Nathan Rabin of the Onion A.V. Club coined the term "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" to describe the quirky, anachronism-obsessed creation of a lonely male writer's fevered imagination whose appearance litters romantic comedies. She exists, mostly, for the Neurotic Boy Outsider whom she inevitable encounters to pour his passions into, as she teaches him valuable lessons about what life is really all about. She can be bubbly, or she can be prone to fits of melancholy, but most importantly, she lacks a true inner life, and her emotions are only ever dictated by the actions of the people who are in love with her. more ›

As 2010 begins its second half (already! Can you believe it?), there've been a number of spectacular performances, productions, and scripts to grace the Austin stage this year. And, as we start to look ahead to what the next six months have in store, we first want to take one last look back. Austinist polled its theater and comedy writers and asked each of them to offer two moments that stood out in the first half of 2010. more ›

Iphigenia is a twisted tale, so we'll let the press release do the talking: "...Greek tragedy spun into a sleek netherworld of sex, drugs, and trance music. Iphigenia is the daughter of a political celebrity. She embraces sensuous excess with a transgendered glam rock star named Achilles in a desperate attempt to flee her seemingly inevitable fate." more ›

Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West, now playing at Hyde Park Theatre has nothing to do with Marfa or Alpine, so don't let the title fool you. Set in an Irish village where murder, suicide, and alcoholism are as common as eating and breathing, the play centers on two brothers who spend just about the entire show pissing off each other in increasingly creative ways. Compared to The Pillowman (which played last year at HPT), Lonesome West is almost sitcom light. more ›

Gay people and good theatre go hand-in-hand, see: ancient Greece and Tennessee Williams. Conversely, good gay-themed theatre can be hard to come by. How many tired ensemble pieces populated with predictable muscle marys, self-important disco queens, wilting PLWA s, stoic bears and bubbly twink ingenues (each grappling with their place in the world) can one art form support? more ›

The Bard is back! This weekend only—Shakespeare shenanigans you won't want to miss. But first we're dropping a hint about a little show we've heard is fantastic. Shrewd Productions' Io: a myth about you runs through November 10, Th/Fr/Sa at the Vortex. This play with music features an all-star cast, including our current biggest crush Jude Hickey. Described as a "foray into heroic tales, vengeance, decadence, salvation, forgiveness, and rock & roll," it contains strong... more ›

Last night, Austin Circle of Theaters ushered in a whole new batch of B. Iden Payne Award winners. The event took place on the lovely St. Ed's campus; MMNT artistic director Ev Lunning Jr. hosted, along with members of the Actor's Equity association. Local heroine Karen Kuykendall was this year's Outstanding Honoree; Austin Chronicle Arts Editor Robert Faires presented her award. It was an elegant and exciting evening, to be sure! We weren't shocked by... more ›

Ken Webster has been having a mighty fine time of things lately. He was ushered into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame last summer. He was the subject of a big ol' cover article in the Austin Chronicle in April. Just last week he won an acting award from the 2007 Austin Critics' Table for two of his recent solo stage appearances, Thom Pain (based on nothing) and St. Nicholas (we can't help but think... more ›

My how this city has grown. Austin used to be the kind of town where the summertime theatre offerings were slim pickings. Not so...not anymore. The joints are jumping, and this week is no exception. It's darn near impossible to offer a Pick of the Week, so this week we're suggesting not one but two productions we think you'll enjoy. First, however, we need to report on some awards show shenanigans that went down earlier... more ›

That's right: it's time to heat up your winter nights again, with the 14th season of FronteraFest. The Short Fringe, the Long Fringe, or Mi Casa es su Teatro -- FronteraFest is five weeks of alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre presented by Hyde Park Theatre and Austin Script Works. For complete FronteraFest 2007 information, including times and locations for the Short Fringe, the Long Fringe and Mi Casa es su... more ›

First off, we'll get right to the point: Salvage Vanguard Theater has knocked another one out of the park. Everything about Caridad Svich's Thrush: A Play with Songs is spot on. Set design, lighting design, direction, acting, music...all of the elements are executed in top form. In short, Thrush is about a naive refugee, Minerva (Elizabeth Wakehouse), who stumbles through a barren, war-torn countryside. Along the way she encounters other refugees and soldiers who... more ›

As if the folks at Salvage Vanguard Theater didn't have enough going on.... In the midst of touring The Intergalactic Nemesis, winning a Best of Austin award, and birthin' babies, the intrepid SVTers are also producing the world premiere of Caridad Svich's Thrush: A Play with Songs, opening tonight at 8pm. Earlier this week, our own Matt Wright snapped a few photos of rehearsals.... more ›

We hate to whine, but sometimes writing reviews can be really difficult. You'd think it'd be the negative reviews we'd struggle with, but nope. It's the glowingly positive ones. This explains our delay in getting our thoughts about Hyde Park Theatre's current production, The Glory of Living, onto paper. Or rather, ether. We liked this production so much that we're a little tongue-tied. We keep asking ourselves, "Where to start?" Part of us wants... more ›

This week’s theatre offerings have nothing to do with John Aielli or KUT, and we won't be playing a variety of songs referencing how exceptionally cold it’s been these past few days. Really, we just liked the title. (Sorry to all you non-KUT listeners who we’ve just completely excluded.) Plus, it actually is a very eclectic week on the boards (or, er, the concrete floors...in our local warehouse theatres). There’s an exciting collaboration afoot... more ›

Yep, you can get access to the spooky, retro basement of the Bank of America building, downtown Austin, for free this coming Friday only. The ever-clever folks over at Salvage Vanguard are kicking off a series of readings with Caridad Svich's Thrush (A Play With Slaughter Songs). The piece has been in workshop for the last two weeks with the playwright, director Jenny Larson, composer Adam Sultan, dramaturge Colin Denby Swanson, and actors Kathy... more ›

We are soaked, soaked we tell you, in Frontera. This week, we've attended Best of Fest Bill A (to be repeated tomorrow night, and highly recommended), and the first Wild Card bill -- which won't be repeated, but we definitely suggest you take a stab at the second Wild Card bill, 2pm Saturday. It happens to be the only remaining Frontera show that's not sold out. Yikes! (A tip: If you want to try... more ›