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OPENING
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La Maleta de Maebelle (Maebelle’s Suitcase)
Beloved literacy booster Reading Rainbow often highlighted books whose protagonists were unusual, and the 108-year-old Maebelle – protagonist of the Tricia Tusa picture book as well as its stage adaptation of the same name – fits that descriptor well. She works as a hatmaker up in her treehouse, where she makes friends with a fretful fowl in Binkle, a bird struggling to migrate. When she offers him her suitcase from her own migration from Colombia, Maebelle and Binkle share memories as well as discover the power of letting go. Presented by Glass Half Full Theatre, the Kiko Villamizar-scored show is recommended for ages 5 and up. – James ScottApril 26 & May 3-4
CLOSING
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Arts
Theatre
23 & Me & Somebody Else
More in-the-know operators caught on to Malia Moss’ one-woman show early in its April run, but ya boy has finally gotten the message: This is a great show! Not the typical monologue one imagines when a single-storyteller stageplay comes up, Moss’ deeply personal narrative has the comedian embodying different characters as she unpacks the shocking revelation that she isn’t her father’s biological kid. Grappling with further surprises uncovered by the titular DNA test – such as having both a Holocaust survivor and a former Miss Universe contestant in her family tree – Moss “explores family secrets, identity, and the miracle of human existence.” Yamina Khouane directs. – James ScottApril 19 & 26 -
Arts
Theatre
Lipstick
Theatre and queer people have been entangled since the very first wigs were powdered, so it’s no surprise Austin Rainbow Theatre sashayed onto the Central Texas scene in 2021. This Friday, April 11, they kick off new show Lipstick – a farce featuring typical goof-ups of the LGBTQ variety. This includes: the is-this-a-date question, everyone crashing in on a private moment, and norms being – oh my gosh! – challenged. Written by Lane Michael Stanley and world-premiered in Florida, this comical yet heartfelt play provides queer joy in our own long-suffering conservative state. – James ScottFridays - Sundays, April 11-26
ONGOING
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Arts
Theatre
Austin Opera Presents Madame Butterfly
An eerily everlasting warning about U.S. imperialism, Madame Butterfly shares the story of naval Lieutenant Pinkerton brokering a Japanese bride before leaving her pregnant and alone. It can easily stand for global politics as a whole, while still hitting as a romantic tragedy. It’s exactly the kind of haunting art that inspires a million homages. Puccini’s own music rises and falls like leaves on the wind, from soft chorals to aerobatic arias. Join Austin Opera and prepare to fall in love all over again while listening to the titular Cio-Cio-San. It’ll be a knife right to your heart. – Cat McCarreyApril 25-27 -
Arts
Theatre
Body Politics
Poet, comedian, multi-hyphenate powerhouse Shasparay has been out here, highlighting social injustice with their poignant mix of wry humor and clearcut boundaries. They know what’s right, what’s wrong, and who they are. Expect that level of clarity with Body Politics, their solo show treatise on the “fat experience.” Having a body is inherently political. Especially when female-presenting. Especially when Black. Especially when fat. And Shasparay? They’ve been through it all. Belittlement, shame, fetishization, all within the presentation of curves and skin and outward expression. It’s a show about the thin line between love and hate, about self-acceptance, about reconciling identity. And with Shasparay’s dynamic delivery, it will be difficult to look away. – Cat McCarreyApril 23-27 -
Arts
Theatre
Dial M for Murder
Film buffs know the Hitchcock version of Dial M for Murder, a delicate cocktail of a mystery movie with adultery, blackmail, and the blessed screen presence of Grace Kelly. Jarrott Productions has mixed up their own version of the timeless thriller. It’s got the signature intrigue, with a delectable twist courtesy of playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s more modern adaptation. Still set in the stylish 1950s, Jarrott’s serving up suspense with heavy dashes of queer romance, women’s liberation, and the fragile male ego. There’s more than money on the line with this production of surreptitious schemes gone awry. – Cat McCarreyThrough April 27 -
Arts
Theatre
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
In this, the doldrums of spring … is it just me, or are even the wildflowers less vibrant than usual? We could all use an escape. An evening in the French Riviera could fit the bill, especially while watching the exploits of two conflicting con men. First introduced in film by Michael Caine and Steve Martin, the titular Dirty Rotten Scoundrels of Austin Playhouse’s musical mayhem will perform literal tap dances around each other as they try to score big time. It’s almost, almost too wonderful to be true. Who will get the girl? Who will get the cash? Who will leave entertained (could it be you)? Shows start this Friday, April 11. – Cat McCarreyApril 11 - May 11 -
Arts
Theatre
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical!
Beep beep! Make way for this vehicular bird, who springs from author Mo Willem’s Pigeon picture books onto the Zach stage for this family-friendly musical. Originally commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the production is suitable for kids 3 years old and up – so a perfect pick if you’ve got antsy toddlers yearning to dance and sing during stageplays. Plotwise, this isn’t a challenging piece: When a bus driver disembarks from their seat, a mischievous fowl takes the wheel to expectedly chaotic results. Feathers will fly, I’m told. – James ScottThrough May 18 -
Arts
Theatre
FEAST.
Shrewd Productions brings playwright Megan Gogerty’s one-woman take on the Beowulf story to the Hyde Park stage. That one woman is repeat B. Iden Payne award winner Katherine Catmull. The tale is mythological but also runs up against modern culture and is described as both “immersive” and “visceral.” That sounds about right for a play that tackles the authoritarian moment we’re currently wrestling with. Laughs and rage are also promised, and that’s our baseline these days, so we’re looking forward to it. – James RenovitchApril 24 - May 17 -
Arts
Theatre
Filigree Theatre Presents: The Illusionary Games of Edward Rye
“Masks and Mirrors” is the guiding theme behind Filigree Theatre’s sixth season, which closes out with a bang (or a shatter) in The Illusionary Games of Edward Rye. World-class psychiatrist Rye sets out to prove that all existence is a masked mirror, a quirk of the mind. Like all great men, he tries to prove his theory through a woman. Only once he’s beguiled a woman into his experience does Rye begin to wonder who, exactly, is controlling whom. Twisty, turny, and with multiple layers of play-within-a-play storytelling, Edward Rye uses actual illusions – never tricks – to make characters and audience alike question their reality. – Cat McCarreyApril 18 - May 4 -
Arts
Theatre
Overheard on a Train
Forget escape rooms or axe-throwing, this theatre-on-the-move is the next big thing in friend-night-outs. Find your closest three hangs (or be an extra wild card), and clamber aboard for an interactive story on a train. It’s like a murder mystery party, but with way less dressing up and no one has to go through the hassle of hosting. Just enter your metro car and let the Conductor lead you through one of four active adventure read-throughs. Be a band, bachelorettes, or bank robbers, and see what unfolds as scenery flashes past your window. There’s even a middle school adventure for families. Forget eavesdropping on the drama of other public-transportation users. Be the drama. – Cat McCarreyApril 12, 26 & May 10Downtown Metro Station -
Arts
Theatre
What the Constitution Means to Me
Director Jenny Lavery’s work has often had a political tinge, but her most recent productions have been unrelenting in how they push the audience to engage with the forces that endanger and shape society. After her long-delayed and critically lauded production of abortion drama Roe, now she takes on the Pulitzer-winning political conversation between one woman at two points in her life. Best known to non-theatre audiences as the overly loyal June Thompson for Boardwalk Empire, Nisi Sturges dons the signature yellow jacket of Obie-winning playwright Heidi Schreck as she contends with the potential and the limitations of one of America’s most important documents. – Richard WhittakerThrough May 11