Katricia Lang - Page 7

I talk to actor and singer T. Oliver Reid about his role in SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE, a Tony Award-nominated and Grammy Award-winning revue that features hits by legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

In AMY, Amy the legend and Amy the mortal meet and set alight, thereby illuminating a truth we already knew - Amy existed, not merely in our public consciousness, but she engaged in existence like us all.

Melody Mennite, who portrays Katherina in Houston Ballet's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, was given the responsibility of bringing emotional content to senseless violence and etching butt kicking into your memory. As you'll see in our discussion, she worked very hard before she delivered.

William Shakespeare's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is a comedic, character-driven piece about the courtship of volatile Katherina and obnoxious Petruchio. Character pieces require great characters, naturally, and great performers. In his ballet adaptation, John Cranko delivers. In the Houston Ballet production, so do the dancers.

FADE TO BLACK: A Series of New Works written by Black Playwrights is a rare opportunity. Theatregoers will witness a select group of original plays from all over the United States. Each year the festival takes submissions, this year nearly 100, and whittles them down to present three nights of high-quality theatre to its audience.

Fresh off Broadway, the comedy musical FIRST DATE has come straight to TUTS Underground.

GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE, a solo one-act play with music, focuses on the life of George Gershwin. Along with providing a taste of Gershwin's arresting personality, the piece features several of the composer's most popular songs.

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is a timeless romantic comedy chronicling the love life of Philadelphia socialite, Tracy Lord. Tracy must choose between her debonaire ex-husband, her dapper fiancé, or a dashing reporter. I truly pity her.

Behind every devilishly good-looking spy is a strong, frumpy woman. Behind the debonair and conceited Bradley Fine (Jude Law) is dowdy desk jockey cum CIA analyst Susan Cooper (McCarthy). Cooper is so smitten and preoccupied with the fantasy version of Fine in her head that she can't see how daft and self-involved he is. Nor can she see how smart and caring she is.

MACK AND MABEL is a love story between a director who can't be anything but what he is and an actress who can't figure out who she is. More deeply, it is a story about the turbulent relationship between Hollywood and cinema. And like Normand, it's smart and funny too.

An Aries is willful and stubborn, Libras live in pursuit of justice, and great thinkers and philosophers are Sagittarii. In ZODIAC, Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch explores the color and emotion of each zodiac sign. The world premiere of ZODIAC is part of Houston Ballet's mixed repertory program MORRIS, WELCH & KYLIAN which also includes SVADEBKA by Jiri Kylian and Mark Morris's THE LETTER V.

I never questioned whether or not Tyce Green could sing. Rather, the question was, 'Can he carry a live show without an ensemble?' The answer is yes. At this point in his career, Green has a style of his own. Loose and earnest with a hint of humor. And he's a damn good interpreter. Even when I was concerned that his rock-tinged voice wouldn't fit the pre-existing style of a stong song, his spin would blow me away.

THE MUSIC MAN involves Harold Hill, a con man swindling good, kind-hearted people by promising to provide services he can't provide and that never materialize. It's true, the cherished musical is as American as apple pie.

Tyce Green Talks TYCE GREEN LIVE

Emma Rice, joint artistic director of Kneehigh Theatre, talks about Kneehigh's TRISTAN & YSEULT.

It's 1956, at the height of the Red Scare, and the great US of A is as hysterical as a lady on her monthly. Meanwhile, the presiding officers of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are calmly having their annual quiche breakfast. But they become girls interrupted when communists strike and drop a bomb. How will the sisters survive?

Bass-Baritone Jake Gardner discusses the continued resonance of SWEENEY TODD, his approach to acting and performance, and being scared sh-tless by the infamously cut self-flagellation scene.

MAMMA MIA! is worth your time and money. Go see it.

I talk to two-man creative team Scott Burkell (book and lyrics) and Paul Loesel (music). We discuss their struggle with the tyranny of the alphabet and LMNOP, A NEW MUZICAL.

In late March (I'm bringing you up to the minute news), TUTS Underground staged the first ever reading of SWEET POTATO QUEENS. The piece put me in the mind of stories and movies like the DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD or SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS. Basically, anything with sister in it. That's no insult. Sandra Bullock in YA-YA is as good as Sandra in GRAVITY. I dare you to say otherwise.