Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw, Austin Playhouse, January 22 - February 21

Is it only coincidence that Austin theatre is staging a rolling centenary celebration of George Bernard Shaw? Not of his birth or death -- we'd have to wait another forty or so years for either of those, since the man lived well into his 90's --but of his plays exploring matrimony.

In late 2008 Different Stages gave us a twinkling production of Shaw's 1908 comedy Getting Married and now Austin Playhouse is offering Misalliance, first staged in 1910. Despite their talky amusements, in the canon of Shaw's 63 full-length dramas they are relatively unknown. You can browse the length of the shelves at Half-Price Books or consult the catalog at the Austin Public Library, and neither will appear.

So we have all the more reason to thank Austin stages for blowing the dust off GBS's mischievous social commentary. Getting Married looked at the dilemmas and disadvantages for the Edwardian chattering classes of the marriage contract; Misalliance pushes the boundries a bit further, as the rascally Fabian looks at the delusions of romantic love, the practicalities of extramarital liaisons, advocating a degree of female sexual liberation that must have left those proper Edwardians agog.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Images: Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw, Austin Playhouse, January 22 - February 21

Click for ALT review, February 3





Images by Christopher Loveless, received directly from Austin Playhouse,
for

Misalliance

by George Bernard Shaw
January 22 - February 21
Austin Playhouse

"The action unfolds in the garden room of John Tarleton’s Surrey estate. Tarleton is an underwear magnate and one of the newly wealthy merchant class. As the play opens, Tarleton’s daughter Hypatia is engaged to Bentley Summerhays, the intellectual son of Lord Summerhays, who once asked Hypatia to marry him. Tarleton’s son Johnny runs the family business, while his father indulges his own wild ideas and establishes free libraries around England.

"The domestic tranquility is interrupted by a plane crash in the backyard, delighting Hypatia, who has always longed for “adventure to drop out of the sky.” The plane carries a dashing young aviator who catches Hypatia’s eye [pictured: Lara Toner and Jason Newman], as well as Lina Szczepanowska, a Polish acrobat whose family tradition demands that she risk her life at least once a day. Lina catches the eye of almost every man. Adding to the mix is another unexpected guest, a gun-wielding clerk who is bent on revenge for Tarleton’s careless treatment of his mother. During the course of the play no fewer than eight romantic proposals are revealed, but which ones will last and which will prove to be misalliances?"

See additional images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Misalliance by George Bernard Shaw, Austin Playhouse, January 22 - February 21

Click for ALT review, February 3


Received directly:

Austin Playhouse presents

Misalliance

by George Bernard Shaw
January 22 - February 21
Thursday - Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 5 p.m.
NEW: matinee added for Saturday, February 20, 2 p.m.
Prices: $26 Thursdays & Fridays, $28 Saturdays & Sundays
$35 Opening Night, January 22
All student tickets are half-price
Tickets/Information: (512) 476-0084
Austin Playhouse, 3601 S. Congress, Bldg. C

Austin Playhouse proudly presents Shaw’s delightful comedy. Misalliance is a fast-paced, witty comedy that highlights the great characters, sparkling dialogue, and energetic humor for which Shaw is justly renowned. A whirlwind of characters from different social classes and professions including an underwear magnate, an ambassador, a Polish acrobat, and a socialist clerk, careen and carom off each other during the course of one afternoon at an English country estate.

Misalliance was written in 1909 during England’s brief Edwardian period. The Edwardian era was smashed right between the expansive Victorian period and the modern age that followed the Great War. This clash of old and new is central to the play as parents clash with children, capitalism clashes with socialism, and modern romance and gender equality clashes with traditional courtship and gender roles.

The violence of Shaw’s argument against stifling English propriety is given physical life in a large number of onstage acts of destruction including fistfights, gunplay, broken crockery, and a plane crash that all threaten to disrupt the genteel atmosphere.

Misalliance presented a shocking array of critiques of English society (many of which are still relevant and highly amusing today) and broke with the traditional popular parlor comedies. Its initial run was cut short due to the death of King Edward in 1910. It wasn’t revived again until the 1930’s. Today, Shaw’s whirlwind debate by characters is renowned as one of his most enduring and delightful plays.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .