Joey Banks News

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY is well executed, entertaining, and quite worthy of attention.

From the moment, you are seated in the intimate Wisconsin Studio at the Overture Center you are transported to Emerson's Bar and Grill. The year,1959. The month, March. Billie Holiday will only live another 4 months, at which time she will die at the young age of 44 from cirrhosis of the liver.

With the current production of this show at Austin Playhouse the company requires, or even demands, that the audience leave the theater with a multitude of thoughts whirling in their mind. I left the theater in two minds about what I have seen. There were elements and moments that viscerally affected me and gave me a multitude of things to think about, and there were also moments that just as noticeably didn't land for me, and that gave me a multitude of things to think about too.

Neil Simon's autobiographical comedy about his days as a writer in 1950's television, LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR, currently playing at City Theatre is an excellent way to spend an evening with charm and nostalgic wit.

Ring in the holiday season with the wild comedy of high jinks, good times, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. City Theatre Austin, November 18 - December 18.

Ring in the holiday season with the wild comedy of high jinks, good times, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor. City Theatre Austin, November 18 - December 18.

NEVERMORE: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe is a Canadian musical that was written and composed by Jonathan Christenson which follows the rather dismal life and internal struggles of Edgar Allan Poe that later on inspired his work as an author. The script contains references to both his poems and short stories. While most of the script dramatizes true events in his life, other aspects are entirely fictitious. The musical was originally produced at the Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta and went on to be performed across Canada, and at the Barbican Theater in London, and the New Victory Theatre in NYC. The current production now playing at Austin Playhouse is a regional premiere.

Polarity Ensemble Theatre presents an innovative interpretation of Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, the bard's most popular comedy. Director Ann Keen sets the production in an America of the early 1960's, a time of distinctive transition in our culture, as music, morality, and racial relations began a revolution. Like Ann's HAMLET (which won Polarity the honor of Best Emerging Theatre Company from the Chicago Reader) and her A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, this production will be infused with music. It plays April 20 through May 22, 2015 at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60614, where the eleven year old Polarity is a resident company. Tickets are available at www.petheatre.com or by calling the box office at 773-404-7336. The press opening is Friday, April 22 at 8:00 PM. Press tickets are available by request from Richard Engling (847-293-7705, richard@petheatre.com).

During the seventies, the adult film industry went through a very strange period of trying to make adult films with actual plots and dialogue. The attempts, to put it mildly, were laughable. The 'acting' was, at best, wooden and the dialogue ranged the gamut from stilted to repetitive. During this period, which has been dubbed 'The Golden Age of Porn' or 'Porno Chic', came some big box office successes. Among the biggest hits of this era was the film 'Debbie Does Dallas', released in 1978, close to the end of the period. By the early eighties, home video effectively ended the era where people went to movie theaters to see porn.

After months of thought, debate and conversation, the staff and writers of Austin Entertainment Weekly with much assistance from Broadway World Austin's Editor Jeff Davis, have announced a new award system for the Central Texas Theatre Community.

Sometimes there's nothing as hysterical as hysteria. That's the main premise of Reefer Madness, currently produced by Doctuh Mistuh Productions, a musical satire about the dangers of marijuana. The show, which splits its run between the Spiderhouse Ballroom and the Dougherty Arts Center, is an absolute laugh riot.

Doctuh Mistuh Productions has announced its upcoming production, REEFER MADNESS, THE MUSICAL. The production will be directed by Michael McKelvey (B. Iden Payne Award, Sweeney Todd and Assassins) with set design by Joe Carpenter (Mary Moody Northen Theatre), costumes by Glenda Barnes (B. Iden Payne Award, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), and lighting design by Sam Chesney.

Doctuh Mistuh Productions has announced its upcoming production, REEFER MADNESS, THE MUSICAL. The production will be directed by Michael McKelvey (B. Iden Payne Award, Sweeney Todd and Assassins) with set design by Joe Carpenter (Mary Moody Northen Theatre), costumes by Glenda Barnes (B. Iden Payne Award, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), and lighting design by Sam Chesney.

It seems fitting that the young, new Austin Theatre Project should kick off their 2nd Season with a young, new musical. The little-known song cycle Edges is the perfect choice. With its complex score, its energetic tone, and its themes about growing pains and becoming what we envision for ourselves, Edges is a captivating and engaging new work.

Edges opens February 28 and plays through March 10 at the Dougherty Arts Center.

Edges opens February 28 and plays through March 10 at the Dougherty Arts Center.