Nutcracker Nut Growing

Everyone wants something in their stocking for Christmas, and Ballet Austin is no exception; the company is fervently wishing for all-new sets and costumes for its annual production of The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky knows, replacements are well warranted; the current stuff shows the wear of 15 seasons. But a new look comes with a hefty price tag: $225,000. Fortunately, many Austinites are playing Santa for the ballet. The most recent is the Austin Community Foundation, which left $10,000 under BA's tree in June. The ACF grant pushes the company past the one-third mark in their fundraising effort. If you want to get in on the act, call 327-0420.

Yeakle All Over

David Yeakle is all over the state lately. The artistic director of Tongue and Groove Theatre and director of The Three Cuckolds hit his old Fort Worth stomping grounds in April to premiere American Vaudeville Comedy, a stage tribute to the comic greats of film created with Gary Cunningham and Leslie Pasternak. He then zipped to Ingram to stage A Midsummer Night's Dream at the open-air Point Theatre. (It runs through July 13; call 800/459-4223.) This week, he's back in Austin for auditions for Betty the Yeti, a comedy at Capitol City Playhouse (auditions July 8 & 9, call 472-2966). But he's back in Cowtown this fall to do Eggheads, a Marx Brothers-style comedy by Michener Fellow Joseph Skibell, at Hip Pocket Theatre. We hope his tires hold up -- and that he finds time to do a Tongue and Groove show soon.

More Seasons in the Sun

Schedules for 1996-97 seasons keep tricklin' in. Here are a few more: Live Oak Theatre at the State continues to honor family ties in 1996-97, with Sweeney Todd, by Sondheim & Wheeler; On Golden Pond, by Thompson; Dickens' A Christmas Carol, adapted by Schave, Toner, & Robertson (that means duelin' Dickens in December -- Zach Scott is also Carol-ing); Shadowlands, by Nicholson; You Can't Take It With You, by Kaufman & Hart; Woody Guthrie's American Song, adapted by Glazer; and a show to be announced. Call 472-5143.

Remembrance Through the Performing Arts offers another season of new work in progress, starting with Homerun, by and starring award-winner Jo Harvey Allen; Ten Feet Down and Looking Up, by Egan Dean; The Confessions of David Crockett, by Steve Warren; and Red Sea, by RPA Artistic Director Rosalyn Rosen. Call 329-9118.

And a new company blending top national talent with Austin artists will debut. Director-playwright Manuel Zarate is artistic director for Third Coast Repertory Theatre. Its inaugural season includes: Inherit the Wind, by Lawrence & Lee; Sonata Escondido, by Zarate; The Songs of Christmas, a company-generated piece; The Meeting, by Stetson; Theresa Bassoon, by Narens; and a musical to be announced. Call 328-3785.

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