Michelle Habeck News

ZACH Theatre - Austin's Theatre and Texas' longest running theatre, in the first season on the Karen Kuykendall Stage in its new Topfer Theatre, presents the Texas Premiere of 33 VARIATIONS.

Xanadu presented by the Zach Theater in Austin is two hours brimming with joy, laughter, and sequins.

'Let My People Go' given a new meaning in this terrific production

Kwame Kwei-Armah directs his first play since becoming Center Stage's artistic director, an excellent production of Matthew Lopez's THE WHIPPING MAN.

OK, so I'll admit I was hesitant to start reviewing at the Children's Theatre. But then at the urging of others and the insistence that they are putting up some of the better shows in town, I relented. And if their current offering, "A Single Shard", is any indication, then I seriously need to rethink my attitude. Yes, it's children's theater in that it's theater that's OK for children to see, but it's so much more and better than you may expect.

OK, so I'll admit I was hesitant to start reviewing at the Children's Theatre. But then at the urging of others and the insistence that they are putting up some of the better shows in town, I relented. And if their current offering, "A Single Shard", is any indication, then I seriously need to rethink my attitude. Yes, it's children's theater in that it's theater that's OK for children to see, but it's so much more and better than you may expect.

Penumbra Theatre Company, one of the nation's preeminent African American theatres, announces a powerhouse cast for its production of August Wilson's Two Trains Running directed by Lou Bellamy. Two Trains Running opens on the Penumbra stage September 29 and runs through October 30, 2011. Previews are September 27 & 28.

Arden Theatre Company continues its 2010/11 season with Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright of August: Osage County. It will be directed by the Arden's Associate Artistic Director Edward Sobel and closes April 3, 2011.

Arden Theatre Company continues its 2010/11 season with Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright of August: Osage County. It will be directed by the Arden's Associate Artistic Director Edward Sobel and runs March 3 - April 3, 2011.

The Guthrie is proud to present Penumbra Theatre's production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Lou Bellamy. A co-production with Arizona Theatre Company and The Cleveland Play House, this presentation marks the 50th anniversary of the show's groundbreaking Broadway opening, and arrives at the Guthrie on the heels of two highly-lauded regional runs in Ohio and Arizona. A Raisin in the Sun previews March 12, opens March 13 and plays through April 11, 2009 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage. Single tickets are priced from $24 to $60, with opening night prices ranging from $49 to $70. Tickets are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org. A recent widow, Lena Younger (Franchelle Stewart Dorn) wants to use her husband's insurance money to buy a home for her family, freeing them from the cramped tenement in which she, her two children, daughter-in-law and grandson live. Her son, Walter Lee (David Alan Anderson), is determined to invest the money in a business - an opportunity for him to be his own man and not just the driver for his white boss. Lena refuses; in her eyes a house is a sturdy thing to build a dream on, one that can relieve the strains that poverty has put on the family. But when a white representative of the neighborhood 'welcoming committee' presents the Youngers with an offer to buy them out of their home to prevent integration in their community, the dream of the house quickly becomes a nightmare. The title comes from the opening lines of 'Harlem,' a poem by Langston Hughes ('What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?'). Throughout the play, the idea of deferred dreams is a prominent theme, as each member of the Younger family attempts to find his or her place amidst a number of difficult situations. While their future neighbors resist the Youngers' move, Walter Lee for the first time begins to value what money can't buy, and in the process achieves a new level of self respect and pride.

The Guthrie is proud to present Penumbra Theatre's production of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Lou Bellamy. A co-production with Arizona Theatre Company and The Cleveland Play House, this presentation marks the 50th anniversary of the show's groundbreaking Broadway opening, and arrives at the Guthrie on the heels of two highly-lauded regional runs in Ohio and Arizona. A Raisin in the Sun previews March 12, opens March 13 and plays through April 11, 2009 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage. Single tickets are priced from $24 to $60, with opening night prices ranging from $49 to $70. Tickets are now on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE, 612.225.6244 (Group Sales) and online at www.guthrietheater.org. A recent widow, Lena Younger (Franchelle Stewart Dorn) wants to use her husband's insurance money to buy a home for her family, freeing them from the cramped tenement in which she, her two children, daughter-in-law and grandson live. Her son, Walter Lee (David Alan Anderson), is determined to invest the money in a business - an opportunity for him to be his own man and not just the driver for his white boss. Lena refuses; in her eyes a house is a sturdy thing to build a dream on, one that can relieve the strains that poverty has put on the family. But when a white representative of the neighborhood 'welcoming committee' presents the Youngers with an offer to buy them out of their home to prevent integration in their community, the dream of the house quickly becomes a nightmare. The title comes from the opening lines of 'Harlem,' a poem by Langston Hughes ('What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up / like a raisin in the sun?'). Throughout the play, the idea of deferred dreams is a prominent theme, as each member of the Younger family attempts to find his or her place amidst a number of difficult situations. While their future neighbors resist the Youngers' move, Walter Lee for the first time begins to value what money can't buy, and in the process achieves a new level of self respect and pride.

The world premiere musical of 'Dangerous Beauty' is a blend of passion, poetry and politics with an original score inspired by the best of Renaissance, rock 'n roll and classical music. This is the fifth full production to be developed by Northwestern University's American Music Theatre Project (AMTP).

The world premiere musical of 'Dangerous Beauty' is a blend of passion, poetry and politics with an original score inspired by the best of Renaissance, rock 'n roll and classical music. This is the fifth full production to be developed by Northwestern University's American Music Theatre Project (AMTP).

The world premiere musical of 'Dangerous Beauty' is a blend of passion, poetry and politics with an original score inspired by the best of Renaissance, rock 'n roll and classical music. This is the fifth full production to be developed by Northwestern University's American Music Theatre Project (AMTP).

Penumbra Theatre company has announced the cast and creative team for August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean directed by Lou Bellamy. The Guthrie is proud to present the production, which begins previews April 22 and plays through May 18, 2008 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage. Tickets are priced from $24 to $69 and are on sale through the Guthrie Box Office at 612.377.2224, toll-free 877.44.STAGE and online at www.guthrietheater.org.

WHO: CENTERSTAGE WHAT: Things of Dry Hours WHEN: Through June 3; Tues - Sat at 8PM, Sat at 2PM, Sun at 2 and 7:30PM. There is no performance on May 12. HOW MUCH: $10 - $60. See Charm City Call Board - May for BWW discount!

The world premiere of Love Song arrives to the Downstairs Theatre at Steppenwolf, full of witty banter and heartfelt laughs.

The Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents a lovely new play that resonates long after the show.