Email Author Jim Tommaney

2011 Stories by Jim Tommaney

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  FEATURED STORY

  Last Night: Homegrown Kissless Rocks Out Houston Before Heading Off-Broadway

  published Sep 12, 2011

  The setup: An ambitious new Houston-grown musical about teenage conflicts uses a cast of 27 to create a dynamic world where parents are distant and largely irrelevant, while the opinion of a peer can ... More >>

• Mistaken Identities, Wit and Cross-Dressing: All in a Day's Work for French Farce Triumph of Love

  published Sep 09, 2011

  The setup: A French farce of 1732 by Pierre de Marivaux springs into exuberant life as cross-dressing, thinly disguised identities and a scanty plot serve as a framework for wit, paradoxes, style and ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Hello, Goodbye: Theatre Southwest's Brisk Take on Classic Goodbye Charlie

  published Sep 05, 2011

  The setup: Before the play opens, womanizer and cad Charlie Sorrel has been caught in the act of having an affair and been killed, but is reincarnated in the body of a younger woman. The comedy develo... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Pasadena Little Theatre's Once Upon a Mattress a Royal Pleasure

  published Aug 29, 2011

  The setup: Once Upon a Mattress is the 1959 musical that introduced Carol Burnett to Broadway. Its initial production moved from off-Broadway to Broadway and ran, in a variety of theaters, for 460 per... More >>

• Puppy Love: Sylvia at Texas Repertory Theatre

  published Aug 22, 2011

  The setup: A.R. Gurney's much-loved comedy Sylvia, about a man in midlife crisis falling in love with a stray dog (played by an attractive adult woman), is reborn again at Texas Repertory Theatre, alo... More >>

• How Do Ya Like Them Applesr ComedySportz's Adept Late-Night Improv

  published Aug 22, 2011

  The setup: ComedySportz, known for two decades for its 8 p.m. improv shows, this year added a Saturday show at 10:30 p.m. and has recently added a 10:30 show on Friday evenings as well. The Friday eve... More >>

• UpStage's Festival of Comedy, a Triumph of Inventive Writing Over Hit-Or-Miss Acting

  published Aug 15, 2011

  The setup: UpStage Theatre's Second Annual Festival of Comedy allows local playwrights to strut their stuff in one-act plays that are comic, yet stay safely within the boundaries of "family-oriented" ... More >>

• Woody Allen's God and Death: The Perfect Pair

  published Aug 15, 2011

  The setup: The Back Porch Players makes a welcome return to a full season of productions with Woody Allen's two one-act comedies God and Death. God begins as a satire on Greek playwrights but quickly ... More >>

• With Authentic Acting and Superb Staging, RENT Rocks

  published Aug 08, 2011

  The setup: The rock musical RENT, inspired by Puccini's La Boheme, recreates the artistic and social life of Manhattan's East Village, and adds to poverty and artistic drive the ever-present specter ... More >>

• Three Murders and It's Only Monday a Delightful Send-Up of the Mystery Genre

  published Aug 08, 2011

  The setup: Prolific playwright Pat Cook, a resident of Houston, knows the mystery genre to a fare-thee-well, and spoofs it entertainingly in Three Murders and It's Only Monday. Revered conventions are... More >>

• Oklahoma! at Houston Family Arts Center: Better Than OK

  published Aug 01, 2011

  The set up: The much-loved musical Oklahoma!, the first collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, set a new standard of excellence for musical comedy in its 1943 Broadway premier... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  High Jinks And Low Humor: Theatre Suburbia's Who Was That Masked Manr

  published Aug 01, 2011

  The set up: "Meller-drammer" says it all - outlandish acting, deliberately exaggerated actions, simple plots, a mustachioed villain and a damsel in distress. Hisses at the villain are encouraged as ar... More >>

• Doting Mama

  published July 28, 2011

  The talented Tamarie Cooper opens the latest in a series of annual musical extravaganzas — this one rife with patriotism — to enchant... More >>

• Strong Performances and Exciting Music Carry Hank Williams: Lost Highway

  published Jul 19, 2011

  The set-up: Hank Williams: Lost Highway chronicles the rise and fall of one of country music's icons, as Hank Williams travels from rural Alabama to record-selling success and stardom at Nashville's ... More >>

• Spring Awakening: The Ultimate Ensemble Musical

  published Jul 18, 2011

  The set-up: Spring Awakening, winner of eight Tony awards, is based on an 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind that depicts the torturous stirrings of sexuality among the young. The glorious rock music ... More >>

• Renaissance Woman: The United States of Tamarie

  published Jul 18, 2011

  The set up: The talented Tamarie Cooper opens the latest in a series of musical extravaganzas - this one rife with patriotism - to enchant a horde of loyal followers and to introduce newcomers to a re... More >>

• The Miss Firecracker Contest at Company OnStage: Not To Be Missed

  published Jul 11, 2011

  The set-up: Southern charm, inventive acting and skilled direction blend into an explosive package in The Miss Firecracker Contest at Company OnStage. Preparations for the annual beauty contest take o... More >>

• Energetic, Exuberant Buddy--The Buddy Holly Story at UpStage Theatre

  published Jul 11, 2011

  The set up: UpStage Theatre's production of Buddy-The Buddy Holly Story is heart-warming, vastly entertaining, full of musical classics, and, all-in-all, a glorious, flawed celebration. It is not real... More >>

• That is Rock and Roll: Smokey Joe's Cafe Kicks Up a Storm

  published Jul 05, 2011

  The set up: Smokey Joe's Cafe is a quasi-romantic, nostalgic tour of some of the classics of songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. It has no plot or theme, but instead generates the flavor and f... More >>

• Capsule Stage Reviews: To Kill a Mockingbird, Opening the Box, Wonderland! The Misadventures of a Girl Named Alice

  published June 30, 2011

  To Kill a Mockingbird Remarkable stagecraft, consummate acting and skilled direction create a memorable production of To Kill a... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Triumphant and Moving: To Kill A Mockingbird at Pasadena Little Theatre

  published Jun 27, 2011

  The set up: Remarkable stagecraft, consummate acting, and skilled direction blend together to create a memorable production of To Kill a Mockingbird at the Pasadena Little Theatre. The ambiance of a s... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Rogue Improv Sets the Bar for Comedy at Rudyard's

  published Jun 24, 2011

  The set up: Houston's own Rogue Imrov troupe brings its talents to Rudyard's British Pub on Thursdays and delivers a fast-paced, impressive comedy revue. As the name suggests, each evening is differen... More >>

• Capsule Stage Reviews: Opening the Box, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Murder at the Howard Johnson's, Wonderland! The Misadventures of a Girl Named Alice

  published June 23, 2011

  Opening the Box Five veteran performers from Masquerade Theatre, Houston's repository of Broadway musicals, have left that company... More >>

• Murder at the Howard Johnson's a Middling Success

  published Jun 20, 2011

  The set up: The title says a lot: Murder at the Howard Johnson's. It has no pretense to glamour, like Murder on the Orient Express, but instead suggests a middle-brow, ho-hum, minor effort, and that'... More >>

• JCC's Wonderland! Not Just For Kids

  published Jun 20, 2011

  The set up: Don't tell anyone that I had a good time at a musical for children, but the truth is I did - and so will you. The courageous Dionysus Theatre has mounted a production of Wonderland! The Mi... More >>