Marie Gordon News

IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE is a well-executed, tight, and engaging production.

THE DRESSER by Ronald Harwood is a powerful piece by itself, but in the hands of Different Stages it is a rare and perfect gem.

Since 1976 the Gilbert and Sullivan Austin has dedicated itself to providing the city with the works of Gilbert and Sullivan not so much by reinvention but by recreating how a production might have been staged originally. There is a respect due this sort of commitment, and the audience in attendance this last Saturday when I viewed the production, showed theirs in a true sense of a special occasion. I can recall the respect I was expected to display, and the authentic excitement I felt anytime I attended a play or musical back in the day. Back in the Ice Age, when I simultaneously became a teenager and discovered theatre, it was considered an event just shy of your cousin's wedding to attend the theatre. People got dressed up, showed up on time and applauded civilly after each musical number back then. Why, no one stood for an ovation even unless the production was spot on literally flawless.

UNDERGROUND, a taut new psychological and political thriller by Lisa B. Thompson, is currently in its World Premiere production at The VORTEX. UNDERGROUND examines African American activists, artists, and intellectuals and how they have responded from the Civil Rights Movement to the Black Lives Matter movement and beyond. The play takes a head-on look at where we are in the long fight for equality in our current political climate and what survival may look like over the next four years and beyond. This is an unflinching look at the possible aftermath of the appointment of white supremacists to high-ranking positions in the executive branch. This two person drama is set in the very near future and flashes backto their first encounter. At the core, UNDERGROUND asks the question: how far would you go to protect your people?

MRS. MANNERLY, a memory play by Jeffrey Hatcher, takes inspiration from the playwright's memories of a childhood etiquette class that he took at the tender young age of ten. Walking with an etiquette book balanced on your head, learning complex table settings with a confounding array of flatware and stemware, and dropping a quarter in a jar each time you interrupt...those were the ways of Mrs. Mannerly's classes in 1967. Mrs. Mannerly (Jennifer Underwood) has high standards; so high, in fact, that not one student in her thirty-six years of teaching proper deportment has ever achieved perfection. Young Jeffrey (Suzanne Balling) wants to be the first and he has a trick up his sleeve that he thinks makes him a shoe-in to achieve that sought after goal... he has discovered Mrs. Mannerly has a secret past.

There is a lot of original theatre that happens here in Austin and it spans the gamut in terms of quality. A GIRL NAMED SUE, a new play by Christine Hoang, now in its World Premiere production in the Trinity Street Theatre, is among the best in terms of both quality and execution. Ms. Hoang has crafted a funny, witty and touching play that examines intercultural and interracial relationships all set in the world of coffee house collegiate culture. It manages to deliver a powerful message without ever being high handed or preachy. It does what all good theatre must do first and foremost: entertain.

Color Arc Productions is proud to present the world premiere of a A Girl Named Sue, new play by Vietnamese-American playwright Christine Hoang with songs by award-winning Korean-American singer/songwriter BettySoo.

Color Arc Productions is proud to present the world premiere of a A Girl Named Sue, new play by Vietnamese-American playwright Christine Hoang with songs by award-winning Korean-American singer/songwriter BettySoo.

Different Stages continues its 2016 - 2017 season with Carlo Goldoni's The Noisy Neighbors or Il Campiello. Written for the Venetian Carnival of 1756, Goldoni's comedy recounts the matrimonial scheming, gossip, and games enlivening the daily activity of a bustling but poor Venetian piazza where pandemonium reigns. The commedia-inspired play centers on four scrappy, hard-working, hard-playing families whose daily lives on a small square are interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious wealthy stranger during Carnival. 

Some comedies tickle the funnybone, some evoke a warmth that makes your heart glow, Different Stages current production, THE NOISY NEIGHBORS OR IL CAMPIELLO by Carlo Goldoni and adapted by Richard Nelson succeeds on both levels, resulting in a completely delightful evening at the theatre.

FAHRENHEIT 451 is a play based on the 1953 dystopian novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury. The novel is regarded as one of his best works. It presents a future society where books are outlawed and 'firemen' burn any that are found. The title comes from the temperature at which paper becomes combustible. There was a 1966 film adaptation of the novel and Bradbury himself developed it into this play in the late 70s. Bradbury has stated that he wrote it to address his concerns about the McCarthy era and the threat of book burning. In later years, he stated it was a commentary on how mass media reduces interest in reading literature. The story is set in an unspecified city at an unspecified time in the future somewhere after the year 1960.

Taking on a story of such biblical proportions (pun intended) as SALOME is a courageous act and The Gale Theatre Company, is a courageous ensemble. 'Everyone is safe but no one is comfortable,' is a commitment the company shares in the program for their interpretation of SALOME. Salome, the 'dancing woman' from the New Testament, has been depicted in all manner of artful medium - theatre, opera, poetry, film, ballet, even a video game. She is an icon, arguably more interesting even than the first woman Eve. And so it is that the Gale Theatre Company, under the direction of Katherine Wilkinson and choreography of Earl Kim, tackle this biblical figure made icon by playwright Oscar Wilde, portrayed in film by the likes of Theda Bara and Rita Hayworth. In this depiction though, we start at Salome's end, rather than her beginning. 'What does a woman do when she is left alone to grieve?'

JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN is Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's second-to-last play written in 1896. The source material for the play comes from an incident from an earlier period in his life, revolving around the suicide attempt of an army officer accused of embezzlement. While the play falls along side of the naturalism and social commentary of the works of Ibsen's middle period, the ending also clearly hints at Ibsen's final phase of more symbolic work, which can clearly be seen in his final play, When We Dead Awaken.

Standing in line at The Vortex to see PRIVACY SETTINGS: A PROMETHEAN TALE was like watching a one-act play in and of itself. Each patron crammed into the hot box office to retrieve tickets, hand over their phone number, and sign an agreement before viewing Heather Garfield's latest conceived work. I watched in surprise as the well-rehearsed box office workers recited, 'Leave your phone on,' and 'If someone calls or texts you, answer it during the show'. Definitely, this was the first time I have ever been told to turn my ringer up during a performance. Challenging the status-quo seemed like the mission, the further I got in line. To my surprise, a woman and her husband actually refused to sign the document and provide their information. Consequently, they left in a huff and I admired the level of commitment this theater has to it's theatrical vision - regardless if it is disagreeable to some patrons. I happily signed, knowing well my status as a Broadway World reviewer would most likely mean my phone number would be selected. Needless to say, within 15 minutes of the show starting, I received a text to stand and read aloud to the audience. It was definitely exciting, and I could see others in the audience checking their phones to see if they also had received covert instructions. This element shows the level of avant-garde theater being produced at The Vortex, even before entering the house.

4000 MILES is a dramedy by Amy Herzog. It ran Off-Broadway 2011 - 2012, was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won the 2012 Obie for Best New American Play. The play is a affectionate look at dealing with loss, aging and love told through the relationship of a lost young man making a cross country bike trip and his 91 year old grandmother. What makes 4000 MILES interesting is the subtly incisive dialogue and the fascinating lead characters Herzog has written.

TERMINUS, now in a World Premiere engagement at The Vortex, is a new play by Gabriel Jason Dean. This intricately layered family drama is the latest chapter in Dean's cycle of plays about the Georgia working class, The Attapulgus Elegies. TERMINUS examines a family haunted by the traumas of race and class in the South both in the past and in the present. This projected seven play collection covers a twenty plus year span and chronicles the disappearance of a small mill town.

Noel Coward's comedy, FALLEN ANGELS, produced by Different Stages and running at The Trinity Street Theatre is a sublimely entertaining evening at the theatre.

Happy Holidays! It's the last week to vote for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Austin Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 18. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31!

Time is running out to vote for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Austin Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 18. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31!

Voting is fully underway for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Austin Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 11. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.