Houston Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 12

BWW Review: TOO HEAVY FOR YOUR POCKET Weighs on the Heart at THE ENSEMBLE
by Bryan-Keyth Wilson - February 15, 2019

Within the tapestry of American Drama there a strong list of Civil Rights plays as well as other plays that tackle social injustices, sexism, and sexuality. Holders play holds true to trying times of the early 1960s but his exquisite storytelling and Yale training shined brightly in this Jireh Breon...

BWW Review: THE CARPENTER Hilariously Hammers Its Way into Houstonian's Hearts at the Alley Theatre
by Charlotte Harris - February 09, 2019

Houstonian's own Robert Askins brings to the Alley Theatre the life of THE CARPENTER, which after seeing its performance reminds those seeing it that there is more to Houston than oil and NASA....

BWW Review: TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE at A.D. Players
by Audrey Morabito - February 05, 2019

"Are you trying to be as human as you can be?" Read that again, and ask yourself--Am I trying to be as human as I can be? This is just one of the questions posed in A.D Players' production Tuesdays With Morrie, currently running through February 10th. If you are not already familiar with the well-lo...

BWW Review: WAITRESS Serves What You Would Expect at the Hobby Center
by Katricia Lang - February 01, 2019

Jenna, a small town waitress and genius pie maker, is broke, pregnant, and stuck in an abusive marriage. When she finds out about a baking contest held in a nearby county that offers a $25,000 award, she begins to see her pies as her a ticket out of a dangerous marriage and a pathway to a new life....

BWW Review: WAKEY, WAKEY reveals its soul at Catastrophic Theater
by Alric Davis - January 31, 2019

Catastrophic Theatre joins forces with The University of Houston to present Will Eno's WAKEY, WAKEY....

BWW Review: THE RIVER BRIDE Refashions the Fairy Tale at Stages Repertory Theatre
by Audrey Morabito - January 30, 2019

As a part of Stages Repertory Theatre's 2nd Annual Sin Muros: A Latinx Theatre Festival, Marisela Treviño Orta's The River Bride is composed of an entirely Latinx cast. Orta's play is based on the style of folk tales and the real-life freshwater river dolphins--the "boto".  Her work certainly reads ...

BWW Review: THE SECRETARY Shoots Off at Main Street Theater
by Brett Cullum - January 28, 2019

I realize part of the fun of THE SECRETARY is it never comes down heavily on one side or the other on the gun debate, but that also means I sat there frustrated as I felt there was little point to whipping out pistols and taking on issues....

BWW Review: THE BOOK OF MORMON preaches at Broadway At The Hobby Center
by Brett Cullum - January 17, 2019

It is perversely funny, profane at many points, but in the end shows huge heart and calls for the virtue of love and service to your fellow man. It's not exactly a family-friendly show, but it is one your 16 year-old son would prefer to see over THE SOUND OF MUSIC....

BWW Review: Fortune favors the bold in Kate Hamill's PRIDE & PREJUDICE
by Katricia Lang - December 28, 2018

What can I say about the 4th Wall production of Kate Hamill's PRIDE & PREJUDICE? I dig it....

BWW Review: ELF THE MUSICAL Tickles the Funny Bone at Queensbury Theatre
by Bryan-Keyth Wilson - December 14, 2018

It's December and the holidays are here whether we like it or not. Cue the tinsel, tidings of great joy and the maple syrup. Yes, the maple syrup!...

BWW Review: Theatre Under The Stars' BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a Spectacular Storybook Come to Life
by Audrey Morabito - December 17, 2018

Theatre Under the Stars' BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is the classic storybook tale vibrantly come to life in every aspect. From the captivating scenic design, to the brilliant costuming, to the songs that prompted many to sing along quietly to themselves in the audience, this 'tale as old as time' is a glo...

BWW Review: The Houston Ballet Returns to the Wortham with Stanton Welch's Sumptuous NUTCRACKER
by Gary Laird - December 19, 2018

The Houston Ballet, after a year of touring various Houston venues while awaiting the refurbishment of the flood-damaged Wortham Theatre Center, makes a triumphant return in Stanton Welch's THE NUTCRACKER....

BWW Review: A DRAG CHRISTMAS CAROL lip syncs for its life at Obsidian Theater!
by Brett Cullum - December 07, 2018

This is an irreverent retelling with no apologies about what it is doing.  The performers know this, and camp it up to the level of… well… that drag queen who hosts the whole thing....

BWW Review: FIRST SUBURB at The Catastrophic Theatre is All That and a Bag of Chips
by Pnina Topham - November 20, 2018

The Catastrophic Theatre's production of FIRST SUBURB is utterly relatable and simply unshakable. From the open to the close, the show felt like a hug from an old friend. Set in the 90's, the show actively triggers your sense memory, and immerses audiences into the way-back-when. But like most memor...

BWW Review: {ADJECTIVE}[NOUN] celebrates local talent at Company Onstage
by Brett Cullum - November 15, 2018

The common themes seem to be 4am, animals and their instincts, an obsession with INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, and lots of introspective angst about miscommunication....

BWW Review: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA reigns supreme at Broadway At The Hobby Center
by Brett Cullum - November 12, 2018

Technically the effects still work, and I watched as the shocked younger members of the audience witnessed practical effects to contrast all the CGI they had grown up on. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA still has the same magic three decades later....

BWW Review: All Hail THE WIZ at TUTS
by Bryan-Keyth Wilson - October 27, 2018

Though it's 2018 in Houston, Texas, at the height of the 2018 primary election, but thankfully, there's an escape from the tumultuous political climate where blue and red are the subject. The color of today is green....

BWW Review: THE CHOIR OF MAN at The Grand 1894 Opera House
by Bryan-Keyth Wilson - October 12, 2018

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BWW Review: THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES at Classical Theatre Company- Provides Many Happy Returns
by Charlotte Harris - October 09, 2018

I was fortunate enough to see Houston's Classical Theatre Company present THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, written by Arthur Conan Doyle (Writer of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes novel series). This production of THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, directed by Melissa Flower, was a wonderful curveball t...

BWW Review: Skeleton Crew Revolutionizes the Alley Theatre
by Katricia Lang - October 07, 2018

Today is the last day Dominique Morisseau's SKELETON CREW will run at the Alley Theatre. The play is the final chapter 'The Detroit Project,' a 3-play cycle which includes DETROIT '67 and PARADISE BLUE....

BWW Review: EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL camps out at Obsidian Theater
by Brett Cullum - October 04, 2018

It's basically THE SOUND OF MUSIC set in a cabin and good fun for the entire family! Well…. Addams Family perhaps....

BWW Review: Catastrophic's CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS Is the Most Beautiful Dysfunction You'll Ever See
by Audrey Morabito - October 02, 2018

Pulitzer Prize-Winnng Sam Shepard's CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS displays the lives of the working-class Tate family as they navigate everything from suffocating debt, to teenage crime, to marital distress and back again. Checking the fridge for food (that is never there) is a regular routine-turned-...

BWW Review: LES MISERABLES at the Hobby Center for Performing Arts is a Dream (I Dreamed)
by Pnina Topham - September 27, 2018

No need to bury the lede: this production of LES MISERABLES is the most true-to-Broadway theatrical experience I have ever had outside of the Great White Way. Cameron Mackintosh's subtle updates breathe new life into the classic material, and deliver one of those rarified theatrical moments in which...

BWW Review: Cheers to THE BOOK OF WILL at Main Street Theater!
by Brett Cullum - September 28, 2018

In a way it is like watching a heady special episode of CHEERS set in London in the early 1620s. It seems like a place where everybody would know your name, and in the case of Will they did....

BWW Review: AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Is Your Imagination Personified at A.D. Players
by Audrey Morabito - September 16, 2018

The year is 1872, the setting is London, and the bet was made at exactly 8:55pm for 20,000 pounds. Or, at least that's how our practical, punctual main character Phileas Fogg would describe the scene. Fogg, a logical and calculated gentleman is willing to bet his entire fortune on the latest claim t...