Brett Cullum - Page 8

THE BODYGUARD THE MUSICAL is one of those shows that offers up little else but a warm nostalgia for the original material, but thankfully the source is strong enough to make you tap your toes and smile from ear to ear.

It's freaky and fun! Glittery boots, lots of variations on sex and preference, and even a stripper pole front and center means this one is not gonna be a light family musical. If the phrase 'think BARBARELLA meets ROCKY HORROR' makes you shiver in anticipation, then reserve your seats now.

It's certainly a relevant piece for our time, and I applaud the intention of bringing it to life in this era of political debate and mistrust of the media. But if you're going to dig this one up then have the nerve to make it feel dangerously close to the outside world.

It's a deeply emotional musical telling the story of a lesbian girl as she navigates her way through life with a closeted gay father. The Broadway Production won the Tony in 2015 for Best Musical as well as top honors for its book and score. It is a handsome show, acted expertly, and it will move anyone lucky enough to connect with its take on what it is like to be queer in the world.

The actors are amazing, the set is handsomely appointed, and the lighting design is creative and well executed. It fascinates for a while. But once the finale fizzles from a lapse in logic, GRAND CONCOURSE proves to be an exercise in dramatic frustration.

Stages has assembled a "dream team" trio of comedians who can sing, and they make 5 COURSE love zip along with glee and pep. This is not a heavy night at the theatre, but a silly romp that should have audiences leaving with a big grin.

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS stands the test of time because old white men are still jerks and Mamet is a genius at creating dialogue for them.

TREVOR is what the Catastrophic Theatre does best - funny and provocative work that has much to say about the human condition. It's fascinating it takes a celebrity-obsessed chimpanzee to deliver the most human and touching of performances thanks to the combination of Kyle Sturdivant's acting prowess and a whipsmart script from Nick Jones.

This story is universal, but the intricate score and stellar cast are unique and astounding.

It's a scary cautionary tale illuminating where we are today in regards to sex workers and the dangers they face being in the crosshairs of those with little regard for them.

ROSE AND WALSH now playing at Theatre Suburbia is Neil Simon's meditation on how love lives on after death, and it serves as a reminder of what a great author can do with a good concept. It's a touching, sweet, and well produced evening out at Northwest Houston's longest running all-volunteer playhouse.

Above all else, it offers a glimpse into what could come to pass if we are not mindful and determined to keep our art groups like Catastrophic Theatre alive and well in the coming years. It's a meditation on the state of culture that is wisely timed by one of Houston's most daring theatre companies.

This year, STAGES reinvents OZ for a sardonic look at what 2016 means for America, all the while offering a fun, frothy musical on the surface. It's an odd mix of jabs at the federal government combined with a jingoistic love of all things Texas. It works though, and gosh darn it if it isn't fun!

SONG ABOUT HIMSELF is a linguistic fantasia set inside of the chatroom of a post-apocalyptic social network. This is intellectual sci-fi drama played on a sparse set and focused on how we connect as humans and machines. There are ghosts here on both sides of humanity's line, and language suffers the most as a result.

What the cast and director are doing here is offering a solid, slick, and oh so faithful rendition of ROCKY HORROR. Director Mitchell Greco relies on the strength of the fortysomething year-old material, and lets his vision grow gorgeous images and sumptuous arrangements.

THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS, THE MUSICAL! Is as much of a self-explanatory title as any theater-goer could ever want or pine for. It's definitely a musical about musicals that has musical number after musical number, and its own sardonic take on the form over the past fifty or so years.

A widower, a divorcee, and a 'permanently single' political figure all end up going for younger guys in this hilarious look at what pop culture lovingly calls 'cougars'. It feels familiar, but it also brings something touching and new to the table.

They have cast the show without regard to race, perceived sexual orientation or physical types, and in the process expanded the vision of what could be a narrow exercise into a universal one. Never has the play felt so broad and borderless, and the staging reveals interesting struggles inside both American culture and methods of acting.

The 10x10 is Scriptwriters/Houston's biggest event of the year. It's ten brand new plays by ten of our talented writers. Or, for the theatrically challenged... it's a cheap and easy way to say you've at least seen ten plays this year. Get all your culture done in one night!

The author claims it is 'mostly a comedy', and it is certainly not a musical about a barricade with people singing the songs of angry men. No, this one is the words of enraged women as they struggle to be recognized as the vehicles of liberation.