Tagged with sam shepard …

August, Osage County: Cliff’s Notes Version

Remember Cliff’s Notes?  The ultimate cheat-sheet style study guides designed to “present and explain literary and other works in pamphlet form or online” in condensed format? Frowned upon by serious literature professors, they offer a superficial overview of great literary work without depth or nuance. They exist as the sort of panacea a time-challenged or … Continue reading →

Above the Fold: Undermain Theatre, Clearly Engaged

Don’t let her worn jeans tucked into high top cowboy boots fool you. Behind the Odessa native’s soft-spoken down-home demeanor lurks a sophisticated, worldly artist with a comprehensive vision for her company focused taut like a laser beam. Artistic Director Katherine Owens has guided Undermain Theatre through twenty-eight years of imaginative, cutting edge theatre, featuring … Continue reading →

Brothers Barely Bad-Ass: True West @ CTD

The evening I attended True West at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Artistic Director Sue Loncar gave the curtain speech and explained why she chose to produce Sam Shepard’s black comedy. She said people kept complaining about “all the women’s plays” at CTD, so she decided to present one with an abundance of testosterone. Now that … Continue reading →

As Minds Lie: Second Thought Theatre

A Lie of the Mind. I want to call it “LIES of the Mind”. All the characters in this play inoculate themselves from life’s painful realities with lies. Layers of ‘em. That’s only one aspect of Sam Shepard’s dramatic masterpiece about spousal abuse, family dysfunction and the path of self-destruction his despondent, degenerate characters crawl … Continue reading →