Upcoming: Hats! the musical, Bastrop Opera House, February 11 - 19

Found on-line:

Hats!

Book by Marcia Milgrom Dodge & Anthony Dodge

Directed and Staged by Chester Eitze - Musical Direction by David-Anthony Burger

Tap Choreography by Susan Weems Wendel Additional Material by Rob Bartlett, Lynne Taylor-Corbett & Sharon Vaughn. Songs by Doug Besterman, Susan Birkenhead, Michele Brourman, Pat Bunch, Gretchen Cryer, Anthony Dodge, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Beth Falcone, David Friedman, Kathie Lee Gifford, David Goldsmith, Carol Hall, Henry Krieger, Stephen Lawrence, Melissa Manchester, Amanda McBroom, Pam Tillis & Sharon Vaughn.

Fridays & Saturdays, February 11, 12, 18, 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 13 matinee 2:30 p.m.

General Admission Tickets: $12 Adults; $10 Seniors 60+; $8 Students (High School and College) Active Military and Veterans; $5 all children 14 and under. VIP Reserved seating (all ages) $15 each.

Tickets

Inspired by the stories, experiencesand mission of the
Already a smash hit with audiences and critics across the country, this hilarious and jubilant sensation features a score by some of Broadway's most celebrated songwriters and Grammy®, Golden Globe® and Tony® Award-winners, offering empowerment with integrity, craft, and heart.

A musical comedy Hats! is inspired by the fabulousness of The Red Hat Society. The show is an original musical about a 49.999-year-old woman who reluctantly faces the inevitable BIG five-O birthday until she meets several remarkable women who teach her how to embrace the landmark event with fun, friendship, and sequins.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Easy Theatre's Austin Children's Theatre Festival, February 18 - 20

Found on-line:

Austin Children’s Theatre Festival
February 18-20, 2011
Youth Productions for Families
Dougherty Arts Theater, 1110 Barton Springs Rd., Austin
(program advertising as little as $20)

Includes the following:

As You Like It

By William Shakespeare and Adapted by I.E. Clark
Directed by Engela Edwards
Friday and Saturday, February 18 & 19 at 5:30 p.m.
Dougherty Arts Theater
1110 Barton Springs Rd., Austin, Texas
A glimpse into the Forest of Arden finds teenagers of Shakespeare's play much like those of today. As the characters try to untangle the web they have woven, the excitement in the forest keeps the audience laughing.

45 minutes

Produced by special arrangements with I. E. Clark Publishing

OZ!

Book by Tim Kelly; Music and lyrics by Bill Francoeur
Directed by Engela Edwards
Saturday & Sunday, February 19 & 20, 2011 at 2:30
Dougherty Arts Theater
1110 Barton Springs Rd., Austin, Texas
A dazzling musical based on the L. Frank Baum classic story
This musical is filled with fun and fantasy with a great cast of characters including a real dog.

Engela has produced this show before with an adult cast, and it was a huge hit with both the actors and the audience. In fact it sold out every performance, so purchase your tickets early.

90 minute musical plus intermission

Produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., Englewood, Colorado

The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon

by Don Zolidis
Directed by Engela Edwards
Friday and Saturday, February 18 & 19 at 8 p.m.
Dougherty Arts Theater
1110 Barton Springs Rd., Austin, Texas
EASY Theatre Teen Touring Troupe will recreate the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm in a wild, fast-paced extravaganza. To make it more difficult, they attempt to combine them into one gigantic fable using Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and other stories.

60 minutes

Produced by special arrangements with Playscripts, Inc. www.playscripts.com

Robin Hood

Written and directed by john daniels, jr.
Friday and Saturday, February 18 & 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Robin Hood, the john daniels, jr. version for young actors and their parents for children all ages and their parents. This version of the Sherwood tale is complete with songs, live music, dancing, sword play, archery, and lots of jokes. A fun show for fun crowds. Yikes and away! 45-minutes. Tickets with cash at the door.

Upcoming: Return Engagement of Pruning the Family Tree, Easy Theatre, February 11 -13

Found on-line:

Back in Austin!

Pruning the Family Tree
A Play by Daniel Gordon

Friday, Feb. 11 and Saturday Feb. 12, 2011 at 8 p.m.
Sunday Matinee Feb. 13, 2011 at 2 p.m.
Dougherty Arts Theater 1110 Barton Springs Rd.(click for map)
$20 general admission; $25 VIP seating.

Pruning the Family Tree is a crazy comedy with a twist. In this quirky, clever, and humorous story, three generations of southern women gather for the weekend. Pruning the Family Tree treads the boards between dark comedy and bright wit. It is sometimes poignant, sometimes silly, often surprising, and not to be missed. These amusing characters are expertly and honestly portrayed by four wonderfully-talented, quick-witted, and sharp-tongued actors.

An award-winning play, award-winning actors, a really cute dog, in two intimate 150-seat playhouses, all combine to create a well-anticipated and delightful theater experience. Pruning the Family Tree was a finalist in the Eugene O' Neil Centers National Playwrights Conference and the 2010 Texas Nonprofit Theatres' POPS, and won the Heller Theatre's new play competition.

Lots more info about our Pruning the Family Tree production here.

Upcoming: Vanities, San Pedro Playhouse Cellar, San Antonio, February 4 - March 6

Received directly from the San Pedro Playhouse, San Antonio:

-- presents --

VANITIES

by Jack Heifner

directed by Laurie Dietrich

February 4 through March 6

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

(No matinee on Sunday, February 6.)

San Pedro Playhouse Cellar Theater, 800 West Ashby Place, San Antonio, TX 78212

TICKETS: Adults - $23 with a $3 discount for seniors 60 plus and active military; Students to age 22 with valid ID - $13. A $2 facility/admin fee applies to each ticket. Call 210-733-7258 or visit sanpedroplayhouse.com for tickets.

The comedy Vanities by Jack Heifner opens in the San Pedro Playhouse Cellar Theater on February 4 with weekend performance through March 6. Directed by Laurie Dietrich, the cast includes Heather Kelly, Rainya Mosher and Emily Spicer, all popular leading ladies.

In the early 1960’s, Joanne, Kathy and Mary are vivacious cheerleaders. Five years later, in their college sorority house, they confront their futures with nervous jauntiness. When they reunite briefly in New York in 1974, their lives have diverged and old-time banter rings false. This snapshot-sharp chronicle of the lives of three small town Texas girls is both a bittersweet comedy and a glimpse of the way many of us grew up. Jack Heifner's play captures the spirit of a bygone era as well as the eternal complexities of friendship.

Heifner is the author of more than 25 plays, 17 in publication. He is best known for his play Vanities, which ran for five years in New York becoming one of the longest running plays in off Broadway history. He is also the author of Comfort and Joy; Natural Disasters; Heartbreak; Bargains; Running on Empty; Jumping for Joy; Boy's Play; Home Fires; The Lemon Cookie; Patio / Porches; and other plays produced in New York, Los Angeles and theatres around the country.

See additional image at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Overtime Comedy Hour, Overtime Theatre, San Antonio, February 25 - March 26

Received directly from the Overtime Theatre, San Antonio:

THE OVERTIME COMEDY HOUR

A Prime Time Sketch Comedy Show Starring The Denials!

directed by Scott McDowell

The Overtime Theater, in the Blue Star Complex, 1414 S. Alamo, #103, San Antonio, TX 78210.

February 25 – March 26, 2011. 8 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. No show on Friday, March 4 (First Friday).

Tickets $12 general admission, and $9 for teachers, students, seniors 65+, active military, and SATCO members. Tickets can be purchased online at www.theovertimetheater.net.

Information: www.theovertimetheater.net, theovertimetheater@gmail.com, and (210) 557-7562.

In February-March 2011, the Overtime Theater will stage its first, full-fledged sketch comedy show: The Overtime Comedy Hour, written and performed by The Denials improv comedy troupe. The Overtime Comedy Hour will showcase The Denials’ twisted brand of improv comedy, but in scripted form. The mainstage show will be structured like TV’s “Saturday Night Live,” with every week featuring a different show with new sketches and music. That’s five new shows over five consecutive weekends!

In the words of Denials member Rob Barron: "The Denials - San Antonio's number 3 comedy troupe for 1 year running! - are moving up to the primetime slot at the Overtime Theater! For a short five week run, the Overtime allows the Denials a slightly longer leash as they bring their brand of irreverence to sketch comedy! How could this possibly go wrong? The show involves new material every weekend as well as the Denials’ own style of improv comedy thrown into the mix! When the Denials get ahold of sketch comedy, sketch comedy doesn't stand a chance!"

Writers for The Overtime Comedy Hour: Rob Barron, Michael Burger, Rebecca Coffey, Morgan Scharff, Joshua Thomas, James Venhaus

Performers for The Overtime Comedy Hour: Carl Adair, Dru Barkus, Rob Barron, Lilly Canaria, Cary Farrow, E. J. Fischer, Rigel Nunez, Morgan Scharff, Josh Thomas

As an improv troupe, the Denials have been in existence for two years now and have steadily built a local following. Every Saturday at 10 pm, the players take the stage and entertain with improv comedy games and sometimes longer improv forms that take on classic movies, books, TV shows, and other pop culture. The troupe has grown in the past year, adding new members such as Joshua Thomas, Morgan Scharff, and E. J. Fischer. They attended the free improv workshops that are held by the Denials every week, and soon “graduated” to onstage performances. The Overtime Comedy Hour is the troupe’s first attempt to create a scripted variety show, with some improv mixed in.

Arts Reporting: Digital Theatre Offers New Arabic Theatre for Free

Excerpts from The Guardian newspaper by Lyn Gardner, via ArtsJournal.com:

Theatre needs windows on the world

Gulf Stage gives theatre an invaluable opportunity to look outwards

posted by Lyn Gardner at Guardian.uk, January 31

As we know, nowadays all the world's a stage. [. . . ] Today it's being broadened further, as the British Council launches Gulf Stage, a new project made in association with Digital Theatre, who have previously worked with the Almeida and Young Vic among others. For those of us unable to hop on a plane to research Arab theatre, Gulf Stage allows audiences around the world to access filmed recordings of six productions from young companies hailing from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. All the productions have English subtitles and, unlike Digital Theatre's other productions, will be free to download for the first year.

This project is useful for several reasons. We often talk about the world becoming a smaller place, but too often companies visiting from abroad here find themselves up against restrictive visa rules, and with the British Council sending so much UK theatre abroad, it's good to see them building two-way relationships. Although the UK, and particularly London, now sees a wide range of work from abroad, there are still entire areas of the globe about whose theatre we're ignorant, and which – if it does manage to find its way here – is presented like a piece of cultural exotica. In the past, the only way to get a taste of Arab theatre would be to travel. While these downloads are no substitute for experiencing a live performance, they offer a chance for artists, audiences and producers to make cultural links across geographical borders. In the longer term this online project may have an offline life through many different social media platforms. A Younger Theatre is involved with the project, to try and encourage engagement by young artists and audiences across the world. Maybe, as a result of Gulf Stage, we may see some of this work on our stages or UK companies will forge relationships that lead to collaboration.

Click to read full text of Lyn Gardner's article. . . .

Click 'to view posters for the six Gulf Theatre project productions

Flying by Olga Mukhina, Breaking String Theatre at the Off Center, January 28 - February 19

ALT's first take, for NowPlayingAustin's "A-Team":

Olga Mukhina’s Flying is a fast, dangerous and exhilarating ride.

Graham Schmidt and Breaking String Theatre put audiences up close to the beautiful youth of post-Soviet Russia in this 2004 piece. Olga Mukhin Qa one of those who originated the “New Drama” that came raging into Russia's mid-1990’s. It plays until February 19 at the Off Center, 2211-A Hidalgo Street (behind Joe’s Bakery on 7^th Street).

Heedless, hedonistic and rootless, a gang of six young professionals address one another only by their remarkable nicknames. Snowstorm, Blizzard, Snowflake, Maniac, Orangina and Lenochka strut, talk, preen and play hard. They revolve about one another and thrust themselves through the drab Moscow nights like shooting stars. Director Schmidt, choreographer Adrian Mishler and composer Justin Sherburn give this story a kinetic power that leaves the audience breathless at the end of the first half.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .