David Clarke - Page 74

Houston had better watch out! Bayou City Theatrics is ensuring that audiences will feel the sturm und drang in the air with their production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, which opens tonight at the Frenetic Theatre at 5102 Navigation Boulevard. Last night, I was invited to attend their final dress rehearsal to get an early sneak peak at their magnificent production, which I found to be wholly entertaining and utterly spellbinding. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is possibly my absolute favorite musical of all time. I have really high expectations and standards for every production of this show, and from what I saw last night Bayou City Theatrics is delivering everything our sickly, greasy hearts could desire!

As February gallops to an end, Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) is hard at work, preparing a local production of the classic musical THE MAN OF LA MANCHA. With a score by Mitch Leigh, lyrics by Joe Darion, and a book by Dale Wasserman, the acclaimed musical is inspired by Dale Wasserman's teleplay I, Don Quixote and Miguel de Cervantes classic novel Don Quixote. Last week, I got to sit down with Bruce Lumpkin, TUTS' new Artistic Director and director of MAN OF LA MANCHA, and his wife Michelle Gaudette, choreographer of MAN OF LA MANCHA, to discuss their upcoming production.

Continuing their season of murder, madness, and mayhem, Stage Door, Inc. is presenting Simon Moore's theatrical adaptation of MISERY, based on the thrilling novel by Stephen King. The tense and disturbing play tells the story of the famed novelist of the Misery Chastain series, Paul Sheldon, being nursed back to health by his self-proclaimed 'number one fan,' Annie Wilkes. Annie is beside herself with joy in getting the opportunity to use her nursing skills to help the author. When she reads his manuscript for his new novel, her mental instability begins to rear its ugly head. She becomes enraged with him for using so much profanity and violence and makes him burn the draft. Things get worse for Paul when Annie reads Misery's Child and discovers that he ended the series with Misery's death during childbirth. She gifts him with an antique typewriter and demands that he write a new novel, called Misery's Return. To ensure that he writes the novel, she tortures him physically and mentally. Simon Moore's unnerving adaptation is more faithful to the original novel than the film starring James Caan and Kathy Bates; yet, fans of the film will find plenty to enjoy in the play.

Direction by Jennifer Dean keeps this Texas style 'Beauty and the Beast' parable clipping brightly along during the first act, which is pleasantly bubbly and tender. In the second act, the writing and direction together slow the pace of the sprightly comedy. The writing, especially, becomes filled with redundant moments and removes every ounce of subtly from the themes and messages beautifully constructed and pristinely directed in the first act. While, as a whole, THE FIRST CHURCH OF TEXACO is pleasant, I couldn't help but feel that the second act could be pared down some to keep the momentum rocking forward.

Houston's Theatre fans always anticipate season announcements with bated breath like children awaiting Birthday presents or clamoring to see what Santa Claus has placed under their trees. Theater Under the Stars (TUTS) has a fantastic gift for fans of musical theatre to unwrap today. Their 2013-2014 season is an enthralling and exciting season with a little something for everyone, including Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, We Will Rock You, Wizard of Oz, Evita, Elf and The Little Mermaid.

Modern Theatre of the Absurd is alive and very well at Obsidian Art Space, where the World Premiere of Gene Kato's VIRAL INFECTION is enjoying a glorious run. Gene Kato thought the play was un-producible and has kept it hidden away for 21 years. In a way, I'm deeply thankful. Had this play premiered 21 years ago, I wouldn't have seen it. Thus, I am happy the stars aligned justly to afford me the opportunity to see the zany, mad-cap lunacy and thoroughly refreshing thought provoking piece.

Presenting their second out of three productions for this year's 'Get Talking' series, Stages Repertory Theatre is producing Julia Cho's THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE. The deliciously existential and fairy tale-esque drama won the 2010 Susan Smith Blackburn award, a prize given to plays written by women in the English language. The somewhat simplistic and formulaic plot introduces audiences to a linguist, George, who is the curator of a language library that preserves the last remaining strands of dead and dying languages. Despite his love for languages, he is inept in communication, which estranges him from his wife, Mary. George and his assistant, Emma, fly in a couple from a devastated Eastern European country to record their native language, the romantic and beautiful Elloway. However, the couple is bickering, so they have cast off Elloway and are using the 'hateful' language of English to fight.

On November 1, 2012, Tye Blue, who has been listed as 'Houston's Best Male Entertainer' for the past three years and just finished a Stellar run as Frank in Houston Grand Opera's production of Francesca Zambello's SHOW BOAT, released his mesmerizing debut solo album entitled Here. On the three track masterpiece, Tye Blue exposes listeners to his wide range of crooning skills, taking us on a Journey through his versatility as he sings in the styles of gospel, jazz, and showtunes.

Sitting down with any member of the Houston theatre community is one of the true perks of writing for BroadwayWorld. Recently, I got to sit down with three of the four cast members in Stark Naked Theatre's upcoming production of Yasmina Reza's GOD OF CARNAGE. Kim Tobin (playing Veronica), John Gremillion (playing Alan), and Kay Allmand (playing Annette) all talked to me about the show and why Houston audiences will love it.

Houston's theatre scene has been consistently upping the ante in 2013. Strong productions have been put on all over the city, and Country Playhouse has further elevated the bar with their tense and comical production of Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST.

As Houston Grand Opera began rehearsing SHOW BOAT, the Houston theatre community started to focus a lot of attention on the production. Utilizing social media, friends and followers of the artists got inside looks into the impressive amounts of dedicated labor, passion, and sheer hard work that went into getting SHOW BOAT to float and sail on stage. Yet, 140 characters on Twitter, a Facebook status update, and a photo on Instagram can only say so much. Luckily, I was able to converse with Houston area native, Charles Swan, about his career, being a swing for SHOW BOAT, and how he juggles being a professional performer and a teacher.

The musicalized version of Frank Abagnale, Jr.'s jet set life, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, flies into the Hobby Center this week. With a strong opening night crowd and performance, this toe-tapping musical is sure to put a smile on your face and make you feel great. Marc Shaiman wrote the catchy score with lyrics by Scott Whitman and Marc Shaiman. Yet, audiences may better recognize this duo as the real-life composing team behind the hit songs for the fictional musical BOMBSHELL on NBC's SMASH.

Bayou City Concert Musicals has a track record of enjoyable and wholly entertaining performances. They burst onto the Houston Theatre scene with a concert production of FOLLIES. Since FOLLIES, Paul Hope has astounded audiences with productions of FALSETTOS, SHE LOVES ME, 70, GIRLS, 70, ASSASSINS, FIORELLO!, THE SECRET GARDEN, PAL JOEY, ON THE TOWN, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, FINNAN'S RAINBOW, and ONE TOUCH OF VENUS. Each of these shows was a sensational hit in its own time, but has been notoriously neglected as time merrily rolls along. Each of these concerts has been accompanied by a live orchestra, which only increases the price tag for producing the fabulous productions. To help keep ticket prices affordable, Paul Hope utilizes showcase cabarets as fundraisers. Like his concert productions, the cabarets are jam packed with the best of the best of Houston's musical theatre talent who only aim to captivate and enthrall. The latest cabaret, JEROME KERN IN HOLLYWOOD, is no exception.

I've been writing for Houston's BroadwayWorld page for a brief 8 ½ months now, and one thing that I quickly learned and came to love about Houston is that there is always a wide selection of venues and titles to choose from. This past Saturday, I ventured from my residence in a Southeast suburb of the city to Playhouse 1960 for the very first time to see their production of I'M NOT RAPPAPORT. The aesthetically well-designed and beautiful performance space is nestled near FM 1960 and US 290, and the company provides audiences with a production of the Tony Award-winning comedy that leaves audiences with plenty to talk about it.

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal amazed and impressed Houston audiences with their fourth engagement in our city. Enthusiastic cheers, thunderous applause, and lengthy standing ovations greeted the company after each act in the Cullen Theatre at the Wortham Center last Friday night. In an effort to introduce Houston audiences to exciting contemporary dance makers, The Houston Ballet hosted Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal under the Artistic Direction of Gradimir Pankov and the direction of Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti as part of their Cullen Series.

With less than twenty-four hours until the Ensemble Theatre opened the Regional Premiere of KNOCK ME A KISS, I got to have a brief conversation about the play with its playwright, Charles Smith. During our conversation we discussed the play, which introduces audiences to Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois. It exposes the audience to the hardships she faced and endured in search of her own happiness.

Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of theatre is its ability to shed light on an issue or people that the audience may not be wholly familiar with. The Harlem Renaissance is the well-known and highly lauded period of time when African-American artists became exposed to and appreciated by mainstream audiences. The Harlem Renaissance introduced Americans and even the world to the soul and heart of African-Americans, showcasing humanity and beginning to dismantle the stigma of animalism, livestock, and even chattel. Most of us are familiar with the celebrated heroes of the movement, like Langston Hughes and W.E.B. Du Bois; yet, we are wholly unfamiliar with W.E.B. Du Bois' daughter, Yolande Du Bois. We are even less cognizant of her marriage to poet Countee Cullen.

QUIDAM is internationally acclaimed Cirque du Soleil's ninth stage show. The production had its World Premiere on April 23, 1996; however, in 2010 it was converted from its original big top format into an arena format so that it could tour across North America and the world. It introduces audiences to a young, bored girl named Zoe, who is neglected and ignored by her parents. She imagines the entire show of QUIDAM to escape the monotony of her life. As the tour was preparing to open in Laredo, Texas, I got to speak to Tanya Burka who performs the aerial silks act in the show. We discussed her transition from MIT trained Nuclear Engineer to International Circus Performer, her career, and QUIDAM.

All across the greater Houston area, public schools and post-secondary college and universities are back in session. Students are hopefully becoming enlightened through quality education. However, to kick off their annual Get Talking Series, Stages Repertory Theatre is giving audiences something to talk about with their production of David Davalos' WITTENBERG. Other entries into this year's trilogy include upcoming productions of Julia Cho's THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE and Rebecca Gilman's DOLLHOUSE.

World Premieres are always exciting to attend. You never know what you are getting yourself into, so there is the allure and excitement of mystery. Sometimes they're terrible. Sometimes they're amazing. Sometimes they're in-between. Luckily, Leighza Walker's first full-length play, FISHING, is an enjoyable and fascinating exploration of loyalty, fidelity, love, and life.