NOURISH MOVE LOVE BEFORE AND AFTER HOW TO

As Dylan Godwin who plays the young Shakespeare said in an interview before the opening, this is an edgy, punk imagining of a collaboration between Shakespeare and Kit Marlowe that combines all the elements of a good story and brings them to life on stage. In 84 power-packed minutes, playwright Liz Duffy Adams’ Born With Teeth grabs audience members by the throat and doesn’t let go. Especially when you learn one of the two characters is William Shakespeare.Įxcept. It’s kind of dark and it would be easy to fall asleep in one of the seats in the Neuhaus Theatre downstairs at the Alley. A long table takes center stage There are only two actors. There's no better way to forget your troubles, live someone else's life for a while, or hum along to favorite songs (not too loud, of course.) Theater has the power to change you for the better. With recession rearing, now is the time to go to the theater at reduced prices. Most companies offer buy-one-get-one-free tickets. Theater is here, and Houston's got it!įor an added bonus to your theater going, August 22-29 is celebrated as Houston Theater Week. We applaud them all and thank them for indomitable courage, the undying spark of imagination, the messages they gave us, and that unquenchable need to perform. But the list of finalists and winners this year proves what miracles can be wrought after such virulent disruption. There was pyrite among the gems, but companies are still getting their legs, accommodating to the light. Coming out of darkness, and a bit shaky from it all, no company truly stood out. You may notice that there is no award this year for Best Season or Best Artistic Director. Finances are in limbo, subscriptions down, some theaters are running deficits, but most have rebounded with renewed spirit and confidence. It has been a bumpy year, too, as companies manage refigured schedules and the bottom line. They will be missed.) But what has returned has been a surfeit of riches in finely etched portrayals, detailed productions, and grand entertainment. No more exhilarating Green Day's American Idiot, an S&M Cabaret, or sprightly The Mystery of Edwin Drood. (Unfortunately, our favorite grunge theater Obsidian, in association with SRO Productions, did not survive the economic turmoil. It was as if all the pent-up energy and angst of the last year-and-a-half burst out in a blaze. Theater did not “come back,” did not make a return, it was resurrected. Our calendar for October 2021, was covered with dates of all the many shows playing. By the 2021 winter season, all theaters were back, and joy was infectious instead. They kept the actors honed, employed as many stagehands as possible, and did their best with limited resources.ĬOVID has not waned entirely, but it has become manageable.

NOURISH MOVE LOVE BEFORE AND AFTER HOW TO

It was a valiant attempt, imaginative at times – Houston Grand Opera's Vinkelsport and Houston Ballet's Restoration were prime examples of how to film drama under tight restrictions – and if not entirely successful, these productions on the small screen whetted our appetite for live. It was a crazy quilt of Hollywood Squares and Brady Bunch title sequences. Actors filmed themselves solo at home, with lighting equipment hastily arranged, and then video editors stitched these disparate elements into one. This push into new technology strained even the best of them. It was surreal.īehind the scenes our companies, though, stayed as busy as possible, entertaining us as best they could with streaming productions. Not until September, 2021, did a kind of tentative life return, with staggered seating, mandatory masking and vaccination cards required. But as the months piled by and the pandemic raged, it became painfully obvious that perhaps the fall season would be held captive, too. The spring season was over before it had begun. The “end of March” optimism morphed into brooding reality. “until the end of March.” In a rush, other companies began closing down. The shadows began to fall March, 2020, when the Alley Theatre canceled performances one day after the premiere of 1984. It's been 17 months that our stages stayed in the dark. Then you've heard the gleeful sounds as our theaters opened their doors after the dark shuttering from the pandemic. Have you heard the roar of jubilation, the music of revelry? Have you smiled in gratitude when you entered the theater? Have you heard that ultra-excited hum of the audience before the curtain goes up?

Nourish move love before and after