Posted in June 2009 …

Shakespeare Dallas Rides Again

Bonanza, Blazing Saddles, Dallas, Deadwood…and Shakespeare Dallas, all in one ten-gallon mental picture? Yeehaw. Shakespeare Dallas turns on the heat this summer with fetching Western-style stagings of two of the Bard’s best: The Merry Wives of Windsor TX and The Taming of the Shrew. Theatre companies across the country spend considerable energy and time re-imagining … Continue reading →

King & Us: a triumph, no puzzlement

Like falling in love at first sight…within the first couple of minutes of the entrances of Mrs. Anna (Luann Aronson) and The King of Siam (Joe Nemmers) in Lyric Stage’s The King and I, the audience finds itself smitten. Good thing, too. This is an unforgettable production, resplendent with a wide array of vocal power, … Continue reading →

Hitch a death-defying ride: The Ochre House

“Time is precious and there’s no accounting for it.” So sayeth the writer iconoclast Hunter S. Thompson who suicided at his Colorado retreat on February 20, 2005. Pretty mild comment for a guy who hung out with Hells Angels, was a liberal poster child for the NRA and regularly pissed off the media establishment with … Continue reading →

Bring it on! Trinity Shakespeare

It’s time to leap for joy, fans of classical theatre. This past week Fort Worth’s revitalized Trinity Shakespeare Festival sprang forth fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus. It’s a bold birth, ready to make dynamic artistic statements and enliven the words of Western culture’s leading playwright with a vision that connects the … Continue reading →

On the Receiving End: Water Tower Theatre

“Let’s give this another try….” The Receptionist at Water Tower Theatre delivers a mind-bending paranoia punch, and I don’t mean the saccharine kind served from a crystal bowl. It’s a wallop you don’t see coming. This one act play gives the idea of “being present and accountable” startling new meaning. During the 2007-2008 New York … Continue reading →

Days of Wine and Roses at Rover Dramawerks

Wow. A two act infomercial, relentlessly torchy, about the nightmare of alcohol abuse and the shining hope Alcoholics Anonymous offers. Stage-worthy entertainment?  “You’d be surprised how much fun you can have sober” exclaims newly sober drunk Joe, clutching his little red book, to remorselessly plastered wife Kirsten near the end of Act II in  Days … Continue reading →

Picture Perfect at the Bath House

One Thirty Productions welcomes in summer with a spry production of Neil Simon’s I Ought To Be In Pictures, which explores the challenges of estrangement and reconnection in a strained father-daughter relationship. Who is the real adult here? Who’s bringing up whom? Find out at the Bath House Cultural Center . This 1979 three-person comedy … Continue reading →

Casa on the Money: Always, Patsy Cline

During the music-filled stage fantasy about a fan’s encounter with country/pop singer Patsy Cline, the fan reports Patsy told her: “I don’t want to get rich; I just want to live good.” Maybe Patsy Cline did make that remark, but there’s no question about her estate raking in substantial bucks based on audience attendance and … Continue reading →

Flower Mound’s Wiser & Deeper Tuna: Review 6.3.2009

Head down to Greater Tuna for a dose of impeccably timed comedy and the gentle revelation of universal human truth. The show runs through June 7 at the cosy FMPAT performance space at 830 Parker Square in Flower Mound, just west of Lewisville on FM 1171.
Tickets: http://www.fmpat.org 972-724-2147
Make it an entire evening. Dine ahead of time at one of the finer Parker Square restaurants: http://www.parkersquare.com Continue reading →