When I critique a stage play, I consider both the work and the production. A worthy play may get a mediocre or problematic staged treatment. A clumsy or dated, predictable play sometimes surprises with a wonderful enlivenment. It’s not often I see shows that balance out both aspects, for better or for worse. The productions … Continue reading
Tagged with uptown players …
From Fear to Hope: Uptown Players’ MOTHERS AND SONS
June 12, 2016. Today, for the first time ever in writing a review, I deleted everything I had already written, to start anew, in between bouts of crying. I am badly shaken by last night’s act of domestic terrorism in Orlando. Nobody should be killed for loving. Not for religious beliefs. Not for going against … Continue reading
Criticalrant’s Final “First Choices” of 2015
2015 unfolded as a stunner of a thespian year, from classics to new work, dynamic paradigm-shifters to re-invigorated audience favorites, ensemble achievements to compelling solo work. Youth to senior artists. And music? Glorious music! Performance art in our region thrives with energy, respect, initiative and genuine variety. Dedicated, impassioned creative people form the backbone … 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
Art to Inspire: THE WHALE and HARBOR
I almost never walk into a theatre with a preconceived notion of how I will write a review. Then sometimes the format or need for a particular perspective sweeps over me as soon as I arrive. The first people I ran into at The Kalita Humphreys Theater when I attended Uptown Players’ opening night of … Continue reading
Best on the Boards: DFW Theatre Critics Forum 2015
Another year of outstanding D/FW thespian endeavor rolls by. Herein I post the decisions arrived at by the Dallas-Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum after three hours of deliberation, negotiation, advocacy and munching David Novinski’s delicious gluten-free brownies to finish our potluck meal at Martha’s. I’m stoked by the diversity and quality of performance art in … Continue reading
Best of 2014 On Stage: the view from Criticalrant
“I operate on the premise that a theatre’s job is to prevent people from leaving their seats before the entertainment is over.” I concur wholeheartedly with Tom Stoppard, who uttered those words in … Continue reading
Cliff-diving with Wendy Welch: Sonia in CityRep’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”
This coming weekend, Oklahoma City Repertory Company (CityRep) opens the #1 most produced play in the United States, Christopher Durang’s fine-tuned comedy with Chekhov-inspired characters and themes, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, featuring a diverse, talented, seasoned cast. The play opened Off-Broadway in 2012 then transferred to Broadway in 2013. There it won … Continue reading
2013-14 DFW Theater Critics Forum Awards
Some of these shows I did not see. A number I would not honor with awards. EVER. I am disappointed that neither Ochre House’s Christhelmet (directed by Matthew Posey) nor Diana Sheehan’s Full Gallop or her sophisticated cabaret, Searching for Gertrude Lawrence at WaterTower Theatre met the critical popularity threshold. I am quite thrilled for other wins. Call it a draw…. Direction: … Continue reading
Down Under Delight: Uptown Players’ “Boy From Oz”
Uptown Players sure has the knack for turning what could be a stinky sow’s ear into a chic, resplendent silk purse. The right venue, a region’s best production team and a genuinely talented ensemble of players make that magic happen. The company’s current production (through August 10) of a bio-musical homage to an Australian … Continue reading
criticalrant.com Alexandra Bonifield 