Merrick's life when he was acquainted with and studied by Dr. Frederick Treves, a surgeon in London. Throughout Joseph Merrick's life these abnormalities worsened, significantly increasing the physical strain these deformities subjected his body to. Joseph Merrick passed on April 11, 1890, at the age of 27. The official cause of death is asphyxia.

Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) celebrated the incredible and phenomenal high school talent in Houston last night with their 11th Annual TOMMY TUNE AWARDS. Walking into Sarofim Hall, the energy in the room was palpable. The electricity of excitement and sheer nerves ricocheted off the walls of the auditorium, and erupted into cheers as the lights dimmed and the TONY's-inspired awards show began.

Pasadena's Stage Door Inc. continues their 2013 season of murder, madness, and mayhem with a fun and campy production of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, which was inspired by Roger Corman's cult 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors. The musical is set in the late 1950s/early 1960s, and features music written to emulate the sounds of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop, and early Motown. It's also a Faustian tale, where a down-oh-his-luck guy finds fortune, fame, and love because of his strange and exotic plant. The only down side is that to keep the money and adoration rolling in, he has to find people to feed to the plant that only thrives from consuming human blood.

After riveting audiences with an emotionally raw and intellectual inaugural production of Stephen Sondheim's ASSASSINS, MJR Theatricals/Music Box Musicals is serving up a wondrously side-splitting, laugh-a-minute presentation of the Tony-award winning musical THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. The clever and hilarious musical is based on Rebecca Feldman's C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E improvisation performed by The Farm, with music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin. It treats the audience as if they are really at the fictional spelling bee, and the cast gleefully breaks the fourth wall to interact with members of the audience. The musical follows six quirky kids (played by adults) through the spelling bee, and introduces the audience to three adults that are just as peculiar as the kids.

David Lindsay-Abaire's quirky coming-of-age tragicomedy KIMBERLY AKIMBO is closing Country Playhouse's 2012-2013 Black Box Season. The 2000 play is an incredibly gripping and compelling tale about a young woman suffering from Progeria, a disease that causes people to age exponentially faster than they are supposed to. Kimberly is approaching her 16th birthday, which a joyous milestone for most teenagers. But 16 is the average life expectancy for those with Progeria. To top it all off, Kimberly's family is a struggling, lower-middle class family with their own set of dark secrets and problems.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO)'s 50th World Premiere Opera had its first public performance last night at Asia Society Texas Center. This enchanting chamber opera is a gorgeous and stirring piece that examines the power and necessity of memory for the advancement of the human species. It opens with rollicking thunder and a stunning, breathtaking image that is representative of the destruction of Japan in wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. As a woman sings about various terrible and destructive moments from Japan's rich history, the scene shifts to the tea room in Houston's Japanese garden. Here the non-linear opera explores how such tragedies affect Japanese-Americans and immigrants from Japan, deftly playing on the emotions, sympathy, and empathy of the assembled audience. The compelling opera elicited several gasps of sorrow, pain, and understanding from the opening night audience as the beauty of the piece spoke to our hearts, minds, and souls.

Stages Repertory Theatre is presenting a tense and taut production of Rebecca Gilman's DOLLHOUSE. The 2010 play is a modernized retelling of Henrik Ibsen's classic A DOLL'S HOUSE. DOLLHOUSE is set in Chicago, circa 2004. Scandals, like Enron, have rocked American society, and the financial stability of the country is starting to falter. Rebecca Gilman's narrative puts a wealthy couple at the center of the pressure-cooker drama, where Terry keeps close tabs on the families various accounts with hopes to pay off debts and Nora is a shopaholic with a spending addiction. Tension mounts while anxiety gives way to anger and shows for dominance, racing towards Henrik Ibsen's famous door slam. Yet, in DOLLHOUSE, Rebecca Gilman adds a modernizing twist to the classic ending that will give audiences plenty to talk about, but, in my opinion, only serves to solidify how disgusting and unlikeable the two main characters really are.

In all honesty, there really is nothing more fun than seeing the next generation of musical theatre talent put on a great production of one of Broadway's mega-hits. Fortunately for Houston audiences, that's exactly what is happening in HSPVA's Black Box Theatre, as the school presents Jonathan Larson's RENT. Even with some altered lyrics and cut songs, the edgy production pushes envelopes as far as a public high school production can. Please note, the production is still recommended for mature audiences only.

Shortly after many children all over Houston had hunted lawns for eggs and other treats that the mythical Easter Bunny delivered this past Sunday, I had a delightful conversation with composer Marty Regan and librettist Kenny Fries for Houston Grand Opera (HGO)'s 50th World Premiere, THE MEMORY STONE. We discussed the new opera, looking into its creation, meaning, and cultural significance. As we talked about THE MEMORY STONE, it became abundantly clear that this particular opera is most deserving of being HGO's magical 50th World Premiere and that it will be one that audiences should not miss.

Adaptations of feature films to stage musicals are a dime a dozen these days. However, if you want to get a Texas audience excited really quickly, tell them you're doing a musical based on the 1980 film 9 to 5 and that Dolly Parton has written the music and lyrics for the musical you're doing. You'll see a twinkle in the eye and a seat sold. Add in Patricia Resnick's book based on the film's screenplay, fantastic community talent from the Pearland area, and throw it all together inside a great space, and you've got a production of 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL that is truly worth seeing.

Houston's Classical Theatre Company (CTC) has had one amazing season at their new home at Studio 101 in the Spring Street Studios. I was impressed by their productions of MISS JULIE and UBU ROI, but their production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE deftly exposes the sincere theatrical talent that legends are made out of. As affair warning, because this brilliantly raw production is pared down to three actors and utilizes an abridged adaptation by CTC's dramaturg Shea Thomas Cooper, it won't hurt to re-familiarize yourself with the plot to ensure that you don't get lost in this stirring translation of the text.

The Ensemble Theatre's 2012-2013 season theme is 'Bridge Art to the Heart,' and their current production of Nathan Louis Jackson's play BROKE-OLOGY is sure to touch and even break hearts. The tragicomedy juxtaposes an erudite man against a man who is the self-proclaimed inventor of the science of Broke-ology. In essence, it pits book smarts against street smarts. However, these two disparate men are also brothers who have to deal with the declining health of their father, who is quickly losing his longtime battle with multiple sclerosis (MS) and having visions/delusions of his deceased wife.

William Shakespeare's HENRY V is quite possibly his most well-known and celebrated history play. The famous climatic St. Crispin's day speech is full of nationalistic and patriotic rhetoric that resonates deep within the soul, mind and body while quickening the blood. Luckily for Houston audiences, Main Street Theater and Prague Shakespeare Company, Continental Europe's premiere professional English-language classical theatre company, is currently presenting a stellar production of William Shakespeare's HENRY V.

The Catastrophic Theatre(TCT) opened their new season at their new Catastrophic Theatre space with an astounding production of Samuel Beckett's stark tragicomedy WAITING FOR GODOT. The company has used the performance space in the past in collaboration with DiverseWorks, but the 1119 East Freeway location is now solely theirs, giving them a fantastic home to present their fascinating work.

Houston Grand Opera's 41st World Premiere Opera CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA/TO CROSS THE FACE OF THE MOON premiered in the Brown Theater at the Wortham Center on November 13, 2012. The performance played in front of 2,400 patrons, the largest-ever audience in the Brown Theater. Following that rousing premiere, CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA and its original cast opened the 2011 season at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The production ran for six performances. Upon arriving in Paris, 80% of the tickets were already sold, and word of mouth lead to complete sell outs for the final three performances. Last night, the gorgeous and stirring CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA opened in the Wortham Center's Brown Theater again, earning thunderous applause and sincere admiration from the audience.

My first experience with JERSEY BOYS was the Broadway company's rousing performance at Broadway in Bryant Park last summer. After their fun, toe-tapping set, I was looking forward to seeing the 2nd National Tour company perform in Houston, TX. Last night, I took my seat for JERSEY BOYS anticipating hearing some timeless pop classics of yesteryear brought to dazzling life with an intriguing book that strings the hits together for a cohesive and moving story. However, after the 2 hour and 30 minute performance, I felt I was robbed of what should have been a completely entertaining and extravagant theatrical treat.

The engaging and amusing show VOCA PEOPLE started life as an overnight YouTube sensation. It is now a world-renowned theatrical experience that has been produced in over 20 countries since its inception in 2009. It recently closed a long and highly successful Off-Broadway run at New World Stages before going on tour in the United States. My personal love for VOCA PEOPLE began when I had the pleasure of seeing them perform at Broadway in Bryant Park this past summer and was solidified by seeing the full show in Houston on Saturday.

It's almost spring, which means that high school musical theatre season has wrapped and teachers and students are focusing on UIL One Act competitions. However, the people at TUTS are getting ready for their annual high school musical theatre awards show, the extravagant Tommy Tune Awards. I recently chatted with Geneva Cisneros at TUTS about the program, getting some nice inside scoop and history behind the popular event.

Many in the industry consider George Furth and Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY to be one of the best American musicals ever created. The piece is complicated and challenging for the cast, crew, and orchestra, but when done well is one of the most rewarding nights at the theatre for the audience. For audiences in the Houston area, The Texas Repertory Theatre Company's production of COMPANY is a sparkling gem of theatrical brilliance from top to bottom.