Opening This Week in Central Texas, January 6 - 11, 2013

Opening This Week

in the Austin - (*) San Antonio region

January 6 - 11, 2013

Click images for additional information

Click HERE for a list of all productions CONTINUING on stage

Opening in Austin . . .
 

Georgetown Palace Theatre, January 11 - February 3

(poster design: JennyMarie Jemison)

Way Off Broadway Community Players, Leander, January 11 -February 2

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(Nothing announced in SAN ANTONIO)
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Upcoming: Elizabeth, Heart of A King by Lorella Loftus, Vortex Repertory, January 11 - 26

Elizabeth: Heart of a King

by Lorella Loftus

Presented by Vortex Repertory Company at The VORTEX
January 11 - January 26, 2013

Tickets: $30-$25 Priority Seating, $15-$20 General Admission, $10 Starving Artists
2-for-1 admission on Thursdays and Sundays with donation of 2 canned goods for SafePlace.
Limited seating. Advanced purchase recommended.

Info Phone: 512-478-LAVA(5282) Buy Tickets

Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most luminous, fascinating, and formidable women in history. Experience her as she has never been seen before in Elizabeth: Heart of a King. This new play by Lorella Loftus explores the formative times in her life as a young woman and the main events of her life as a queen and as an icon. Three different women play Elizabeth at different stages of her life-- a lone woman struggling to retain her political and personal power in a male-dominated world. A woman of contradictions, Elizabeth was brave and vulnerable, intelligent and ambivalent, flirtatious and icy, and very human. Other historical characters played by the ensemble include Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour, Robert Dudley, William Cecil, Mary I, and Mary Queen of Scots.
(Click to return to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Upcoming: Elizabeth - Heart of A King by Lorella Loftus, Vortex Repertory, March 17 - 24

presents

Elizabeth: Heart of A King

by Lorella Loftus

6 Performances Only!!
March 17-18 and March 21-24 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $30-$10. Visit www.vortexrep.org or call 512-478-LAVA(5282) to reserve your tickets! Wednesday is 2-for-1 admission with a donation of 2 non-perishable food items.

Elizabeth I was one of the most luminous, fascinating, and formidable women in history. Experience her as she has never been seen before in Elizabeth: Heart of a King, a new play by Lorella Loftus. This VORTEX workshop production explores the formative times in her life as a young woman and the main events of her life as a queen and as an icon. A woman of contradictions, Elizabeth was brave and vulnerable, intelligent and ambivalent, flirtatious and icy, and fundamentally, very human.

Three different women play Elizabeth at different stages of her life-- a lone woman struggling to retain her political and personal power in a male-dominated world. Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour, Robert Dudley, and William Cecil are just some of the men who had a major influence on her life who appear in the play.

Auditions at the Vortex for Elizabeth - Heart of a King, February 2

Announced by

Auditions for Elizabeth: Heart of a King

A new play by Lorella Loftus

Saturday, February 4, 2012 1:15-3:30 Open Call

Vortex Repertory, 2703 Manor Rd. (click for map)

Elizabeth I was one of the most luminous, fascinating, and formidable women in history. Experience her as she has never been seen before in Elizabeth: Heart of a King, a new play by Lorella Loftus. This VORTEX workshop production explores the formative times in her life as a young woman and the main events of her life as a queen and as an icon. A woman of contradictions, Elizabeth was brave and vulnerable, intelligent and ambivalent, flirtatious and icy, and fundamentally, very human. Three different women play Elizabeth at different stages of her life-- a lone woman struggling to retain her political and personal power in a male-dominated world. Henry VIII, Thomas Seymour, Robert Dudley, and William Cecil are just some of the men who had a major influence on her life who are featured in the play.

Elizabeth: Heart of a King will be performed March 16-24, 2012 in modern attire, combining contemporary and historical in a thought-provoking experimental piece of theatre. Seeking 5-6 women and 8-9 men. English/European accents preferred.

Auditions will take place on February 4 at The VORTEX. Auditions are open - 1:15pm-3:30pm. Please prepare a 1-minute classical monologue and resume. Headshot optional. Callbacks will take place on Sunday, February 5. For further information contact Lorella Loftus at 512-771-3447 or lorellaloftus@gmail.com.

www.vortexrep.org

Upcoming: The Wife of Bath, staged reading at the Vortex Repertory, September 9

UPDATE: Comments by Miranda Saucedo at the blog of do512.com, June 4

UPDATE: Review by Clare Canavan for the Statesman's Austin360 "Seeing Things" blog, June 1

Found on-line:

VORTEX Repertory Company presents
a free workshop reading of

The Tale of the Wife of Bath

Adapted from Chaucer
by Lorella Loftus and Shekhar Govind
Wednesday, September 9, 8 p.m.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, an early masterpiece of Middle English, and his Wife of Bath’s Tale in particular, offer remarkable insight into the role of women in the late Middle Ages. Several centuries later, the Wife of Bath’s Tale is as fascinating and as relevant to the modern reader as it was then.

Now, in an inventive new form, Lorella Loftus has crafted an original vision of this story from Chaucer’s text, and from a translation of the Tale’s Prologue left for us by our late, great, friend, Shekhar Govind.

In a tribute to Govind’s wonderful sense of humor, Loftus takes a fresh new approach to the venerable story of the Wife of Bath, with some interesting surprises along the way.

Become a part of the process of developing this new work by listening to a free reading of this work in progress on Wednesday, September 9 at 8 p.m. in The Vortex Café. Opportunities for discussion and written feedback afterward. This show is scheduled for production in late May.

The café is now serving fabulous gourmet sandwiches, tamales, cake and ice cream, in addition to our exceptional assortment of beer and wine and homemade sangria.

Good Things by Liz Lochhead, Renaissance Austin at the Vortex Repertory

Scottish toffee comes to mind when thinking of this U.S. premiere of Good Things by contemporary Scottish dramatist Liz Lochhead. Sweet, chewy, rich and surprising, made with sugar, butter, Tate & Lyle's golden syrup and just a dash of vinegar. You can find recipes on line.

Unlike English toffee, Good Things has no nuts. The characters are ordinary folk, for the most part, except maybe for Scottish Doris who haunts the "Good Things" thrift shop in search of the perfect bargain.

The shop resembles an OXFAM thrift shop, a British institution similar to our own Good Will stores, accepting donations for re-sale, to benefit charity. Pert young manageress Marjorie (Angela Loftus) enforces the rules, admonishing her volunteers Susan and Fraser that no donation, however attractive, may be purchased by staff members until it has sat on the shelf for six weeks.

This rule is the basis for one of the show's running jokes. Red-haired, 51-year-old recently divorced Susan, played by Lorella Loftus, falls in love with a pair of extravagant red shoes. She and Fraser plot at length to keep the shoes away from potential buyers, going so far as to hide one of the pair.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Good Things by Liz Lochhead, Renaissance Austin at the Vortex, June 12 - 27

UPDATE: Click for ALT review of Good Things, June 18



Found at NowPlayinginAustin.com:


Renaissance Austin and Vortex Repertory Company present

Good Things

by Liz Lochhead
June 12 - June 27

Renaissance Austin Theatre in association with VORTEX Repertory Company presents the U.S. Premiere of Liz Lochhead's romantic comedy, Good Things, directed by Karen Jambon.

“Liz Lochhead’s delightful new play is as funny, as touching, and yet as emotionally true as anything this supremely humane writer has yet produced” ---London Times

Good Things is a deliciously light romantic comedy recently penned by one of Scotland's finest literary award-winning female playwrights, Liz Lochhead (Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, Medea).

Newly-divorced 40-something Oxfam volunteer Susan has finally settled on life as a single parent when a series of chance encounters and a procession of colorful characters turn her quiet life upside down . . . Witty, whimsical, funny and poignant, there is someone for everyone in this delightfully humane play.

Good Things stars Lorella Loftus, Craig Kanne, Michael Hankin, and Angela Loftus. The design team includes David DeMaris, Elaine Jacobs, Patrick Anthony, Andy Agne, Jonathan Urso, and Adam Gunderson.

Tickets: $10-$30
Info Phone: 512-478-LAVA
June 12-June 27, 2009, 8 p.m.
The VORTEX
2307 Manor Road Austin, TX 78722