A feature on Porgy and Bess, as adapted and now being performed by the Zach Scott company at the refurbished Austin Music Hall, accompanied by a nine-piece orchestra, takes a prominent place on the front page of today’s NYT arts section (byline Ralph Blumenthal). This short run of two weeks only (January 25 - February 3), with six performances remaining has, according to the local daily, experienced some acoustical problems affecting those in selected balcony seats, but it’s promised that remedies are being initiated. Dave Steakley and members of the cast are quoted extensively. The print version has two photographs; the on-line version goes it better, with the better photograph in color and a couple of audio excerpts from the production.

This Saturday, September 22, The Baron’s Men will present their one and only public performance of “A comedy of Errors” by William Shakespeare. It will be at The Curtain Theater which is not normally open to the public, so here’s your chance to come see Shakespeare and check out a cool little theater based on The Globe Theater where Shakespeare himself put on his plays. All the pertinent info can be found at the link above including a map. It’s kind of a strange trip down windy gravel roads on hills through normally private wooded property, so if you feel like you’re getting lost then your probably on the right track!

Just a quick note since I already plugged this on its last two runs and briefly reviewed it, but if you still couldn’t get yourself off the couch to check it out you’ve got another chance.

Rude Mechanicals presents Get Your War On

WHEN: September 6 - 22, 2007 | 15 performances only!
WHERE: 2211-A Hidalgo St., Austin, TX 78702 | MAP
TICKETS:
Thursdays are Pay-What-You-Can | Fridays & Saturdays are Sliding Scale $12 - $30
Purchase tickets online or call 512-389-0315 or 888-512-SHOW

It’s still completely relevant since, like the crazed old man who picks fights with his neighbors, Bush and Co. seem bound and determined to repeat this whole Iraq fiasco or worse with Iran. At least we can laugh our way to Armageddon.

Michael Barnes at the Statesman has reported that beloved Austin actor Joe York has died in his home in Brooklyn. Joe was most recently seen in Zach Scott’s production of Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I saw and briefly wrote about. Joe was an electrifying presence on the stage and I regret that I only got to see him once, but once was enough to have his image burned in my memory to this day. A great artist has been lost today, but his art lives on, and he will be missed.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus gives one more performance today (7:30) and two more tomorrow (1:30 and 5:30). Every year it’s different and every year it’s great. This year is no exception. This is the blue circus, and for us the standouts were the Cossack horseback daredevil act, the Chinese acrobat troupe in various configurations, a dynamic chiffon act, and the funny and inventive entertainment starring a troupe of domestic housecats. Your favorites will be different. Nobody’s favorite was the performance of The Star-Spangled Banner by a style bandit taking off on Gloria Estefan as she was about ten years ago. There were more motorcycles in the globe of death than I’ve ever seen before. The before-circus open house shouldn’t be missed. It’s great for kids, with lots of close-up participation. This year the band’s housed aloft (percussion, electric guitar, two trumpets, a trombone, and a saxophone, plus all the synthesized stuff). The number of rings is one. There’s a videographer capturing live action details for the giant live screen. We like to watch the outdoor “back stage.” We saw the poodles from the dog act out running around every which way, watched the queue forming at the pie wagon, and were reminded once again that it takes a lot of cigarettes to keep those equestrians and acrobats going. Bring binoculars along for enjoying every tiny detail.

Today was children’s day at the Ruddigore matinee, so we enjoyed seeing the kids perform a little onstage dance before the performance began (each Sunday matinee, and there are two remaining, will feature a program for children.). A 15-piece orchestra accompanied the principal singers and a strong chorus of ten men and ten women. Direction, stage business, choreography, and thorough musicianship and theatricality made this a real treat! This is the best production of Ruddigore I’ve ever attended. We are so lucky here in Austin to have such a delightful musical confection available, a labor of love by an army of volunteers. There were star turns, and the lead soprano (Glay-Marie Posch), new to the company, would grace any stage in any production. This year’s location couldn’t be more convenient. The views of downtown from high on the hill are spectacular in the daylight and even more so after dark. The auditorium at the School for the Deaf has been renovated and those who remember it in its past incarnation will be pleased to know that the restrooms have been enlarged. The acoustics are improved and the seats have been reupholstered. I don’t know whether this was just an attraction today or not, but there were painted portraits with head cut-outs and a photographer at the ready to memorialize the occasion. Light refreshments are available and so are souvenir tee-shirts. Remaining performances are at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays through June 23 and at 3 on Sundays through June 24. It’s not difficult to purchase tickets at the door. Thank you, Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin!

Update: Here’s the enthusiastic Chron review of the very same performance (first Sunday matinee of this run).

My wife and I got out last night to see Hyde Park Theater’s production of Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman. Here’s the description from their site:

In this very black comedy indeed, a short story writer (Jude Hickey) must answer to the police when his horrifying–and unpublished–fictions begin to come true. And once the police (Kenneth Wayne Bradley and Ken Webster) question the writer’s mentally impaired brother (Mark Pickell), the story begins a series of startling twists. Austin Arts Hall of Fame member Ken Webster directs this edgy and enthralling evening that blends black comedy and mystery into one riveting tale.

The first section is nearly 100 minutes, followed by a 10 minute intermission, and then another 50 minutes. I say this not to scare you off, but so that you’ll be prepared. We honestly contemplated leaving at intermission (and a few did leave), but I’m glad we stayed as the second section really paid off. I’d also recommend leaving the kids at home. In addition to the length, this is a very dark play that deals with child abuse, torture and murder.

It’s a dense play that takes on a lot of different themes: storytelling and the affects that stories can have on their audience, child abuse and its effects, family relationships and censorship. Nearly all of the main characters tell a story at some point during the play, not just Katurian, the writer. The play itself is named for one of the stories told and the theme of The Pillowman is woven throughout in many different ways.

Ken Webster was recently awarded Outstanding Lead Actor for his
performances in HPT’s St. Nicholas and Thom Pain (based on nothing) at the Critics’ Table Awards and was the subject of an Austin Chronicle cover story. The acting from all of the leads, direction, set design and staging were all excellent. The sparse set adds to the Kafkaesque feel of the play.

I tracked down a review in the New York Times of the Broadway production from April, 2005 if you’d like to check out another opinion.

The show runs at 8:00 PM on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, June 7 - 30, 2007.

I got to see UT’s Plan II students put on “The Last Five Years” tonight and goodness gracious, I was very impressed. My best friend Brandon and I are pretty much obsessed with the musical by Jason Robert Brown- this would be our second time to see it. The first time we drove out to Abilene to see a production done for some reason that was attended by maybe, maybe 8 other people that night. But it’s the score that moves me, the lyrics are gorgeous but Brown’s score is just perfection.

Anyhow, we were really excited to see it, especially since they’d called upon a full ensemble for the band- a bass, piano, violin, cello, guitar- it was lovely. Robine Morrison shone as Cathy, once she got to the great, funny, meaty Cathy songs and she got to power through the glory notes Sheri Renee Scott beat into submission so effortlessly on the soundtrack; and Brandon Stackhouse was congenial and poignant to where I actually felt kinda bad for Jamie at the end, that jerk. Jamie, not Brandon. A very good show all around.

The show’s got one more performance on Saturday, its $5 at the door and you can read more about it here.

My wife and I attended Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell, part of the Paramount Theatre’s Spoken Word Series, on Thursday night.

It’s been just over three years since Spalding Gray’s body was pulled from the East River in New York, an apparent suicide. He had last been seen by his family on January 10, 2004. It’s thought that he jumped off of the Staten Island Ferry. Gray made a career of writing and performing monologues about his life and his neuroses. I remember him first in a small part in The
Killing Fields. He also gave a memorable performance in the role of Mr. Mungo, the bachelor who commits suicide in Steven Soderbergh’s King of the Hill (it’s a travesty that it’s still not available on DVD). I lived in Manhattan in the mid-90’s and remember passing him on the street a few times. My wife and I saw him perform It’s
a Slippery Slope at the Paramount in January 1997 and, if I recall correctly, I saw Gray’s Anatomy at SXSW Film that same year.

Gray’s delivery was such a big part of the draw his stories that I wondered how well a group reading would translate. It started out kind of rough. I found myself imagining Gray’s voice and delivery over that of the performers on the Paramount stage. They eventually settled in though and I found myself enjoying the material even though I’d heard some of it before. Unlike Statesman reviewer, Brad Bucholz, I preferred the delivery of Carmelita Tropicana over several of the others. Shawn Colvin did a good job and
Jonathan Ames made a respectable stand-in reading journal entries at Gray’s trademark wooden table. At first, I thought they might leave the table and chair empty as a place for Gray, but perhaps that would’ve been a bit too morose. I did like the way that they used the lighting towards the end as Gray’s last journal entries were read. A father myself, I couldn’t help but think of Gray’s two sons and stepdaughter, who he had late in life and the effect his suicide must’ve had on them. None of us is perfect, but
I just can’t fathom leaving my family to deal with such a terrible situation, especially since Gray’s own mother committed suicide when he was in his mid-twenties. Gray’s writing seemed to enable him to deal with the demons that claimed his mother, but a terrible head on collision in 2001 while on vacation in Ireland seems to have pushed Gray over the edge. The reading captured the bittersweet ending to a life that seemed to touch and hopefully enrich the lives of many people. There were more than a few tears
in the audience when the lights came up.

The Statesman has an interview with Gray’s widow, Kathie Russo, a review of the show by the interviewer, Brad Bucholz, and a slideshow of photos from the performance.

Lucky me, I snagged a ticket to the Lion King cast party and dragged one of my best friends, Brandon, along for the ride.

They had it at Ringside at Sullivan’s, which is beautiful and high class- I will definitely go back. CUTE bartenders kept the drinks coming (baby’s first Cosmo!) and muy caliente Cienfuegos played through the evening. I’ve got to say, they are the best latin/cuban (pardon my ignorance as to the exact genre) band I’ve ever heard. I really loved their music.

The cast was really sweet! I met Ta’Rea Campbell- the actress who plays Nala, one of the boys who plays Young Simba, and the tutor who travels with the children. I told Ta’Rea and the tutor to hit up the shopping here, because there is no place like Austin when it comes to shopping…I said to check out SoCo, especially my favorites Goodie Two Shoes and New Bohemia. They’re going to be here for six weeks, they might as well drop some cash here and there!

The best part, though, was when I was watching the show beforehand and I noticed something familiar about Zazu. I thought I’d heard him somewhere before….sure enough, it was Tim McGeever, who had a wonderful stint as Mozart in St. Ed’s production of Amadeus awhile back. I was so excited to meet him, he’s so talented!

All in all it was a perfect night- a fantastic show, and a wonderful party.