Now Playing Onstage in Austin - Week of 2/17/2013

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THE KNIGHTS WITH WU MAN, PIPA in Broadway

THE KNIGHTS WITH WU MAN, PIPA
Bass Concert Hall
2/19-2/19/2013
Presented in partnership with the Austin Classical Guitar Society, the Butler School of Music, and the Asian American Cultural Center Texas Performing Arts presents renowned pipa virtuoso Wu Man in concert with progressive New York classical ensemble The Knights for an elegant evening of classic and contemporary chamber orchestra works. Recognized as the world's premier pipa virtuoso and as a leading ambassador of Chinese music, Wu Man creates and fosters projects that give this ancient instrument a new role in today's music world, not only introducing the instrument to new audiences, but commissioning and premiering over a hundred new works. A Grammy-nominated artist, she has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma in the recording of Silk Road and worked with renowned musicians including Tan Dun and the Kronos Quartet. Hailed as "the future of classical music in America" by the Los Angeles Times, The Knights are an ensemble of adventurous musicians from the New York music scene who cultivate collaborative music making and creatively engage audiences in the shared joy of musical performance. Their unique roster includes composers, arrangers, singer-songwriters, and improvisers who bring a range of cultural influences to the group including jazz, klezmer, pop, and indie rock music. The orchestra's extensive repertoire features traditional and contemporary masterworks of classical, popular, and world music in collaboration with such artists as soprano Dawn Upshaw and violinist Gil Shaham.
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BRIAN REGAN
Bass Concert Hall
2/22-2/22/2013
Brian Regan has distinguished himself as one of the premier comedians in the country. Brian's non-stop theater tour has visited more than 80 cities each year since 2005 and continues through 2013. It is the quality of his material, relatable to a wide audience and revered by his peers, which continues to grow Brian's fan base. The perfect balance of sophisticated writing and physicality, Brian Regan consistently fills theaters nationwide with fervent fans that span generations.
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JENNIFER FRAUTSCHI
Dell Hall
2/22-2/23/2013
Avery Fisher career grant recipient violinist Jennifer Frautschi has gained acclaim as an adventurous performer with a wide-ranging repertoire. As the Chicago Tribune wrote, "the young violinist Jennifer Frautschi is molding a career with smart interpretations of both warhorses and rarities." Equally at home in the classic repertoire as well as twentieth and twenty-first century works, in the past few seasons alone she has performed the Britten Concerto, Poul Ruders' Concerto No. 1, Steven Mackey's Violin Sonata, and Mendelssohn's rarely played d minor Concerto, along with standards such as the Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Berg Concerti.
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MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Mary Moody Northen Theatre
2/14-2/24/2013
What do you get when you combine an enigmatic and absentee ruler, a zealot surrogate, lustful youth, a pious nun, a dash of hypocrisy and personal desires at odds with the law? Shakespeare's last and darkest comedy tackles these questions and deftly examines who sins most in a congregation of murderers, pimps, politicians, whores, nuns and dukes. Add to the moral tale a complement of bawds, disguise and some adroit plot management and the result is a marvelous, thought-provoking evening of theatre. Stimulating. Funny. Shakespeare!
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MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Mary Moody Northen Theatre
2/14-2/24/2013
- William Shakespeare; dir: Michelle Polgar.
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Howson Hall Theater at the First Unitarian Universalist Church (Produced by Paradox Players)
2/8-2/24/2013
Paradox Players presents the phenomenally popular parody The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) at the Howson Hall Theater, February 8 - 24. The play, written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987, went on to 9 record-breaking years on London's West End, and has been the world's most performed stage parody for the last 20 years. In The Complete Works, 3 actors perform hilarious short versions of 7 of Shakespeare's plays. In a single final frantic skit, the actors present all of the rest of the Bard's plays in two minutes. Throughout the performance, audience participation abounds. Guest Director Ben Schave, who is a professionally trained clown, says, "What appeals to me most about The Complete Works is that it's pure clown theater, with audience interaction, whole and silly characters who's performance space is a living 360 degree world, and tons of space for physical comedy." The Howson Hall Theater is located in the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, 4700 Grover Avenue, Austin, TX 78756. Performances of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) are February 8 - 24, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00. Tickets are $15 General Admission, and $10 for Students, Seniors (65+) and groups of 10 or more. The one exception is the February 8 Opening Night Gala, which includes a special reception with refreshments, and for which all tickets are $20. Purchase tickets online at www.paradoxplayers.org, or phone 512-744-1495 for reservations.
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OTHER DESERT CITIES
Austin Playhouse (inside the Highland Mall)
1/25-2/24/2013
Austin Playhouse will bring Austin audiences Baitz' powerful family drama. In the award-winning Other Desert Cities, Baitz brings us an emotionally charged play about a family coming to terms with long-held secrets. Brooke Wyeth (Lara Toner) returns home to Palm Springs after a six-year absence and a mental breakdown to celebrate Christmas with her parents (Babs George and Rick Roemer), her brother (Jacob Trussell), and her aunt (Bernadette Nason). Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family's history-a wound they don't want reopened. In effect, she draws a line in the sand and dares them all to cross it. The play premiered Off-Broadway in January 2011 to critical acclaim and transferred to Broadway in November 2011, marking the Broadway debut of a Baitz play. The play was named Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play by the Outer Critics Circle and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. It was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Jon Robin Baitz's plays include My Beautiful Goddamn City, Ten Unknowns, The Paris Letter, Mizlansky/Zilinsky or Schmucks, A Fair Country, The Substance of Fire, and an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. His television credits include The West Wing, Alias, and Brothers and Sisters, which he created. Read more: http://austin.broadwayworld.com/article/Austin-Playhouse-Presents-OTHER-DESERT-CITIES-Beginning-125-20130108#ixzz2HUveXy7z
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A RIDE WITH BOB
Topfer Theatre
2/20-2/24/2013
ZACH Theatre hosts the Austin farewell performances of A RIDE WITH BOB, Feb. 20-24 Musical drama chronicles the life of Bob Wills WHO ZACH Theatre- Austin's Theatre and Texas' longest running theatre, in collaboration with Bismeaux Productions presents: WHAT A RIDE WITH BOB: The Bob Wills Musical Co-written by ANNE RAPP (author of Cookie's Fortune and Dr. T & the Women) and Ray Benson (nine-time GRAMMY award winner) Starring Ray Benson and ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL The play that started as a commemoration of Bob Wills' 100th birthday in 2005 is coming back to Austin for one final week of shows in February 2013. This first-ever musical drama about the legendary Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys debuted in Austin in 2005 and has since enjoyed great success in more than 70 performances in 19 cities. "Every true-blue Texan needs to see this musical!" -PegasusNews.com In 1973, just after the release of Asleep at the Wheel's first album, young bandleader Ray Benson was invited to Dallas to meet the great Bob Wills. Upon his arrival, he learned Wills was not feeling well, and the meeting was postponed for the next morning. But the conversation Benson was so eager to have with his idol never happened; that same night Wills had a stroke and went into a life-ending coma. In A RIDE WITH BOB, Benson finally gets to have his long-anticipated conversation, albeit with the Spirit of Bob, who visits him on the Asleep at the Wheel bus late one night. The fascinating and sometimes outrageous stories of Wills' career, his contribution to American music, and his raucous personal life unfold in thrilling theatrical detail, and through the process Benson rediscovers his own passion and commitment as a bandleader and standard-bearer for Western swing music. The drama includes live performances of 15 of Wills' most famous songs, including "San Antonio Rose," "Faded Love," "Cherokee Maiden," "Take Me Back to Tulsa," and many more. Ray Benson comments "I can't think of a better way to bring the play back to Austin. The brand new Topfer Theatre will knock everyone's socks off. It is by far the most intimate, yet accessible space that we've ever presented in. A RIDE WITH BOB is going to swing once more in February!" The two-act play features an all-star cast: Ray Benson (as himself), Asleep at the Wheel members including fiddler Jason Roberts (as young Bob Wills), and an all-star cast of actors including Marco Perella (as spirit of Bob Wills), Timothy Curry, Steve Uzzell, Walt Roberts, Taylor Maddux, rising star on the Austin music scene Ruby Jane Smith and 10-year-old fiddling virtuoso Colby Sheppard. Production credits also include CK McFarland (original production director), Robert Tolaro (production stage manager), Christopher McCollum (set designer), and Bill Peeler (lighting designer). A RIDE WITH BOB debuted with six sold-out shows at the State Theater in Austin, Texas in 2005. It was an instant hit with audiences and critics, garnering several nominations from Austin Circle of Theaters Awards and fueling a four-city tour in Texas and Oklahoma that fall. In 2006, the show "rode high" into San Antonio, Ft. Worth, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. where President and Mrs. Bush were in attendance at the renowned Kennedy Center. Since then, the play has continued to introduce many to the legend of Bob Wills as well as remind others of a bygone era. Response to the play has been glowing. Liz Smith calls A RIDE WITH BOB, "The most entertaining night in Texas." And the Tulsa World wrote that the play is "�as raucous, spirited, and joyous as the music that inspired it." The Washington Post lauded the performance as "�crisp and rousing." WHERE ZACH's new Topfer Theatre, 202 South Lamar Blvd. (corner of Riverside Drive and South Lamar Blvd.) WHEN Performances begin Wednesday, Feb. 20 and continue through Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Showtimes: Wednesday-Friday: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. TICKETS To order tickets call 512-476-0541 ext. 1 or visit www.zachtheatre.org. Tickets range from $35 - $75. Bar opens one hour before showtime and remains open for one hour post-show. For real-time updates on ZACH Theatre news, events and happenings, visit http://www.zachtheatre.org/blog, be a fan of ZACH Theatre on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/zachtheatre, and follow ZACH on Twitter @zachtheatre http://www.twitter.com/zachtheatre. About ZACH Theatre ZACH Theatre is Austin's leading professional producing theatre. Founded in 1932, ZACH is the longest running theatre company in Texas, serving 85,000 adults and youth annually. ZACH creates its own nationally recognized dramatic, musical, and comedic productions that elevate, motivate and stimulate the human spirit under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Now in its 80th season, ZACH continues to expand and engage with Austin, with the new 420-seat Topfer Theatre doubling ZACH's capacity while retaining its hallmark intimate theatre-going experience. The Topfer Theatre Campaign has currently raised more than $20 million of its $22 million goal. Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information. ZACH Theatre is sponsored, in part, by Applied Materials, Austin Catering, Holiday Inn-Lady Bird Lake, Kirk Tuck Photography, OnRamp, Austin American-Statesman, KXAN Austin News TV 36, and Time Warner Cable; and by grants from The Shubert Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division, which believes an investment in the arts is an investment in Austin's future. Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com. About Bismeaux Productions & Ray Benson Bismeaux Productions is the south Austin home of nine-time GRAMMY winners Asleep at the Wheel, Bismeaux Records and Studio. At a towering 6'7", the Philadelphia-born leader of Bismeaux, Ray Benson, is considered a giant in the industry. For 40 years, Ray has been the driving force behind Asleep at the Wheel and has overseen the release of more than 25 albums, countless tours, and has won nine GRAMMY Awards. 2009's CD release of Willie & The Wheel with collaborator Willie Nelson garnered another GRAMMY nomination for Best Americana Album. Ray's honors include 2012 People's Plaza Honoree at ZACH Theatre, 2011 Texan of the Year, 2011 Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Multimedia, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association, the TEC Les Paul Award, and, in 2004, the official Texas State Musician. A sought-after producer, he has worked with such artists as Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville, Carolyn Wonderland, Aaron Watson, and Suzy Bogguss. Additionally, Benson is the founder of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, an organization that supports aging R&B artists from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s that have reaped little financial benefit from their music. He is also an active advocate and board member for the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians and sits on the board of St. David's Foundation. Since 2010 Benson has hosted the highly successful Texas Music Scene television series, which broadcasts weekly across the top 16 cities in Texas, showcasing live performances of today's talent in the Texas and Red Dirt music circuit. For more information visit www.aridewithbob.com, www.asleepatthewheel.com, and for interviews with Mr. Benson, contact mj@asleepatthewheel.com or call MJ Mendell at 512-444-9885.
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IT COULD BE ANY ONE OF US
Sam Bass Community Theatre
2/8-3/2/2013
A thunderstorma�� In a windswept country house a family of failures wrangles over a will: a detective who has never solved a case; a writer, an artist and a composer whose works have never been published, shown or performed, and a dysfunctional teenager. These are the prime ingredients for a murder mysterya�� but this diversion is by British Master of Comedy Alan Ayckbourne and it has a number of surprises. The victim is not who it should be and the thrills are leavened with tongue in cheek humor and ironic commenta��. And one more twist: The murderer changes with every performance!
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IT COULD BE ANY ONE OF US
Sam Bass Community Theatre
2/8-3/2/2013
"It Could Be Any One of Us" by Sir Alan Ayckbourn opens February 8th at Sam Bass Community Theatre. Directed by Frank Benge. The comedy who-done-it that is who did it tonight! In a remote and dilapidated country house, three siblings share an antagonistic life together. All are artists who have failed to live up to their own, let alone anyone else's, expectations. The older brother Mortimer is a composer who has never realized his youthful potential, his sister Jocelyn is a writer of thrillers who has never completed a novel and Brinton is a painter, who does not even let his family see his work. When Jocelyn's partner, Norris - an insurance investigator with aspirations to be a real detective - arrives home and interrupts a recital by Mortimer, a row breaks out in which Mortimer reveals he intends to disinherit the family and give the house to a former student, Wendy Jones. When Wendy arrives, a murder takes place and the murderer is� well, that's where it gets a bit tricky� because it changes every night. From the comedic genius of Sir Alan Ayckbourn (Absurd Person Singular, How the Other Half Loves, The Norman Conquests) comes the comedy murder mystery "It Could Be Any One of Us". But this isn't your ordinary murder mystery� this one contains a twist in the style of "Clue"; there are three possible murderers and the murderer changes with every performance during a card game played on-stage. So, it's possible to see the show three times and never have the same person revealed to have done the dastardly deed! The cast features William Parcher as Mortimer Chalke, Joe David as Norris Honeywell, Lynn S. Beaver as Jocelyn Chalke, Jeff Mulligan as Brinton Chalke, Linda Myers as Wendy Windwood and Kelly Hamilton as Amy Chalke. This production is directed by Frank Benge (Harold & Maude, The Women, All in the Timing) Presented by Sam Bass Community Theatre Dates: February 8, 2013 - March 2, 2013 Times: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 8:00 pm, Sundays 2:00 pm Sam Bass Community Theatre, 600 N. Lee St., Round Rock (in Memorial Park) $18; $15 seniors, students, educators, military; $13 all Thursday performances, $10 Children Reservations: www.sambasstheatre.org
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SOUTH PACIFIC
The Palace Theater
2/22-3/4/2013
Join the Palace for an enchanted evening with the classic R&H Musical set in an island paradise during World War II, where two parallel love stories are threatened by the dangers of prejudice and war. Songs include Some Enchanted Evening, There is Nothing Like a Dame, Bali Ha'I, I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair, A Wonderful Guy, Younger Than Springtime, and You've Got to be Carefully Taught
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TRU
ZACH Theatre
1/10-3/10/2013
TRU starring Jaston Williams Written by Jay Presson Allen Directed by LARRY RANDOLPH Greater Tuna star Jaston Williams inhabits Truman Capote in a virtuoso performance of the charming, acerbic, fragile, and enigmatic writer. In this one-man tour de force, Williams' astonishing portrayal of the In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's author is by turns hilarious, vulnerable, and confessional. The audience becomes confidants to TRU's trademark wit and honesty. Packed houses, standing ovations, and waves of laughter characterized this show in its initial run at ZACH Theatre 12 years ago making it the hottest ticket in town. This production promises to be even more fun this time around. "A man who doesn't dream is like a man who doesn't sweat: he stores up a lot of poison." - Truman Capote ZACH's Producing Artistic Director Dave Steakley says: "By popular demand, I am bringing back one of our favorite plays from a dozen years ago that featured one of our favorite performances-Jaston Williams as Truman Capote, the renowned writer who had a flair for drinking freely, living freely, dreaming freely, and jabbing freely at the underbellies of New York City's social elite. Just like the Greater Tuna characters that Jaston made famous, this role fits him like a glove. The play is hilarious and poignant in his hands, and the intimacy of the Whisenhunt Theatre makes it feel like you are having drinks with a great friend in their stylish apartment. The good news is that this friend has the best stories and gossip to share!"
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TRU
ZACH's Whisenhunt Stage
1/9-3/10/2013
Greater Tuna star Jaston Williams inhabits Truman Capote in a virtuoso performance of the charming, acerbic, fragile and enigmatic writer. In this one-man tour de force, Williams' astonishing portrayal of the In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's author is by turns hilarious, vulnerable and confessional. The audience becomes confidants to Tru's trademark wit and honesty. Packed houses, standing ovations and waves of laughter characterized this show in its initial run 12 years ago when it became the hottest ticket in town. This production promises to be even more fun!
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TRU
ZACH Theatre
1/9-3/10/2013
Whisenhunt Stage: - Jay Presson Allen; dir: Larry Randolph.
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OTHELLO
The City Theatre
2/21-3/17/2013
OTHELLO. William Shakespeare's timeless tale of love, deceit, jealousy and murder. One of literature's most tragic heroes squares off against his greatest villain in a compelling story of suspicion, betrayal and vengeance. Iago leads Othello to the edge of madness by sowing seeds of doubt about his wife's fidelity culminating in one of most powerfully dramatic scenes ever written. Its message is not soon forgotten. February 21 - March 17. Thursday - Saturday 8:00 p.m. Sunday 5:30 p.m. The City Theatre, 3823 Airport Blvd. Suite D. 78722 - east corner of Airport Blvd. and 38 � Street. For reservations, call 512-524-2870 or e-mail info@citytheatreaustin.org. General seating $15. Front/2nd Row Reserved $25. Thursday all seats $10. Group and student discounts. www.citytheatreaustin.org
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GOODNIGHT MOON
ZACH's Kleberg Stage
1/31-3/22/2013
Step into the Great Green Room as one of the most iconic children's books of all time is brought to life. In this lively musical, Bunny's room magically comes alive with stunning puppetry, tap dancing bears, and even a trip through the night sky with a constellation light show.
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