Upcoming: A Feast of Fools, Shrewd Productions at the Off Center, December 16 - 18

Received directly:

Feast of Fools:

Merriment & Misrule

December 16-18
Thursday – Saturday, December 16 - 18 at 8 p.m.
Doors open at 7 p.m.
The Off Center, 2211-A Hidalgo (click here for a map)

Tickets: $20-30* A limited number of tickets are onsale now for $15! Use the password "Misrule".)
Call 512-626-5901 or click here to buy online!

Taste the Cake of Reckoning! Win a chance at the Crown of Misrule!
Be Queen or King for a Night!

A feast for the senses and a delight for the soul, join the Company Shrewd for our Feast of Fools as we celebrate twelve magical days in just one night.

A festival of song, dance, comedy and games crowned by gourmet treats, fabulous prizes, live music and a fantastic silent auction, Feast of Fools is the holiday party you don't want to miss!

A portion of all proceeds will be donated to HAND (Helping the Aging, Needy and Disabled).

Featuring Aaron Alexander, Kristen Bennett, Jennifer Davis, Trey Deason, Ashley Edwards, Shannon Grounds, Jason Hays, Kimberley Mead, Alex McDonald Villareal, Marisa Pisano, Alejandro Rodriguez, Bryan Schneider, Justin Scalise, Sarah Skelton, Andrea Smith and Amelia Turner with guest artists The Confidence Men: Improvised Mamet.

SUPPORT OUR WORK!

Thanks to all of those who joined us last season for Shrewd Summer Nights and MilkMilkLemonade! For more information about our productions and company history, visit our website at www.shrewdproductions.com. Help Shrewd take The Long Now on the road in 2011! Support our work by making a donation though Paypal. All donations are tax deductible.

Fill out your e-mail address to receive our newsletter!

Upcoming: The Good Foot, New Year's Eve

Received directly:

THE GOOD FOOT: A LIVE FUNK MASH-UP

New Year’s Eve 2010 - Friday, December 31

Doors at 9 pm; show at 10pm

The Scoot Inn (1308 E. 4^th)

Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door

Tix and details at www.rubyrico.com.

Featuring:

Live music by The Sugarfoot Family All-Stars 10-piece funk orchestra

Dance party and performances by The Sugarfoot Hustlers 8-woman dance squad

Turntable sets by Soul Happening’s DJ Greg Most

Live radio performance by Rick “Daddy” McNulty of KUT and KOOP's Excavation Nation

Video projections by El Proyector

Guest appearances by members of Austin’s funk royalty

Dancers’ cage for special guests

Costumes and freak flags encouraged

A New Year’s funk festival that combines electrifying live music, virtuosic dance performances and audiovisual history lessons with a full-on dance party, THE GOOD FOOT mashes up the fierce and freaky funk of Sly & The Family Stone, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, Curtis Mayfield, Chaka Khan and Rufus, Stevie Wonder, the Isley Brothers, Parliament Funkadelic and dozens of others.

THE GOOD FOOT: A LIVE FUNK MASH-UP is presented by RubyRico Productions, the folks who brought you PRINCE NITE and STAX NITE.

Images of La Pastorela, Austin Latino Theatre Alliance, December 2 - 18

Found at www.lapastorela.org:

presented by ALTA, Austin Latino Theater Alliance --

La Pastorela, A Shepherd’s Story

is a contemporary musical comedy based on a traditional Yuletide play from Native-American and Latino communities
Thursdays through Saturdays, December 2nd through 18th at 8:00 p.m.
Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River Street, Austin, Texas.
Admission: $15 Adults, $8 Students/Seniors

The Austin Latino Theater Alliance (ALTA) proudly announces La Pastorela 2010, a traditional Yuletide play that has been performed in Native American/Latino communities since the late 16th century when Spanish priests first introduced it to the Native people of this land. Revered in the Christmas tradition aspect, as the Latino counterpart to The Nutcracker, La Pastorela is a family-friendly, musical comedy must see during this Holiday Season. The play follows a group of singing shepherds on their journey to Bethlehem. On their quest, they encounter obstacles in the form of worldly temptations put before them by crafty devils but try to resist as guardian angels fight to keep the shepherds on their path. This production holds strong roots in Austin's own Latino community as its inaugural run was performed at the original Mexican American Cultural Center building in 1997.

Click to view additional images of La Pastorela 2010 at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Reading of New Text for Hedda Gabler, Palindrome Theatre at Hyde Park Theatre, December 6

Received directly from

ONE NIGHT ONLY- PUBLIC READING of

HENRIK IBSEN’S HEDDA GABLER

New adaptation by Palindrome Theatre’s Resident Playwright Nigel O’Hearn

Monday Dec. 6, 8 p.m., Hyde Park Theatr, Guadalupe & 43rd St.

Free. Donations accepted

www.palindrometheatre.com

Please join us for a preview of the first play of our second season- Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler with a new adaptation by Palindrome's resident playwright, Nigel O'Hearn- world premiere opening February 2011 at The Blue Theater.

The reading will be of the first two acts of the new material which has never before been seen in public.

Reading features Robin Grace Thompson, Chase Crossno, Bernadette Nason, Nathan Osburn, Gabe Luna, Kim Adams, and Harvey Guion (with playwright reading stage directions and scowling).

Drinks to be served, discussion to be had. Approx 2 hrs.

[image adapted from image at www.wfu.edu]

Upcoming: Christmastime at the Overtime, Overtime Theatre, San Antonio, December 4 - 19

Found on-line:

CHRISTMASTIME AT THE OVERTIME

Written by Rob Barron, Michael Burger, James Hartz, David Lehman, and Scott McDowell
Directed by Christie Beckham

December 4 - 19, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m.

The Overtime Theatre, 1414 S. Alamo, #103, San Antonio

Tickets are $12 general admission and $9 for teachers, students with current ID, seniors 65+, and SATCO members. Reserve and purchase on-line.

With a little heart and a lot of holiday bawdiness, Christmastime at the Overtime will be an Overtime Theater original for those who like their holiday programming heaped with laughter.

It seems like Santa has lost his Christmas spirit this year and it's up to one loyal elf to save him. How? By showing him a variety of acts and scenes that showcase the many different aspects of the holiday season.

Christmastime at the Overtime will be a fun, fast-moving show that includes music, magic, dancing, adult-themed comedy sketches, and a brand new short film introducing the soon-to-be-classic-holiday-character, Scorpey Claus!

Upcoming: Nunsense, faculty talent showcase at McCallum Fine Arts Academy, December 10

Found on-line:

McCallum Fine Arts Academy presents

NUNSENSE

by Dan Groggin

December 10 only, 7 p.m.

MacTheatre, 5600 Sunshine Dr. (click for map)

Tickets: general admission $12, seniors $10, students $6, available on-line

Five of the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, accidentally killed all but 19 of the convent with her tainted vichyssoise. With no money in the kitty to pay for all the burials, with the deceased nuns on ice in the deep freeze, they decide to stage a variety show in the Mount Saint Helen's School auditorium to raise the necessary amount.

This production will feature some of McCallum's talented and fearless faculty getting in the habit and bringing on the laughs. Faculty stars include Ms. Croom, Ms. Wright, Ms. Newchurch, Ms. Chase, and Ms. McDaniel. Don't miss this ONE NIGHT ONLY PRODUCTION!

Upcoming: A Christmas Carol told by Bernadette Nason, Austin Playhouse Larry L. King Theatre, December 9 - 21

Found on-line:

Austin Playhouse presents

at its Larry L. King Theatre

Bernadette Nason telling

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

December 9-December 21

Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m, Sundays at 5 p.m.

Austin Playhouse Larry L. King Theatre, Penn Field, 3601 South Congress (click for map)

Tickets $10 and $20 available from the boxoffice at (512) 476-0084 or on-line

Austin Playhouse is thrilled to bring the wildly popular classic A Christmas Carol back to the stage. A Christmas Carol has been adapted countless ways, but Austin Playhouse presents the play with a new twist for Austinites to enjoy this holiday season.

Austin Playhouse’s presentation of A Christmas Carol features award-winning actress and storyteller Bernadette Nason as the lone actress in the play. Nason will steal the show, capturing over 30 characters to narrate the story to the audience.

Nason dazzled audiences with her performance last year. The Austin Chronicle said “Bernadette Nason's one-woman telling of the tale doesn't feel like a version of 'A Christmas Carol' at all. It feels pure and from the heart, closer to Dickens' novel itself… "

A Christmas Carol, a favorite for all ages, is open to families, but is not geared toward young children and children under 5 are not permitted to this show.

Morning's at Seven by Paul Osborne, Different Stages at the Vortex Repertory, November 19 - December 11

Different Stages lives up to its name with this affectionate recreation of a vanished America. Paul Osborn created for his 1930's audiences a comforting family portrait, set in a small town. All three acts of Morning's at Seven take place in a back yard shared by two wooden framed houses, and all except one of the nine characters are related.

This gentle comedy was a quirky oldies play. All four of the Boulton sisters are in their sixties, as are the three husbands (one sister, Aaronetta, never married). The vigor and humor of this cast mask the gerontological aspect. In the 1930s, life expectancy for the average American man was 61; for the average American woman it was 65. (Today the figures are 80 and 76, and as I write this, my 85-year-old father-in-law sits across from me, studying the Wall Street Journal).

The only outsider, Myrtle, is a sweet-tempered spinster hoping to become an insider. Her beau of twelve years, mama's boy Homer, has finally invited her home to meet the folks, an event that in this bounded little world is something like the appearance of Halley's comet.

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Duck Variations by David Mamet, Confidence Men for Dys Theatre at Hyde Park Theatre, December 3

Found at AustinOnStage.com:

Confidence Men: Improvised Mamet

star in David Mamet's play

The Duck Variations

10:30 p.m., December 3 at the Hyde Park Theatre, 511 West 43rd Street (at Guadalupe)

To help raise funds for their 2011 production of Sam Shepard's True West, local theatre troupe Dystheatre stages the comedy The Duck Variations, a play by David Mamet. Featuring the B. Iden Payne award-winning improv troupe, 'Confidence Men: Improvised Mamet,' the one-night production runs Friday, December 3rd, at the Hyde Park Theatre.

"We're directing all our emphasis on the 'variations' portion of the play's title," said Dystheatre's Michael Ferstenfeld. "Mr. Mamet makes a note in the script's stage directions that there is a similarity between the fourteen scenes in the play and movements in a symphony."

"We'll have a live original score by Jackie Myers, each piece a unique variation on an original riff, and the scenes themselves will explore myriad relationships - from mother and son, to brothers, to a married couple, to a pair of hardened gangsters taking a break in the city park," he said. "As far as we can tell, nobody has ever attempted such a diverse interpretation of The Duck Variations, so we promise a profoundly unique experience."

Written in 1972, The Duck Variations centers around two elderly men sitting at a park talking about ducks. The dialogue moves from the mating habits of ducks and to discussions of law, friendship and death.

The December 3rd performance begins at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are a suggested donation of $20 to $30, possible on-line at the website.

The Hyde Park Theatre is located at 511 West 43rd Street. For reservations and more information, visit www.Dystheatre.com.

Images by Kirk R. Tuck for The Santaland Diaries, Zach Theatre, November 26 - January 3

Photographer Kirk R. Tuck documents on his blog The Visual Science Lab the creation with Martin Burke and Meredith MCall of publicity images for Zach Theatre's David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries:

The Santaland Diaries
November 26, 2010 - December 31, 2010
Written by David Sedaris• Adapted for stage by Joe Mantello • Directed by Dave Steakley • Starring ZACH's Original Little Macy's Elf Martin Burke with Meredith McCall and Jason Connor

Martin Burke and Meredith McCall are reunited this holiday season in David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries - where our little Macy’s elf knows a thing or two about faking the Yuletide spirit. But you won’t be faking a good time when your sides split as David Sedaris’ comedy tells the real-life story of Sedaris’ tour of duty as the elf Crumpet, and what it takes to juggle tots and tottering Santas during a painfully festive time of the year. A laugh ’til you cry evening of merrily subversive entertainment to delight adult audiences!

As seen in ZACH's recent production of The Drowsy Chaperone, Martin Burke and Meredith McCall are a hilariously potent duo. For more info, including bios of cast and crew, go to the Zach Theatre website.

Read posts by Kirk R. Tuck:

Shooting Theater Ads with LEDs. Yes you can light a set. November 6

The Holidays Are Upon Us, November 16

Click to view additional images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Blue Theatre's New Year's Eve Marvels of Carnival, December 31

Found on-line:

Come One; Come All To

The MARVELS of CARNIVAL!!

December 31; doors open at 7 p.m.

The Blue Theatre, 916 Springdale

Step into our magical playground of carnival delights this New Year's Eve for a night of sheer mayhem!

Join us as we transform the BLUE THEATRE into the deep, dark, mysterious world of carnival.

A night at Carnival is always a whimsical affair, filled with bevies of burlesque beauties, remarkable human marvels and all the sights of the sideshow cabaret artistique.

Open bar courtesy of Tito's Homemade Vodka, live performances by spectacular aerialists, death defying feats by fire eaters, twirlers and spinners galore, live music, carnival prizes, raffle and more!!

Oddities, curiosities, the strange, the bizarre, and the beautiful...with live Performances from members of:

999 Eyes Freak Show
Sky Candy
Eye Candy Burlesque
Our Marching Band

A New Year's Eve Party Event You Don't Want To Miss!

MARVELS of CARNIVAL
NEW YEAR'S EVE
FRIDAY, DEC 31, 2010
Doors open at 7pm

TICKETS ON SALE NOW
All-Inclusive: $25 Pre-sale/$30 Door/$50 private tables

NOW taking private table reservations
email info@BlueTheatre.org

Upcoming: Watch Me Work, Suzan-Lori Parks at Zach Theatre, December 8 - 11

Received directly:

ZACH Theatre presents SUZAN-LORI PARKS in

WATCH ME WORK

ZACH Theatre’s Nowlin Rehearsal Studio (adjacent to ZACH’s Whisenhunt Stage) at 1426 Toomey Road

WHEN:
WATCH ME WORK Sessions:
Wednesday, December 8 from 6 – 7:15 p.m.
Thursday, December 9 from 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Friday, December 10 from 5 – 7 p.m. (Songwriter Showcase Happy Hour -- see below)

Saturday, December 11 from 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m

Admission is free for all Suzan-Lori Parks WATCH ME WORK events and open to the public. For additional information go to http://www.zachtheatre.org/special-events or call ZACH’s box office at (512) 476-0541, x1.

This performance piece, a meditation on the artistic process and an actual work session, features Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks working on her latest project live at ZACH Theatre in three intimate work sessions. The WATCH ME WORK sessions will take place on select days in ZACH’s Nowlin Rehearsal Studio, adjacent to the Whisenhunt Stage on Toomey Road. The audience is invited to come join Suzan-Lori up-close and personal to get some of their own writing done at the tables provided around her workspace. Working on writing a short story? A poem? A play? A novel? Song lyrics? ... Whatever you are working on, all writing assignments are welcome. Or, simply come watch Ms. Parks as she creates her newest writing and share the space with other Austin writers. During the last fifteen minutes of each performance, Ms. Parks will answer any questions the audience might have regarding their own work and their creative process.

Each performance is free and open to the public.

The sessions will also be broadcast live on ZACH's website, and you are invited to tweet your questions for Suzan-Lori to answer during the last 15 minutes of the work session. Please use the hashtag #newplay @zachtheatre.

Named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Innovators for the Next New Wave,” Suzan-Lori Parks is one of the most acclaimed playwrights in American drama today. She is the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the Broadway hit Topdog/Underdog and is a MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient. In 2007 her 365 Plays/365 Days was produced in more than 700 theaters worldwide, creating the largest grassroots collaboration in theater history. She is the first recipient of the master writer chair at the Public Theater, a three-year residency in which she is also a visiting arts professor in dramatic writing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Suzan-Lori Parks will be in residence at ZACH Theatre to direct her new play The Book of Grace from June 2 - July 10, 2011. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

SONGWRITER SHOWCASE HAPPY HOUR
Friday, December 10 from 5 – 7 p.m.
Austin Singer/Songwriters are invited to join Suzan-Lori Parks for an open-mic Happy Hour Showcase hosted by ZACH. Come share two or three songs with an appreciative audience on ZACH’s Kleberg Stage along with new music from Suzan-Lori sung by the playwright herself! Informal, friendly, supportive and fun! ZACH’s cash bar will be open, and drinks are welcome inside the theatre.

Arts Reporting: Re-release of Audio of Waiting for Godot with Bert Lahr

Drama critic Terry Teachout writes the following for ArtsJournal:

TT: The Cowardly Lion's bravest night

I rejoice to report that the 1956 recording of the first Broadway production of Waiting for Godot, starting Bert Lahr, is finally back in print. Since no one else in the world seems to be aware of this wonderful fact, I decided to announce it to the world in my "Sightings" column for today's Wall Street Journal. Here's an excerpt:

Every critic who covered the show heaped praise on Lahr, and the most perceptive ones saw that his performance was profoundly true to the spirit of the play. Though Lahr was no kind of intellectual, he had instinctively understood what Beckett was up to. "I know it's supposed to be tragic, but there are lots of gags," he told his agent after reading the script. So there are, for "Godot" is a Laurel-and-Hardyesque farce about the meaninglessness of life. Even those critics who, like Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times, found it hard to stomach the play's dark vision were staggered by the crazed beauty of Lahr's acting: "His long experience as a bawling mountebank has equipped Mr. Lahr to represent eloquently the tragic comedy of one of the lost souls of the earth."

Alas, "Godot" closed after just 10 weeks, and Lahr never appeared in it again. But Goddard Lieberson, who produced original-cast albums for Columbia Records, had the brilliant idea to record a complete performance of the play. The existence of the resulting album, which has been out of print for the past quarter-century, is no secret, but its long-standing unavailability has caused it to be overlooked by most people who write about "Godot." Even John Lahr, the comedian's younger son, fails to mention it in "Notes on a Cowardly Lion," the uniquely perceptive biography of his father that he wrote in 1969.

It is, therefore, stop-press news for anybody who loves great theater that the 1956 recording of "Godot" is available once again, not as a CD but as an mp3-only sound file that you can download from Amazon for $3.56 or from iTunes for $5.99. (You can find it on either site by searching for "Bert Lahr.") Culturally speaking, I'd call that the deal of the decade....

The 1956 production of "Godot" was Lahr's show all the way, and to hear it now is to boggle at his seemingly infinite comic resourcefulness. He whines, he whimpers, he chortles, he grunts, giving each line precisely the right flavor. Yet never for a moment does his clowning conceal the play's underlying pathos, and whenever he opens his mouth, it's always Beckett, not Bert Lahr, that you hear....

Read the whole thing here.

Upcoming: The Sunshine Boys by Neil Simon, Georgetown Palace Theatre, January 14 - February 6

Found on-line:

The Sunshine Boys

by Neil Simon

Jan. 14 - Feb. 6, 2011 Fri & Sat at 7:30 PM and Sun at 2:00 PM

Al and Willie as "Lewis and Clark" were top-billed vaudevillians for over forty years. Now they aren't even speaking. When CBS requests them for a "History of Comedy" retrospective, a grudging reunion brings the two back together, along with a flood of memories, miseries, and laughs.

Reserve seats and buy tickets on-line

Prices: General: $24; Senior(55+): $22;
Student(13-22)/Active Duty Military (with ID): $14
Children(12 or younger): $10

Upcoming: Gaylicious by Jade Esteban Estrada, Vortex Repertory, December 30 - January 8

Found on-line:

Jade Esteban Estrada’s

GAYLICIOUS!
A Kinky, Komedy Kabaret!

Vortex Repertory,2307 Manor Road (click for map)

Dec.30-Jan.01; Jan.06-08, 2011; Thursday-Saturday 8pm

---

Vegas-style singer/comedian/actress/model/Mexican Jade Esteban Estrada (Comedy Central, Bravo TV) returns to The Vortex with a glittery, all-new, high-energy, interactive showgasm. Part stand-up comedy, part Broadway-musical, Estrada brings his unique brand of hilarious, gender-swapping songs about his way too personal experiences of life on the road and run-ins with the rich and infamous in a post-gay, post-Hispanic world. Special appearances by the hottest names in Burlesque! Out Magazine calls him “the first gay Latin Star.” The Richmond-Times Dispatch calls him “a master entertainer.” We call him Gaylicious! Find out more about him at www.getjaded.com.

Tickets
$30-$10 512-478-LAVA (5282) or www.vortexrep.org
$30-$25 Priority Seating, $20-$15 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
Thursdays 2-for-1 admission with donation of 2 non-perishable food items. Limited seating. Advanced purchase recommended.

Discount Code: A Tuna Christmas at the Paramount Theatre, November 24, 26 - 28

Received directly from Anthony:

"Just thought you'd like to maybe spread this info to your readers (since someone passed it onto me), but there is a $10 off code for all TUNA CHRISTMAS shows this week- just use the code VERA at checkout- I was happy to get it and happy to pass it on!"

A Tuna Christmas with Joe Sears and Jaston Williams plays through Sunday, November 28, with posted ticket prices ranging from $27 to $50. Evening show on Wednesday; no show on Thanksgiving Day; evenings and matinees on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

You can click on the image above to go to the Paramount's on-line ticket sales for A Tuna Christmas. Choose your date; the site will display a map of the orchestra with seats available (you can click on the drop-down menu in the second line Location: Paramount to access maps of less expensive seats in the mezzanine or the balcony).

Auditions: Biography by S.N. Behrman, Paradox Players, November 29

Received directly:

Additional Casting Call for Paradox Players' production of Biography, November 29

Paradox Players’ auditions for BIOGRAPHY will continue on Monday, November 29, 7 - 9 p.m., in Howson Hall at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover Ave. Roles available for 4 men playing ages 30–60, and one woman playing 25-35. Show runs Feb 11-27; six rehearsals in early Dec. Scripts available for check-out at 1st Unitarian Universalist and at Austin Creative Alliance office (formerly ACOT), at 701 Tillery. Auditions will be readings from the script. For further information, call director Dr. Charles R. Hill at 305-3705 or 293-4015.

Written by S.N. Behrman, this drawing room comedy set in 1932 explores the culture of celebrity. Marion Fourdes' Manhattan salon is a haven for the famous and infamous. When this independent portrait artist writes her autobiography, scandal is anticipated and panic ensues. As relevant today as it was 70 years ago!

Upcoming: Memorial at UT for Oscar G. Brockett, December 11, 4 p.m.

Found on-line:

Remembering Dr. Oscar G. Brockett

Public Memorial Celebration at the B. Iden Payne Theatre, University of Texas
December 11 | 4:00 PM

A public memorial celebration for Dr. Oscar G. Brockett will be held on Saturday, December 11, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. in the B. Iden Payne Theatre in the Winship Drama Building. Immediately following the celebration, there will be a reception in the Brockett Theatre/Winship Atrium.

Please know that there will be an opportunity at the reception for friends to speak, if they wish to offer a tribute or share a story about Dr. Brockett.

For more information visit: http://www.finearts.utexas.edu/tad/brocket_memorial.cfm
Theatre and Dance Info Line
inquiry@uts.cc.utexas.edu
512-471-5793
Free, open to the public

Upcoming: Emergency Prom by Steve Moulds, University of Texas, December 2 - 4

Found on-line:

Emergency Prom
World Premiere Theatrical Event

December 2, 3, & 4 at 8 p.m.
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre , University of Texas

Tickets $10, limited seating. Tickets available at the Winship Box Office 1.5 hours prior to each performance. Map of the area.

A few days after the biggest night of the year, the students of Glen Burnie High face the fact that prom was a huge disappointment — especially for Gus and Corey, the school's resident couple, who broke up in spectacular fashion. But Gus refuses to let Corey go, so he stages a do-over of Saturday's dance — an “emergency prom” — to not only win Corey back but give the entire school a chance to correct the mistakes of the first prom. Emergency Prom is a comedy about expectation, disappointment, and the precarious threshold between high school and the adult world.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: As You Like It, McCallum Fine Arts Academy at the Curtain Theatre, December 2-5

Found on-line:

AS YOU LIKE IT

by William Shakespeare

December 2 - 5, 7 p.m. each night

The Curtain Theatre, 7400 Coldwater Canyon

Tickets $12 Adults, $10 Seniors, $6 Student Buy Tickets

One of Shakespeare’s most beloved romances, As You Like It reminds all of us, as we “play our parts” in this brief life, that love and forgiveness are more important than power or position. Directed by veteran educator, actor and director, Beryl Knifton (with special appearance by Mr. Tatum), this exciting production will take place at the Curtain Theatre, a replica of Elizabethan Era open air theatres right here in Austin. Music and fashion from the 60s will make this a unique production and one you simply cannot miss. Imagine!

Upcoming: Dashing Through the Snow, Hope, Jones & Wooton, Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, December 3 - 18

Found on-line:

Sam Bass Community Theatre, Round Rock, presents

Dashing Through the Snow

by Hope, Jones & Wooten

directed by Andy Brown

December 3- 18, Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

SBCT, 600 Lee Street, Round Rock (click for map)

$15 adults; $13 seniors and students; $10 Wednesday and Thursday shows; $10 groups of 10 or more

Purchase tickets on-line

It's four days before Christmas in the tiny town of Tinsel, Texas, and a colorful parade of eccentric guests arrive at the Snowflake Inn and deck the halls with holiday hilarity! Trina, the harried, yet upbeat inkeeper of this B&B has more than she can handle coping with these nuttier-than-a-fruitcake lodgers. Hoyt and his sister, Donna Jo, make the mistake of trying to end a thirty-year feud between their curmudgeonly aunts, Ennis and Della, with sidesplitting results. Ainsley and Lenora, self-involved actors from a lower-than-low-budget touring production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, descend on the Inn to fulfill a promise, leaving comedic chaos in their wake.

Add to this Yuletide mayhem an ill-advised romantic rendezvous between Mrs. Claus and one of Santa's elves, a demanding guest who refuses to leave, not to mention a tipsy housekeeper, and it's clear it will take more than a kiss under the mistletoe to keep Trina's spirits merry and bright. But a spur of the moment Christmas Eve wedding that brings together the Futrelle sisters - Honey Raye, Twink, Frankie and Rhonda Lynn - and their best friend, Raynerd takes a surprising and delightful turn that leads to a laugh-til-your-sides-ache climax, changing all their lives forever.

You'll swear this family-friendly Jones Hope Wooten Christmas comedy is more fun than a joy ride in a one horse open sleigh!

Upcoming: Abuelita's Christmas Carol by Alex Garza, City Theatre, December 20 & 22

Received directly:

Alex Garza's

Abuelita's Christmas Carol

Monday – Wednesday December 20 – 22, 8 p.m.

The City Theatre, 3823 Airport Blvd. Suite D. – east corner of Airport Blvd. and 38 ½ Street.

For reservations, call 512-524-2870 or e-mail starlextheatre@yahoo.com. Tickets $10.

One man..nine characters..loads of holiday laughs!

Abuelita, the seventy year old Mexican-American grandmother is back with her unforgettable performance written by the talented and hilarious Alex Garza. She’s no Scrooge or George Bailey..she’s a lot more spicy.

In a loving tribute to family and experiences from his own life, Garza portrays a comic and touching array of characters that do find what it means to live a truly “wonderful life.” A fun holiday adventure for everyone.

Upcoming: Frosty vs. Abominable Snowman, Playhouse Smithville, December 4 & 11

Received directly:

Playhouse Smithville's

Frosty vs. Abominable Snowman

written & directed by john daniels, jr.

December 4 and December 11, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Playhouse Smithville, 110 Main Street, Smithville

512-360-7397

Come down to the Smithville Festival of Lights celebration on December 4th and enjoy a day of great family entertainment including Playhouse Smithville's production of Frosty vs. Abominable Snowman outside for the whole town to enjoy. Come see Ivory the North Pole's star reporter sing "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas" and hear Frosty sing "The North Pole Boogie"!

A cast of sixteen characters sing and dance in an American Idol style musical revue. Tickets are available at www.playhousesmithville.com or call (512) 360-7397.

The cast: (Click to view larger image)

Top Row (Left to Right): Bonnie Watts, Brooke Wilson, Megan Mossman, Matthew Torrez, Cheyenne Lambert, April Daniels, Kayla Jo Williams

Second Row (Left to Right): Dalton Williams, Kya Lambert, Samantha Gurley, Michael McGary

Front Row: (Left to Right): Meghan Smith, Jordan Turner, Tanner Williams, Phoebe Lambert, Michelle Vainwright

Arts Reporting: Austin Playhouse Announces Move to Mueller Development

Reported by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin on the Statesman's Ausin360 'Seeing Things' blog, November 19

Austin Playhouse announces move to Mueller

By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin Friday, November 19

After nearly ten years at its South Congress Avenue location, Austin Playhouse plans to build a $4 million new theater in the Mueller redevelopment in East Austin, theater officials announced Friday.

Catellus Development Group, the master developer of Mueller, confirmed that it had signed a letter of intent with Austin Playhouse.

The theater would be located in the Mueller town center, roughly north of Mueller’s Lake Park. The town center is planned to be a mix of retail, restaurant and entertainment venues. However, no date has been set to start that phase of the Mueller project.

“We’re excited about the opportunities the Austin Playhouse would bring to Mueller,” said Greg Weaver, managing director for Catellus Development Group, the master developer of Mueller. “The Austin Playhouse will help activate a new area of the Mueller community, draw new visitors to experience other elements of the development and provide another primarily nighttime venue to move Mueller toward a 24/7 community.”

The community theater group [SIC] plans to build a 17,000-square-foot two-theater complex with classrooms, a gallery, offices and ground-floor space to sublet to a bar or restaurant.

Don Toner, executive director of Austin Playhouse, said he expects construction to begin in 2011. He said the $4 million price tag includes about $2 million for the property and 100 parking spaces and $2 million for construction, fundraising and other project costs.

Toner said that $265,000 in pledges and cash has been raised so far.

Opinion: Why Outdoor Theatre? by Nancy Mohn Barnard (Violet Crown Theatre)

Meditations from Nancy Mohn Barnard published on the blog of the Violet Crown Community Theatre, who wind up The Amazing, Unforgettable, Mixed-up Adventures of Hansel and Gretel at Laguna Gloria amphitheater Sunday, November 21, at 4:30 p.m.:

Why Outdoor Theatre?, November 19

When I was six years old, my parents took me to Golden Gate Park for the day where we went for a nature walk into the seeming wilderness. All of a sudden, we stumbled into a clearing where there was a performance of Alice in Wonderland. For a moment I felt confused . . . Had I somehow fallen down the rabbit hole and into the actual story? Or had the characters been magically transported into my world? My mother must have recognized my confusion for she whispered to me that the scene before my eyes was a performance, a play, and as we sat down to watch it, I fell in love with not only theater but the magic that an outdoor performance can create as well.

As an adult, I had no memory of this experience until one day, several years ago, I was taking a stroll through the Hyde Park neighborhood in Austin. It was summer solstice and the sun was just beginning to set when I walked past Shipe Park. Suddenly, I heard laughter, music and bells ringing. As I approached the Elisabet Ney museum, I discovered, to my delight, there was a theater performance on the grass with the castle-like structure in the background. With great delight, I joined the other audience members and enjoyed a timely performance of A Midsummer’s Night Dream. The unexpectedness of this performance, combined with the magic of summer solstice, transported me into the world of this story until I was an actual participant. The experience was magical and I began to remember that first outdoor theatrical performance from so many years past.

In both of these experiences, the backdrop and staging was minimal. Being surrounded by the beauty of the outdoors, the eyes were not deprived or in need of additional stimulation. The performances were a free gift to whomever was interested – a free gift that changed my world and sent me into a love affair with literature and storytelling.

Theater is meant to be enjoyed by all, and yet, all too often, the experience is out of the reach of many. Theater tickets are expensive—forget trying to take an entire family out to enjoy a performance. As a result, many children are deprived of one of the oldest mediums for entertainment. And yet, as evidenced by my story, many could develop an appreciation for arts and literature through early exposure. This is why Violet Crown Community Theater strives to offer free performances—in the hopes of reaching young families who may not be able to afford to spend $30+ for an afternoon at the theater.

Please help us in this mission by giving generously at our closing show this Sunday: “The Amazing, Unforgettable, Mixed-up Adventures of Hansel and Gretel” atLaguna Gloria amphitheater, Sunday, 11/21 @ 4:30 PM.

Reflections, November 18

As our fall show draws to a close, I have been spending a lot of my down time reflecting on this production. “The Amazing, Unforgettable, Mixed-up Adventures of Hansel and Gretel” is my third production since starting this group, and in many ways, it has been my favorite so far.

Read More at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), Poison Apple Initiative at the Blue Theatre, December 1 - 18

Received directly:

Poison Apple Initiative Announces the Southwest premiere of

Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake)

by Sheila Callaghan

directed by Bastion Carboni

December 1 - 18, Wednesdays - Saturdays, 8 p.m.

Blue Theatre, 916 Springdale

General admission $15 tickets available on-line

Wednesdays are Actor and Crew Benefit performances. Thursdays are Pay-What-You-Can at the door. Show runs approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.

"How can this little body wrap itself around such a moment without falling apart?"

Janice and her mother Clara live in an apartment that's begun to deteriorate since the freak accidental death of the father the previous Christmas. The Apartment, irked by his and the family's states of disrepair, is plotting to kill them while Janice, inspired by visits from Justin Timberlake, hatches her own plan (involving doll heads and hazardous chemicals) to "make things right again.” An obsidian comedy about trying to keep it together when it won't stop falling apart.

Directed by Bastion Carboni, dramaturged by Georgia Young, and stage managed by Lisa Kettyle.Featuring Elizabeth Bigger, Karen Alvarado, Michael Slefinger, Natalie Kabenjian, and Micah Goodding. Designed by Geoffrey Aaron Douglas (lighting), Taylor Finley (scenic), Brett Hamaan (sound), Lauren McKinley (costume), and Staci Paradis (properties).

Poison Apple Initiative is pleased to begin its third and most ambitious season to date with the Southwest premiere of Sheila Callaghan's incisive and thoughtful play. We are an independently-run local theatre company dedicated to the production of sharp, dark comedies by local and national artists. Through our participation in the FronteraFest Long Fringe, Mi Casa Es Su Teatro, and the ArtSpark Festival, we’ve garnered a reputation for giving audiences “a razor-edged experience, one with a vibration and intensity that no video or cinema is going to provide” (Austinlivetheatre.com). This fall we are embarking on our third, and most ambitious season yet. In November we’ll be producing Sheila Callaghan’s Crumble (Lay Me Down Justin Timberlake), followed in January by the premier of Sometimes Callie and Jonas Die by Artistic Director Bastion Carboni. We’ll close out the season in May with The Woyzeck Project, a re-imagining of the 19th century play by Georg Buchner.

Upcoming: A Monster Carol by Dwight Markus, Texas State University, December 3 - 5

Received directly:

Texas State University Department of Theatre and Dance

in association with A Monster Trust presents

A Monster Carol

Written & Directed by Dwight Markus

December 3^rd at 7:00 p.m., December 4^th and 5^th at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Mainstage University Theatre, Texas State Theatre Center, 430 Moon St., San Marcos

Tickets: $5 General Admission, available at the Texas State box office on the day of the show.

For additional information please contact (512) 245-2147.

The Monsters are back! A family comedy for the holidays, ages 4 and up.

Pictured: Top row: Bridget Farias (Veronica the Vampire)

Middle row: D. Heath Thompson (Wolfgang the Werewolf), Audience Member & Dwight Markus (Franklin the Monster)

Bottom row: Molly McKee (Louise, the Museum Curator), Audience Member & Oscar Cabrera (Jake the Ghost)

At Vincent’s House of Wax, home of the scary monsters, a ghostly visitor comes calling on Christmas Eve. Now, Vincent’s is no ordinary museum of wax figures for when the doors are locked, the wax statues come to life. Tonight Jake, the ghost of Jacob Marley comes calling to pull a “Scrooge” on one of the Monsters. Jake has lost the 3 spirits of Christmas and enlists the aid of Veronica the Vampire, Franklin the Monster and Louise, the Curator of the Museum to help him reenact the past of Wolfgang the Werewolf. Jake puts them under a “Mystical Veil” to show him his life. At that point everything goes haywire as Jake’s true intentions are revealed and Wolfgang’s past brings some unexpected revelations. Come find out what funny things happen when you mix Christmas with Halloween and enjoy some good family fun.

Stay after the show for the Monster Picture Party and have your picture taken with our cast onstage. We will send the photos to you via your email address.

Wait Until Dark, Way Off Broadway Community Players, Leander, November 12 - December 4

Community theatre folks are glad that you came, and they make no pretense about that. They've worked for weeks, mostly after hours and on weekends, in an undertaking that doesn't pay the grocery bills or even the transportation expenses. I'm always touched and honored when players and staff position themselves to greet audience members as they come out of the theatre.

Over decades of diplomatic assignments I regularly shook hands of officials receiving guests at the entrances of embassies for national day celebrations. Here in Austin in contrast, particularly on the periphery, your artist hosts greet you at the end, sending you home with good wishes. They've shed their imaginary world and discarded fictitious characters, so you can commune briefly with them as part of the community of the theatre.

There was no particular protocol in the line after Wait Until Dark. Stephanie Newton, fresh off stage from her appearance as a police officer in the final scene, was the first who shook my hand. My friend Stephen Reynolds, cast as the mostly absent photographer husband of the blind protagonist Susy Hendrix, joked that every night between his scene in Act I and his last-second appearance in Act II he had time to read a novel. For opening night, to top it all, the company observed its tradition of inviting audience members to linger with them around a long table laden with good things to eat.

Wait Until Dark is a perennial. Frederick Knott had already written the successful Dial M for Murder (1952) as well as the script for Alfred Hitchcock's movie. In 1966 his Wait Until Dark with Lee Remick was a huge success, made into an even more successful film starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Alda. Knott never wrote another play, but the royalties from regular productions of those two playscripts provided him a income sufficient to live a comfortable social life in New York City until his death in 2002.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Straight, A Conversion Comedy by David Schmader, Attic Rep at Trinity University, San Antonio, December 2 - 9

Received directly:

presents

STRAIGHT A Conversion Comedy

Written and Performed by David Schmader

Directed by Andrew Thornton

December 2- 19

STRAIGHT is a hilarious and subversive comedy about the world of conversion therapy, where gays and lesbians are reputedly cured of their homosexuality and made straight. Plunging into the heart of this highly charged territory–from going undercover at ex-gay support groups to an intensive crash course in Christian heterosexuality deep in the heart of Texas–Schmader blends an essayist’s insight with the spark of stand-up comedy to confront difficult questions, reject easy answers, and get to the bottom of what it means to be straight.

San Antonio Premiere.

Upcoming: Of Mice and Music, the Jazz Nutcracker, Tapestry Dance Company at the Boyd Vance Theatre, December 14 - 19

Found on-line:

presents

Of Mice and Music: A Jazz Nutcracker

at the Boyd Vance Theatre, George Washington Carver Center,1165 Angelina Street (click for Google map)

December 14 - 18, 7 p.m., December 18 and 19 at 2 p.m.

Quickly becoming a holiday tradition for many Austin families, this wonderfully original adaptation of the classic nutcracker story is told with an original jazz score, a live band and an army of tapping mice! Celebrate the Holidays with Tapestry Dance Company!

Tickets $27 - $29 including $2 handling fee paid to Long Center Frontgate Tickets. Purchase on-line here.