2020 ushers in my fifteen-year mark of writing theatre critique, advocacy and arts features in the Texas/Oklahoma region. How tempus does fugit. I saw an array of well wrought, engaging productions throughout the year. The endeavors of young, adventuresome artists encourage me to think that the region has enormous growth potential. Small companies with strict … Continue reading
How do two best friends of almost 40 years celebrate the holidays together? They mount a simple little two-person show for their friends and family. Except it also happens to be the most requested show and biggest hit in Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre’s 15-year history. A Tuna Christmas, Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard’s … Continue reading
You might call them the Three Musketeers of Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre (CityRep). You won’t ordinarily find them striding about in hip-high boots, buckling swashes while wearing brocaded hats adorned with extravagant feathers, unless they get cast in roles that call for that costume. On any normal day, you’ll find Founding Artistic Director Donald Jordan, … Continue reading
Troubadour Everyman and mythic storyteller. Play narrator and occasional actor. Interpretive instrumentalist, weaving an evocative score underneath searing human drama. Guardian of the precious flame of human spirit…multi-faceted, professional performance artist and musician Sonny Franks wears a number of significant hats in the stage adaptation of John Steinbeck’s celebrated novel The Grapes of Wrath, as … Continue reading
Care to experience a toe-tapping musical theatre classic with a first-rate professional cast and a 38-piece orchestra playing the show’s fully orchestrated rhythms of the Big Band Era in faithful detail? Bebop on up to Oklahoma City April 24 – 27 to enjoy Oklahoma City Rep and Oklahoma City University’s co-production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s … Continue reading
“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist Balance and harmony by design: consider the integrity of a three-legged stool. Each independent element shares equal weight-bearing support with the … Continue reading
And now for more political news, Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre wades into the fray with a timely, hilarious production of “November”, running through September 23 in its intimate downstairs CitySpace Theatre. Imagine combining the most controversial aspects of Herman Cain, Donald Trump and Teddy Kennedy into one relentlessly swashbuckling “flimflammer-in chief”. President Charles Smith dominates … Continue reading
criticalrant.com Alexandra Bonifield 