Since its World Premiere performance on February 14, 1895, Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST has been an enduring favorite of audiences. Critics recognized the play for its wit and popularity with audiences. In 2014, those same attributes hold up well. Currently, Houston's Classical Theatre Company is producing THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and earning many hearty laughs with their take on the classic.
CTC will present the last installment of their season of English language masterpieces by way of The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde's final, and most masterful, play, The Importance of Being Earnest deals with a common theme in Wilde's work: the leading of double lives. Socialite Jack Worthing and dilettante friend Algernon Moncrieff create fictitious alter egos for themselves in order to buck society's stifling restrictions placed upon them. Hilarity ensues when their love interests, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew, fall in love with their false personas. Full of witty repartee and scathing social commentary, The Importance of Being Earnest, will bring down the house with laughter.
CTC will present the last installment of their season of English language masterpieces by way of The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde's final, and most masterful, play, The Importance of Being Earnest deals with a common theme in Wilde's work: the leading of double lives. Socialite Jack Worthing and dilettante friend Algernon Moncrieff create fictitious alter egos for themselves in order to buck society's stifling restrictions placed upon them. Hilarity ensues when their love interests, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew, fall in love with their false personas. Full of witty repartee and scathing social commentary, The Importance of Being Earnest, will bring down the house with laughter.
While Thanksgiving is right around the corner, holiday festivities are commencing in full force. For many Houston theater goers, the highlight of the holiday season is the Alley Theatre's infamous production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL - A GHOST STORY OF CHRISTMAS. Michael Wilson's imaginative stage adaptation of the Charles Dicken's classic A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, is celebrating its 24th year and continues to be a spectacle that is hauntingly delightful and heartwarming. With family-friendly thrills, chills, and a hearty dose of laughter, this festive production remains a holiday favorite.
Houston's seasonal favorite A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas returns to light up the Holiday Season downtown on the Hubbard Stage November 15 to December 26.
When it comes to American Theatre from the 1930s, one of the leading writing duos was George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. This pair is integral in the development of Modern American Theatre. They are often studied in survey courses that chart the progression of the art form, as most agree that together they wrote some of America's favorite comedies. Their hilarious and heartwarming 1936 play YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU premiered at the Booth Theater on December 14, 1936 and ran for 837 performances. It also won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. When it was adapted for film by Frank Capra and Robert Riskin in 1938, it won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Now, in 2013, The Alley Theatre is reviving the classic and hysterical masterpiece about an eccentric family that is happily surviving the Great Depression. It's 1936, and their key to bliss is embrace the love they have for one another, their hobbies, and to find ways to simply enjoy the life they've got.
Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd presents You Can't Take It With You. Sanford Robbins returns to direct this new production after directing last season's November. Robbins also directed the Alley Theatre's 2003 production of You Can't Take It with You. You Can't Take It With You, by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, directed by Sanford Robbins, opens tonight, September 25, and runs through October 20, 2013 on the Hubbard Stage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!
Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd presents You Can't Take It With You. Sanford Robbins returns to direct this new production after directing last season's November. Robbins also directed the Alley Theatre's 2003 production of You Can't Take It with You. You Can't Take It With You, by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, directed by Sanford Robbins, began performances Friday, September 20 opens officially Wednesday, September 25, and runs through October 20, 2013 on the Hubbard Stage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!
Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for You Can't Take It With You. Sanford Robbins returns to direct this new production after directing last season's November. Robbins also directed the Alley Theatre's 2003 production of You Can't Take It with You.
Tradition is often a beautiful thing, especially when it invites Houstonians and tourists alike out of the summer heat and into the splendors of air conditioning. Mix in delightful, sometimes even frightfully chilling, entertainment, and you've got the recipe for the Alley Theatre's annual ExxonMobil Summer Chills series. This summer's offering is Agatha Christie's ever-suspenseful and surprisingly humorous THE HOLLOW, which is the 22nd Agatha Christie show the Alley has produced in their 66-year history.
Beginning in July 2013, the Alley Theatre will produce Agatha Christie's The Hollow during its popular ExxonMobil Summer Chills series. Under the direction of Gregory Boyd, the Alley's resident company of actors will bring to life the colorful cast of characters in Agatha Christie's The Hollow.
Alley Theatre presents Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's 'The Suicide Club' and featuring beloved characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jeffrey Hatcher (Mrs. Mannerly, 2010) crafts a smart new Sherlock Holmes mystery. Having played Sherlock Holmes in The Crucifer of Blood (2009) and Sherlock Holmes (2003), Alley Theatre Company Artist Todd Waite will again play the iconic and illustrious detective in a spectacular, lavish production. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!
Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Suicide Club" and featuring beloved characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jeffrey Hatcher (Mrs. Mannerly, 2010) crafts a smart new Sherlock Holmes mystery. Having played Sherlock Holmes in The Crucifer of Blood (2009) and Sherlock Holmes (2003), Alley Theatre Company Artist Todd Waite will again play the iconic and illustrious detective in a spectacular, lavish production.
Last night, The Alley Theatre hosted the press opening night of Bernard Pomerance's well-known 1977 tragic drama THE ELEPHANT MAN. The nearly 100-minute one act production is a fascinating look at the life of Joseph 'John' Carey Merrick, who began developing severe bone and skin abnormalities by age two. The play takes place from 1884 to 1890, focusing primarily on the parts of Joseph Merrick's life when he was acquainted with and studied by Dr. Frederick Treves, a surgeon in London. Throughout Joseph Merrick's life these abnormalities worsened, significantly increasing the physical strain these deformities subjected his body to. Joseph Merrick passed on April 11, 1890, at the age of 27. The official cause of death is asphyxia.
Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for Bernard Pomerance's The Elephant Man, a story about the strength of the human spirit, compassion and humanity. Called 'enthralling and luminous' by The New York Times, The Elephant Man, directed by Gregory Boyd, runs April 12 through May 5, 2013 on the Hubbard Stage.
Any mention of Aaron Sorkin's A FEW GOOD MEN makes people instantly think of Jack Nicholson yelling, 'You can't handle the truth!' Currently, the Alley Theatre is offering a production of Aaron Sorkin's play that easily surpasses the 1992 film adaptation in quality. The Alley Theatre's powerful production of A FEW GOOD MEN is a tense, taut court room drama thrill-ride that will leave audiences breathless and speechless.
Bringing together an outstanding, large cast with a world-class artistic team, Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd directs Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men. This epic production brings this captivating military courtroom drama to life. A Few Good Men runs tonight, March 1 through March 24, 2013, on the Hubbard Stage.
Bringing together an outstanding, large cast with a world-class artistic team, Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd directs Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men. This epic production brings this captivating military courtroom drama to life. A Few Good Men runs March 1 through March 24, 2013, on the Hubbard Stage.
There is always that one play that captures attention at a national or international level. It hits a nerve and becomes dominant in the cultural zeitgeist. That play is talked about for a couple of years because of powerful productions in prominent theatre cities. It wins Tony Awards. It wins Olivier Awards. Sometimes it wins the Pulitzer Prize. Then it is tucked away like a nice museum piece, and the world moves on. Almost all of that is true for Houston native Bruce Norris' CLYBOURNE PARK. Except this provocative, insightful, and humorous play, I predict, will not be tucked away. It will not be some untouched museum piece awaiting a flashy revival. This fiery comedy that is more of a well-polished mirror than theatrical exhibition has a long future of production ahead of it. Walking out of the opening night performance at The Alley, I understood all of the hype surrounding this piece. Simply put, CLYBOURNE PARK is must see social commentary.
The Alley Theatre's production of Houston native Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park, winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play, and the Olivier Award for Best Play (London) starts on the Alley Theatre's Neuhaus Stage January 18 and opens Wednesday, January 23. Clybourne Park is directed by Alley Theater Associate Director James Black.
