The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Austin Playhouse, January 14 - February 13

This "Trivial Comedy for Serious People" opened in 1895 and it was the last shining moment for Wilde's career as writer and dramatist. Soon afterwards he found himself in court, accused of immoral behavior and then sentenced to gaol. Because of that scandal the original production closed after only 86 performances. Since then it has become one of the most dependable and regularly revived comic satires on the boards.

Wilde's earnest young men show themselves of strenuously conventional Victorian morality in society but entirely subversive in their private lives.

Both Algernon Moncrieff (Jason Newman) and Jack Worthing (Benjamin Summers) have secret identities. Algernon goes "Bunberrying," using the excuse of a mythical ailing relative to escape from unappealing social engagements and to sail off on devil-may-care exploits.

Jack uses the excuse of his mythical brother "Earnest" to get away from the tedium of the country and the responsibilities of his guardianship for the fetching but bubble-headed Cecily, his ward and the daughter of his deceased benefactor. Masquerading as "Earnest" while in London, Jack is courting Algy's cousin Gwendolen.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Alice in Wonderland, Scottish Rite Children's Theatre, February 5 - 28

Macey Mayfield with her china doll good looks and silvery little voice is a lovely match for the imaginary Alice whom Lewis Carroll sent off to Wonderland.

Children's theatre in the style of the Scottish Rite Children's Theatre requires of actors a special willingness and ability. The actors have their audience just two steps away, on mats spread in the wide open space at the center of the theatre.

SRCT scripts pretty much banish the fourth wall, as well, and engage the kids in question and answer. Despite the imaginary "bottom glue" applied pre-show at the chirpy urging of a couple of cast members, the 4 - 8 year-old-crowd is a pretty unpredictable bunch. The little ones might get up and wander around and the older ones might think it's cute to sass back to the actors.

I enjoyed a preview show of Alice in Wonderland, even though the young audience wasn't really numerous enough to spark the participatory dynamic the actors were promoting. Once those bottoms were in place, Macey came forward unobtrusively and knelt primly at the front of the kid's area, starting as a member of the audience. Mrs Crabby-Pants the teacher (Corley Pillsbury) came on with the officious strut and patronizing sweetness of a rotten elementary school teacher, and suddenly we were all back in grade school. After some admonitory dialogue, she told Alice to come up and tell us the story of the dream that she'd had. And we were off to Wonderland.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Evil Dead, Doctuh Mistah Productions at the Salvage Vanguard, October 8 - 31

UPDATE, Thursday night: Additional seats added Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night. Check availability at SVT tickets.

UPDATE: New shows added: Wednesday, October 28 and Saturday afternoon, October 31. All others SOLD OUT (per @JMJTX)




Michael McKelvey and the cast & crew of Evil Dead, The Musical have a hit on their hands, if you take as evidence the turnout on opening night. The scene at the Salvage Vanguard was like trying to load a 747 at a tin-roofed shack in the Caribbean.

Michael was astonished. Once he'd gotten the surging, enthusiastic elbow-to-elbow crowd into their places, he told us that as of that afternoon they'd had only 60 seats confirmed -- 30 reservations and another 30 distributed to the press and to friends of the company.

He told the folks in the "splash zone" of the first three rows that they wouldn't need those black plastic garbage-bag ponchos until the second act.

This was an audience of happy 20-somethings, except for me and for two rather elegantly deliberate older gentlemen wearing cowboy hats. They all appeared to know the story established by the three 1980s horror flicks that I had never seen or had any interest in seeing.

Five young people set out to spend a weekend at a remote cabin in the woods. Two couples: Ash and Cheryl (David Gallagher and Kelly Bales) and Scott and Shelly (Christopher Skillern and Macey Mayfield); and Ash's bratty little sister Cheryl (Corley Pillsbury). No, they don't know the owner. They're just going to break in and have a good time. The guys are hot for the girls and NO ONE IMAGINES THAT ANYTHING BAD COULD HAPPEN (ooh!). But we know that there's an ancient book of the dead involved, because this creepy guy told us so. The vanished owner has left a tape recorder reciting spells to invoke demons and that gullible Ash just insists on listening to THE WHOLE INCANTATION!!

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Arts Reporting: Brian Paul Scipione Interviews Michael McKelvey on Evil Dead, The Musical, INSITE Magazine, October 2009

UPDATE: Review by Clare Croft for Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" art blog, October 11

UPDATE: KOOP-FM's Lisa Scheps interviews Michael McKelvey and plays recorded music from Evil Dead, The Musical on her program "Off Stage and On The Air, October 5. Numbers presented:

Book of the Dead (:37)
Cabin in the Woods (3:17)
I’m Not a Killer (1:37)
It’s Time (2:35)
All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed By Candarian Demons (3:23)
Groovy (1:01)

From INSITE Magazine Austin, October 2009, now available around town:

Blood, Chainsaws, and Zombies: Not Your Average Musical

By Brian Paul Scipione

THERE WILL BE BLOOD. And it will be zombie blood. Salvage Vanguard Theater and Doctuh Mistuh Productions are teaming up to bring the slash hit, wait that’s, smash hit musical version of Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead Trilogy” to Austin this October. Debuting in Toronto in 2003, the show has enjoyed successful runs worldwide in New York City, Seoul,Tokyo, Cleveland, and Louisville. The play combines the plots of all three movies with a few liberties taken here and there to keep it both streamlined for performance and fresh for fanatics.

[ . . . ] McKelvey has chosen David Gallagher for the part [of Ash], whom he calls, “the most versatile actor in Austin.”

One particular stand out from the auditions was Corley Pillsbury, who landed the part of Ash’s girlfriend, Cheryl. “Corley is a dynamo. We did a lot of improv work during auditions,” McKelvey explains, “and she just tore it up. I never saw someone go so over the top in an audition.” Her efforts became all the more impressive in retrospect when he learned that she was actually sick during auditions.

And if zealous acting and top notch musical direction is not enough to draw in the crowds, this show also has a live three piece band, late night parties with food and drink, and an beguilingly appropriate closing date of Halloween complete with yet another party. But most of all it has blood. As soon as the play was announced the first question on everyone’s lips was “will there be a splash zone.” And there will be. Right in front of the stage, a special cordoned area for those who want to take their interactive theater home with them… on their faces.

- -

Evil Dead: The Musical runs October 9-31 at the Salvage Vanguard Theatre, 2803 Manor Rd. with performances at 7:30pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 5pm on Sundays.

Tickets: Thursday and Sunday: $18 general/$12 students and seniors; Friday and Saturday: $22 general/$15 students and seniors. Opening and Closing Night: $25 general/ $20 student and seniors. See www.salvagevanguard.org for additional information and online ticket sales.

Click for full text of interview by Brian Paul Scipione as published in INSITE magazine (1.8 MB - please be patient!)

Click to download .pdf file of entire October issue of INSITE magazine (5 MB)

Read more on Evil Dead, The Musical at AustinLiveTheatre.com, with link to KUT audio feature by Mike Lee

Upcoming: Evil Dead, the Musical, Doctuh Mistah Prodctions at Salvage Vanguard, October

UPDATE, Thursday night, 10/29: Additional seats added Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night. Check availability at SVT tickets.

UPDATE: Review by Clare Croft for Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" art blog, October 11

UPDATE: KOOP-FM's Lisa Scheps interviews Michael McKelvey and plays recorded music from Evil Dead, The Musical on her program "Off Stage and On The Air, October 5. Numbers presented:

Book of the Dead (:37)
Cabin in the Woods (3:17)
I’m Not a Killer (1:37)
It’s Time (2:35)
All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed By Candarian Demons (3:23)
Groovy (1:01)

Update: Mike Lee's feature on Evil Dead, The Musical at KUT-FM (2 min.)

Received directly:

Evil Dead, The Musical
October 9 - 31

Evil Dead makes its Central Texas premiere this October at Salvage Vanguard Theatre in Austin.

About the Show: With the approval of film director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell, a musical version of the film Evil Dead was staged. The musical takes creative liberty with the plot line of the cult film trilogy, mixing together the characters and concepts of all three.

The original production enjoyed a successful run in Toronto and Montreal. The show went on to gain favorable responses from both critics and audiences during its 2006-2007 off-Broadway run. The musical has gone on to subsequent performances in Louisville, KY, Seoul, Korea, and Tokyo, Japan.

October 9-31. Performances will be at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Salvage Vanguard Theatre, 2803 Manor Rd., Austin, TX 78722

Tickets: Thursday and Sunday: $18 General/$12 students and seniors; Friday and Saturday: $22 General/$15 students and seniors. Opening and Closing Night: $25 General/$20 student and seniors. See www.salvagevanguard.org for additional information and online ticket sales.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .