Auditions in Austin for The Gospel at Colonus, Zach Theatre, December 10 & 11, 2013

ZACH Theatre announces local auditions for selected Principal Roles, and an ensemble of 30 for Chorus and Dancers in THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS on Tuesday and Wednesday December 10th and 11th between 6:00pm and 11:00pm in ZACH’s Nowlin Rehearsal Studio at 1426 Toomey Road. Callbacks will be held during Wednesday’s session as well as on Thursday, December 12th between 8:00pm and 11:00pm in ZACH’s Kleberg Theater.

The acclaimed ZACH theatrical landmark returns in an all-new production. Based on Sophocles’ Greek myth “Oedipus” and set in a contemporary African-American gospel church service, this soul-stirring event will move and thrill you with electrifying vocals by Austin’s most acclaimed gospel singers. The production is being directed by ZACH’s Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley. The Musical Director of the production is Allen Robertson, and the Choreographer is Christa Torres.

Rehearsals begin February 17th, 2014 and Performances begin April 2nd, 2014 and run through April 27th, 2014 with a possible extension to May 4th, 2014. Performances will be Wednesday through Sundays weekly. ZACH may add performances on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Audition materials will be posted on the website at www.zachtheatre.org/about/auditions for all available roles. Please be prepared with the sides posted for the role for which you would like to be considered.

NOTE: All actors will be considered for all roles.  We are seeking both AEA and non-AEA actors.

AUDITION APPOINTMENT INSTRUCTIONS:  Actors will be seen BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. To schedule an appointment, please send an email with a resume and headshot attached in PDF or Word Document format to auditions@zachtheatre.org. Please indicate in the email the character for which you will be auditioning. All actors should bring a hard copy headshot and resume to the audition.

All singers should prepare an additional gospel song of their choice, and bring sheet music for the accompanist. If you do not have a song you would like to perform, you may sing “Amazing Grace.” Click here to download "Amazing Grace."

For general information about ZACH please visit us at www.zachtheatre.org. All AEA members will be seen, and all non-union members will be seen while appointments slots are available. If you are not able to be seen at this audition, ZACH will make all best efforts to schedule you for a later audition date.

Click to go to CTXLT.com  for full details of roles to be cast and links to sides.

Video: Zach Theatre Profile by Dell.com, November, 2013

Dell produces a high-quality mutual appreciation 3 min. Zach Theatre profile and posts it on the Dell page 'Inspire - Small Businesses with Big Ideas.' Featuring Nat Miller, Education Director, Cate Tucker, Stage Manager, and David Munn, Interactive Art Manager.

Martin Burke Interviewed about his One-Man 'It's A Wonderful Life' at Zach Theatre

Posted at






Freelancer Jacey Little of Houston interviews 'Austin's favorite actor':

Q: For most Americans Frankl Capra's It's A Wonderful Life is a Christmas classic. What was your previous relationship with the film?

Martin Burke: I grew up watching this movie every Christmas. My Mother and Father loved Jimmy Stewart so I was fortunately exposed to all of his classic movies. I honestly love It’s a Wonderful Life. I say that in the play and it’s 100% true.

Read more at artsandculturetx.com . . . .

Opportunity: Web and Digital Media Manager, Zach Theatre, Austin

Just posted at

Employment opportunity: Digital Media Manager, Marketing and Public Relations

The Digital Media Manager works in close partnership with ZACH’s Marketing Director, Art Director, Artistic Director and PR Manager in the creation and placement of web, video and interactive media design for Mainstage productions, Education shows, fundraising, special events and concerts. The Digital Media Manager works with each staff member of ZACH Theatre to achieve the goals set forth in the strategic plan, and to serve the mission of the Theatre.

Minimum Required Experience: Minimum three years experience in web and video design and creation.

Essential Job Functions:

• Video design and editing
• Website (design, maintenance and cross-training), management of Onramp (ZACH’s web provider)
• Email marketing (HTML formatted)
• Management of ZACH’s digital platforms, including a responsive mobile website CMS, and iPhone/Android applications
• Digital displays (projector, lobby monitors, touchscreen application), management of SCALA– custom software that publishes to ZACH’s digital signage displays
• Additional design, build out and animation of the new touchscreen in the Topfer; exploring new capabilities as they emerge and integrating those into ZACH’s digital environments
• Digital advertising (Flash banners), liaising with media buyers
• Work in partnership with ZACH’s PR Manager to place all social media outreach
• Copywriting and editing
• Creating and maintaining a strategic, cross-departmental email calendar with list segmentations
• Managing a budget for website developer contractors, and video and/or animation contractors

Click for additional information at AustinLiveTheatre.com

Auditions for The Cat in the Hat, Zach Theatre, October 23 and 24, 2013

ZACH Theatre announces auditions for Cat in the Hat on Wednesday October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday October 24 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the ZACH Kleberg Theatre located at 1421 W Riverside Drive, Austin, TX 78704. Callbacks are slated for Friday, October 25, 2013.
Dr. Seuss’s classic children’s book comes to life in a wild ride of physical comedy. Sally and her brother are stuck home in the rain, when a Cat comes knocking at the window pane! With mischief and mayhem and laughter galore, bring your students and we know they’ll be shouting for more! This critically acclaimed adaptation was originally produced at the National Theatre of Great Britain.

Looking for six male and female actors ages 18-50 with strong skills in physical theatre. We are seeking non-AEA actors. Actors will be seen by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please click here to sign up online. Please be prepared to read sides from the play which are available on ZACH’s website: www.zachtheatre.org/auditions

All actors should bring a headshot and resume to the audition. For general information about ZACH please visit us at www.zachtheatre.org.

Rehearsals begin on Monday February 2, 2014. The show will run for schools and families in the Kleberg Theatre February 20 through May 4, 2014. The first school performance will be on Thursday February 20 and opening day for the public is Friday, February 21, 2014. Performances will be weekly on Tuesday through Sunday. Actors should audition only if they will have daytime availability in February, March, April, and May. Matinee performances will be at 10 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday. Evening performances will be: Fridays at 6:30 p.m., Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Sundays at 4:30 p.m.


Click to view cast list and descriptions at AustinLiveTheatre.com

Under-30's Happy Hour and Special Pricing for Les Miserables, Zach Theatre, Wednesday,September 25, 2013

 
(Zach Theatre, S. Lamar at Riverside (parking on Riverside and on Toomey Rd, one block south)

presents

'Les Miserables' Happy Hour for Under-30s

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 from 6:45 p.m.
 

We're back! Happy Hour Theatre returns in the gorgeous new Topfer Theatre, but one thing hasn't changed: We're still out to create a night geared towards twenty-somethings that's destined to be a good time! DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING? SINGING THE SONG OF ANGRY MEN? 

No? Must be because you're not sitting next to me. But you could be on Wednesday, September 25, when ZACH is offering discounted $25 tickets to LES MISERABLES for all patrons under 30. Just enter the promo code HAPPYHOUR at the top of the page when you purchase tickets. The show starts at 8 pm, but get there at 6:45 pm to take advantage of some free grub, courtesy of our friends at Toastie's Sub Shop, hobnobbing and of course cheap beer and drink specials. 

After the show, join us in the Serra Skyline Lounge to mingle with the cast! If you are interested in student tickets, we offer $18 rush tickets one hour before curtain at the door. You are still welcome to join the festivities, but, as always, must be 21 to drink. 

This show will likely sell out, so reserve your seat now by using the discount code HAPPYHOUR, calling ZACH's Box Office at 512-476-0541 x1 or stopping by during normal Box Office hours — Monday through Saturday, 12 noon - 7pm. Remember to join our Facebook group to keep tabs on all future Happy Hour Theatre events and join the Facebook event for any updates!

(Click to go to the AustinLiveTheatre front page)

Opportunity: Zach Needs Costume Stitchers for 'Les Miserables'

Overhire stitchers are needed for LES MISERABLES in the ZACH costume shop. Many stitchers are needed to help with alterations for large cast in period costumes. There is work for all skill levels, and stitchers usually work Monday - Friday 12:00pm - 6:00pm, but we can work around various schedules. Depending on skill level, hourly pay is available and volunteers are much appreciated. If you're interested, please contact Blair Hurry at bhurry@zachtheatre.org.

Technical & Staff Employment Opportunities at Zach Theatre, Austin

Listings just mentioned via Twitter. Click job title to go to the Zach Theatre website for full job descriptions and qualifications required.

 
Employment & Internships

ZACH is currently accepting applications for positions in the following Departments:

Development

• Institutional Giving Manager
• Special Events Manager

Marketing

• Graphic Artist
• Marketing Associate
• Public Relations Manager

Patron Services

• Food and Beverage Manager

Production

• Technical Director
• Stage Operations Manager
• Assistant Technical Director for Education
• Theatrical Video Technician

SALT AND PEPPER by José Cruz González, Zach Theatre, September 27 - November 2, 2013

shows for families
presents

Salt and Pepper
By José Cruz González
(Ages 7 and up)
September 27-November 2, 2013
on ZACH's Whisenhunt Stage

Friday, September 27 at 7 p.m. • Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Click to purchase tickets for the family series

This bilingual play celebrates the bonds of family and friendship. Salt is a boy whose family has a secret—his grandfather cannot read or write. When Salt befriends Pepper, her love of books sparks his interest in the world of words. Then, a mysterious box of postcards sheds light on Salt’s family!

One Night with Janis Joplin, Zach Theatre, July 10 - August 28, 2013

 
by Michael Meigs

The Zach Theatre has franchised Randy Johnson's concert show, dosing it with lively Joplin imitator Kacee Clanton from LA, top-quality local talent, and a high wall projected full of Colin Lowry's CGI. Clanton and the back-up band deliver some spot-on covers of Pearl's most famous numbers. It's a thumping, thrumming night of thrills, not so cheap, a mostly mindless celebration of the highs delivered to us by that gifted misfit from Port Arthur.

The evening's "crank up the WayBack machine, Sherman!" presentation masquerades as an evening's concert by Janis Joplin, undated but floating in the space-time continuum just days before she died in October, 1970. That's close to 43 years ago, so the baby boomers and curious younger crowds are ripe for a retrospective of the untidy whitegirl blues singer. Unlike the 2001 musical Love, Janis, and the scarcely disguised film biopic with Bette Middler The Rose, this feel-good evening gives you very little about Janis's life. Yes, author Randy Johnson has pasted together a rambling commentary from the star, apparently lifted from interviews and perhaps concert footage, but it's sketchy, sometimes misleading, and, as a concept, outright deceptive.

Joplin was needy, neurotic, a binge alcoholic and a heroin addict who struggled unsuccessfully to get clean. In this evening Clanton swigs dutifully from time to time from a Southern Comfort bottle, but there's not a word about the drug habit that killed Joplin when her dealer provided unexpectedly higher-grade heroin. Johnson gives us, with the blessing of the Joplin estate, only the thrill and the yearning, Joplin's declarations of love to the audience and her declarations that only feeling is important. The shallow and fragmented texts make her sound simple minded, almost infantile.

Tiffany Mann, Kaycee Clanton (photo: Kirk R. Tuck)

With the magic of theatre, Johnson splices into the concert evening a series of musical vignettes to present the blues influences that helped shape Joplin's style and choice of music: Odetta, Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Motown girl groups, Arethra Franklin and others. These interludes lift the show free of predictable hippie white rock.

Tiffany Mann is the generic 'blues singer' in these flights, and folks, she just blows the white girl away. Her pure voice, power, classical training and blues ability to get down are worth the entire price of the ticket: the pure eerie soprano of 'Summertime' from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess; Nina Simone's stark, still Today I Sing the Blues in which she holds our hearts in the palm of her hand and then tears them apart while Lowry projects the silent passage of a luminous moon through the starry sky; and her Aretha Franklin number that had the energy and charisma to pull down the house. (The joint appearance of Joplin and Franklin may be wishful thinking; Joplin appeared at Madison Square Garden once with Tina Turner. Perhaps Turner wasn't in the mood to license that scene, or perhaps Mann's squared-off, robust figure didn't fit Turner's slim, leggy profile.)

(photo: Kirk R. Tuck)

Some 'disambiguation': One Night with Janis Joplin is indeed scheduled to open on Broadway, at the Lyceum Theatre, with previews from September 20 and the formal run to start on October 10. But that's not this production or this cast. Johnson's patchwork premiered in Portland in summer, 2011, then played in Cleveland in late 2012 (where understudy Mary Bridget Davies replaced the star during previews and won the area award for best performance by an actress in a musical). Davies and the principal company played Pasadena in the spring, Milwaukee in May, and are now rocking the Arena Stage in Washington DC before traveling on to Broadway. The San Jose Rep is running another production this September.

One Night with Janis is fun, even if it takes you to a mythic 1970 that couldn't have existed. That backup band has got the hair, for example, but none of the hungry look; they're chunky Texas beer-drinking buddies. And no 1970 concert could have provided the dazzlement of Lowry's imaginative projections, with their wheeling depicitions of flower-power graphics and shapes borrowed from lava lamps. If you'd like to witness and seat-boogie to Joplin's rock in a squeaky-clean re-edit of her world, you'll enjoy Zach's latest offering in the Topfer, which plays Wednesdays - Sundays to August 18. The theatre has scheduled a second performance on each of the last two Sundays, no doubt expecting that folks here in one of Janis's way-stations almost fifty years ago can still be counted to turn out to support a local talent.

EXTRA
Click to view excerpts from the program for One Night with Janis Joplin

Zach Theatre Costume Sale July 27 and 28, 2013

Mark your calendars: ZACH is having a Costume Sale Saturday and Sunday July 27th and 28th in the Whisenhunt Theatre (1510 Toomey Road - click for map)

The sale is open from 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. to local vendors, buyers, owners of vintage or retro clothing stores, educational organizations, colleges, costume shops and theatrical companies. The sale opens to the public at 10 a.m. Happy shopping!

Theatre Bars in Austin -- an essay by Robert Faires, Austin Chronicle

Robert Faires looks at selling alcohol at the Vortex Repertory, the Zach Theatre and Fusebox Festival







Drama & Tonic

Why Austin theatres are adding mixed drinks to the mix, offstage and on


By Robert Faires, Fri., July 5, 2013

"What'll you have?"


Used to be a simple enough question to answer at a local playhouse – I mean, if you had a thirst for an adult beverage, what were your options besides a can of Lone Star or whatever jug wine was cheapest at H-E-B that week? Now, though, you look behind the bar – not a concessions counter but a bona fide bar – and you face a range of lagers, ales, and varietals, and what's that lining the shelves with them? Liquor? Sure enough, enough vodkas and gins and bourbons and tequilas to drown the cast of Cats. Maybe you'd write this off as just another sign of the ritzification of Austin – the ousting of the cheap and casual (Pearl, Liberty Lunch) for the pricey and hipsterish (craft cocktails, SoCo) – but you're at one of the established indie theatres on the Eastside.

In March, the Vortex – yes, the home to all those ritual-theatre spectacles and homegrown musicals about fairy-tale heroines, goddesses, and elementals – obtained a liquor license for its in-house lounge, the Butterfly Bar, and now you can sip a mojito or martini with your next cyberopera. Theatre founder and Producing Artistic Director Bonnie Cullum has been working toward this for several years, steadily upgrading what was originally a bare-bones lobby area into a cozy venue for enjoying libations. The idea was to create a place where patrons might arrive early enough to have a few drinks before the show or stick around afterward instead of going somewhere else. If they liked it well enough, they might even show up on nights when there wasn't a play, just to wet their whistle. "Through the years, the challenge when people finish the show is always 'Where are we gonna go now?'" says Cullum. "If they could stay here, and the actors and audience could intersect and be able to talk about the show, and some of the people come in from Salvage Vanguard and some of the restaurants on Manor Road when they close, plus the neighbors, then it starts to be this great cross-section of people."

The plan appears to be working. Cullum reports a steady increase in business over the past year, such that the Butterfly now sees action all week long. "We're looking at this year's budget being double what it was two years ago, and that's primarily because of the bar," she says. "Now we have a barback every night, because it's that busy."


And with the bar part of the theatre, when the bar does well, so does the Vortex. "It's not like we're making a ton of money [from the bar]," Cullum allows, "but if it's enough to help support the infrastructure and pay the bills, then the overhead on the building doesn't have to come out of the box-office revenue."

Read more at the Austin Chronicle. . . .

Zach Theatre auditioning for male Latino actor aged 45-70 for 'Salt and Pepper,' July 9, 2013

ZACH Theatre announces auditions for Salt and Pepper on Tuesday July 9 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. in the ZACH Whisenhunt Classroom Studio located at 15426 Toomey Road.

Seeking one male Latino actor aged 45-70 for the role of the Old Man for this bilingual play about the effect of illiteracy on families. We hope to cast actors who are Spanish speakers. We are seeking non-AEA actors.

Salt and Pepper is a bilingual production, presented in English and Spanish, that explores the burden of illiteracy and the bonds of family and friendship. Salt is a boy whose family has a secret. His grandfather can’t read or write, and the Old Man’s shame and silence make life hard on the two grandsons in his care. When Salt becomes friends with Pepper, her love of books sparks his own interest in the world of words. Together, they discover a mysterious box of postcards that reveal the truth about his family’s past and leads them toward a more hopeful future. For ages 7 and up.

Rehearsals begin on Thursday August 29, 2013. The show will run for schools and families in the Whisenhunt Theatre September 26 – November 2, 2013. Rehearsals TBA, but tentative schedule includes Monday – Friday evenings and Saturday mornings.

The first school performance will be on Thursday September 26, 2013 and opening day is Friday, September 27, 2013. Performances will be Tuesdays through Saturdays weekly with the final performance on Saturday November, 2013. Actors should audition only if they will have daytime availability in September, October, and November. Matinee performances will be at 10 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

Actors will perform a one minute monologue and will be seen by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please e-mail Nat Miller at nmiller@zachtheatre.org All actors should bring a headshot and resume to the audition. For general information about ZACH please visit us at www.zachtheatre.org.

Impact Austin Grants $100,000 to Zach Theatre Education Programs

ZACH Theatre has been awarded a $100,000 grant from Impact Austin — a nonprofit organization that pools annual donations from members and gives grants to local, worthy causes selected by its members — to fund the expansion of ZACH’s Arts Across the Curriculum program.

Impact Austin will hold an award presentation for ZACH on Monday, June 17 at noon at the Topfer Theatre’s People’s Plaza, 202 S. Lamar Blvd. at W. Riverside Dr. The presentation is open to the public.

ZACH Theatre’s Arts Across the Curriculum is an arts integration and professional development program that trains teachers to use creative drama and theatre techniques to actively engage students in language arts, science, history, and math curricula.

Impact Austin’s grants are awarded in five focus areas: culture, education, environment, family, and health and wellness. ZACH’s Arts Across the Curriculum program was the grant winner for the culture category, which encompasses programs and projects that cultivate, develop, educate and improve the cultural climate in the Greater Austin area.

For the past two years, ZACH Theatre, with support from partner organizations mindPOP, Austin ISD and The Kennedy Center, has successfully piloted the AAC program in three Title I Austin ISD elementary schools and 15 classrooms. The Impact Austin grant will allow ZACH to expand its AAC program from three Title I schools to 16, from 15 teachers to 60, and from 300 at-risk students to 1,500 over the next two years. The grant will also fund the addition of a dedicated program coordinator, salaries for teaching artists, and an in-depth third-party quantitative and qualitative evaluation conducted by UT to measure the effectiveness of the program so it can further be refined and expanded.

Click to read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com

Employment Opportunities at Zach Theatre, Austin

Employment & Internships

Zach Theatre is currently accepting applications for the following positions. Click HERE or on subtitles for full job descriptions and requirements at the Zach Theatre website.

Associate Artistic Director -- passionate early-career director will be skilled as a director and choreographer, with an emphasis in musical theatre, and experience directing plays. B.A. in Theatre,minimum of 3 years in a leadership capacity directing, choreographing and producing theatre, with experience working on the artistic staff of a regional theatre preferred

Special Events Manager -- Leadership responsibility for the logistical execution of and the fundraising goals associated with all of ZACH’s development related special events, including the annual gala (Red, Hot, & Soul) and Fall Benefit. Bachelor's degree, 5 - 10 years experience.

Food and Beverage Manager -- Manage and oversee the entire theatre company’s food and beverage operations, including but not limited to the financial performance, product production, inventory, personnel, sales, and guest relations as they pertain to the bars. High school diploma, bachelor's degree, three years of experience as a manager in the food and beverage service industry

Education Technical Director -- In charge of the execution of Scenery, Properties and Lights for Family Series, other Education productions and class presentations. Secondary responsibilities include serving as an ATD/Draftsman for Mainstage productions--the ability to draft using AutoCAD is essential for this position. Bachelor's degree in technical theatre, 3 years of theatre experience

Theatrical Video Technician -- now accepting resumes for Theatrical Video Technicians for overhire and contract projects. If you are interested, please send your resume and portfolio.

Harvey by Mary Chase, Zach Theatre, Topfer Theatre, May 15 - June 16, 2013

Martin Burke (image: Kirk R. Tuck)

by Christine Mendez


Harvey by Mary Chase at the Zach Theatre, directed by Dave Steakley, is a laughter-inducing good time. It centers around Elwood P. Dowd , a charming, generous and altogether very pleasant man who happens to have an invisible six-foot rabbit named Harvey as his best friend. 

 Martin Burke’s comic performance is flawless, once again. His subtle gestures and affably earnest conversations with Harvey have you almost seeing the giant white rabbit yourself! Burke portrays Elwood’s genuinely friendly without out a single false note.

Elwood’s sister (Lauren Lane) and her daughter Myrtle Mae (Erin Barlow) have spent years of hiding the invisible and unseemly Harvey from society, and they decide the time has come to commit Elwood to a sanitarium. A mix-up confines the wrong person, and a happily unaware Elwood continues on his pleasant way with a smile in place.

Lauren Lane (image: Kirk R. Tuck)

Lane and Barlow as mother and daughter duo have you feeling the shame and hilarity of the situation simultaneously. Lauren Lane’s predicaments had the audience laughing all evening long – so much so that at times one had to strain to hear the dialogue. A week of preview performances should have been sufficient to adjust the timing – but perhaps the audience for the official opening night was particularly exuberant. I wished the ladies would have another beat before delivering their lines, but they definitely succeeded in keeping us amused.

Liz Beckham, Martin Burke, Jacob Trussell (image: Kirk R.Tuck)

Elwood’s gentle courtesy makes Nurse Kelly (Liz Beckham) feel appreciated and cherished even when the man she has her eyes set on, Dr. Sanderson (Jacob Trussell), treats her poorly. Elwood’s unwavering chivalry is refreshing, disarming and disconcerting to the other characters.

The Pulitzer-Prize-winning play from 1945, familiar to many from the Jimmy Stewart movie, poses a still relevant question about delusions, social propriety and responsibility. Is it right to lock up a friendly, generous and good-natured man who is harmlessly out of contact with reality as we conceive it? What’s the danger to us if he imagines he has a giant invisible rabbit as companion and best friend? People reject behavior they do not understand, so they instinctively move to counter it and exclude Elwood, even though he’s charismatic and kind.

Harvey the rabbit remains invisible, but his presence is palpable and apparent in the set design by Michelle Ney. Rabbit figures are to be found littered throughout the set. I was pleasantly surprised to detect a few rabbits in portraits on the walls of the sets, and I spent much of the intermission trying to find them all. The revolving stage was a quick and fun way to change between the two sets. The contrast between the warm library and the cold, almost empty environment of the sanitarium was stark – but it had no effect on the effervescent Elwood.

I recommend that you hop over to Zach Theatre to catch this performance of Harvey before he disappears!

Mad Beat Hip & Gone by Steven Dietz, Zach Theatre, April 3 - 28, 2013

by Michael Meigs

At first I was disconcerted by the time-line.


Playwright-director Steven Dietz places his creations the Nebraska buddies Danny and Rich in 1949 and engineers an encounter with beat adventurers Jack Kerouac and Neil Cassady. We don't see it; as in ancient Greek theatre that event is reported to us, endowing it with distant mystery and epic sense.



But in the opening scenes of Mad Beat Hip & Gone, suddenly Jacob Trussell as Danny is ranting center stage in full Beat style, declaiming verse that has no rhyme, not much reason, a rush of disconnected jagged images. Now how did this smalltown boy start channeling the fullblown Kerouac style, when On the Road wasn't published until 1951?


But I got over that. Dietz made it clear before too long that he was taking us to fantasy land, where his two protagonists weren't really tracking or channeling the beats; they were engaged in their own shambolic adolescent plunge toward adulthood. It takes the entire first act to get Danny and his gregariously goofy buddy Rich (Jon Cook) into the front seat of the sedan that's going to be their literary vehicle.



 
They don't have much help growing up in that first act. Danny's father disappeared long ago, although Rick Roemer regularly appears in that role, always ineptly tangled up in something or other. No adult help there; he's long gone, another fantasy figure, wearing a suit but walking gnomically barefoot or appearing as a traveling salesman, always present but always absent. 


 Babs George as Danny's mom is equally unhelpful, a sort of spiritual weather vane spinning merrily in the winds of her own cheerfully unapologetic irresponsibility.


And The Girl -- doesn't every coming-of-age fable need A Girl? -- dominates the second act. First encountered in the company of Jack and Neal, Erin Barlow as Honey becomes real for us after the intermission when our protagonists, too, get to the land of dreams in San Francisco. Pale, hip, distracted, a beat hanger-on, she's with us just long enough to drive our boys wild and then to disappear into the fog of the Golden Gate. Then they learn that yet another jumper has thrown herself from that span down into the void.


Topaz McGarrigle hangs about the stage during much of this, working his melodious saxophone.

Read more and view images at AustinLiveTheatre.com

HARVEY by Mary Chase, Zach Theatre, May 15 - June 16, 2013

(Zach Theatre, S. Lamar at Riverside (parking on Riverside and on Toomey Rd, one block south),


HARVEY

by MARY CHASE
directed by DAVE STEAKLEY
featuring MARTIN BURKE and LAUREN LANE

Previews May 15-22 - Champagne Opening and Press Night is Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m., followed by a reception with the stars of show.

LGBT Wilde Party with pre-show mixer is Thursday, May 16. 

Performances continue Wednesdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. through June 16, 2013.

To order tickets call 512-476-0541 ext. 1 or visit www.zachtheatre.org. Tickets range from $25-$65. 
Student Rush Tickets: $18 one hour before showtime (with valid ID).

 ZACH’s full bar featuring signature cocktails and hors d'oeuvre boxes opens one hour prior to showtime and remains open for one hour post-show.


at ZACH’s new Topfer Theatre, 202 South Lamar Blvd., (corner of Riverside Drive and South Lamar Blvd.)

In this 1945-Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy "Austin's favorite actor" (The Austin Chronicle), Martin Burke stars as Elwood P. Dowd, a happy-go-lucky chap with a kind word for everyone he meets, especially his invisible best friend, a six-foot tall rabbit named "Harvey." When Elwood's social-climbing sister decides to have him committed, this delightful play embarks on a madcap discovery that is by turns hilarious and endearing. Maybe our dreams are more important than we ever imagined.


ZACH’s Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley says: “Martin Burke and the role of Elwood in HARVEY is a marriage made in heaven. Martin’s charm, ability to make us see Harvey as a fully-realized ‘pooka’, and gift for comedy will be a large amount of fun for all of us. Martin is joined by actress Lauren Lane, who is such a gifted interpreter of physical comedy, which makes her a natural for this project. This Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Mary Chase, as funny as it is, was also her indictment of McCarthyism in telling the story of the easy-going dreamer with a vivid imagination who is pitted against those who want him to conform to an accepted version of reality. I couldn’t help but think about local First Amendment hero John Henry Faulk when I read this play. John Henry was Karen Kuykendall’s uncle, which makes this show very appropriate to this particular inaugural season on the Karen Kuykendall stage.”

ZACH’s production of HARVEY features an all-star cast:  

MARTIN BURKE as Elwood P. Dowd, LAUREN LANE as Veta Louise Simmons, ERIN BARLOW as Myrtle Mae Simmons, LIZ BECKHAM as Ruth Kelly, R.N., DAVID JARROTT as Judge Omar Gaffney, FRITZ KETCHUM as Betty Chumley, SCOTTY ROBERTS as E.J. Lofgren, MICHAEL STUART as William R. Chumley, M.D., VICTOR STEELE as Duane Wilson, JACOB TRUSSELL as Lyman Sanderson, M.D, and M.J. VAN DIVIER as Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet

Scenic Design by MICHELLE NEY · Lighting Design by MATT WEBB · Costume Design by SUSAN BRANCH TOWNE · Sound Design by CRAIG BROCK · Properties Design by JUSTIN COX · Stage Management by LISA GOERING

ZACH’s production of HARVEY is sponsored by Executive Producers: James Armstrong and Larry Connelly, Carolyn and Marc Seriff, Carla Tyson Photography

Free Balcony Play series in conjunction with HARVEY

The second Balcony Play, to be launched in conjunction with HARVEY, opening May 15, will be a new comedic riff on A Midsummer Night's Dream. All Balcony Plays are FREE and open to the public. Concessions will be available; no tickets or reservations are necessary. See the schedule here: http://www.zachtheatre.org/content/balcony-plays-mad-beat-hip-gone-conversations.


ZACH Theatre is Austin’s leading professional producing theatre, employing more than 600 actors, musicians, and designers annually. Founded in 1932, ZACH is the longest running theatre company in Texas, serving 95,000 adults and youth annually. ZACH creates its own nationally recognized plays and musicals that ignite the imagination, lift the spirit, and engage the community under the proven leadership of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Launching its 80th season in 2012, ZACH continues to expand and engage with Austin, adding the new 420-seat, 32,000-square-foot Topfer Theatre to its performing arts campus, nearly doubling ZACH’s capacity while retaining its hallmark intimate theatre-going experience. Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information.
ZACH Theatre is sponsored in part, by Applied Materials, Austin Catering, Four Hands Home, Holiday Inn-Lady Bird Lake, Kirk Tuck Photography, Marquee Event Group, OnRamp, Austin American-Statesman, KXAN TV 36, and Time Warner Cable; and by grants from Junior League of Austin, The Shubert Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, which believes an investment in the arts is an investment in Austin’s future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.

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Zach Theatre 2013-2014 Season

ZACH is thrilled to announce our second season in the intimate, new Topfer Theatre, which includes a spectacular selection of plays and musicals selected specifically to build on the dynamic and intimate experiences we are enjoying now during our first season. Austin’s finest professional actors will join extraordinary guest artists and nationally acclaimed playwrights for an unforgettable year!

All 6 productions in the 2013-14 subscription series will be staged in the intimate new Topfer Theatre!

• LES MISERABLES – The international musical phenomenon re-envisioned for Austin audiences! Filled with soaring anthems, youthful patriotism and the quest for redemption, revealing the heart of a man who must leave his past behind to fight for life, love and liberty.
  
• A CHRISTMAS STORY, based on the classic 1983 hit film, comes to brilliant life at ZACH in an all new production. Rights are pending for this title and in the event they are not available, ZACH will present an all new musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Both of these productions are a great treat for the whole family to celebrate.
  
• IN THE NEXT ROOM or the vibrator play – The delightful and provocative new comedy by Sarah Ruhl (The Clean House) makes its Austin premiere at ZACH. This funny, intimate and beautiful story has audiences buzzing from coast to coast.
  
• THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS – My favorite theatre experience of all time! A dynamic musical telling the ancient Greek story of Oedipus The King set in a modern day African American church starring your favorite ZACH artists and a 50 member gospel choir. Astonishing!
  
• THE WHO'S TOMMY begins with young Tommy falling down the rabbit hole into a fantasy rock-n-roll landscape where the deaf, dumb and blind kid encounters Uncle Ernie as the Mad Hatter, his mother as the White Queen, Cousin Kevin as the Cheshire Cat, the Acid Queen as the Red Queen, and his doctors Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum.
  
• The 6th subscription play will be announced later this year. Exciting, new developments are in the works for this comedy on our season.

TOO DARN FOSSE, Zach Theatre Performing Arts Students, April 14 - May 5, 2013

(Zach Theatre, S. Lamar at Riverside (parking on Riverside and on Toomey Rd, one block south),

presents

Too Darn Fosse

A Musical Revue

Direction and Choreography by: Jennifer Young Mahlstedt
Guest Choreography by: Robin Lewis
Musical Direction: Ammon Taylor
April 14, 21, 28 and May 5 on ZACH’s Kleberg stage

Click to purchase tickets on-line

ZACH’s Pre-Professional School is proud present Too Darn Fosse! highlighting the famous choreographer, Bob Fosse. Students will be performing numbers in the distinct style of Fosse-dancing, singing and acting his most credited musicals including DAMN YANKEES, KISS ME KATE, CABARET, THE PAJAMA GAME, BIG DEAL and CHICAGO.

Tickets: zachtheatre.org or (512) 476-0541 X1

$10.00 Adults $8.00 Youth

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