Director Bridget Farias and her cast have put together a jolly version of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, with loving attention to the eccentricities of Narnia creatures.
Audiences will enjoy the glim from the 2005 film version produced by Disney, which was the best selling DVD in 2006, but both that film and this script follow closely the novel for children written by C.S. Lewis in 1949.
When this production was announced through ALT, one parent, Tim, was plainly disappointed. " Wish they had kid friendly show times. After my kid's bed time is a bit late to see a play. Was looking forward to this one. Oh well...."
Another reader, Anonymous, noted that the City Theatre runs a 5:30 p.m. show on Sundays. That could solve Tim's problem, but it does raise another point: what's the target audience for this production?
The City Theatre closes the 2009 summer theatre season with
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe based on C.S. Lewis’ favorite classic adventure
August 20 – September 13Thursday – Saturday 8:00 p.m. Sunday 5:30 p.m.
NARNIA…a land frozen in eternal winter…a country waiting to be set free. This wonderful adaptation based on the children’s novel by C. S. Lewis is the story of four children, Susan, Lucy, Edmond and Peter who escape the London blitz of World War II, when they are sent to live with their uncle in the countryside. Lucy’s discovery of a magic wardrobe in her uncle’s home, leads her and her siblings into a world where “it is always winter, but never Christmas”, the land known as Narnia.
Here the children discover strange wonders: centaurs, talking beavers, fairies, and a fawn-like creature known as Tumnus, who befriends the children.
But Narnia is a land of contrasts as well. There is evil, in the person of the ambitious and calculating White Witch who battles to rule all of Narnia, and goodness and nobility, embodied in the powerful Lion King Aslan, who opposes her and her diabolic schemes. This story of love, faith, courage and giving, with its triumph of good over evil, is a profound celebration of life and inspiration, captivating young and old for decades.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first in a seven-book series by C. S. Lewis called The Chronicles of Narnia. Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis was born in 1898 in Belfast, Ireland. He was a professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Oxford. He wrote books on religion and philosophy, but is most famous for this remarkable series, that has captured the imagination of children and adults worldwide. Many will be familiar with the series through the recently released Walt Disney Productions and Walden Media films, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and Prince Caspian.
The production is directed by Bridget Farias with additional staging by Andy Berkovsky and set design by Daniel LeFave and costumes by Jessi Brill. It features the company of Derek Vandi (Aslan), Samantha Brewer (White Witch), Chad Duda (Peter), Laura Ray (Susan), Raphael Jaquette (Edmund), Shannyn Rose Cowart (Lucy), Bobby DiPasquale (Mr. Beaver), Fiona Rene (Mrs. Beaver), Austin Rausch (Mr. Tunmus), Dario Konjicija (Fenris Ulf), Marques Deleeon (Dwarf), Justin McKnight (Elf), D.H. Thompson (Father Christmas/Professor), and Molly McKee, Monique Borses, Nikki Maldonado, Annabel Stephan, Matthew Haynes, and Cameron McKnight (Wood Creatures/Ensemble).
This production is recommended for all ages and fun live theatre entertainment for the entire family.
TICKETS AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION Reservations 512-524-2870 or info@citytheatreaustin.org General Seating $15 - $20. Guaranteed Reserve Seats$25. Kids under ten $10.Thursdays all seats $10. Group and senior discounts are available.
The City Theatre. 3823 Airport Blvd. – east corner of Airport Blvd. and 38 ½ Street. Visit our website www.citytheatreaustin.org
If it's hypocrisy, greed, and seduction you’re looking for this summer, look no further than Molière’s most famous farce, Tartuffe. Under the cloak of religious piety, the lecherous, menacing, arch-hypocrite title character schemes to marry his benefactor’s daughter, seduce his wife, then defraud him of all he possesses. Does the scoundrel succeed? Take your seat and find out in this new and exciting adaptation of one of the world’s greatest comedies.
The production runs July 23 – August 16 at The City Theatre. It is directed by Charles P. Stites and features City Theatre company members Wray Crawford, Fiona Rene, D. Heath Thompson, and MacArthur Moore.
Molière’s masterpiece was written over three hundred years ago, but the classic has found a fresh reinvention at City Theatre with a modern staging that is even more immediate, identifiable, and hilarious. Rather than a classic that can be translated to a modern setting, Molière's play seems more of a contemporary play that just happens to have been written a few centuries ago.
The Georgetown Palace Theatre is back to doing what they do best -- a rollicking big musical comedy with lots of dance,sparkling with a glitzy coating of happy nostalgia. Grease is no trail breaker, but it's for sure an entertainment where the whole family can kick back and enjoy. With the bonus that they'll learn that live theatre is so much more than the talking pictures from the 1978 movie with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Everybody's doing it. The Texas School for the Deaf puts on a version tonight and tomorrow, with the interesting twist that the the interpreters for the audience will be speaking, not signing. Tex-Arts is running a June theatre camp for youth that will culminate in performances of the show.
The Palace does the theatrical version of Grease, which originated in Chicago in 1971 and went on to Broadway. There's music not included in the movie version, but the story's generally the same: after a summer romance, sweet Sandy and greaser guy Danny encounter one another unexpectedly at their urban high school, with all sorts of social pressures from the Pink Girls clique and the guys' T-Birds gang (a pretty innocent group of gawkers, closer to the then-contemporary "Happy Days" TV show than to the gangs in West Side Story).
Scenes take place in the school cafeteria, at a slumber party, around a hot rod, in the burger palace, at the gym dance, at the drive-in movie, and at a party. No studying for these kids! Teachers are goofs and the class brain is, in today's terms, a nerd. But who cares? What's important is hormones, acting out, having a good time, and getting the chance to dance, dance, dance! Read More at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .
