Hillcountry Underbelly: A Pilgrimage on the Outskirts, a new musical by Elizabeth Doss, presented by Paper Chairs, might be initially perceived as your classic, charming and whimsical country bumpkin tale. Complete with references to Ma and Pa and beautiful ballads (composed by Mark Stewart) about big old red dogs and scorpions. However, as the title implies, the Underbelly is anything but light-hearted. After scratching the surface, there lies a dark comedy of desperation, death, illness, and a struggle between allegiance to a patriarch and individual desire that eventually rip the family apart. more ›

Tongue and Groove Theatre's production of The Red Balloon is an enchanting, heartwarming tale that kids and adults alike will love—actually, adults might even like it more. It's the perfect date play...or the perfect place to take your kids...or the perfect place to take your mom...or the perfect place to be with anyone, really. But hurry—it closes this weekend. more ›

So much has been written about Rubber Repertory's US premiere of the Wallace Shawn play, A Thought in Three Parts, that you'd have to have been buried under a pile of rocks not to have heard of it. Closing this weekend at the Vortex, this naughty little show has garnered an unprecedented amount of press. So we're a bit late to the party, but we finally managed to get our butts in a seat at... 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 ›

As you may have noticed, we've had a lot of nice things to say about Physical Plant Theater's production of Not Clown. Well...we're not done. We attended the preview on Wednesday night, and while the show had a few little preview kinks, the leaner, meaner Not Clown tops our list of shows you don't want to miss. Oh, and speaking of just that, consider yourself warned: you may want to see the show tomorrow,... more ›

We sat down recently with Carlos Treviño and Steve Moore, authors of the amazing, unique, fabulous Physical Plant Theatre production, Not Clown, and had a lovely little chat. A spiffed up new version of Not Clown kicks off a two-week run on Thursday at the Off Center, with another two weeks in New York City immediately following. Having seen the first incarnation in '04, we can tell you with complete confidence that you will... more ›