Old-Style English Musical in Austin
Rupert Holmes, who created the musical Mystery of Edwin Drood, is on record as hoping, and thinking, that Charles Dickens would have enjoyed his creation. Based as it is on…
Love Never Dies
What happens when your sky-high expectations for the title song of a musical fall flat when the big moment comes and the singer can’t deliver or the lyrics just don’t…
A Musical Christmas Carol
There is nothing better than a ghost for Halloween, except maybe a ghost for Christmas. At the Zach Theatre now you can see not one but four ghosts on stage…
DOUBT
Doubt is as old as civilisation. As author Jennifer Hecht has written, “the birth of philosophy is one of the origins of doubt.” As an inescapable element of thought, it…
The Full Monty: Terrence McNally at 80
“A play isn’t finished until the last character enters.” So said Terrence McNally at his 80th birthday celebration, held at Austin’s Zach Theatre on Nov. 12. The ‘last character’ he…
Edgar Allan Poe: A Life Full of Woe
The musical Nevermore, currently playing in Austin, had a special showing on Halloween. This is quite appropriate as Poe’s legacy is so identified with horror and the macabre. I actually…
Once: A Universal Conundrum
The musical Once, now playing at the Zach Theatre in Austin, has a hidden meaning in plain sight: the two lead characters have no name. They are just Guy and…
Tommy the Musical, in Austin
The Who’s Tommy has been with us since 1969. First as an album, then a movie (1975) starring Elton John as the Pinball Wizard, and finally the stage musical (1993).…
Immigration Spotlight: A New Play in Austin + Star Trek
A world premiere play on immigration is currently showing in Austin at the Ground Floor Theatre. I interviewed playwright Raul Garza, whom told me he was motivated to write it…
Playhouse Creatures
“It was as if the men and women gathered there had witnessed a miracle.” So says the character Mrs. Betterton in Playhouse Creatures, currently being performed at The City Theatre…