Lynn Beaver - Page 7

Playing this month at the Georgetown Palace Theatre is DISNEY'S NEWSIES, a high voltage new musical about the newspaper strikes in New York City at the turn of the 20th century. The show follows a group of newspaper boys who are struggling to make enough to help feed their families. Prior to child labor laws, children of all ages did everything from hawk papers on street corners to deliver groceries or work in factories doing minimal paying tasks for pennies a day. Grueling work for kids but for families in dire financial situations the jobs were a godsend.

Tarik Daniels, recent winner of an Austin Under 40 Award for his mental health advocacy using his theatre company Whatsinthemirror? presents FIREFLIES by Donna R. Love opens August 14th at Santa Cruz Center For Culture. A quiet young man with an ever ready megawatt smile, Tarik's joy in life is infectious as we sat down with him recently for a chat.

Over the last couple of years reviewing opera with BroadwayWorld, I have become a fan. Not only a fan of the classical work but a fan of Austin Opera and the sumptuous productions they bring to the stage. It makes my heart soar to hear the first strains of the orchestra conducted by the amazing Peter Bay and watch the curtain rise on pure magic.

With the Notre Dame Cathedral still in the news after a nearly catastrophic fire so recently it seemed strange coincidence to attend a production of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. It certainly brought home for me the majesty of the medieval church but it also lent a small glimpse into the immense scope of Hugo's work. Kaitlin Hopkins takes the medieval setting and recreates it in a high concept artwork in black, white, tones of gray and slashes of crimson. The effect is a feast for the senses.

SISTER ACT, the musical, follows the 1992 Whoopi Goldberg movie of the same name, opened April 19th at the Georgetown Palace theatre, and the result is solid gold entertainment.

Roald Dahl's novel, MATILDA was published in 1988 to join his other popular children's books; among them, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, THE WITCHES and BFG. In 2010 The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned a musical version and MATILDA THE MUSICAL was born in London's West End. ZACH's production includes two youth casts, I had the opportunity to see the 'Young Orange Cast'.

Lila Rose Kaplan's, 100 PLANES gets its first full staging at Mastrogeorge Theatre under the direction of Elizabeth Newman. Set in 1997, the story revolves around an ambitious young Air Force pilot, Kay (Alain Rose Chock) and her intention to be chosen to fly the latest aircraft.

The fascinating autobiography CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, by Frank Abagnale, Jr., first made into a movie starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio is now a musical adventure. Debuting on Broadway in 2011 to mixed reviews. As a character study the story is engrossing, but as the basis for a musical, it's problematic. While it has some great moments of comedy with a touch of drama and lots of jazzy 60's music, there are certainly better crafted musicals around.

A DOLL'S HOUSE by Norwegian Realist playwright, Henrik Ibsen is a theatrical staple, studied and performed worldwide since its debut in 1879. The updated continuation A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 gleefully deconstructs the original play with a lot of laughs and a bit of colorful language.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD by Anna Deveare Smith and currently playing at ZACH Theatre's Kleberg Stage is as impactful a piece of theatre as I believe I have ever witnessed.

We all know the fairy tale Rapunzel from childhood, but Jeremy Rashad Brown and Deanna Belardinelli give RAP UNZEL an update, hip hop style at Scottish Rite Theatre in cooperation with Brown Boy Productions and the effect is enchanting.

The Georgetown Palace Playhouse brings us silly Christmas fun from across the pond with FARNDALE AVENUE HOUSING ESTATE TOWNSWOMEN'S GUILD DRAMATIC SOCIETY'S PRODUCTION OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin, Jr, based on the work by Charles Dickens. In the United Kingdom, Christmas 'panto' is an annual holiday tradition. Panto is of course short for pantomime and includes send ups of fairy tales (or other well known stories) with over the top characters and lots of audience participation. The Georgetown Palace production, directed by Jonathan Young contains all of these elements and more.

James Goldman's bitingly witty play A LION IN WINTER has been a favorite of mine most of my life. Written in 1966, this show has everything in my opinion; warring family, a larger than life king, a queen who is, arguably, the most famous woman in history, grasping, greedy princes, all wrapped up in a real life, high stakes game of thrones. The biggest plus is some of the best dialogue ever written for the stage, and roles that are on every actor's bucket list. As a devotee of medieval history, A LION IN WINTER, is quite simply my cup of tea. The legendary Plantagenet family known as the 'Devil's Brood' on stage at the same time? It doesn't get better. Unfortunately The Wimberley Players production is sadly lacking in the passion that runs through the veins of Goldman's work like life's blood.

Theatre at its best holds up a mirror to society, showing us our triumphs and failures in equal measure. But once in a great while there comes a production that holds up that mirror and sees into our very soul. SIGNIFICANT OTHER by Joshua Harmon and performed by a stellar cast at Trinity Street Theatre is just such a show.

Austin's ZACH Theatre pulls out all the stops to create a spectacular production of the crowd favorite DISNEY'S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

Southwest Theatre Productions (SWTP) has gained a reputation for bringing new, meaningful plays to the Austin stage. With its productions of CAGES, IF I FORGET and THE OTHER PLACE, producers Kat Sparks and Jan Phillips have shown their range in presenting thought-provoking material with excellent production values. ALABAMA STORY by Kenneth Jones is SWTP's best production to date and shows just how far the all female company has come.

Recreated from John Wilkes Booth's personal prompt book, The Hidden Room in conjunction with The Harry Ransom Center present a hybrid version of RICHARD III that hasn't been seen on stage since 1864. Gloriously reborn from the pages of history, this is the villain king like you've never seen him before.

Gilbert & Sullivan Austin has a long, glorious past of traditionally amazing shows. Unfortunately their current production of RUDDIGORE is a mixed bag and doesn't come off as well as it likely could.

Different Stages has a reputation for bringing excellent theatre to the Austin stage and THE BOOK OF LIZ is no different. Supreme silliness and laughs galore fill the performance space at Trinity Street Theatre for the space 90 minutes of great, quirky entertainment.