FALSETTOS
AT&T Performing Arts Center
Welcome to John Garcia's THE COLUMN
THE PLAYMAKERS
by Julie ZaffaranoPresented by Rover Dramawerks
Runs through 2/23/2019
Reviewed by Stacey Upton,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
Rover Dramawerks chose Julie Zaffarano’s comedic play as the winner of its 2018 New Play contest. The theatre is to be commended on its mission to produce “lost or forgotten works of well-known authors, revive excellent scripts that suffer from a lack of exposure, and discover unknown gems.” As this company is entering on its 19th year as a production entity, and have been voted best theatre company in Plano for three years in a row, they clearly are getting a lot of things right.
Zaffarano’s play centers around Lisa and Sebastian, who were at one time a successful comedy playwriting duo who became romantically involved. When their relationship crashed and burned, so did their writing careers as they went their separate ways. Now several years later, a mysterious producer has ...
LA LLORONA, A LOVE STORY
By Kathleen Anderson CulebroPresented by Bishop Arts Theatre Center
Runs through 2/24/2019
Reviewed by Mark-Brian Sonna,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
La Llorona is a widely known Latin American myth regarding the ghost of a woman who while alive drowned her two children in a river as an act of vengeance against her husband who had left her. Because the river swept the bodies away at night her cries can be heard as she searches for their corpses. Any children she runs across at night she will kidnap thinking they are her own, and upon realizing they aren’t hers she kills them. There are many variations to this legend with differing details as to who she was, how she died, and where she was from. Most studies pinpoint the origin of this myth to Mexico during the time of the Spanish conquest and it remains prevalent in present day ...
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN
Adapted by Christopher Sergel From the book by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth CareyPresented by Rockwall Community Playhouse
Runs through 2/24/2019
Reviewed by Kathleen Morgan,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
People love to gawk at large families, especially in modern times. It’s the sheer size of the Gilbreth family that piques an audience’s curiosity, but it's the familial love, support (and yes, occasional chaos) that has made audiences come back time and time again since 1950, when the book was adapted into a film. Rockwall Community Playhouse was able to capture the closeness of this family, proving that when it comes to love, there is strength in numbers.
Throughout the show, Ernestine Gilbreth (Sydney Wheat) and Frank Gilbreth Jr (Tysen Johnson) step out of the action and reflect on their childhood memories, which are explored throughout the show. Wheat consistently delivered her lines thoughtfully and with great feeling. She showed herself to be considerate and nostalgic ...
NEWSIES
Book By Harvery Fierstein Lyrics by Mark Feldman Music by Alan MenkenPresented by Plaza Theatre Company
Runs through 3/2/2019
Reviewed by Travis McCallum,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it! Plaza Theatre Company is delivering a FUN experience for the whole family in its spacious arena at Dudley Hall. Take a trip back in time to the 1899 in New York City.
America is booming with sensationalism like never. Powerhouse giant Joseph Pulitzer (Chris Wagner) has taken over the city with his incredible newspaper “The World” and on the street’s delivery runners, or newsies, are spreading the word.
That is until Pulitzer raises prices and the unofficial leader of the newsies in Manhattan Jack Kelly (Evan Beggs) takes a stand. Under the advisement of Davey Jacobs (Jarrett Self), Jack rallies the boys to go on strike until the price drops back.
Newsies is a story about a boy who has the courage to ...
DOOM MCCOY AND THE DEATH NUGGET
Presented by Ochre House Theater
Runs through 3/2/2019
Reviewed by Ann Saucer,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
Doom McCoy and the Death Nugget is a thoroughly innovative portrayal of the making of a legend. The fable of a heroic, ill-fated cowboy is presented to us in a series of dynamically transforming formats. Writer and Director Justin Locklear employs different modalities to bring this tale of the American West to life. It is an exciting experience, as you never know what form of art and entertainment will next present itself.
The fast-moving story begins with actors storming the stage and lighting the fuse of a black spherical bomb. It is the year 1859. A variety of characters appear to entertain us: the archetypal Western villain, an Irish priest, the trusty marshal and his innovatively constructed posse, a medicine man, Satan, Satan’s sexy saloon girls, and Five Pillars -- which ordinarily ...
HENRY VIII
By William ShakespearePresented by Stolen Shakespeare Guild
Runs through 3/2/2019
Reviewed by Ann Saucer,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
The Stolen Shakespeare Guild has made the exciting decision to produce “The Tudors” Festival, featuring two plays that portray historic events from different perspectives: Shakespeare’s infrequently performed Henry VIII, and the more recent Wolf Hall, based on the contemporary novel by Hilary Mantel. I had seen both plays before (more on that below), and was thrilled to enjoy the Stolen Shakespeare Guild’s production of Henry VIII on February 16.
The play opens with a delightful prologue, in which the cast breaks the fourth wall, some while still lacing up their glorious Elizabethan costumes.
The Duke of Buckingham (Andrew Manning) receives a description of the “fierce vanities” displayed by the King of England and Emperor of France. We learn that the superfluous and fruitless golden pomp had been orchestrated by Cardinal Wolsey (Michael ...
THE SAVANNAH SIPPING SOCIETY
by Hope, Jones, and WootenPresented by Mesquite Community Theatre
Runs through 3/3/2019
Reviewed by Carol St George,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
Two middle aged women walk into a yoga juice bar…. Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Actually, it’s two women dragging their bone-weary bodies out of a yoga studio, where they are soon joined by a third frazzled yoga novice, and all three commence to commiserate. That’s how The Savannah Sipping Society begins, and with the Southern drawls and sassy cracks about exercise, exes, and other things women of a certain age joke about with each other, we know we’re in for a couple of hours of menopausal memes.
That’s just what this Mesquite Arts Theatre production is, and it reminded me of Steel Magnolias or a Golden Girls episode. But even if the formula is familiar, the play is funny and doesn’t fail to entertain. Indeed, the men in ...
OUR TOWN
By Thornton WilderPresented by Circle Theatre
Runs through 3/9/2019
Reviewed by Mildred Austin,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
OUR TOWN is considered by many scholars in both literature and theatre to be the best modern American play ever written. The author, Thornton Wilder, is the only writer to win the Pulitzer prizes for both drama and fiction: for his novel THE BRIDGE OVER SAN LUIS REY and two plays, this one and THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH. And Pulitzer or no, we wouldn’t have HELLO, DOLLY, the much-loved musical, had it not been for Wilder’s THE MATCHMAKER. But, no doubt, OUR TOWN is the play he is best remembered for.
The play opened on Broadway in 1938 and over the decades has been through the dramatic wringer of revivals, and re-imaginings in every conceivable theatrical form: musical, opera, film—you name it. OUR TOWN is a warhorse in ...
YOU GOT OLDER
Regional Premiere By Clare BarronPresented by Kitchen Dog Theater
Runs through 3/10/2019
Reviewed by Chris Hauge,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
Much of life’s humor and poignancy occur during awkward pauses in conversations, the silence that hides what we really want to say to those we love. Playwright Clare Barron knows this and has given us a play that is both outlandish and touching. Under the deft direction of Tina Parker, the talented cast of You Got Older bring Ms. Barron’s script to life with great skill and heart.
We are given the story of Mae (Jenny Ledel), who has come back to her family home in eastern Washington to take care of her father (Barry Nash). She also left Minneapolis, MN to escape the disaster her life has become. Having broken up with her boyfriend and losing her Job, Mae is lost. With the feeling that she has no ...
ARE YOU NOW, OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN…
Regional Premier By Carlyle BrownPresented by Stage West
Runs through 3/10/2019
Reviewed by Charlie Bowles,
Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
What's the price of freedom? When expression of ideas or someone's existence is used to tap into a perceived national fear, what is the cost of squashing expression? Long before fake news there was McCarthy.
After the triumph of WWII, America went through years of turmoil that threatened our free society and destroyed people's lives. When decades of unfettered artistic expression suddenly fed the fear of communists in the US, a scared society capitulated to a regime that played on those fears. Neighbors and co-workers turned on each other to report communist tendencies. The Red Scare spread across government and academic workers and into the entertainment industry with surprising speed. No one embodied the government-wide witch-hunt or fomented the national fear more than Senator Joseph McCarthy, who used the nagging fear ...
