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ZACH Theatre in the News
Review: Next to Normal
By Claire Canavan, The Austin American-Statesman
January 27, 2012
ZACH Theatre’s version of "Next to Normal" is a gripping and often very funny ride. The show’s small cast is uniformly sharp. McCall infuses her portrayal of Diana with dry wit. Her voice soars on ballads like "I Miss The Mountains," where Diana laments that her medications allow her to feel nothing. ... (Read more.)
Method to their Madness
By Adam Roberts, The Austin Chronicle
January 27, 2012
(Meredith) McCall describes how the similarly shifting terrain of her character's arc is supported by the evocation of diverse musical genres throughout the show: "I think there's something about the variety of musical styles that takes you on the journey of these manic, a little bit out-of-control moments and then these sort of flat moments and also these terribly sad moments. I find that the music most definitely takes the actor, and I think also the listener, on her ride – which is not what we would call a 'normal' ride." ... (Read more.)
McCall Talks about becoming part of ZACH team
By Claire Canavan, The Austin American-Statesman
January 25, 2012
Since 1989, Meredith McCall has been gracing Austin's stages. She has hammed it up in comedies, tackled the challenges of serious dramas and belted out lyrical melodies in numerous musicals. On a recent Wednesday afternoon, McCall sipped a decaf skim latte sweetened with Splenda at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf during a brief break between her day job at the Texas Department of Public Safety and an evening rehearsal for "Next to Normal," the new musical she's starring in at ZACH Theatre ... (Read more.)
Anna Deavere Smith's LET ME DOWN EASY airs nationally on PBS
January 17, 2012
On Friday, the show that started at ZACH, underwritten by the The Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, aired on PBS (locally KLRU) as part of the nationally broadcast “Great Performances” series ... (Read more.)
Top 10 Notable Theatrics of 2011
By Adam Roberts, The Austin Chronicle
January 6, 2012
Pulitzer-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks' searing glimpse of a family's descent into destruction on the Texas border was heart-wrenchingly moving ... (Read more.)
Exhibitionism: This show offers a gleeful thrill like that long, first drop on a rollercoaster
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
December 30, 2011
First, note the order in this living room: the artfully spaced and angled furniture, the carefully stacked pillows on the floor and large art books on and under the coffee table, the green fruit filling the silver bowl, the white tulips arranged in the crystal vase, the lurid crimson floor with every inch buffed to a reflective sheen. Everything here is so just so. Take all that in, for just as sure as the gun that brother Chekhov brings on in act one will be fired in act three, this order you see when the lights come up on God of Carnage will degenerate into chaos before the lights go down ... (Read more.)
GOD OF CARNAGE by Yasmina Reza, ZACH Theatre
By Anne Boyd, soulciti
December 12, 2011
ZACH Theatre's God of Carnage is a beautiful mess. That's intentional. The set by Michael Raiford is sleekly contemporary with a bold abstract mural inspired by Cy Twombly spread across the back wall. This living room has a stark leather sofa, a Barcelona chair and large pillows in African-style fabrics, all positioned over a striking red floor so highly polished that the characters can probably see themselves in it. Somebody in this family has got money and and a strong sense of design or perhaps has employed a very decided home decorator. ... (Read more.)
Boys Will Be Boys: The Hilarious GOD OF CARNAGE Now Onstage
By Anne Boyd, soulciti
December 12, 2011
God of Carnage, a hilarious play on stage at Zach Scott Theater through January 8, proves it takes a certain amount of truth telling, soul bearing - and sometimes alcohol - to really get to know people. The 11-year-old sons of two New York couples get into a fight because - well because they’re kids. Who knows how these things get started, but the result is one boy knocks the other’s teeth out with a stick. As the play opens, the couples are meeting in the apartment of Veronica and Michael Novak. The Novaks and the Raleighs have come together in a sort of détente, to try and keep the situation with their sons from escalating ... (Read more.)
Deus ex machina: GOD OF CARNAGE at ZACH Theatre
By Alexandra Bonifield, Examiner.com
December 11, 2011
The God of Carnage: live in Austin! Farce on a Molière scale with projectile vomiting and passive aggression of Wagnerian proportion. It’s a vulgar, non-PC comedy with overly civilized ACLU card-carrying bluebloods, "nice people". Tony-winning French playwright Yasmina Reza (Art, 1998) spells it out simple enough for Tea Party hoi polloi to comprehend. For all you reactionary types who have wondered about “The Secret Lives of Liberals”, take some time away from instructing your kids in ritual cross-burning or manly prayer sessions with Texas’ Guvner Goodhair and buzz the Hummer over to the Zachary Scott Theatre on Riverside at Lamar to gawk at this timely side-splitting spectacle. No weapons needed. They make a circular firing squad, dontcha know. ... (Read more.)
Lauren Lane Has Found God
By Brian Scott Lipton, TheaterMania
Lauren Lane has had a long, distinguished career on stage and television, although she will forever be known to millions of TV fans as the acerbic C.C. Babcock on The Nanny. These days, Lane lives far from Hollywood -- in Austin, Texas, where she teaches full-time at Texas State University and works frequently at ZACH Theatre, where she's currently starring as Veronica Novak in Yasmina Reza's award-winning comedy God of Carnage. TheaterMania recently spoke to Lane about the role and her work on The Nanny. ... (Read more.)
Meet the Parents: Review of God of Carnage
By Spike Gillespie, Spike Speaks
The brilliance in this show comes in part from the wonderful physical comedy. But more than anything, it comes in the way playwright Yasmina Reza (note: it was written in French and translated by Christopher Hampton) configures and reconfigures allegiances throughout the piece. One minute the Novaks are a united front. The next, Veronica will say something that Michael finds offensive and he’ll correct her, drawing support for one or the other Raleigh. This happens over and over as couples first concur then wildly disagree in different formations. This is going to be a stretch here, but did you ever see that little stacking magnet game? The metal pieces are shaped like tiny people and you can build them up and up but then they collapse on top of one another and you have to start again? Okay, THAT’S what these interactions reminded me of, people moving toward and away from each other like magnets pushing and pulling depending on which way they’re facing ... (Read more.)
Sticks and stones: ZACH's God of Carnage is a wickedly good comedy of bad manners
By Michael Graupmann, Austin Culture Map
It's not often you get to see civilized adults flipping one another over couches and screaming obscenities in a rum-fueled rage. But in ZACH's latest non-musical production, God of Carnage, no one on stage is spared from the kind of emotional and physical sparring that is typically reserved for the playground or the wrestling ring. In the intimate setting of the tightly restricted Kleberg stage, you'll feel just like a spectator at a sports arena where barbed words are the weapons of choice. ... (Read more.)
Review: 'God of Carnage'
By Cate Blouke, Austin American-Statesman
When it comes to entertainment, not much beats witnessing a full-blown tantrum from a grown up - especially an adult who fancies himself a paradigm of civilized society. Multiply the meltdown by four, and you get Yasmina Reza’s award-winning comedy of manners, “God of Carnage,” which shows us just how funny it can be when parents stop being polite ... (Read more.)
ZACH and Other Theaters Make Austin a Magnet for Talent
By Doug Strassler, BACKSTAGE
Austin, the capital city of the Lone Star State, has plenty going for it. Kiplinger magazine ranked it number one on its "Best Cities 2010" list, and the city is third on CNNMoney.com's roster of "America's Most Recession-Proof Cities." Clearly, Austin is doing something right. It has long been defined by its music scene, which is how it became home to the popular and growing South by Southwest festival. But Austin has emerged as more than just a base for music. In fact, it has become a mecca for theatrical and visual arts as well. So what makes the city such a bastion of creative energy? ... (Read more.)
Prepare to Expect Wonders from ZACH
By Pamela Cosel, KXAN-TV 36
November 9, 2011The longest running theater in Austin embarked on a new chapter in February when ZACH broke ground on an expansion of its performance campus. The new facility, set to open in 2012, is sure to welcome audiences for decades to come ... (Read more.)
Click here to view KXAN's interactive photo gallery "Expect Wonders!"
Construction in Progress: ZACH's Topfer Theatre
By Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
November 9, 2011
Building crews continue hard at work within the Zach Theatre's $22 million venture at Lamar and Riverside. Zach's producing artistic director Dave Steakley and managing director Elisbeth Challener invited press for a tour of the locale yesterday, in company of the architects Arthur W. Andersson and F. Christian Wise. Mort Topfer was there for part of the walk-though. ... (Read more.)
Dramatic unveiling: ZACH previews the progress of their new Topfer Theatre
By Michael Graupmann, CultureMap Austin
November 9, 2011
Dave Steakley is beaming more than usual these days. The Artistic Director of ZACH Theatre is generally a convivial kind of guy, but today, showing off the progress of the new state of the art Topfer Theatre on the ZACH campus on Riverside Drive, he can't help but smile. Set to officially open in September of 2012, construction is now at a point that the first looks at all three floors of the new theater are possible. Hard hats and safety vests in place, members of the media were invited on a site tour led by the smiling Steakley, ZACH Managing Director Elisbeth Challener and architect Arthur Andersson (of Austin architecture team Andersson-Wise) ... (Read more.)
Tour of ZACH's New Topfer Theatre
By Ralph Barrera, Austin American-Statesman
November 9, 2011
The Austin American-Statesman tours ZACH's new Topfer Theatre ... (See gallery.)
Spring Awakening at ZACH: Repressed sexuality set against foot-stomping rock
By Shelley Seale, CultureMap Austin
November 4, 2011
Spring Awakening explores the intimate journey from adolescence to adulthood with unforgettable poignancy and passion, using the book and lyrics of Steven Sater and the music of Duncan Sheik. It covers angst-ridden topics ranging from burgeoning teenage sexuality, sexual abuse and homosexuality to school failure, expulsion and suicide. The setting is repressive Germany in the 1800s, with the clothing and morals of that place in time. In fact, it's based on a controversial German play written by Frank Wedekind in 1892. Yet the period setting and dialogue is completely juxtaposed with the music, which is modern and raw—songs include "The Bitch of Living" and "Totally Fucked," for example. ... (Read more.)
Dave Steakley Tribute at W Austin Hotel & Residences
By Michael Barnes, "Out & About", Austin360.com
October 23, 2011
Twenty years is a long time. Especially for any leader of an Austin arts group. Dave Steakley has served in one or another of ZACH Theatre’s top positions for two decades. I can think of only a couple local leaders who have wracked up more milage with a single major company ... (Read more.)
Arts Review: Spring Awakening at ZACH Theatre
By Elizabeth Cobbe, The Austin Chronicle
October 21, 2011
The magic of this contemporary musical adaptation (book and lyrics by Steven Sater, music by Duncan Sheik) is to follow such a story and deliver the audience at a place of life-affirming understanding ... In this complicated environment, the teenage characters explore their emerging intellect and sexuality, fighting the repression of their elders to accept themselves and their bodies. It's a sexually explicit but tasteful play; more difficult than the scenes of intimacy are the scenes of tragedy. Not every young person can fight his or her way through the minefield of adolescence ... (Read more.)
Spring Awakening, ZACH Theatre
By Hannah Bisewski and Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
October 1, 2011
Spring Awakening won eight of the 2007 Tony awards, including that for best musical, and the powerful production opened by the Zach Theatre last Saturday shows you why. This very contemporary musical adaptation of Franz Wedekind's Spring Awakening has played across Europe, and the U.S. national touring company fielded by Broadway Across America visited Bass Hall for a week in October, 2009. Awakening has now settled in to the Kleberg Stage until November 13 playing an extended Tuesday to Sunday schedule. Zach management clearly expects this one to resound with the Austin public ... (Read more.)
Review: Spring Awakening
By Claire Canavan, Austin360.com
September 26, 2011
ZACH Theatre’s current season-opening production of Spring Awakening captures the energy and heart of the hit show that shocked and exhilarated audiences. Directed with skill by Michael Baron, Spring Awakening will have you dancing in your seat one moment, then hit you like a punch to the gut the next ... (Read more.)
Spring Awakening gives a kick to new ZACH Season
By Claire Canavan, Austin360.com
September 21, 2011
In 2006, Zach Theatre's artistic director, Dave Steakley, sat inside a converted church in New York City, waiting to see the Atlantic Theater Company's off-Broadway production of a new musical called "Spring Awakening." He wasn't disappointed. The energetic rock musical about teenagers felt to Steakley like "a fresh discovery." As a bonus, Steakley was seated rows away from famed musical composer Stephen Sondheim, who he says looked to be having "a spectacular time." ... (Read more.)
Reception and Season Preview at ZACH Theatre
By Michael Barnes, Austin360.com
August 31, 2011
They crowded into the tiny, hot lobby, dreaming of the day when the Topfer Theatre will open next door and ZACH Theatre patrons can mingle in a grown-up theater building. The cramped quarters didn’t dampen the mood for the backers who previewed Zach’s 2011-2012 season after a lively reception and before a buffet dinner. ... (Read more.)
HAIRSPRAY Matinee at ZACH Theatre
By Michael Barnes, Austin360.com
July 26, 2011
I’ve never seen an audience jump to its feet so quickly. It didn’t take a micro-second before the audience rose, almost as one, during the dizzying curtain call for “Hairspray” at Zach Theatre on Sunday. Already, Janis Stinson had earned a partial standing ovation for her rousing rendition of “I Know Where I’ve Been” in the second act. ... (Read more.)
HAIRSPRAY - Arts Review
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
July 22, 2011
Ah, Baltimore – you of the crime-ridden, poverty-stricken, rat-infested streets. Most of us look at you and see just a deteriorating and depressed harbor town. But to Tracy Turnblad, you might as well be the Emerald City. From the instant this appealingly ample Bal'more teen awakes, she's singing your praises, chirping about every rodent, derelict, and flasher with the wide-eyed delight of Dorothy Gale trooping through Oz ... (Read more.)
It's OK to be Fat and/or Black
By Spike Gillespie, Spike Speaks
July 4, 2011
Last week Big Red and I went to see Zach Scott's production of HAIRSPRAY and, as is overwhelmingly the case at Zach, we had a super swell time. I cannot believe it's been 23 years since the original John Waters' movie, HAIRSPRAY, came out. (Dang. I could've sworn I saw that in Austin but I didn't even get to Austin til '91.) I loved loved loved loved the original-- I'm a big JW fan. But I never did get around to seeing the musical film version that came out in 2007, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I went to see the live show ... (Read more.)
Review: Hairspray at ZACH Theatre
By Ralphie Hardesty, Austinist.com
June 28, 2011
This show is all about big numbers, and ZACH delivers. These kids can dance, they can sing and some can do both. Warren Freeman, the ringleader of the whitest, er, Nicest Kids You Know, brings a lot to the show vocally and his ensemble of singers and dancers are amazing. And no one would have minded if Joshua Denning, who has to be the hottest Seaweed J. Stubbs ever, wanted to just dance with the character's friends for a couple hours. The costume designer’s work on Denning’s pants alone is worth the price of a ticket ... (Read more.)
Review: ZACH Theatre's Hairspray
By Claire Christine Spera, The Austin American-Statesman
June 27, 2011
Bigger is better — that’s the motto of “Hairspray,” the 2002 Broadway musical comedy based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name. From opening number “Good Morning, Baltimore” through to the concluding scene’s “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” the audience at Zach Theatre’s production is treated to a visually arresting show with vibrant ‘60s costumes by Susan Branch Towne, a set by Michael Raiford so deliciously colorful you’ll just want to pop the whole thing in your mouth, and engaging acting and singing — not to mention Willa Kaye Warren’s wild wig designs. No hairdo can be too exaggerated, and no amount of hairspray is over the top. Whatever it takes, right? Bring together these production elements in the intimate space of Kleberg Stage and you have a special vantage point on a hilarious musical ... (Read more.)
More Space at the Table: Hairspray Gets Another Helping at ZACH
By Michael Graupmann, austin.culturemap.com
June 27, 2011
What better reason to support ZACH in their capital campaign to construct their state of the art Topfer Theatre that will allow Steakley and crew to really let their fabulous visions run wild? ... (Read more.)
The Book of Grace - Arts Review
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
June 24, 2011
The time when good fences made good neighbors is long past. Nowadays, a good fence does its job by keeping "them" away from "us" – "them," of course, being different, other, alien. That's how Vet breaks it down anyway, and he feels supremely qualified to render such a judgment: He makes his living at a fence, guarding Texas' border with Mexico, and he's good enough at his job to be receiving an award for it. That honor has prompted his wife, Grace, to invite to their home Vet's son from a prior marriage, in hopes that the visit might ease their strained relationship ... (Read more.)
Soulciti Reviews The Book of Grace
By Anne Boyd, soulciti.com
June 22, 2011
I used to say, “Family is what God gives us so we don’t confuse Earth with heaven.” “The Book of Grace” playing at the Zach Scott Theatre through July 10 makes me think I was right. This familial tale written and directed by Pulitzer-Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks is heartbreaking, maddening and very funny, just like the many conflicts we have with our own kinfolk ... (Read more.)
Second Life: Suzan-Lori Parks Turns Director
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
June 17, 2011
A play's first production is unquestionably important. What were simply lines of dialogue on a page now become utterances spoken by characters of flesh and blood. Actions, previously described in words, come alive in space and time, building emotions, story, and drama that now can connect in a very immediate, visceral way with the audience. But a play's second production can be equally important – for the author anyway. Having seen in that initial production how actors shaped the text, how the play's actions cohered into a dramatic arc (or failed to), and how audiences absorbed the story and responded to it, the playwright can use that follow-up production to make adjustments to the script: adding information here, removing information there, clarifying the story, illuminating themes, or just plain making the play better. ... (Read more.)
Review: The Book of Grace
By Claire Canavan, The Austin American-Statesman
June 13, 2011
“Don’t Fence Me In” is a classic cowboy song about freedom. In this song, a fence is something that can trap a person and prevent them from roaming free. But a fence can also be built as protection, as a way to keep people out. Both kinds of fences are at play in The Book of Grace, the newest play from Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks now receiving its Texas premiere at ZACH Theatre. ... (Read more.)
The Book of Grace Explores Family Boundaries, Norms
By Rachel Perlmutter, The Daily Texan
June 5, 2011
Grace looks around cautiously to ensure that she is alone. Crouching to the floor, she gently peels back the corner of a rug to reveal a hidden compartment in the floor and pulls her book out. She begins to read excerpts to an imaginary audience. Saturday marked the opening night of “The Book of Grace” at ZACH Theatre. Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks, the play centers around familial boundary and control issues, told through the main character’s self-written books. ... (Read more.)
Suzan-Lori Parks Directs Revision of Her Tense Drama The Book of Grace
By Adam Hetrick, Playbill.com
June 4, 2011
Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks' explosive family drama The Book of Grace, about a diner waitress who journals her hopes and dreams, officially opens under the direction of the playwright June 4 at the ZACH Theatre in Austin, TX. The Texas premiere of the three-person drama represents a revised version of the play, which first premiered at the Public Theater Off-Broadway in spring 2010. The Zach production will ultimately represent the published edition of the play ... (Read more.)
Ties to Austin theater lure playwright to direct
By Deborah Martin, San Antonio Express-News
May 31, 2011
AUSTIN - The Book of Grace, Suzan-Lori Parks' latest play, premiered in New York just over a year ago. The thing is, "the play wasn't cooked yet," Parks said. Dave Steakley, producing artistic director of Austin's ZACH Theatre, went to New York to see it, and he thought the production wasn't quite what it could be. Steakley had an insider's perspective: ZACH had staged a reading of Grace a few months before the New York premiere. "We had such a strong, visceral reaction to the piece," Steakley said. "The story is so Texan and speaks to things that are important in this community. Then "Suzan-Lori had her production at the Public (Theater), and I was really surprised because it didn't match the experience I'd had in our room." ... (Read more.)
Taking Center Stage
By Tom Terkel, NSIDE ATX
May 2011
Austin’s outstanding quality of life really boils down to two things: its nature and its culture. Along the beautiful shores of Lady Bird Lake, you can experience both Austin’s natural beauty and its vibrant cultural achievements with the emergence of ZACH’s new, intimate Topfer Theatre, which will make the experience even richer ... (Read more.)
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY at ZACH -- Go, Go, Go!!
By Spike Gillespie, Spike Speaks
May 14, 2011
Beyond Letts’ excellent writing, Steakley’s superb directing and a fabulous set by Michael Raiford, the success of ZACH’s Osage County comes most directly from a baker’s dozen cast. Good lord this town is crawling with talent and I was delighted going in, knowing that I’d get to see Lauren Lane and Lana Dieterich perform together. As I’ve said before, Lane (who is a friend and who I was lucky enough to share the stage with in The Dick Monologues) could read the fucking phone book and I’d pay to see it. She is a stunning, stunning, STUNNING actress. As for Dieterich—though I’d only seen her perform twice before (in ZACH’s Our Town and HPT’s VIGIL) that was enough to sell me on her endless talent. I am in love with that woman. ... (Read more.)
Actress with Disability Scores Big Role
By Jim Swift, KXAN
May 13, 2011
When fans and supporters wish actors good luck in a play, they traditionally say, "Break a leg." Long time actress Lana Dieterich has a leg up on the rest of the theatre world in that department. "I contracted infantile paralysis, probably when I was six months old," said Dieterich. "But they didn't even know that that's what I had because I wasn't old enough to tell them. All I did was cry and the doctor thought that I was crying because of teething." ... (Read more.)
ZACH Theatre makes you feel right at home with Tracy Letts' epic family drama
By Avimaan Syam, The Austin Chronicle
April 22, 2011
What makes August truly epic is that it attempts to fill the whole canvas, so to speak. The crux of the tale is a family coming together over its elderly patriarch's sudden disappearance, though its coming together is more a train wreck than anything else. But August refuses to just be about motherhood or sisterhood or generation gaps, or to be always comedic or dramatic. It's all these things at different times. At times the play devolves into stilted, ugly bitching. Sometimes there's an almost Tuna-esque back and forth between characters. There are more than a few uncomfortable scenes but some very endearing scenes and also some random meta musings ... you get the idea. Like a family, August isn't perfect. Like a family, August isn't always what you want or expect. But it (definitely) doesn't shy away from the little and big moments that constitute our lives. It shows the strange, the sweet, the sick ... (Read more.)
Review: August: Osage County at ZACH Theatre
By Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
April 13, 2011
Director Dave Steakley proves that with a first-rate cast and a gifted scenic designer he can turn Tracey Letts' savage misanthropy into a mesmerizing evening in the theatre. That's no modest achievement ... (Read more.)
Review: August: Osage County at ZACH Theatre
By Georgia Young, Austinist.com
April 6, 2011
Director Dave Steakley has put together a strong cast, and the women in particular command attention. From Corley Pillsbury as the rebellious 14-year-old, Jean, who sinks down onto her grandmother's couch in a perfect expression of teenage despair to Janelle Buchanan, whose Mattie Fae is that kind of terrifying middle-aged woman who could make a brain surgeon feel like a loser with one withering look, Osage's ladies are complex, fascinating characters. You never know when one is going to smash a plate, boogie to an old Clapton record, or spit out another awful truth. The men hold their own, too, and Michael Stuart in particular moved me as Mattie Fae's kindhearted, browbeaten husband Charlie ... (Read more.)
ZACH Theatre Receives Makeover
Fox 7 News
March 25, 2011
ZACH Theatre in South Austin is celebrating a milestone with the official groundbreaking of its new 26,000 square-foot , state-of-the-art Topfer Theatre. The new space will be the centerpiece of a new performance campus on the shores of Lady Bird Lake. With 420 seats, the Topfer Theatre will double the seating capacity at Zach while retaining the intimate theatre-going experience for which Zach is known. With more seats, more patrons will experience original works at each performance. Dave Streakley, Zach Theatre's artistic director, and Elisabeth Challener, managing director, stopped by Good Day to talk about the expansion ... (Watch video.)
Red Hot Patriot: A Review
By William Holston, Texas Observer
March 11, 2011
We just passed the 4th anniversary of the death of Molly Ivins. That’s still hard to believe. I’ve followed Molly’s writing from when she was a columnist for the now defunct Dallas Times Herald. I only met her once, when we attended a Rabble Rouser’s Roundup several years ago. Molly was walking through the crowd and thanking us for supporting the Texas Observer. I count myself lucky that I got to meet her once. My wife and I drove down from Dallas, just to attend the event. Last weekend, my wife Jill and I once again drove down from Dallas for the day to attend the new play, “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” ... (Read more.)
Celebrity Barbara Chisholm
By Christopher Carbone, LStyleGStyle
March 7, 2011
When Barbara Chisholm lets out one of her big, deep-throated laughs, you know you’re in the presence of someone in love with her craft. The actress, theater enthusiast and 25-year Austinite, starring in Red Hot Patriot, a one-woman show at Zach Scott Theatre that pays glorious tribute to the irreverent journalist Molly Ivins, is a natural fit for the role. She took time out to speak with us about acting and why she loves the Capital City. (Read more.)
The Artist's Life
By Christopher Carbone, LStyleGStyle
March 7, 2011
This one-time band geek works his magic onstage and off to create theatrical experiences that immerse audiences in other worlds and, in the process, open their minds. (Read more.)
Review: Steven Dietz's FICTION
By Claire Canavan, The Austin American-Statesman
February 18, 2011
The ensemble is tight and focused. [Meredith] McCall plays Linda as bright and ironic, with vulnerable undertones. As Michael, [Robert] Gomes is delightfully pompous, constantly using big words and reveling in his own ability to pass off lines from other writers as his own. FICTION keeps the audience on its toes. It’s quick, wordy, and full of literary allusions and memorable one-liners. The play’s simple and minimalistic staging allows the audience to keep on questioning what is real and what is imagined. (Read more.)
Molly Ivins Returns from the Dead
By Jim Swift, KXAN
February 18, 2011
Molly Ivins was a barbed-tongue, foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, muck-raking journalist and columnist with a strong social conscience, a dedication to public service, an empathy with the powerless and an optimism unsupported by every bit of her vast experience in this world. And she was not alone. (Read more.)
Molly Ivins, A 'Red Hot Patriot'
By Wade Goodwyn, NPR
February 17, 2011
During the 1970s, Molly Ivins and the Texas Legislature were a match made in heaven. At the time, Texas politics were still dominated by big oil money and becoming speaker of the House was a seemingly irresistible invitation to stick your hand in the cookie jar. (Read more.)
ZACH Theatre: Ground seeded for new 420-seat playhouse
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
February 11, 2011
Last week's winter blast did its best to put a chill on the Groundhog Day groundbreaking ceremony for Zach Theatre's new 420-seat stage. The show folk at this playhouse, however, would not be deterred from marking the momentous occasion. When it became clear that subfreezing temperatures would persist all day, they moved the event indoors, and when rolling blackouts left the Kleberg Stage in the dark just an hour before the ceremony, they shifted it to the Nowlin Rehearsal Hall, kept bright and toasty thanks to a generator obtained early that morning by resourceful Director of Production Paul Flint ... (Read more.)
Dramatic Turn: Actress Meredith McCall is about much more than musicals
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
February 11, 2011
She stares into the spotlight with more brass than The Music Man's much-ballyhooed 76 trombones. And there's more than a trace of the bright, clarion sound of those horns in her voice as this resolute performer, in the guise of a perennially sozzled Jazz Age socialite, musically urges the audience before her to "Keep your eyeball on the highball in your hand." The one in hers, it's worth noting, is brandished much like the sword of Teddy Roosevelt leading the charge up San Juan Hill, and she builds this anthem to the well-lubricated life, to getting pickled, pie-eyed, and blotto, with such brio that you'd gladly follow her to a saloon at the ends of the Earth ... (Read more.)
Out & About: ZACH Theatre Groundbreaking Party
By Michael Barnes, The Austin American-Statesman
February 4, 2011
It was a party. And a show. Still, there was serious business to take care of at the Zach Theatre Groundbreaking on Wednesday. Performers sang. Speakers spoke. Guests snacked and chatted into the afternoon, not wanting the abandon the shared good feelings. The ceremony, moved from the outdoor location for the planned Topfer Theatre to the Kleberg Stage because of cold, then from there to the Nowlin Rehearsal Studio because of rolling blackouts, could not be shut down ... (Read more.)
ZACH Breaks Ground on New 420-Seat Topfer Theatre Complex
By Rob Faubion, KEYE TV
February 4, 2011
Despite the freezing temperatures and rolling blackouts, ZACH Theatre celebrated the ground-breaking of its new Topfer Theatre on February 2nd during a special ceremony attended by more than 200 invited guests - including philanthropists Mort and Bobbi Topfer, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez, City Councilwoman Randi Shade, and Senator Jeff Wentworth. The new state-of-the-art, 420-seat theatre - to be located on the corner of Riverside and South Lamar - will become part of a planned renovation and revitalization of ZACH's performance and theatre education campus that anchors the South Lamar corridor ... (Read more.)
Arts Review: RED HOT PATRIOT
By Avimaan Syam, The Austin Chronicle
February 3, 2011
Home-field advantage isn't a term I normally apply to theatre. Usually a production – even attended by patrons, friends, and theatre folk – must convince its audience that the world, the story, and the characters created are worth caring about. Not so with Zach Theatre's production of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins. This audience was primed not just with a knowledge of Molly Ivins but a love for her. An audience that knew how to react to every ancillary figure projected on screen before Ivins did. An audience all too willing to boo and hiss at "Shrub" – Ivins' nickname for George W. Bush – with as much rancor as Ivins had for him ... (Read more.)
Ground is Broken for ZACH Topfer Theatre
Art on Art Blog
February 3, 2011
Despite temperatures in the 20s, ZACH Theatre in Austin hosted the official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Topfer Theatre, scheduled to open in the fall of 2012. Design plans call for a 26,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art performance campus on the shores of Lady Bird Lake. With 420 seats, the theatre will nearly double capacity at ZACH while retaining the intimate theatre-going experience for which ZACH is known ... (Read more.)
ZACH breaks ground on new theater
By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, The Austin American-Statesman
February 2, 2011
ZACH managing director Elisbeth Challener announced that the project has about $17.3 million in hand for the $22 million goal. More than $10 million comes from a 2006 voter-approved bond package, and about $800,000 is left over from a 1985 bond package. The remaining funds are being raised from private individuals, corporations and foundations. Zach Theatre qualifies for city bond money because it is on city-owned property... (Read more.)
Review: RED HOT PATRIOT: THE KICK-ASS WIT OF MOLLY IVINS
By Claire Canavan, The Austin American-Statesman
January 31, 2011
Like star-crossed lovers, or peanut butter and jelly, Austin and the new play “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” were made for each other ... (Read more.)
Red, Hot and Blue: Barbara Chisholm captures the spirit of Molly Ivins
By Alexandra Bonifield, Theater Jones
January 31, 2011
The simple block letter sign shoved to the front of the desk’s cascade of debris reads Molly Ivins. Frustrated, pissed off, the statuesque woman bemoans her inability to come up with printable words to fill the clean sheet of paper waiting in the carriage. “Sonofabitch,” she exclaims in disgust and hauls herself up to pace the stage like a caged lioness, a Texas-styled Amazon in jeans and red cowboy boots. She’s sharing a vulnerable moment. Molly Ivins with writer’s block? Imagine that ... (Read more.)
Best Beloveds: Molly Ivins' kickass boots are an ideal fit for prized actor Barbara Chisholm
By Amy Smith, The Austin Chronicle
January 28, 2011
ZACH Artistic Director Dave Steakley was certain that he had the actor to fill Ivins' boots: Barbara Chisholm, a towering figure in her own right, having appeared in almost 50 productions around Austin over the past 25 years with a larger-than-life persona. (Chisholm is also married to Chronicle Arts Editor Robert Faires and has in the past written for our Food and listings sections.) "Almost the instant I began reading Red Hot Patriot, I could clearly see Barbara taking over this role," Steakley explained in an e-mail. "If you want a ballsy actress who is quick-witted and savors the deliciousness of a well-crafted play on words, then Barbara is your gal" ... (Read more.)
Friends of Molly Ivins Gather at ZACH Theatre
By Michael Barnes, The Austin American-Statesman
January 27, 2011
Four years after her death, Molly Ivins is still making friends. They showed up to a party and preview performance of “Red Hot Patriot,” a solo show about her life at ZACH Theatre on Wednesday. Everybody came with a Molly story, usually to do with her brash personality, piercing wit and lifelong pursuit of justice. ... (Read more.)
I Am So Popular: Molly, I Found Your Keys
By Spike Gillespie, Austinist
January 27, 2011
Last month, I got a note from my friend, the amazing actress Barbara Chisholm, who is portraying Molly in the play, Red Hot Patriot: The Kick Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, which just opened at ZACH. Barbara wanted to quiz me about Molly. Knowing she was taking on this monumental task of playing my larger than life friend brought me some relief. I’d so feared the play, worried some outsider would be brought in, thinking I’d feel sick if I saw it and sick if I didn’t. I’m going on Saturday, and I figure it won’t be easy but it will be okay, Molly safe in the hands of Barbara. (It’s also nice to see Kick Ass in the title, as Molly was the first Kick Ass Trophy recipient, an award created to celebrate the end of her first round of chemo.) ... (Read more.)
Ivins Play Finally Makes Its Way Home
By Jean Claire Van Ryzin, The Austin American-Statesman
January 21, 2011
The setting is simple. There's a desk, littered with note pads, papers, pens, books. There's a typewriter an old manual model not seen much outside vintage stores these days. And there's a desktop nameplate that reads "Molly Ivins" the Texas columnist and author with the sharp-tongued wit who made her name skewering the political establishment on behalf of the ordinary citizen.
But, if the staging for "Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins," which opens in its Texas premiere Saturday at Zach Theatre, is pared to an essence, there's that voice: alternately home-spun and intellectual, colloquial and universal ... (Read more.)
Unsinkable Molly
By Michael Hoinski, The New York Times
January 20, 2011
It’s no coincidence that the Texas premiere of the play “Red Hot Patriot,” about the crusading journalist , is opening in Austin in the early weeks of the 82nd legislature session. Ms. Ivins, the slyly funny and brutally honest writer who lived in the state capital for much of her adult life, took joy in delivering jabs to elected officials, most notably in the pages of The Texas Observer. Barbara Chisholm, an Austin actress, plays the title role ... (Read more.)
Top 10 Theatrical Wonders of 2010
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
January 7, 2011
A speakeasy's worth of cocktails couldn't match the intoxicating lift of this spoofy toast to musicals. A dream team of ZACH all-stars – Martin Burke, Jill Blackwood, Meredith McCall, Jamie Goodwin, et al. – masterfully mined comic gold from every line, while the show's open-hearted embrace of the frivolous provided a tender lesson in the worth of guilty pleasures. (Read more.)
Suzan-Lori Parks Takes an Interest in the Everyday
By Claire Canavan, The Austin American-Statesman
December 29, 2010
Once you get Parks to sit down and chat ... she is the kind of person you wouldn’t mind talking to for a very long time, both because of her expansive, creative mind and the way she seems to notice (and appreciate) the tiny details of life ... (Read more.)
By Any Means Necessary: Suzan-Lori Parks Works It
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
December 17, 2010
She sits at a table, sunglasses perched atop her head, one foot serving as a literal footrest for the other, plugs in her ears, eyes on the page, fingers rapping out a little percussion jazz solo with the keys of a cherry-red Olivetti typewriter. Occasionally, the rhythmic clickety-clack drops out while she lifts a pencil to make a change or addition in a notebook. But there are no long stretches of pacing or staring into space – in fact, there’s little in the way of pauses of any kind, save for her to take a sip of tea or unwrap a peppermint or check the amount of time left on the kitchen timer on the table. She’s constantly plugging away … (Read more.)
Review: RENT at ZACH - How Dave Steakley Taught Me to Love a Musical I Used to Not Even Like
By Spike Gillespie, Spike Speaks
October 18, 2010
Yet again, we have further proof that this city is crawling with magnificent talent. RENT is cast marvelously, with strong performances delivered across the board. I think ensemble pieces are such tricky business and performers have to walk that fine line between what surely must be a desire to standout and something more crucial to the show’s success: keeping balance among the group. (Read more.)
Austin Arts Review: RENT
By Barry Pineo, The Austin Chronicle
October 7, 2010
If you've never experienced a Dave Steakley musical, you should experience this one. Few things can match watching a production in which every element comes together to produce a coherent whole. Steakley, Zach's longtime producing artistic director, has both the means and the wherewithal to do exactly that every time he helms a show, and he does it with this hugely popular Jonathan Larson musical inspired by Puccini's opera La Bohème, but instead of a group of starving artists in Paris in the 19th century, we're watching a group of young bohemians in New York City at the turn of the millennium ... (Read more.)
RENT: Zach opens season with meaningful production of one of Broadway's best
By Ryan E. Johnson, examiner.com
October 5, 2010
RENT has been hailed as one of the greatest shows to ever hit the Broadway stage. It won numerous awards, from Drama Desks to Tonys, and was the first musical to ever win the Pulitzer for Best Drama, and its musical numbers have become recognizable the world over. When choosing this show to open their season, Zach Scott Theatre knew they had a lot to contend with, but in the end they produce a polished, emotional production of the Broadway great ... (Read more.)
Rent Raises the Roof in Austin
By Anne Boyd, soulciti.com
September 30, 2010
The Zach Scott Production of “Rent,” playing through November 28 at the Kleberg Stage, proves that New York has little to teach Austin when it comes to turning a musical into a raucous good time. The infectious energy of the cast, comprised of some of the city’s best R&B, Hip hop and Gospel talent, pulls the audience into a world that resembles a part of Austin that doesn’t make any of the annual “best of” lists; a part where people sometimes lack shelter, food, and money ... (Read more.)
METAMORPHOSES at ZACH Theatre
By Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
September 6, 2010
Metamorphoses presents ten stories drawn from Greek mythology, primarily from Ovid's work of that same name, using a free-verse translation by David R. Slavitt. Among them are tales of King Midas (David Christopher, clowning it up as a Texas oilman and then devastated when the golden touch transforms his daughter, Ashley Neves), of the drowned sailor king Ceyx (Aaron Alexander) and his apprehensive bride (Smaranda Ciceu), of Orpheus and Eurydice ( Frederic Winkler and Rachel Wiese), Narcissus (Wesley Scott), and Eros and Psyche (Andy Agne and Sarah Gay) ... (Read more.)
Metamorphoses: An ethereal, mesmerizing journey into the bizarre world of myth and legend
By Ryan Johnson, Examiner.com
August 26, 2010
When watching Metamorphoses, you'll soon see that's it 's unlike anything else you've seen this year. The action happens not only in and around the pool, but also above it, with characters flowing in and out of the action from rings and ribbons which drop from the ceiling, resulting in some mesmerizing acrobatics and trapeze artistry. The characters don’t just tread the boards, but instead glide in and out in ritualistic moments, actors moving with grace and astonishing timing ... (Read more.)
Review: METAMORPHOSES -- Waiter! Waiter! There's a Vortex in my ZACH
By Spike Gillespie, Spike Speaks
August 15, 2010
Dave Steakley directs this one and the man loves visual spectacle. Boy is there plenty of it. If you've never seen Blue Lapis Light performing vertical, mid-air dances on long silk fabric, prepare to have your mind blown ... (Read more.)
ZACH Theatre presents 'Metamorphoses' with a swimming pool and splash zone
By Claire Canavan, The Austin American-Statesman
August 5, 2010
When "Metamorphoses" opens at ZACH Theatre tonight, audience members will be treated to a visual feast. Actors will dangle from blue silk in the air. Characters will be transformed by the gods into trees and birds. Oh, and everyone, including the audience, might get wet, as the entire show takes place in and around a swimming pool ... (Read more.)
That Obscure Object of Delight
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
People who finish your sentences for you. People who interrupt you when you're doing something important. People whose cell phones go off in the theatre. People who answer their cell phones when they go off in the theatre. Honestly, doesn't the rudeness of some people today make you want to just lock the door, close the blinds, and lose yourself in some bit of mindless entertainment? Man in Chair feels your pain ... (Read more.)
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE: A vibrant, lavish escape
By Ryan E. Johnson, Examiner.com
ZACH seems to be on a roll lately, cranking out a stream of hit plays that likes of which few other companies in town can boast, but this leaves them with heightened expectations for each production. How they possibly top the excellence of productions like Our Town and Becky’s New Car? It helps when the piece is the winner of five Tonys, including ones for Best Book and Best Score. It also helps when you bring in one of the most talked about talents in the country, Nick Demos, who just recently won the Tony award for his production of Memphis on Broadway (which, itself, won numerous Tonys) ... (Read more.)
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE @ ZACH-- Holy Crap! What A Show!
By Spike Gillespie, "Spike Speaks"
You want to know a couple of surefire signs that a show is fan-f****g-tabulous? Here's one: as you sit in the theatre, you are so excited, so utterly thrilled, so giddy beyond giddy that it grows a little hard to concentrate because your brain keeps wanting to interrupt your focus on the show to make a mental list of all of the people you know who MUST see it ... (Read more.)
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at ZACH Theatre
By Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
Run, don't walk, to the ZACH box office to get your first set of tickets for this sparkling evening of music, comedy and light-hearted fooling, a clever reincarnation of Broadway at its wonderful beginnings ... (Read more.)
Play-by-Play Play Commentary: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE
By Katherine Kloc, The Daily Texan
The lights come up, and The Man in the Chair (Martin Burke) welcomes the audience into his cozy fantasy world of 1920s theater, which offers him a departure from the frustrations of the less exciting life he leads outside the bubble of his well-decorated apartment and treasured record collection ... (Read more.)
BECKY'S NEW CAR: ZACH Has a Hit on Their Hands with Dietz's Latest Comedy
By Ryan E. Johnson, Examiner.com
In Becky’s New Car, Dietz has balanced the elements in such excellent alignment, it’s a shock to watch it all unfold. With a tight, fresh script, a cast that seems a sampling of all the best talents in town, inspired lighting design, and even a rockin’ soundtrack, featuring all your favorite driving songs, Dietz has created one of the most successful and polished pieces to hit Austin stages this year ... (Read more.)
Review: BECKY'S NEW CAR
By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, The Austin American-Statesman
Directed by [Steven] Dietz, the ZACH production sparkles thanks in no small part to a cast with whip-smart comedic timing who manage the ever-escalating farcical action with charm and sincerity ... (Read more.)
Go See BECKY'S NEW CAR!
By Spike Gillespie from jetBlue Magazine
Dietz's play, like the others I've seen Lauren in, is quite delicious. It's very, very funny, but not comedy for comedy's sake. See, it makes you think. On the other hand, it doesn't exist simply as a means for the playwright to flex his literary muscle and show us how smart he is. Instead, we get a very fine balance of laugh-think-laugh-think-laugh that carries through from start til finish. ... (Read more.)
From C.C. Babcock to Becky: The Many Faces of Lauren Lane
By Marilyn McCray, AustinWoman Magazine
"I couldn’t be distilled into some physical description and some 20-year-old writer’s idea of what a 40-year-old woman should be. There just aren’t that many opportunities for theater artists to grow and ripen." ... (Read more.)
A Year's Cheers: The nominees for the 2010 Austin Critics Table Awards
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
For the 18th year, an informal affiliation of local arts critics has recognized the year's most exceptional achievements in dance, classical music, the visual arts, and theatre ... (Read more.)
Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN at ZACH Theatre
By Spike Gillespie, jetBlue
I had the great fortune of catching Our Town on opening night. I couldn't believe how such purposefully simple, sparely elegant sets managed to convey such richness. Steakley pulls genuine, deep emotion from his talented cast, communicating the play's poignant message — that we must relish every moment of our too-short lives — loud and clear ... (Read more.)
Austin Arts Review: Our Town
By Barry Pineo, The Austin Chronicle
While all of the acting is energetic and committed, certain performances stand out, none more so than Jaston Williams as the Stage Manager. Wilder was one of the first writers to break the fourth wall that had been constructed by American realism, and he used his Stage Manager character as both a narrator and a philosopher, directly addressing the audience and demonstrating for us how Grover's Corners represents the essence of human experience. Steakley could not have made a better choice for the role than Williams ... (Read more.)
Review: ‘Our Town’ at ZACH Theatre
By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, The Austin American-Statesman
ZACH Theatre’s production of “Our Town” is creative and fun, and once again Steakley does an admirable job of connecting theatre to the local community ... (Read more.)
Arts Review: The Flaming Idiots
By Wayne Alan Brenner, The Austin Chronicle
February 26, 2010
Ah, yes, it's been six years since Zach Theatre regulars Pyro, Gyro, and Walter galumphed across the boards of the Kleberg Stage, and now they're back. "Reignited," as the ad copy goes, "and it feels so good." Well, we agree ... (Read more.)
Flaming Idiots Fly Again, Sans Flame
By
Lack of combustion has not stopped the Idiots from performing an act mastered during the past 20 years. From making a sandwich with one's feet to shoving a 3-foot balloon down one's throat to making audience members kick an Idiot, the show is full of surprises. (Read more.)
Gifts of the Magi
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
December 4, 2009
Like the magi in the Christmas story, these three men come from different places but are making the same journey. What they seek is an Austin that's compassionate and just, and they follow a vision of community bonded through art, with their creative talents to offer as gifts ... (Read more.)
Barbara Chisholm: A Shining Star in Austin's Arts Constellation
By Terri Schexnayder, Austin Woman Magazine
December 2009
ZACH Theatre: First Look at a New Stage
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
October 30, 2009
So what will the third theatre in Zach Theatre's burgeoning South Lamar and Riverside compound look like? The company gave us a sneak peek last week with the release of two exterior images by Andersson-Wise Architects ... (Read more.)
ZACH Theatre unveils designs for new venue
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By Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, The Austin American-Statesman
October 19, 2009
Zach Theatre will release designs today for a sleek 430-seat theater that will be surrounded by a tree-filled plaza and grounds. Slipped onto Zach’s site at South Lamar Boulevard and West Riverside Drive, the new building promises to help establish an arts park on Lady Bird Lake ... (Read more.)
The Laramie Project, 10 Years Later
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
October 9, 2009
A young man savagely beaten, then tied to a fence and left to die, which he did, sadly, six days later. If the murder of Matthew Shepard shocked you as deeply as it did so many around the world, you may find it difficult to believe that more than a decade has passed since that tragic incident occurred ... (Read more.)
ZACH Theatre: New Stages for New Stages
By Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle
August 7, 2009
What's the first rule of the stage? No matter what disasters may rain upon the theatre or your own head, the show must go on. And so it goes at Zach Theatre with regard to the company's long a-borning building expansion plans. The economic collapse may have put the kibosh on dream projects at other arts organizations, but the folks at Zach, like true troupers, are marching forward with theirs, with the results already in evidence ... (Read more.)
‘Porgy’ Meets Katrina, and Life’s Not So Easy
By Ralph Blummenthal, The New York Times
January 29, 2008
“Summertime/And the livin’ is easy” takes on a whole new meaning when the time becomes the summer of 2005, and the storm-tossed denizens of Catfish Row find themselves stranded on the Katrina-flooded rooftops of New Orleans ... (Read more.)
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