Posted in February 2014 …

Winners announced: TeCo’s 12th Annual New Play Competition

WINNERS ANNOUNCED: “Strangers In A Chapel” by Antay Bilgutay wins 12th Annual New Play Competition. Literary Prize shared between Steven Young and Elle Vernee. Congratulations to this year’s winners. Every year I’ve attended the TeCo Annual New Play Competition, I have seen the quality of submissions improve substantially. What at first seemed like a casual jumble, … Continue reading →

Git Mo’ Sausage: The Cockfight Play

There is more hot sausage in this clip art cartoon than in the entirety of Mike Bartlett’s graphically named Olivier Award-winning play, euphemistically referred to as “The Cockfight Play” by print publications that can’t print its title. Too bad. It could be interesting to see a play dealing directly with many aspects of the human … Continue reading →

CityRep Soufflé: Cooking Up Much Ado

Producing a play shares similarities with cooking a perfect soufflé. Carefully selected, measured ingredients get mixed with scientific precision (with a master chef or director’s signature touch) and then “baked” at the right temperature for an exact duration. Removed carefully from the “oven” and presented elegantly to its audience at table (or in the theatre), … Continue reading →

Sock It To Me, Jesus: “Godspell” at the Winspear

As I hustled out of the Winspear Opera House… …while the Dallas audience gave its customary, if somewhat tepid, standing ovation to the Lexus Broadway Series touring production of Stephen Schwartz’s early 1970’s musical “Godspell”, based on the Gospel of Matthew, two thoughts came to mind. The first: “You can’t make a silk purse out … Continue reading →

CORIOLANUS: NT Live’s Gruesome Heart-throb

A mystery at a National Theatre Live screening? When I attend and review the NT Live performances at Dallas’ Angelika Film Center, I generally find myself one of eight silent people in the auditorium. Walking into a full house, wall to wall people, on a Saturday afternoon to see the NT Live showing of Shakespeare’s … Continue reading →

“Blue Roses”: Lyric Stage’s Ethereal Launch

Blue Roses…Blue roses. Whisper the words aloud and imagine what those roses might look like. Fragile, haunting, tragic, illusory? When lyricist Mimi Turque plucked the words out of Tennessee William’s drama “The Glass Menagerie” to form the title of the adaptation she wrote with composer Nancy Ford, she hoped their collaborative endeavor would capture the … Continue reading →

Gussy Up The Bath House: Hot, Classy Ladies’ Songs

Been to The Echo Room? Whatcha waiting for? Poof! Echo Theatre’s movie idol gorgeous traditional jazz bandleader waves his magic wand. The Bath House Cultural Center black box space transforms into a hot, hopping 1930’s vintage supper club, The Echo Room, with live music, dancing, classy flirtation and adult beverages and light snacks provided by … Continue reading →

Uncomfortably Off the Rails: On the Eve

When I think of new or original as regards a play production, and no mention gets made in its press about adaptation of or inspiration from other works, I expect to see unique characters interacting in non-derivative plots and scenes. I, like other regional theatre critics, found myself utterly enchanted by the workshop production of … Continue reading →

A River Runs Deep: Tom Sawyer at WaterTower Theatre

Tom Sawyer, that lovable Americana scamp icon, springs to life full throttle on WaterTower Theatre’s main stage through February 16, in a true-to-the-novel stage adaptation by Laura Eason, commissioned by Hartford Stage in 2010. It features regional professional Andrews Cope, perfectly cast in the title role, with bold direction by Emily Scott Banks. Well suited … Continue reading →