Joey Banks News

Doctuh Mistuh Productions and Penfold Theatre Company are pleased to bring Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe back to Austin. Nevermore made its regional premiere in Austin in October 2016 and subsequently was the winner of five B. Iden Payne Awards, including Best Musical. The Nevermore revival will run October 25 - November 10 and plays at the Ground Floor Theatre.

All things considered, ALL SHOOK UP does possess a certain amount of appeal largely in part to the talent of the cast and musicians and the timeless music of Elvis Presley. The visually impressive spectacle created by the brilliant scenic artists and designers is also something the whole family will appreciate.  While the show isn't without its stumbling blocks, Zilker Theatre Productions should be commended for providing free, accessible theatre for sixty years. This incredible accomplishment is a gift to the Austin community and is sure to continue delighting families for many years to come.

Who hasn't been to one of the Broadway musical gems that play out in the open air amphitheatre during these blistering hot Austin summers? A gift to the community, the Zilker Summer Musical has been part of Austin for sixty years now. Always free to the public, this year's offering is ALL SHOOK UP, a jukebox musical from 2004 setting Elvis Presley's music to a book by Joe DiPietro. The story is based on William Shakespeare's 1602 play Twelfth Night. Since 1959, audiences have placed their blankets and lawn chairs under the stars at the Beverly S. Sheffield Zilker Hillside Theater to be treated to such Broadway hits as Hairspray, The Sound of Music, The Music Man, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Oklahoma, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and L'il Abner to name just a few. Shows that, in many cases, no other theatre in town would produce. BroadwayWorld recently had the opportunity to sit down with J. Robert Moore, the Artistic Director of Zilker Theatre Productions to talk about the Zilker musical as well as the organization.

Austin Playhouse recently produced staged readings of the three winning plays from their Festival of New Texas Plays. EIDOPHUSIKON by Reina Hardy kicked off the festival on Friday, April 27, NUTSHELL by C. Denby Swanson was on Saturday, April 28, and MONROE by Lisa B. Thompson concluded the lineup on Sunday, April 29. Along with the professional staged reading, which featured Austin Playhouse directors and company members, each of the winning playwrights received a $500 prize.

This Random World, the new Steven Dietz play that kicked off Austin Playhouse's 18th season on September 8th, is a well paced and finely built show. The production at Austin Playhouse, utilizing a handful of skilled actors and minimalistic set, deftly crafts a consistently interesting and entertaining show that captivates the audience as it unfolds.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature A RAISIN IN THE SUN at Arena Stage, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in Raleigh, and SCOTTSBORO BOYS in Phoenix, just to name a few. Check out our top features below!

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.