Frank Benge - Page 3

Frank Benge

A Kansas native, Frank Benge has been involved in the Austin area theatre scene as a Director, Designer, Writer and Performer for the past 20 years. He holds a double BA in Theatre and English from Washburn University.






BWW Review: SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS Packed With Superb Performances
BWW Review: SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS Packed With Superb Performances
May 21, 2018

SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS is a new play from Drama Desk Award-winner Bess Wohl that looks at how we address life's biggest questions when you can't use words. Under the watchful eye of their unseen guru, six people (who are about as different from each other as one can get) have gathered for a week-long retreat in the woods. What makes this retreat unusual is the fact that it is a silent retreat. In the process of listening to their spiritual leader, they discover that silence is not only golden, but also more than a little passive-aggressive. As they confront their inner demons, they find their vows of silence colliding with the basic human need to connect. Rules have been laid out (including no cellphone use except in cars with the windows rolled up, no candles or incense, no food in the rooms), but over the course of the retreat, every rule gets broken. In the quiet of the woods, they attempt to abandon technology and observe their vow of silence. There are some remarkable moments of tenderness in this play, but SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS is also a wickedly satiric look at this comodified inner peace industry where nirvana is just a guru, mantra or self-help book away.

BWW Review: AN ADULT EVENING OF SHEL SILVERSTEIN is Delectably Demented
BWW Review: AN ADULT EVENING OF SHEL SILVERSTEIN is Delectably Demented
May 13, 2018

Sheldon Allan 'Shel' Silverstein was a decidedly American writer who has been translated into more than 30 languages, and whose books have sold over 20 million copies. He was the recipient of two Grammy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination. Silverstein created a remarkable body of work that spans the gamut from county and western songs to children's literature, from poetry to short plays. He also illustrated much of his own writing. In AN ADULT EVENING OF SHEL SILVERSTEIN, adapter and director Steph Carll has pulled judiciously from this body of work to craft a delectably demented, sublimely saucy and blissfully bawdy evening of adult entertainment. What is also revealed in the process is just how much Silverstein has contributed to the fabric of our lives. You may find yourself thinking more than once 'I didn't know he wrote that...' .

BWW Review: WISH - A MUSICAL ADVENTURE is Wise, Witty and Wonderful
BWW Review: WISH - A MUSICAL ADVENTURE is Wise, Witty and Wonderful
May 9, 2018

WISH is a world premiere new musical for young audiences that is set 100 years in the past and uses a highly theatrical and presentational storytelling style that successfully combines magic, music and youthful optimism with action and adventure. This unique and original story imagines the America of 100 years ago as a mythical place where the bold scientific discoveries and inventions of the era meet magic, superstition and wonder. It is even set in a town called Ideal. It is the story of young Samantha Major (Megan Hudson) and her friend Grace Strickland (Katya Welch) as they journey from the East to West coast to find and possibly save her father, inventor Tom Major (Scott Poppaw).

BWW Review: Festival of New Texas Plays at Austin Playhouse
BWW Review: Festival of New Texas Plays at Austin Playhouse
May 2, 2018

Austin Playhouse recently produced staged readings of the three winning plays from their Festival of New Texas Plays. EIDOPHUSIKON by Reina Hardy kicked off the festival on Friday, April 27, NUTSHELL by C. Denby Swanson was on Saturday, April 28, and MONROE by Lisa B. Thompson concluded the lineup on Sunday, April 29. Along with the professional staged reading, which featured Austin Playhouse directors and company members, each of the winning playwrights received a $500 prize.

BWW Review: THE SUNSHINE BOYS is Sparkling Simon Done Right
BWW Review: THE SUNSHINE BOYS is Sparkling Simon Done Right
April 23, 2018

THE SUNSHINE BOYS is a 1972 Tony Award nominated play by Neil Simon that ran for 538 performances on Broadway. It was turned into a feature film in 1975 and a TV movie in 1996. THE SUNSHINE BOYS is the story of two old vaudeville stars, Lewis & Clark, whose iconic act ended when Al Lewis walked away after 43 years of animosity and retired leaving Willie to try to make it as a solo act. When Willie didn't succeed, the duo never spoke again. When his nephew Ben, a talent agent, tries to resurrect the act for a TV special, the big question is whether they can put aside their differences long enough to make one final appearance.

BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY Gets Loving Revival at Georgetown Palace
BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY Gets Loving Revival at Georgetown Palace
April 22, 2018

MY FAIR LADY is a 1956 musical based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The musical is the story of Eliza Doolittle (Martina Ohlhauser) a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins (Damon Brown), a phoneticist, in order to improve her station in life by passing as a lady. The original Broadway production was both a critical and popular success, setting the record for the longest run of any show up to that time. It has been revived multiple times, including the current production on Broadway and has been turned into a popular film. It won the 1957 Tony Award for Best Musical. MY FAIR LADY features one of musical theatre's greatest scores, including 'Wouldn't It Be Loverly?' 'The Rain in Spain,' 'I Could Have Danced All Night,' 'On the Street Where You Live,' and 'Get Me to the Church on Time.'

BWW Review: RAGTIME a Work of Great Power and Beauty Brilliantly Executed
BWW Review: RAGTIME a Work of Great Power and Beauty Brilliantly Executed
April 20, 2018

RAGTIME is a 1996 musical about the American experience at the turn of the 20th century with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty. The score is inspired by the musical styles of the period and includes marches, cakewalks, gospel and, of course, ragtime. Based on E. L. Doctorow's 1975 novel of the same name about early 20th century America, the story weaves together the disparite lives of three groups: African Americans, represented by Harlem musician Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Ben Toomer); the White upper-class of suburbia, represented by Mother (Emma Hearn), a New Rochelle matriarch; and immigrants, represented by Tateh (Trevor Berger), a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. The musical's message of acceptance and hope in the face of challenges is even more relevant today than it was two decades ago.

BWW Review: Hilarious Touring Production of THE BOOK OF MORMON Packed With Talent
BWW Review: Hilarious Touring Production of THE BOOK OF MORMON Packed With Talent
April 19, 2018

THE BOOK OF MORMON is a satirical musical with book, lyrics, and music by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone, the creators of the long running Comedy Central animated series South Park, along with Lopez, the co-composer/co-lyricist of Avenue Q and Frozen, have created a show that simultaneously deconstructs the American musical while paying loving homage to it. THE BOOK OF MORMON is the story of two young Mormon missionaries who are sent to Uganda on their first mission. The only thing the two boys have in common is their naive outlook on life. When they try to spread 'the word' among the locals they discover that religion is the last thing the villagers are concerned about.

BWW Review: VIOLET Charms at St. Edwards
BWW Review: VIOLET Charms at St. Edwards
April 17, 2018

VIOLET is a 1997 musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by Brian Crawley. It's based on the short story 'The Ugliest Pilgrim' by Doris Betts. The musical first premiered Off-Broadway in 1997 and won the Drama Critics' Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Best Musical, it was later produced on Broadway but considered a revival. While it was Tony Award nominated, it did not win.

BWW Review: Danko Delivers Dynamic Debilitating Dark Descent in GROUNDED
BWW Review: Danko Delivers Dynamic Debilitating Dark Descent in GROUNDED
April 15, 2018

GROUNDED is a 2012 drama from George Brant that won the National New Play Network's 2012 Smith Prize and the Fringe First award at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Street Corner Arts production of the play is the first time his work has been done in Austin since he graduated with an MFA in Writing from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. George Brant's play was one of the earliest theatrical explorations of this unnerving new form of war.

BWW Review: Immerse Yourself in the Magic of PERFORMANCE PARK
BWW Review: Immerse Yourself in the Magic of PERFORMANCE PARK
April 1, 2018

PERFORMANCE PARK is an interactive and immersive theatre piece, conceived and directed by Bonnie Cullum, that transforms the Vortex compound into a choose-your-own-experience environment where you are free to wander and pick what you will watch, what games you will play and the order in which you experience them. It is entirely unlike most other theatrical experiences in that you have the option to take a break to digest what you have seen and try to figure out what it all means and what you should do next.

BWW Review: SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE A Love Letter to Theatre
BWW Review: SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE A Love Letter to Theatre
March 26, 2018

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is a 2014 stage adaptation by Lee Hall of the 1998 Academy Award winning film by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard of the same name. It was first created under the auspices of Disney Theatrical Productions and Sonia Friedman Productions. The story concerns an imaginary love affair involving Viola de Lesseps (Claire Grasso) and playwright William Shakespeare (Stephen Mercantel) while he was writing Romeo and Juliet. Many of the characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays. The production, now playing at Austin Playhouse, is one of their biggest productions to date. This script has become one of the most produced plays in America this season, and rightfully so, as it as entertaining as the 1998 film was.

BWW Review: Razor Sharp Black Comedy THE SECRETARY Turns the Gun Debate On Its Head
BWW Review: Razor Sharp Black Comedy THE SECRETARY Turns the Gun Debate On Its Head
March 24, 2018

THE SECRETARY is a world premiere comedy by Kyle John Schmidt that shines a dark and wry light on America's love affair with guns. Initially developed at the Ingram New Play Lab at Nashville Repertory Theatre and workshopped earlier this season at Hyde Park Theatre, this razor sharp black comedy gets a slick, polished and professional production from Theatre en Bloc, now playing at The Long Center. When the sweet elderly secretary at a local high school deals with a threat in her office by firing off six bullets, the local gun manufacturer gets the idea to name their brand new gun 'The Secretary', after her. Sales are slumping and they take advantage of the unfortunate modern reality that news of each new shooting is good for business. As production begins on their newest firearm, their guns begin going off without anyone pulling the trigger. Featuring an all female cast, THE SECRETARY is a black comedy with an extremely timely message.

BWW Interview: Elizabeth Doss and Lisa Laratta on paper chairs newest Original Work THE REPENTANCE OF ST. JOAN
BWW Interview: Elizabeth Doss and Lisa Laratta on paper chairs newest Original Work THE REPENTANCE OF ST. JOAN
March 22, 2018

Austin theatre troupe paper chairs has been creating original works of theatre here for the past eight years that consistently push boundaries both verbal and visual. These fresh and exciting works are, in no small part, due to two women who were among the founding members, Elizabeth Doss and Lisa Laratta. Opening on March 23 is their latest offering, THE REPENTANCE OF ST. JOAN, a new play by Austin playwright Patrick Shaw. Broadway World recently had the opportunity to sit down with them to get a deeper look into both the company and their upcoming production.

BWW Review: A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER a Stylish, Witty Comic Musical Romp
BWW Review: A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER a Stylish, Witty Comic Musical Romp
March 21, 2018

A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER is a 2014 musical comedy, with a book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak. This winner of four Tonys, including Best Musical, is based on the 1907 novel 'Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal' by Roy Horniman. The novel was also the source for the 1949 British film Kind Hearts and Coronets. The film and musical are both examples of black comedy and the musical also spoofs the antiquated musical form known as operetta. This frenetic farce has a marvelous score that recalls the best verbal gymnastics of Gilbert & Sullivan and Stephen Sondheim.

BWW Review: BAD JEWS a Brutal and Vicious Familial Battle
BWW Review: BAD JEWS a Brutal and Vicious Familial Battle
March 18, 2018

BAD JEWS is a 2012 play by Joshua Harmon that is billed as a dark comedy. Harmon says his inspiration for the play came 'after attending a service in which grandchildren of Holocaust survivors were invited to speak.' When the beloved patriarch of a New York Jewish family dies, he leaves behind a treasured family heirloom that is a culturally significant piece of jewelry. The item in question was a piece of jewelry, traditionally worn by men, that he succeeded in hiding from the Nazis during the Holocaust. His grandchildren gather to attend to family business and end up fighting over not only the family heirloom, but over faith, cultural assimilation, and each other's life choices while reliving, sharing and remembering.

BWW Review: WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT is an Exercise in Manipulation
BWW Review: WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT is an Exercise in Manipulation
March 17, 2018

WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT has been called a play. This experiment in audience participation is an experience that has become a global sensation that no one is allowed to talk about. The award-winning playwright, Nassim Soleimanpour, is Iranian. While he himself has been censored in his homeland, this work has escaped his country and thus has escaped censorship and is always presented without a set or director. Each actor (it is a different actor each night, and each actor can only perform it once) opens and performs the script, following Soleimanpour's instructions, before the audience that evening. They experience it right along with the audience for the first time. WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT is a unique experience that is different each night and is unlike anything you've experienced before

BWW Review: Beth Leavel Charms in KICKING AND SCREAMING at Austin Cabaret Theatre
BWW Review: Beth Leavel Charms in KICKING AND SCREAMING at Austin Cabaret Theatre
March 17, 2018

Beth Leavel, Tony Award winner for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, winner of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for playing Beatrice Stockwell in The Drowsy Chaperone, recently brought her cabaret show, KICKING AND SCREAMING, to the Sterling Events Center, as part of their 17th season. Ms. Leavel charmed the audience for 90 minutes with stories of her life in the theatre and sang songs that she has become famous for, along with some musical surprises that were an absolute delight.

BWW Review: Texas Light Opera Inagural Production of THE LAST FIVE YEARS is a Winner
BWW Review: Texas Light Opera Inagural Production of THE LAST FIVE YEARS is a Winner
March 4, 2018

THE LAST FIVE YEARS is a 2001 off-Broadway musical by Jason Robert Brown that took the author's own failed marriage to Theresa O'Neill as inspiration for this intimate yet powerful musical. It was also adapted into a film in 2015. The story is a look at the five-year relationship between Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist, and Cathy Hiatt, a struggling actress. Structurally, it is unique in that the story is not only mostly sung through, with just the barest of spoken dialogue, but also in how it tells the story from two different perspectives. Jamie (Joseph Urick) tells the story chronologically, while Cathy (Ginger Martel) tells the story backward. They only sing together once, during their wedding in the middle of the show. While the characters do sing together at the end, the songs are counterpoint to each other rather than both characters singing the same song. THE LAST FIVE YEARS is the inaugural tour being presented by ARIA Creative in association with the newly formed Texas Light Opera.

BWW Review: Ken Webster Gives Tour de Force Performance in WAKEY WAKEY
BWW Review: Ken Webster Gives Tour de Force Performance in WAKEY WAKEY
March 3, 2018

'Is it now? I thought I had more time.' So begins Will Eno's new play WAKEY WAKEY, currently receiving a regional premiere production at Hyde Park Theatre. It is, in fact, only the second production of Eno's new work. These first words are spoken by Guy (Ken Webster), a man who is coming to terms with the knowledge that his time here on Earth is extremely limited. He is about to die. In a profoundly moving and luminously human meditation, Guy proceeds to utterly shatter the fourth wall in order to engage the audience in questioning why we are here and examining the various paths we take only to all arrive at the same place when all is said and done. WAKEY WAKEY is a subtly sublime examination of what, in the human experience, is actually worth celebrating and treasuring; and it does it while maintaining a decidedly dark, yet humorous tone. While this may sound like a depressing subject, Guy reminds us that 'We're not here to mope, right? We're here to listen to music and drink some grape juice, maybe get a free T-shirt. We're here to say goodbye, of course - there's always someone or something to say goodbye to, and it's important to honor the people whose shoulders we stood upon and fell asleep against.'



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