Friday, October 9, 2015
Dennis Kelly's book is witty, droll and astutely pointed.
Besides conveying real sympathy for the put-upon heroine, the script upholds Dahl's implicit critique of the disheartening anti-int…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:18PM[...] the wacky world of professional wrestling invades Stages with the company's Houston premiere of "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity," opening Friday.
The play's central figure, and …
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:16PMThe reconfigured seating creates better sight lines and brings the audience closer to the actors.
Improvements throughout the building, from lobby to bar, have made it more spacious, comfor…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 10:57AMTuesday, October 6, 2015
Though far from perfect and never completely conquering doubts about the notorious outlaw couple's suitability as musical protagonists, the show has much to recommend it.
Ivan Menchell's bo…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 11:21AMFriday, October 2, 2015
Artistic director Gregory Boyd faced a tough decision with the Alley Theatre's eagerly anticipated reopening after its yearlong, $46.5 million renovation.
With his oft-demonstrated love of …
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:01PMThe trick to adapting one of Roald Dahl's classic children's books for the stage or screen is finding just the right tone and corresponding visual profile.
The 1996 film "James and the Gian…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:00PMThursday, October 1, 2015
Holbrook will appear "in conversation" with Alley artistic director Gregory Boyd, launching the series of interviews with notable writers, actors and directors.
Holbrook is best known for h…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 07:16PMTuesday, September 29, 2015
With its bleak worldview, arbitrary devices and bizarre flourishes, the play is catnip for the artistes of Catastrophic Theatre, Houston's foremost alternative theater company.
[...] direct…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 01:22AMGypsy Snider, who devised the acrobatic and aerial movement for the tour, was in Houston last week to lead the periodic brush-up rehearsal of the show's physical feats.
Snider created the c…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 01:21AMMonday, September 28, 2015
The touring tent-show presentation of J.M. Barrie's classic has been doing sufficiently strong business to extend its run - originally announced through Oct. 4 - through Oct. 25.
For more t…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 02:13PMFriday, September 25, 2015
The play sets out to portray the romance of African-American Freeman and Latina Angelita, and the challenges generated chiefly by prejudices and preconceptions of friends and family - and pe…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:40PMThey're young. They're in love. They rob banks. They kill people.
And now, they sing.
What's more, they sing Frank Wildhorn songs - to Broadway critics, apparently the most heinous crime of…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:18PMWednesday, September 23, 2015
The Alley Theatre, the first of Houston's arts companies to forge a national reputation, has been central to the city's claims as an arts mecca. Recently, though, the theater has fallen behi…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 11:31PMHouston will get an authentic taste of New York's downtown arts scene with the Joe's Pub Series at Midtown Arts and Theatre Center (MATCH). The series launches in November with performances …
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 08:28PMFree tours will allow the public a first look at the renovated theater complex, its backstage area and public spaces.
Mayor Annise Parker, along with cultural and civic leaders, will partic…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 06:15PMIn the play, Angelita and Freeman, both college students in New York, find their relationship challenged by the prejudices and misconceptions of family and friends.
First staged at a small …
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 11:28AMTuesday, September 22, 2015
"The HGO family is devastated by the sudden accidental death of Tim Tull," the company said in a statement, noting that his job title did not adequately describe the "joyous place" Tull held…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 01:18PMFriday, September 18, 2015
With Jennifer Gilbert's winning performance as its irrepressible heroine, "Bells Are Ringing" works like a dream in Bayou City Concert Musicals' production - "better than a dream," to borrow…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:18PMFriday, September 11, 2015
Director Tina Landau already answered that question when she helmed the delightful 2001 revival of "Bells Are Ringing," the show about switchboard operator Ella Peterson, who can't resist me…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:06PMYet the real surprise, and probably the biggest relief, about this novel treatment is that it remains essentially faithful to both the narrative and the spirit of J.M. Barrie's classic fanta…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:03PMWednesday, September 9, 2015
Film does this all the time, but it's relatively rare in live theater.
Because intimacy is so crucial to the play, Tobin-Lehl says Studio 101, where Stark Naked Theatre performs, is an idea…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 10:11AMFriday, September 4, 2015
There was the fleet, colorful Disney animated movie with the exhilarating "You Can Fly!" scene as Peter led the three Darling children out of their nursery window and over the rooftops of Lo…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:08PMAlong with Rose's neat premise of building a play solely from a jury's deliberations, the prickly interplay between the diverse characters keeps the action interesting.
Yet even if time and…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 04:48PMFriday, August 28, 2015
Playwright Reginald Rose's 1954 stint in the jury room at New York's Foley Square courthouse brought a much greater reward.
Rose's stage adaptation also won acclaim through the years, no mo…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:59PMThursday, August 27, 2015
"All students deserve access to high-quality arts education," said Mario Rossero, the center's senior vice president of education.
Currently, only 29 percent of the district's elementary an…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 11:11PMWashington D.C.'s prestigious Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is teaming with the City of Houston and Houston Independent School District to expand arts education for students.
The f…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 11:15AMFriday, August 21, 2015
Fun Home (P.S. Classics): Composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist Lisa Kron do breakthrough work with this year's Tony winner - a brave, compelling chamber musical based on cartoonist Alison …
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:28PMFind special deals on season subscription rates and tickets for individual shows.
Or maybe just get to know Houston's major performing arts companies better.
Alley Theatre, Da Camera of Ho…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:22PMFriday, August 14, 2015
Not to mention in Williams' 1968 film adaptation as "Boom!" Indeed, the play began a period of critical disfavor that would dog Williams until his death in 1983.
A group of independent thea…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:42PMDale Wasserman wrote the show's powerful book, Joe Darion penned the poetic lyrics and Mitch Leigh composed the much-loved score, with such standouts as the rousing "I, Don Quixote," the hau…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 05:30PMThursday, August 13, 2015
The city is a rarity in boasting resident professional companies in each of the performing arts: ballet, theater, symphony and opera.
Alley Theatre, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Hou…
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle Subscription at 09:06PM 
