Adam Roberts' 10 Favorites for Austin Theatre in 2013

Top 10 Dramatic Turns of 2013

A look back at some of the year's most gripping performances

By Adam Roberts, Fri., Jan. 3, 2014

Jill Blackwood in 'Les Miserables,' Zach Theatre (photo: Kirk R. Tuck)

In reverse chronological order:

1) THE COMPANY OF 'LET IT BE CHRISTMAS' (World Vision & Gateway Church) The performers heralded Christ's birth with rafter-shaking vocals that soared on high.

2) THE COMPANY OF 'BLOOD WEDDING' (Mary Moody Northen Theatre) The air of rural Spain poured forth from the ensemble in a riveting production of Lorca's drama.

3) JILL BLACKWOOD IN 'LES MISERABLES' (Zach Theatre) As Fantine, Blackwood dreamed her dream center stage in arresting fashion.

4/5) RACHEL MCGINNIS MEISSNER AND LAURA ARTESI IN 'A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE' (City Theatre Company) Meissner's striking turn as Blanche provided both realism and magic, and Artesi delivered a stellar Stella.

6/7) MICHAEL STUART AND BENJAMIN SUMMERS IN 'A WALK IN THE WOODS' (Street Corner Arts) Summers' Honeyman was visceral and searing, and Stuart's Botvinnik drew one in to such a degree that it was difficult to glance away.

8) THE COMPANY OF 'TWELVE ANGRY MEN' (City Theatre Company) From 1 to 12, each juror contributed his own heft to this wonderfully weighty production.

9) THE COMPANY OF 'BEAUTY IS THE BEST PRIEST: SHORT PLAYS OF THE HAR­LEM RENAISSANCE' (Austin Commun­ity College Department of Drama) Like a living museum inside a more traditional one, the company granted new insight into a world of literature with which I'd had little acquaintance.

10) JACOB TRUSSELL IN 'OTHER DESERT CITIES' (Austin Playhouse) Trussell's turn as Trip was as captivating and multilayered as it was realistic and honest.

Elizabeth Cobbe's Favorite Theatre Sets for 2013, Austin Chronicle

Top 10 Theatrical Sets of 2013, to a Cat

The year's scenic designs proved especially appealing to the feline theatregoer

By Elizabeth Cobbe, Fri., Jan. 3, 2014

(uncredited photo via Austin Chronicle)

1) 'THE AMAZING ACRO-CATS' The performing cats wandered freely through the audience, making the whole theatre their set.


2) 'THE HEAD' (Connor Hopkins for Trouble Puppet Theater) The staging area provided levels upon levels, with intricate, handmade puppets for kitty to maul if she became bored.


3) '33 VARIATIONS' (Cliff Simon for Zach Theatre) How was there not a cat lurking in those cavernous archives?


4) 'NOISES OFF' (Patrick Crowley for Austin Playhouse) Disregard the slamming doors, if you can, and relish in the many hiding places for actors and felines alike.


5) 'FIXING KING JOHN' (Thomas Graves, Madge Darlington for Rude Mechanicals) Platforms rigged for actors and audience made ideal scratching posts.


6) 'INTIMATE APPAREL' (Jocelyn Pettway for UT Department of Theatre & Dance) Several detailed scenes existed together onstage, with beautiful fabrics waiting to be peed on and shredded.


7) 'RED' (David Utley for Penfold Theatre Company) A thoughtful, realistic treatment of Mark Rothko's art studio provided hiding spaces and paint cans in abundance.


8) 'FAT PIG' (Patrick and Holly Crowley for Theatre en Bloc) Shifting platforms are great entertainment, provided you don't catch your tail in the rails.


9) 'MAD BEAT HIP & GONE' (Michael Raiford for Zach Theatre) Dark lighting made the catwalks all the more appealing to a true cat.


10) 'DIAL "M" FOR MURDER' (Ian Loveall for UT Department of Theatre & Dance) Nothing like a fancy English parlor with fine furniture if you're looking to shed.

(*) Deborah Martin's Favorites for San Antonio Theatre in 2013, Express-News, December 26, 2013

Best of 2013: Stage

December 26, 2013

This was a very good year for fiercely original work, including several pieces created out of whole cloth and fresh takes on “Hamlet” and “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Here's the best of the best:

• “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” Woodlawn Black Box Theatre
• “The Book of Mormon,” Broadway in San Antonio
• “Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” Overtime Theater
• “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Sheldon Vexler Theatre
• “Hetarae,” Jump-Start Performance Co.
• “I Am Celso,” Teatro Farolito
• “In the Heights,” Woodlawn Theater
• “Les Miserables,” Playhouse
• “Little Shop of Horrors,” Sheldon Vexler Theatre
• “Method & Madness: Hamlet 2013,” Jump-Start Performance Co. and Classic Theatre
• “Other Desert Cities,” Inception Theatre
• “Painting Churches,” Classic Theatre
• “Picnic,” Playhouse Cellar Theatre
• “Port Cove,” Overtime Theater
• “Ragtime,” Playhouse
• “Red,” Playhouse Cellar Theater
• “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Klose/Seale Productions
• “Treasure Island,” Magik Theatre
• “Waiting for Lefty,” Proxy Theatre Company:
• “White,” AtticRep and the Aesthetic of Waste
• “Wittenberg,” Playhouse Cellar 

Deborah Martin