HOUSTON INTERVIEWS

It's hard to believe that 2013 is already drawing to a close. Holiday decorations line the streets of Houston, Thanksgiving is already nothing but a distant memory, and everywhere people are looking forward to the beginnings of 2014. Luckily, for Houston audiences, our 2014 will start not with a whi...

Yesterday, Broadway Across America - Houston's production of CHICAGO loaded into the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Now, the cast is ready to paint Houston red, shimmy-shake until their garters break, and give us all that jazz. I spoke with Brent Barrett, who plays CHICAGO's glib Billy Flynn ...

It is always an exciting time when Texas celebrity Jaston Williams, of GREATER TUNA fame, comes into town. He has delighted and entertained audiences all over the world for years, and his stops at The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston have been no different. For one performance only on November 8,...

It's that time of year again. You know the one where we break out the fishnets and take that oh so familiar step to the left followed by a jump to the right. Halloween and Richard O'Brien's THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW may as well be synonyms. Luckily for Houston audiences, Bayou City Theatrics is producin...

Continuing their 2013-14 season, Mildred's Umbrella Theatre Company is producing Diana Amsterdam's CARNIVAL ROUND THE CENTRAL FIGURE. In the play, Kate visits the deathbed of a close friend and through a series of theatrical dreams and nightmares must acknowledge that no matter how much denial, posi...

Bryan-Keyth Wilson first made a bleep on my radar this past theatre season when I attended my first show produced by Eklektix Theatre Company. He is continually proving to be a force in the Houston area that is turning heads and doing a lot of big things. To list a few of his credentials, he is a wr...

As the British Empire was approaching it's zenith, J. M. Barrie struck a long-lasting cultural nerve with his character of Peter Pan. The imaginative boy first appeared in the 1902 novel The Little White Bird. In 1904, the character's most beloved adventure premiered as a play entitled THE BOY WHO W...

Anna Greenfield is an emerging American playwright. Her play ALL GIRLS garnered a lot of recognition during its initial New York City run produced by Horse Trade Theater Group at New York City's Kraine Theater. The play is described as being "a hyper real and sometimes surreal play about three teena...

FLIPSIDE: THE PATTI PAGE STORY is taking to the road. In anticipation of the production's Texas stops, I chatted with writer and director Greg White about the show. He explains, 'It's not a revue. It's her story,' and that the show itself is 'funny and very poignant.' He also told me that the show ...

Eklektix Theatre Company burst onto the Houston scene with a summer 2012 production of SPRING AWAKENING. They followed that up with an ambitious season of old favorites, bringing Houston audiences edgy and innovative productions of MACBETH, SPRING AWAKENING in concert, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, and REN...

After winning prestigious awards both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, Disney's PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, a magical prequel to Peter Pan, is headed for Houston. The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is the First National Tour production's third stop on their expansive route. The tour cast kicked of...

As one of the nation's leading theatre scenes, Houston has proved itself to be a respectable and important venue in growing a resume and providing refreshing and invigorating work for those involved with the theatre at a professional level. One of our own homegrown talents, Detria Ward, has been gai...

This past summer, Theatre Under the Stars finally gave us the news that many had eagerly been anticipating. In July, TUTS announced their newest endeavor and introduced us to TUTS Underground, a brand of theatre that is edgy and features innovative and modern works. Utilizing the intimate Zilkha Hal...

BroadwayWorld's Alan Aronshtam sat down for an interview with THE WIZARD OF OZ's Wicked Witch, Jacquelyn Piro Donovan!...

A fascinating organization, Houston Arts Partners, is on the rise in Houston. Ready to fling the doors wide open on their third annual conference, the group is going above and beyond to foster long lasting partnerships between the worlds of public education and arts administration. This year's confe...

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL, or the ultimate party bus, is headed towards Houston. With our ears to the ground we can hear the faint pulse of the poppy disco beats filling Denver audiences with joy. Soon the splashy, feel good musical will be mirthfully leaving Houston audiences dancin...

Mystery, murder, espionage, blackmail, sexual scandal, madness, and a ghost are prized dramatic ingredients. Often when these elements are brought together, the world is plagued by some lowbrow, low budget B movie that airs incessantly on SyFy. However, using these elements, William Shakespeare gift...

Houston, it is a new theatre season and Theatre Under the Stars is kicking off theirs with the fabulously fun PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL. This heartwarming musical follows a trio of friends as they embark on a life-changing journey to the Australian outback, and it incorporates genui...

The first requirement of any girl that steps into the role of Annie is that they have to be totally adorable. With a kind demeanor and sweet charm, former Houston-area actress Sadie Sink has no problems in that domain. This morning, I got to chat with the 11-year-old starlet who is now sharing the r...

Bit of a Stretch Theatre Company is running in full gear, preparing for the opening of their annual summertime production. Notorious for excelling at demanding and lesser known pieces, Bit of a Stretch Theatre Company provides Houston audiences unique musical experiences and challenges them to redef...

In my opinion, one of the most incredible aspects of theatre is the World Premiere of a new piece. While these works seldom become the next big hit on Broadway, it is always fascinating to experience a product on the ground floor and be a part of it from the beginning. Luckily, for me, the Houston t...

Stages Repertory Theatre is preparing their third installment of Roger Bean's delightful musical comedy series about The Marvelous Wonderettes. This whimsically nostalgic musical, entitled THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES: CAPS AND GOWNS, takes audiences to 1958 and 1968, letting audiences revel in the hig...

As summer rolls through Houston, Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) is ready to kick the heat up a notch with their free summer production of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning musical A CHORUS LINE. Sure to be "one singular sensation," the production tells the story of seventeen dancers vying to...

WICKED, the musical that reminds us that so much happened before Dorothy dropped in OZ, is visiting Houston's Hobby Center for the Performing Arts for the fourth time this summer. There is no denying that excitement is growing in Houston. Billboards for the show line our highways, commercials play o...

Summer is one of those seasons where family-oriented musical theatre reigns supreme. This summer, Texas Repertory Theatre is presenting Dan Goggin's Off-Broadway smash NUNSENSE. Recently, I was invited to a rehearsal to interview the immensely gifted cast. In addition to a fantastic sneak peek of th...