Dare to tread where death abounds? The Blighted Heart surely killed the critic as he wrote his front row review of this 9-act torchy blunder. The farce it’s part of, Stiff, is simply to die for. Laughing, that is. Find this frenzied, farcical delite at The Barrow Group Theatre (TBG Theatre) through March 3, 2018 … Continue reading
Tagged with Bren Rapp …
Dynamic Dame Creates World of Wonderful
When William Moulton Marston created the fictional Amazonian character Wonder Woman for DC Comics (first appeared in 1941), he probably had no clue of the paradigm shifting, multi-generational impact and popularity she would have. Nor could he have imagined the impact one creative, intelligent, impassioned producer/advocate, a veritable Wonder Woman in her own right, could … Continue reading
Criticalrant Best Choices 2017: Theatre in N.TX/OK Region
Best of 2017? DFW fosters a diverse, vibrant theatre community with more talent expanding its depth and range every year. Many interesting roles for women in 2017…. Despite the focus on harassment issues and the #MeToo paradigm shift, DFW theatre trends towards more parity in male/female engagement. It’s always easy to recall an array of … Continue reading
Devil’s Return: Joey Folsom’s Lenny Bruce
Lenny Bruce is back and looks damn good for a guy who died of a morphine overdose in 1966. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. When he stepped out on the Dallas Comedy House stage Friday August 4, he looked like a million greenbacks, sparkling with macho swagger and lady-killer grin. From the slick, … Continue reading
Colonic for the Soul: LENNY BRUCE IS BACK with Joey Folsom
Dallas Comedy House, Dallas, Texas’ premier comedy venue, declares, “Humor is subjective and comedy is personal” on their website. Salacious sage/infamous stand up comic Lenny Bruce might agree with that, with the addition of a few choice expletives sure to make somebody’s granny blush. August 4 and 5 Dallas audiences get the chance to … Continue reading
WHAT THE DEUCE! A Dreamy Double-Dose of Drama
Double your pleasure, double your fun. Double your impact? With the NEA, NEH and PBS funding at risk under a wildcat Republican administration in DC, it’s hard not to worry how the arts will survive and thrive. Two Best of the Region theatre companies have linked resources to offer audiences a special two-fer deal this … Continue reading
Step Up to The Basement: Our Future, Performing Today
Just don’t call them “kids” in the theatre…. When they walk into a rehearsal or performance setting, these artists are as professional as they come in our arts community. They are the creative engines, the future visionary drivers emerging from Jeff Swearingen’s Fun House Theatre and Film. And they are stepping out in style in … Continue reading
Proscenium Politics: Fun House Theatre and Film 2016 Season
“Art is a powerful tool for social change; performing is a responsibility with genuine impact that’s important for youth actors to experience as well as see as audience members.” Jeff Swearingen, Artistic Director, Fun House Theatre and Film The start of a new year finds many theatre companies across the region revving up to announce … Continue reading
Salesman Lives at FunHouse Theatre: Pull on Your Grown-up Bloomers
Arthur Miller. Tennessee Williams. Eugene O’Neill. David Mamet. Edward Albee. Giants of the modern stage. You had better pull on your grown-up bloomers if you’re going to mount any of these icons’ plays, right? Pretty intimidating. Only for “real” pros, surely not for youth actors. Consider Miller’s Death of A Salesman, for instance. In its … Continue reading
STIFF: Deadly tale of mirth & woe at Fun House Theatre and Film
Fun House Theatre’s Stiff riddle: what’s more fun than one stiff? TWO. Bawdy bodies, a dead drunk and a corpse. Scurrilous schemes. A manic play within a play, with a deadly 9-act script, sure to kill off a critic? Add Jeff Swearingen’s dandy pack of thespian lads and lasses to the mix with their tight … Continue reading
criticalrant.com Alexandra Bonifield 