Houston Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 14

BWW Review: JUST LENA Weathers the Storm at Vincent Victoria Presents
by Brett Cullum - July 02, 2019

We struggle as humans to fit in and be enough at any given moment, and that's the lesson Lena Horne offered the world and herself.  Even though she made history and became a champion of the Civil Rights movement, she struggled every step of the way with the identity created by her appearance and dem...

BWW Review: ALADDIN Animates The Hobby Center with Showmanship and Spectacle
by Audrey Morabito - June 28, 2019

ALADDIN is a vibrant kaleidoscope of extravagant costumes, choreography, and vocal performances. An entertaining musical comedy jam-packed with a cast of over 30 members, there is always something to marvel at throughout the show for children and adults alike. It's glitz, dynamic, and sure to entert...

BWW Review: FADE TO BLACK marches on at MATCH
by Brett Cullum - June 28, 2019

You have ten plays with ten sets, ten casts, ten directors, and ten different playwrights. All of them run only ten minutes at most. It's easy enough to assert that if you don't like something, just wait ten minutes and something new is in front of you!...

BWW Review: JOSEPHINE TONIGHT Resurrects the Jazz Age at The Ensemble Theatre!
by Brett Cullum - June 27, 2019

Dequina Moore is a marvel as the titular role of Josephine Baker. She plays this wide eyed and breathless, a girl who knows she is on the verge of something more and impatient to get there. She dances with abandon and sings like an angel....

BWW Review: CHICAGO is still CHICAGO at SPA Houston
by Brett Cullum - June 05, 2019

It feels curatorial now, a gorgeous museum exhibit that we are intrigued by decades later. Society for the Performing Arts opens the hall for musical theater fans to gaze for just six days here in Houston....

BWW Review: JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY busts a move at TUTS!
by Brett Cullum - June 01, 2019

JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY pays tribute to a brilliant choreographer and becomes a testament to the enduring history of great Broadway shows. If you love musical theater this one will be right up your alley, and if you love dance it is even better....

BWW Review: A LIE OF THE MIND Dazzles but Lacks Danger at Dirt Dogs Theatre
by Brett Cullum - May 28, 2019

It might be that the directors were looking for something of 2019 in 1985's A LIE OF THE MIND. Malinda L. Beckham and Trevor Cone are certainly the best candidates in Houston to wrangle this one out since their company is noted for wildly masculine testosterone-fueled theater. They may have sought m...

BWW Review: A.D. Players' THE GOD COMMITTEE Asks You to Consider the Value of Human Life
by Audrey Morabito - May 26, 2019

Have you ever stopped to consider what a day of life is worth? Not what the meaning of life is or your personal purpose in life, but 'What is a day of life worth to you?' Can the answer to this question be measured? Or answered monetarily? It would seem that the answer would have to be unquantifi...

BWW Review: Alley Theatre Designs Elegant Universe For CONSTELLATIONS
by Katricia Lang - May 20, 2019

Despite the labyrinthine theories at the heart of CONSTELLATIONS, Nick Payne has written an engaging play. It is not, as we say, 'challenging,' a word often used as a euphemism for 'hard to watch.' It's funny and sweet and sad and intense. You can't look away....

BWW Review: 4th Wall Theatre Company Tells COLLECTED STORIES
by Brett Cullum - May 19, 2019

It's two women playing writers - one older and one younger. An ALL ABOUT EVE tale spins out, and the show has interesting dynamics to share about artists when they become close friends....

BWW Review: FOR COLORED BOYZ in Houston
by Alric Davis - May 22, 2019

By drawing a comparison of the sacrifice of fame within Black experience to the pondering of death within the most famous speech in literary history, Wilson's work boldly carves its own space within the theatrical canon just as its female-focused predecessor....

BWW Review: THE EFFECT Dazzles at Houston Equity Festival
by Brett Cullum - May 15, 2019

THE EFFECT sets a high bar for the rest of The Houston Equity Festival. It's a testament to what impact a small intimate theater space can do with outstanding actors and a daring piece of written work....

BWW Review: MISS SAIGON Broadway Tour Lands at the Hobby Center
by Brett Cullum - May 09, 2019

MISS SAIGON feels like a sequel to 'Les Miserables' crossbred with 'Cabaret.' We get sleazy nightclubs and sweeping war scenes mixed together with a simple love story....

BWW Review: RELATIVELY SPEAKING Is a Funny Farce at Main Street Theater
by Brett Cullum - May 06, 2019

An outstanding cast takes on a very funny book, and the result is shimmering perfection that is just what audiences need to kick off the summer season. It's like ice cream for the theater world....

BWW Review: MURDER FOR TWO Kills the Cabaret at Stages Repertory Theatre
by Brett Cullum - May 03, 2019

MURDER FOR TWO is an exciting piece of theater that is daring in its concept and brought to life by Stages with technical pizzazz. Ben Miller and Trace Pool deliver amazing performances with crackerjack comic timing....

BWW Review: Do Yourself Justice: Go See RAGTIME at the Hobby Center
by Pnina Topham - April 22, 2019

RAGTIME is a vivid portrait of America in the early 20th century, when worlds and cultures collided on issues of race, class, gender equality, and politics. This deeply moving musical features a Tony award-winning score, book, and original Broadway orchestrations. This spectacular production of RAGT...

BWW Review: TOAST Goes Against the Grain at the Catastrophic Theatre
by Pnina Topham - April 16, 2019

The world premiere of Brian Jucha's TOAST at the Catastrophic Theatre is a theatrical experience unlike any other. This deeply layered, highly surrealist adventure draws audiences through realms of reality, and varied states of consciousness, with a mashup of vignettes featuring current events, scen...

BWW Review: FREEDA PEOPLES Shakes the Foundation of The Ensemble Theatre
by Bryan-Keyth Wilson - April 10, 2019

If you're a churchgoer and specifically a member of a black church, the issues in this production aren't foreign. In this story, we learn about backsliding deacons, disgruntled church elders, and hate towards the new pastor. Not saying that every church has these issues, but if you aren't in a churc...

BWW Review: THE HUNCHBACK OF SEVILLE colonizes the Alley at Mildred's Umbrella
by Brett Cullum - April 01, 2019

The script spins out a fast funny farce that reminds me of a politically informed Monty Python skit. Even though the premise sounds like a stuffy costume drama, this is more SOUTH PARK meets 1500s Spain....

BWW Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG Brings Shtick, Slapstick and Spit-take Silliness to the Hobby Center
by Pnina Topham - March 28, 2019

THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG is not just a comedy of errors featuring a theatre company's mishaps on stage - it is a family-friend two-hour long blooper reel that brings down the house, and lights it on fire in the process....

BWW Review: PREMIERES at Houston Ballet
by Jenny Taylor Moodie - March 22, 2019

While the ballets each have a marked identity, the triad presentation serves to compliment the elements of each. It's a journey into well-crafted worlds, an escape and a reunion all at once....

BWW Review: THE WEIR Spins Spooky Tales at Main Street Theater
by Brett Cullum - March 20, 2019

Who wouldn't want to spend an hour and a half in a traditional pub with old country codgers spinning out ghost stories? It's a winning proposition, and Main Street delivers all the goods from the actors and the technical department....

BWW Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is in bloom at STAGES REPERTORY THEATRE
by Brett Cullum - March 11, 2019

It's the right time to resurrect the 1982 off-Broadway phenomenon LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. It's a catchy little musical that says a lot about greed combined with materialism, and it reminds audiences of how brilliant Howard Ashman and Alan Menken have always been....

BWW Review: THE HUMANS at Alley Theatre
by Jenny Taylor Moodie - March 08, 2019

Though somewhat dark, The Humans illuminates the role of fear in dysfunctional family....

BWW Review: Got Kids? Get 'Em to ANASTASIA!
by Pnina Topham - March 07, 2019

The musical ANASTASIA is the most saccharine, sweet, and kid-friendly musical I've seen to date. This all-ages production is particularly well suited for introducing younger audiences to the magic of musical theatre....