Susan Branch News

ZACH Theatre announces the full cast for Austin's most rockin' holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol returning to The Topfer at ZACH for the sixth year November 20a?"December 29, 2019 with exciting new songs and new cast members in addition to returning favorites under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley. MARC POUHE stars as Ebenezer Scrooge and ZACH's soon-to-be Janis Joplin this season, Tony-nominated MARY BRIDGET DAVIES as Ghost of Christmas Present.

The Broadway hit play The Lifespan of a Fact, based on the true story between essayist John D'Agata and fact-checker Jim Fingal, opens at Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) November 1, 2019 and runs through November 16, 2019. Tickets for this production can now be purchased by calling 801-581-6961 or visiting tickets.pioneertheatre.org.

ZACH Theatre announces the cast for Steven Dietz's new work Dracula, the 2019a?"20 season opener for ZACH's Mainstage Series.

This is a production with much attention to detail and talent. 'Matilda' is delightfully joyful, and unpleasant at the same time. The sweet with the sour is a delicate combination to make in any dish or story. Red Mountain Theatre Company delivers this delightfully structured tale about a brilliant five-year-old girl gifted with a little extra than the ordinary.

The world premiere of Immortal Longings at ZACH Theatre, the newest work by playwright and American Theatre Legend Terrence McNally starring Steven Epp as Sergei Pavlovich Diaghliev and Wyatt Fenner as Vaslav Nijinsky; directed by Peter Rothstein; and choreography by Kelli Foster Warder, will play The Topfer at ZACH.  Performances begin June 12 with an Official Opening date of June 20and running through July 14.

After considering hundreds of live stage productions, concerts, and art exhibitions in Austin between the dates of May 1, 2018, and April 30, 2019, members of the Austin Critics Table have announced their nominees for outstanding dance, classical music, visual art, and theatre with the nominees for the 2019 Critics Table Awards.

ZACH Theatre announces the cast for the world premiere of Immortal Longings, the newest work by playwright and American Legend Terrence McNally.

MATILDA THE MUSICAL opened at Zach Theatre in Austin on April 3 and is running through May 12, 2019.

Roald Dahl's novel, MATILDA was published in 1988 to join his other popular children's books; among them, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, THE WITCHES and BFG. In 2010 The Royal Shakespeare Company commissioned a musical version and MATILDA THE MUSICAL was born in London's West End. ZACH's production includes two youth casts, I had the opportunity to see the 'Young Orange Cast'.

 ZACH Theatre announces cast for the Austin premiere of the Tony Award-winning hit, Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical, running April 3 - May 12, 2019 in The Topfer.  Based on the much-loved children's book by Roald Dahl, featuring music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and a Tony Award-winning book by Dennis Kelly, ZACH's Associate Artistic Director Abe Reybold and Director of Education Nat Miller will co-direct this riotously uplifting musical that will make audiences of all generations burst with joy.

ZACH Theatre announces the world premiere of Immortal Longings, the newest work by playwright and American Legend Terrence McNally. Previews begin June 12 with an Opening Date of June 20 and will run through July 14 in The Topfer at ZACH. The world premiere of Immortal Longings is a thoroughly revised version of Fire and Air which premiered at the Classic Stage Company (CSC) in New York City in the winter of last year.

 ZACH Theatre announces cast for the Austin premiere of the Tony Award-winning hit, Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical, running April 3 - May 12, 2019 in The Topfer.  Based on the much-loved children's book by Roald Dahl, featuring music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and a Tony Award-winning book by Dennis Kelly, ZACH's Associate Artistic Director Abe Reybold and Director of Education Nat Miller will co-direct this riotously uplifting musical that will make audiences of all generations burst with joy.

The Alexandre Dumas classic The Three Musketeers has been told, retold, produced and reimagined in countless ways in its 175-year history. This production is a marvelous retelling of the story from playwright Megan Monaghan Rivas with what I would term a gender-blend cast (versus gender-blind). It is a tight, witty and thoroughly entertaining revisit of this timeless tale.

MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY is a joyous delight of a holiday offering, deepening the story of the characters we know and love while offering a new romance to root for.

Pioneer Theatre Company presents Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, a charming sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The production runs from November 30 through December 15, 2018.

MIDDLETOWN is an essentially plotless play by Will Eno, which was the winner of the 2010 Horton Foote Award for Most Promising New Play. Like Thornton Wilder's Our Town before it, MIDDLETOWN looks at our existence between life and death, or, the middle. What MIDDLETOWN achieves that Our Town doesn't, at least for me, is that it succeeds through a crackling wit and the usual Eno word play to remind us that it is the every day minutiae that make us all human. It also is a refreshing reminder that we all need to stop and take the time to appreciate just how achingly painful yet weird and wonderful life here as a human truly is.

ONCE is an eight-time Tony Award®-winning musical from 2012, based on the 2007 Academy Award®-winning film of the same name by John Carney. It is running now on ZACH Theatre's Topfer Stage in the first Texas regional theatre production. ONCE is a contemporary love story about a complex and decidedly odd relationship that is driven by the power of music to connect people. ONCE is the story of an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant who are drawn together by their shared love of music. Their surprise friendship and eventual collaboration, heightened by the raw emotion of the music they create together, evolves into a powerful but extremely complicated romance. What makes this musical even more unusual is the fact that the cast also serves as the orchestra.

ZACH Theatre is proud to announce the cast for the first Texas regional theatre production of the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical Once, running September 19-October 28, 2018 in The Topfer.

ZACH Theatre is proud to announce the cast for the worldwide smash hit musical, Disney's Beauty and the Beast featuring the animated film's Academy Award-winning score with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, with additional songs composed by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton. Disney's Beauty and the Beast plays ZACH's Topfer Stage from July 11-September 2, 2018 under the direction of Associate Artistic Director Abe Reybold with musical direction by Allen Robertson and choreography by Sara Burke.

ZACH Theatre is proud to announce the cast for the first Texas regional theatre production of the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical Once, running September 19-October 28, 2018 in The Topfer.  Speaking to Austin's live music roots, ZACH's Topfer lobby will transform into an Irish pub, creating an immersive experience from start to finish. With direction by Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley, Musical Direction by Allen Robertson, Scenic Design by Broadway designer Donald Eastman, music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, and book by Enda Walsh, audiences will fall for this unexpected romance that features a talented ensemble of actor/musicians who play their own instruments on stage.