Houston Theater Reviews

BWW Reviews: Main Street Theater's CLOSE UP SPACE is Fantastically Funny Farce

Main Street Theater is closing their excellent 38th season with the wildly entertaining, often hilarious, and deeply moving CLOSE UP SPACE by Molly Smith Metzler. The zany dramadey is a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist and had its world premiere in 2011 in a Manhattan Theatre Club staging at New York City Center Stage I. This premiere production received mixed reviews that all seemed to get too caught up on the idea that the premise isn't entirely original. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Country Playhouse's SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION is Wooden but Interesting

There is always a certain electric buzz that seems to surround any production of a show with a recognizable title. Some people will research the origin of the show, and with John Guare's SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, they'll find that Frigyes Karinthy, a Hungarian author, playwright, poet, journalist, and translator was the first proponent of the theory that everyone is connected to everyone else by six or fewer degrees of separation. He examined this in his 1929 short story, 'Chains' (Lancszemek). This very theory was popularized by the 1990 play and 1993 film adaption of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION. People might remember that following the success of the play and the film, while watching FOOTLOOSE, students at Albright College created the game 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.' Those people will recall how everyone in the 90s was figuring out how every actor and actress was connected to Kevin Bacon through their work in film and commercials. Elements such as these build anticipation for productions of shows with mane recognition. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Theatre Under the Stars' Rollicking SPAMALOT is Hilarious and a Ton of Fun

Having grown up on Monty Python reruns and films, it doesn't take a lot to get me excited about seeing a production of Monty Python's SPAMALOT. The hilarious hit musical is making a gloriously triumphant return to Houston in its first locally produced performance at Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS). The First National Tour enjoyed a four week run in the summer of 2007 that was co-produced by Broadway Across America - Houston and TUTS, and because of popular demand TUTS decided to produce the show again. (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Ensemble Theatre's RACE is Timely, Relevant, and Poignant

The Ensemble Theatre has a reputation for producing thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating art. From this season alone, they have moved hearts and minds with their skillful productions of THE NACIREMA SOCIETY and KNOCK ME A KISS. Their current production of David Mamet's RACE masterfully written RACE beautifully continues that trend and gives audiences plenty to talk and think about. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Black Lab Theatre's CHINGLISH is the Must-See Event of the Season!

Black Lab Theatre is closing their exciting 2012-2013 season with a provocative and hilarious Regional Premiere production of David Henry Hwang's 2011 play CHINGLISH. The fresh and poignant comedy is a timely exploration of the business and economic relationship between China and the United States. As this plot is so richly layered and absorbing, I'm reluctant to say much about it for fear of ruining the miraculous experience of watching the story unfold. At the opening of the show, Daniel Cavanaugh, owner of Ohio Signage, is making a presentation for the Commerce League of Ohio about doing business in China. The plot quickly flashes back three years and recounts his first trip to China as he hopes to score a contract to make the translated signs for a new Cultural Arts Center in Guiyang, China. Within a few scenes, the audience is mesmerized by the level of duplicitous intrigue and captured in the surreptitious game of trying to determine what team all the characters are playing for. (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Alley Theatre's WARRIOR CLASS is Edgy, Poignant, and Thrilling

As part of the Alley Theatre's New Play Initiative, where the Alley facilitates a creative collaboration between playwrights, directors, actors, and designers, the organization is producing Kenneth Lin's edgy and fresh drama WARRIOR CLASS. Kenneth Lin's INTELLIGENCE-SLAVE was previously produced in 2010 as part of this program as well. Kenneth Lin is also a staff writer for Netflix's HOUSE OF CARDS and the creator of USA Networks new limited series AMERICAN WAY. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Bayou City Concert Musicals' ALONE TOGETHER: THE MUSIC OF ARTHUR SCHWARTZ is a Magically Enchanting Cabaret

Paul Hope's Bayou City Concert Musicals (BCCM) is proudly continuing their mission of bringing to Houston the best of the best from show business' yesteryears. Sometimes it is in the form of a forgotten or neglected musical, like their concert stagings of ONE TOUCH OF VENUS, THE SECRET GARDEN, and FINNAN'S RAINBOW. At other events, Paul Hope stages a cabaret of a composer's hits and erstwhile gems. Last Monday, BCCM premiered their cabaret entitled ALONE TOGETHER: THE SONGS OF ARTHUR SCHWARTZ. Arthur Schwartz composed for the Broadway productions THE BAND WAGON, A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, and others. He was also a celebrated Hollywood composer, writing music for THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS, the film adaptation of THE BAND WAGON, and others. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Standing Room Only Production's FEELING ALRIGHT is Rollicking, Uplifting, and Feel Good Fun

As I stare down the barrel of my own 10-year anniversary from graduating high school, I found more than one of the characters in Standing Room Only Production's presentation of local award-winning playwright Michael Weem's FEELING ALRIGHT! honestly relevant and applicable to me and my life. And I'm certain I was not alone. Whether you're just out of high school or 50 years out of high school, the individual pressures and dilemmas of self-discovery of at least one of the characters will ring with the distinct air of truth for you. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Mildred's Umbrella Theater's RAVENSCROFT is A Genre-Bending, Gothic Mystery

Mildred's Umbrella is closing their 2012-2013 season with the Houston premiere of the moody and atmospheric formula bending genre play RAVENSCROFT by Don Nigro. The 1991 drama serves as the basis for THE MANOR, a 1999 film with Peter O'Toole, and introduces audiences to Inspector Ruffing, a man challenged with trying to decipher the truth through his interviews with five duplicitous women at Ravenscroft Manor. We watch as Ruffing tries to solve the possible murder of Patrick Roarke, who took an unfortunate headfirst dive down that main stairwell in the middle of the night. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Bayou City Theatrics' AIDA - An Entertaining Nile-Themed Gem in the Rough

Bayou City Theatrics is continuing their inaugural season with Houston's first locally produced professional staging of Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA. The musical, with a book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, was originally produced on Broadway by Disney Theatrical Productions, and ran on there from March 23, 2000 to September 5, 2004 for a total of 1,852 performances. The successes of the Broadway production lead to two national tours. The 2002-2003 equity tour served as a duplicate of the Broadway staging; however, David Henry Hwang revised the book for the 2006-2007 non-equity second national tour, creating a show that was a bit darker by removing some of the campy comedy from the character of Amneris. Having seen both tours, it seems that the version licensed by Music Theatre International is the same book used by the Broadway version. (more...)

BWW Reviews: A.D. Player's THE JUNGLE BOOK is Beautiful and Empowering

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BWW Reviews: Houston Grand Opera's IL TROVATORE is Spellbinding and Spectacular

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BWW Reviews: Houston Ballet's 2013 SPRING SHOWCASE Introduces Ballet's Next Superstars

This weekend, the Houston Ballet Academy and Houston Ballet II performed their 2013 Spring Showcase in the Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center, showcasing why this program is globally recognized as one of the preeminent dance training programs. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Opera in the Height's FALSTAFF is a Delightful and Mirtful Comedy

Last night, Houston's Opera in the Heights opened their production of Giuseppe Verdi's FALSTAFF. The mirthful and comedic opera is the last production of their 2012-2013 season, but the most exhilarating aspect of the production is seeing an opera performed so intimately. This was my first time to visit Lambert Hall, and I was simply blown away by how close to the action I was, even in the last row of the Orchestra level. Opera in the Heights provides a novel and intriguing way to experience opera that I, and I'm sure many others, are simply unaccustomed to. (more...)

BWW Reviews: HGO's TRISTAN AND ISOLDE is Immaculately Profound, Riveting, and Unforgettable

The 2012-2013 season at Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has been filled with stunning performances of astounding operatic talent; however, their current production of Richard Wagner's TRISTAN AND ISOLDE may be the sparkling gem of this fascinating season. Every aspect of the production gels with perfection, making this production remarkable and truly unforgettable. (more...)

BWW Reviews: TSW's THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA is Absorbing and Suspenseful

Theatre Southwest is currently producing a fascinating production of Tennessee William's thrilling and tense THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA. The 1961 drama is set at The Costa Verde Hotel in Puerto Barrio on the West Coast of Mexico in the summer of 1940. The Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon is leading a tour group of Baptist women from Texas through Mexico, but makes an unplanned stop at the hotel, which is owned and operated by his friend, Maxine Falk. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, Shannon slowly unravels, exposing his secrets and sins. An impoverished and entirely broke New England spinster, Hannah Jelkes, and her aging grandfather, a poet losing his mind, arrive at the hotel as well. Without any money, the duo hopes to lodge at the hotel with the promise to earn some money and pay upon checkout. (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Alley's THE ELEPHANT MAN is Powerfully Evocative and Emotionally Stirring

Last night, The Alley Theatre hosted the press opening night of Bernard Pomerance's well-known 1977 tragic drama THE ELEPHANT MAN. The nearly 100-minute one act production is a fascinating look at the life of Joseph 'John' Carey Merrick, who began developing severe bone and skin abnormalities by age two. The play takes place from 1884 to 1890, focusing primarily on the parts of Joseph Merrick's life when he was acquainted with and studied by Dr. Frederick Treves, a surgeon in London. Throughout Joseph Merrick's life these abnormalities worsened, significantly increasing the physical strain these deformities subjected his body to. Joseph Merrick passed on April 11, 1890, at the age of 27. The official cause of death is asphyxia. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Stage Door Inc.'s Campy LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is Endearing and Amusing

Pasadena's Stage Door Inc. continues their 2013 season of murder, madness, and mayhem with a fun and campy production of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, which was inspired by Roger Corman's cult 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors. The musical is set in the late 1950s/early 1960s, and features music written to emulate the sounds of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop, and early Motown. It's also a Faustian tale, where a down-oh-his-luck guy finds fortune, fame, and love because of his strange and exotic plant. The only down side is that to keep the money and adoration rolling in, he has to find people to feed to the plant that only thrives from consuming human blood. (more...)

BWW Reviews: SPELLING BEE is Musical Theatre Candy at Its Absolute Best

After riveting audiences with an emotionally raw and intellectual inaugural production of Stephen Sondheim's ASSASSINS, MJR Theatricals/Music Box Musicals is serving up a wondrously side-splitting, laugh-a-minute presentation of the Tony-award winning musical THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. The clever and hilarious musical is based on Rebecca Feldman's C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E improvisation performed by The Farm, with music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin. It treats the audience as if they are really at the fictional spelling bee, and the cast gleefully breaks the fourth wall to interact with members of the audience. The musical follows six quirky kids (played by adults) through the spelling bee, and introduces the audience to three adults that are just as peculiar as the kids. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Country Playhouse's KIMBERLY AKIMBO is Tender and Funny

David Lindsay-Abaire's quirky coming-of-age tragicomedy KIMBERLY AKIMBO is closing Country Playhouse's 2012-2013 Black Box Season. The 2000 play is an incredibly gripping and compelling tale about a young woman suffering from Progeria, a disease that causes people to age exponentially faster than they are supposed to. Kimberly is approaching her 16th birthday, which a joyous milestone for most teenagers. But 16 is the average life expectancy for those with Progeria. To top it all off, Kimberly's family is a struggling, lower-middle class family with their own set of dark secrets and problems. (more...)

BWW Reviews: HGO's THE MEMORY STONE is Haunting, Gorgeous, and Spellbinding

Houston Grand Opera (HGO)'s 50th World Premiere Opera had its first public performance last night at Asia Society Texas Center. This enchanting chamber opera is a gorgeous and stirring piece that examines the power and necessity of memory for the advancement of the human species. It opens with rollicking thunder and a stunning, breathtaking image that is representative of the destruction of Japan in wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. As a woman sings about various terrible and destructive moments from Japan's rich history, the scene shifts to the tea room in Houston's Japanese garden. Here the non-linear opera explores how such tragedies affect Japanese-Americans and immigrants from Japan, deftly playing on the emotions, sympathy, and empathy of the assembled audience. The compelling opera elicited several gasps of sorrow, pain, and understanding from the opening night audience as the beauty of the piece spoke to our hearts, minds, and souls. (more...)

BWW Reviews: 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL is a Toe-Tapping Good Time

Adaptations of feature films to stage musicals are a dime a dozen these days. However, if you want to get a Texas audience excited really quickly, tell them you're doing a musical based on the 1980 film 9 to 5 and that Dolly Parton has written the music and lyrics for the musical you're doing. You'll see a twinkle in the eye and a seat sold. Add in Patricia Resnick's book based on the film's screenplay, fantastic community talent from the Pearland area, and throw it all together inside a great space, and you've got a production of 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL that is truly worth seeing. (more...)

BWW Reviews: CTC's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE is Masterful, Gripping, Sharply Perceptive

Houston's Classical Theatre Company (CTC) has had one amazing season at their new home at Studio 101 in the Spring Street Studios. I was impressed by their productions of MISS JULIE and UBU ROI, but their production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE deftly exposes the sincere theatrical talent that legends are made out of. As affair warning, because this brilliantly raw production is pared down to three actors and utilizes an abridged adaptation by CTC's dramaturg Shea Thomas Cooper, it won't hurt to re-familiarize yourself with the plot to ensure that you don't get lost in this stirring translation of the text. (more...)

BWW Reviews: BROKE-OLOGY - An Entertaining Familial Tragicomedy

The Ensemble Theatre's 2012-2013 season theme is 'Bridge Art to the Heart,' and their current production of Nathan Louis Jackson's play BROKE-OLOGY is sure to touch and even break hearts. The tragicomedy juxtaposes an erudite man against a man who is the self-proclaimed inventor of the science of Broke-ology. In essence, it pits book smarts against street smarts. However, these two disparate men are also brothers who have to deal with the declining health of their father, who is quickly losing his longtime battle with multiple sclerosis (MS) and having visions/delusions of his deceased wife. (more...)

BWW Reviews: CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA is Astoundingly Beautiful and Compelling

Houston Grand Opera's 41st World Premiere Opera CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA/TO CROSS THE FACE OF THE MOON premiered in the Brown Theater at the Wortham Center on November 13, 2012. The performance played in front of 2,400 patrons, the largest-ever audience in the Brown Theater. Following that rousing premiere, CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA and its original cast opened the 2011 season at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The production ran for six performances. Upon arriving in Paris, 80% of the tickets were already sold, and word of mouth lead to complete sell outs for the final three performances. Last night, the gorgeous and stirring CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA opened in the Wortham Center's Brown Theater again, earning thunderous applause and sincere admiration from the audience. (more...)