Independence by Lee Blessing, Paradox Palyers, June 3 - 19

Independence, first staged in 1983, is one of the earliest of Lee Blessing's theatre works. It's a tidy, well constructed box-set play that announces its theme open-faced with the very title.

The fact that the setting is Independence, Iowa, misleads no one. That speck on the map, population of about 5,500, stands for AnyTown, USA, or at least, AnySmallTown, USA.

Blessing probably started with a schematic diagram: small town, an intermittently crazy mother, three daughters born ten years apart; in the forced circumstances of a reunion, he has the opportunity to portray the Stages of Womankind. Evelyn Briggs is the mom, a tenuous survivor of life in Independence; Kess, the oldest, is the Mature Woman who escaped, now a university professor in Minneapolis and only incidentally a lesbian; Jo the Stay-at-home Daughter sees the prospect of dutiful daughterdom and, probably, spilnsterhood before her; and Sherry is a Luscious Good-time Girl in high school, itching to hit adulthood and the road that leads the hell out of Independence, Iowa.

The little world of women created here by Blessing, director Lisa Foster, and the well chosen Paradox Players cast is one of warmth, humor and jousting for personal space.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Paradox Players' Images of Independence by Lee Blessing, June 3 - 19

Performance images from

for

Independence

by Lee Blessing
directed by Lisa Foster
June 3-19
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm • Sundays at 3 pm
Howson Hall, First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover (click for map)

TICKETS $20 Opening Night Gala, Friday, June 3 (includes a special reception with refreshments)
$15 all other performances ($10 for seniors and groups of 10 or more)
Reservations by web, phone 744-1495 or Purchase via Paypal
(Tickets will also be available on AusTix starting 5/11)
Free childcare June 5 Matinee if reserved by May 29. (Email childcare@austinuu.org or call 452-6168, ext. 313)

A vivid, tender and humorous window into a family with an eccentric and possessive mother of three grown daughters, each seeking her own independence.

Starring:
Evelyn: Kathleen Lawson
Kess: Shannon Davis
Jo: Christina Leidel
Sherry: Courtney Outlaw

Click to view additional images at www.AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Hamlet, City Theatre, October 22 - November 15

Director Jeff Hinkle and the City Theatre cast led by Aaron Black as Hamlet give us a gripping up-tempo version of the famous events in Elsinore. Elapsed playing time from the first challenge on the battlements to Hamlet's dying gasp, "The rest -- is silence" is just a little more than two and a half hours.

That fits the play well within the max bounds for today's young movie-going public and gives them the bonus of a break in the middle for snacks and bathroom. The nearly full house for opening night offered the encouraging prospect of a well attended four-week run to open City's fourth season.

It's a good ride, with some surprises along the way.

Aaron Black paints a two-speed Hamlet. From the first, alone or speaking to us directly in his monologues, Black establishes the prince's intelligence. His deft timing and effectively calibrated pauses show Hamlet's mind at work and establish a bond with the audience.

In company with any but Horatio or the player king, however, Black speeds up, provokes and antagonizes. His diction is precise but as his lines move toward rant, he seems to be less the master of his own thoughts. They burst forth in hectoring images.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Images: Hamlet, City Theatre, October 22 - November 15

Images received directly from City Theatre Austin,
for

Hamlet

October 22 – November 15
Thursday – Saturday 8:00 p.m. Sunday 5:30 p.m.

The cast includes Aaron Black (Hamlet), Tim Brown (Claudius), Christy Smith (Gertrude), Shannon Davis (Ophelia), Jeannie Harris (Polonius), Collin Bjork (Laertes), Bryan Headrick (Horatio), McArthur Moore (Fortinbras, Ghost, Gravedigger), Clay Avery (Rosencrantz), Alexander Hall (Guildenstern/Marcellus), John McNeill (Player King), Leslie Robinson (Player Queen/Barnardo/Osric), and Colter Creech (Captain/Voltemand/Cornelius).

The City Theatre Company production of Hamlet will have a run time of two hours and thirty minutes including intermission. The director and cast invite audiences to the talkbacks after shows on Sunday, October 25 and Sunday, November 8.

The City Theatre. 3823 Airport Blvd. – east corner of Airport Blvd. and 38 ½ Street.

View more images at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .

Upcoming: Hamlet, City Theatre, October 22 -

UPDATE: Click for ALT review, October 26

UPDATE: Article by Sara Pressley in the Daily Texan, October 21: Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' Gets Modern Twist at Local Venue

Received directly:


Hamlet

City Theatre, October 22 - November 15
After show talk-backs October 25 and November 8.

A murdered king. A usurped kingdom. A promise of revenge. Returning to court to find his father murdered and his mother remarried, the young and melancholy Dane faces his most terrible dilemma between duty and doubt, madness and mistrust, and “murder most foul.”

[photo by Jordy Wagoner, Daily Texan]
An undisputed masterpiece of world theatre, William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy of passion, corruption and revenge has captivated audiences for more than four hundred years and remains as relevant and urgent as ever.

With Aaron Black, Collin Bjork, McArthur Moore, Christy Smith, and Tim Brown and featuring the live music ensemble orchestra of Mother Falcon.

Tickets $15 - $20. Guaranteed reserve $25. Thursdays pay what you can. Group and student discounts. www.citytheatreaustin.org

For reservations, call 512-524-2870 or e-mail info@citytheatreaustin.org.

The City Theatre, 3823 Airport Blvd. Suite D. – east corner of Airport Blvd. and 38½ Street.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .