This Week in Theatre: Grab Bag

Image courtesy Zach Scott Theater

Zach Scott is getting national attention for its run of Porgy and Bess, closing this Sunday at the newly remodeled Austin Music Hall. Dave Steakley has pared Gershwin's opera to a 2.5-hour musical and has relocated it to the stranded rooftops following hurricane Katrina. Doubtless this is a fantastic, gorgeous production. Tonight through Saturday @7:30, matinées on Saturday @2pm and Sunday @2:30pm. Tickets ($30-75) online.

Jaston Williams had great success with his autobiographical, one-man show, I'm Not Lying—and now he's back with more. Cowboy Noises further explores Williams' fascinating life with humor and, we expect, unflinching honesty. It's not Tuna, and frankly that's downright refreshing. Two days only at the Paramount Theatre: this Friday & Saturday @8pm. Tickets ($20-35) online.

We have one little Frontera show to spotlight. We're mighty fond of local playwright Max Langert, and his current play, You're Happier Than You Think: Recalibrating Your Emotional Scale, sounds like a charmer. Get this setup: a happiness expert is trapped aboard a luxury ocean liner with a bunch of eeyores, an unhinged daughter, and a wife who has run out of anti-depressants. In Langert's hands? Awesome. At the Blue Theater tonight @9:15pm, Saturday @6:15pm, and Sunday @noon. Tickets ($8) online.

For a complete listing of this week's offerings, check the Ist List.