Texarkana Entertainment Blog

If local theatergoers want to see a hilarious, madcap musical full of laughter, roller skates, beguiling (not to mention scheming) Muses and an over-the-top artist, they must check out TexRep’s production of “Xanadu.” Add into the dramatic mix some big dreams, romantic intrigue and a disco ball and you have a real winner.

The play just finished the first weekend of a two-weekend run. I caught Sunday’s show and snickered and chuckled the entire time. The direction is crisp, the singing and dancing both excellent and laughter plentiful during this musical send-up of the infamous (infamously bad) Olivia Newton-John movie. “Xanadu” was a hit on Broadway and it’s easy to see why. Campy humor, fun songs and a good heart at the center of it all make for seriously excellent entertainment. Kudos to the two leads, Austin Alford and Emily Cokeley, for their great work. They give the characters some wide-eyed charisma and spirited depth that makes the musical more than the sum of its parts. They’re also supported by a great cast and crew. Go see it!

More info: TexRep.org.

- Aaron Brand

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I used some scarce free time Sunday to catch TexRep’s latest production, “Doubt: A Parable,” which just completed the first weekend of a two-weekend run at Texarkana College’s Stilwell Theatre.

I’m a big fan of the 2008 movie “Doubt” starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and for that reason I both anticipated the show and felt apprehensive. It would be diffcult to top the movie, I thought. Nevertheless, I hoped I’d see a great character study because that’s what made the movie adaptation of John Patrick Shanley’s play so engaging to me. The material is a multi-dimensional exploration of the theme “doubt,” and what makes the play so moving is the fine, honest writing that declines to offer easy answers about these characters. When I saw the movie, I realized I had clear sympathies … but I wasn’t sure about guilt and innocence.

That complexity is what I got, too, with TexRep’s excellent version of the play about a school headmistress at a Catholic school in the Bronx who accuses a young, up-and-coming, free-thinking priest of improprieties with a student. All of the performances were outstanding, particularly the two lead performers, Janice Russell as Sister Aloysius Beauvier and Michael Skotnik as Father Brendan Flynn. Both inhabit their characters so fully that they come alive on stage as real characters, not cartoon cutouts. “Doubt” is one of the best plays I’ve seen TexRep perform. Hats off to cast and crew for a marvelous production, and if you haven’t seen the play it’s well worth seeing next weekend, Friday through Saturday (7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday).

- Aaron Brand

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A collection of miscellaneous items:

1) Texarkana has a new coffeehouse downtown: The Blues Iguana. Located at 205 E. Broad, this funky establishment has a comfortable, relaxed vibe with unique art, cozy seating, eclectic ambiance, and decidedly iguana-esque decorative touch (copies of “Iguana Times,” for example, on the walls). It feels like the kind of place you’d find in a city like Austin. It’s offbeat but mellow and welcoming.

Getting the coffeehouse underway has been a three-year project for owner Cliff Perkins, who renovated the interior to get the building up to speed. He has all sorts of coffees and soups, pastries, and sandwiches on tap. You can surf the Web, chitchat with friends, or even play the piano and drums while enjoying life at the Blues Iguana. Go check it out and support something different.

2) TexRep finished its production of “The Foreigner” this past weekend. “The Foreigner” was show number three in TexRep’s 20th anniversary season, which has brought back old favorites TexRep performed in the past for another go.

In this play, a shy Englishman pretends he’s unable to speak English, and the characters around him at a Georgia lodge either take him into their confidence or show him scathing disdain. A breakfast table scene between Michael Skotnik (as the “foreigner,” Charlie Baker) and Austin Alford (as Ellard Simms, a lodge resident who “teaches” English words to Charlie) was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on stage here, full of great physical comedy. And for such a hysterical play, the message hits home, particular at a time like the present when what’s deemed “foreign” is so routinely dismissed.

3) Anyone attending Thursday’s “ABBA Mania” show at the Perot Theatre gets a sneak peak at ABBA-style fashions and a photo booth during the pre-party before the big show. Stylin’.

- Aaron Brand

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TexRep posted the cast list for the theater crew’s next production, the zany comedy “The Foreigner.” A shy Englishman coming to a fishing lodge is the set-up for this play written by Larry Shue. On stage for this production are Russ Walker as “Froggy” LeSueur, Michael Skotnik as Charlie Baker, Janice Russell as Betty Meeks (she was just seen in “Steel Magnolias”), Stephen Searles as Rev. David Marshall Lee, Emily Cokeley as Catherine Simms, Kenneth Price as Owen Musser, and Austin Alford as Ellard Simms. Performances of the play run Nov. 5-7 and 12-14 with Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday shows at 2 p.m. As in all their productions this season, TexRep is reviving a play they’ve performed before to celebrate TexRep’s 20th anniversary.

- Aaron Brand

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TexRep is in the thick of its 20th anniversary season, and the theater crew has brought back old favorites to celebrate turning 20 years old. In May it was a rousing production of “Grease.” The second show of four for this season, “Steel Magnolias,” opened last Friday. I caught the Sunday afternoon performance from this all-female cast and they impressed the heck out of me with their comedic timing and the powerful portrayals of six women for whom friendship is an enduring, deep bond. Corrine Book, Leah Green, Claire Reynaud, Alethia White, Janice Russell, and Renay Turner Everett have made for a compelling cast, but the show is not over. If you haven’t seen “Steel Magnolias” yet, the second and final weekend is coming up Friday and Saturday (7:30 p.m.), and then again Sunday (2 p.m.). Kudos to this crew and their director, Michael Cooper.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photo by Eric J. Shelton. From left: Corrine Book, Claire Reynaud and Renay Turner Everett rehearse a scene from the play “Steel Magnolias” at Texarkana College's Stilwell Theatre.

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Several inconsiderate realities have conspired to keep me from the blog the last couple weeks, including extra story projects (they were actually fun, now that I have a chance to reflect on them), but now I finally found a breather and aim to give some well-earned kudos.

This past weekend I caught two solid, different music acts in town and the 24-hour play festival presented by TexRep. I wish more theater lovers came out to see TexRep on Demand’s ambitious show at Stilwell Theatre on Saturday night. But the theater company drew in some dedicated folks to see four plays presented in about the space of an hour. Each was interesting—if rough—and showed local talent is truly strong in writing, direction, and performing. Some of the writing had a local, topical bent to it, and that made the writing refreshing.  It was a bit of an experiment and I hope TexRep continues this tradition. All four plays were written and produced in the space of one day, and rehearsals for each didn’t start until Saturday morning; that’s the great challenge, and I think each team put something interesting on stage. “Props” to TexRep.

After that show finished I skedaddled on dowtown to catch Julian Primeaux and His Royal Rowdy Company, who brought their distinctive and raw, soulful, bluesy rock stew with Cajun and gospel flavors to Hopkins Icehouse. Hard to define this Lafayette, La., band but that’s a plus, and after a quieter opening set by the frontman the full band got on stage and rocked. Sunday night found The Lackadaisies at Fat Jack’s, a band I’ve been meaning to see for a while. They are unique and the ’60s influence is palpable but not overpowering in their melodic tunes. They have something interesting going on and here’s hoping they come on back often to Texarkana; they seem to be developing a bit of a following here, judging by the Sunday night crowd.

- Aaron Brand

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It may be summertime but that doesn’t mean the TexRep crew is taking it easy. The theater group’s community division stages two productions this month, starting tonight with a cabaret show. The show starts at 7 p.m. at a new restaurant in town—Daddy Dougaloo’s at 905 New Boston Road. For this production, TexRep has assembled talented local singers for a evening of song standards—classic ditties like “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Hit Me With a Hot Note,” and “How’d You Like to Spoon with Me?” The cabaret show, a new tradition for the company, continues Friday and Saturday nights this week, same time and same place. Tickets are $8 and if you’re interested in checking it out, let Ann Nicholas know through e-mail at naan55@hotmail.com.

Next week it’s something completely different, a 24-hour play festival. Four playwrights get together that Friday night with the TexRep on Demand crew to begin the festival. They’re each given a phrase, a prop, and a cast of actors, and from there they write a play overnight and present it Saturday morning. By that evening on Saturday, July 17, at 7:30 p.m. everything must be ready for a public performance at Texarkana College’s Stilwell Theatre. This should be exciting to see—a series of short pieces each fulfilling the needs of a play in just 15 minutes or so—and it should be refreshing to see something more experimental in local theater. Once again, if interested in seeing the performance, e-mail Ann Nicholas at the address above. (Tickets: $8 apiece, $5 for students and seniors.)

- Aaron Brand

A TexRep singer puts on the cabaret pizazz in this Gazette file photo.

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This is a little late because I was on vacation and I’m only now getting caught up, but the Friday before leaving town I saw TexRep’s production of “Tuesdays with Morrie.” Congratulations to TexRep for a powerful, moving portrait of two friends reconnecting as one of them is dying. In this play there’s much about how to live, and that message came through in TexRep’s show. Alan Harrel and Michael Skotnik forged fine chemistry on the stage; their feisty, philosophical interactions had great timing. It’s difficult to have two characters carry a whole play, but they hit the right notes with both the comedy and sadness in this story. There’s a serious emotional undercurrent to the play, and they got it right. Up next for TexRep will be something very different, the musical “Grease.”

- Aaron Brand

File photo by Tanner Spendley:

Staff photo by Tanner Spendley. Alan Harrel, left, and Michael Skotnik rehearse at the Stilwell Theatre for the TexRep presentation of “Tuesdays with Morrie.”

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Songs like “Summer Nights” and “Greased Lightnin’” are classics made popular through the film “Grease” with its engaging stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. They’re snappy and fun tunes. “Grease” was also a successful Broadway musical, beginning in the early 1970s. It’s also the next production for TexRep, the local theater company that will stage the show May 7 to 9 and 14 to 16. “Grease” kicks off TexRep’s twentieth season. They need a big cast for this rock musical and hold auditions next Monday at 7 p.m. at the Stilwell Theatre on the Texarkana College campus. If you’re interested in trying out for the show, be prepared to sing 16 bars of upbeat music, a cappella style. (There will be no accompanist.) More info on TexRep can be found at TexRep.org.

- Aaron Brand

Submitted art:

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The Downtown Youth Theater plans to stage a lively, colorful, and fun production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” this May. The theater organization holds auditions from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday at the First United Methodist Church, 401 N. State Line Ave., in Texarkana, Texas.

Eva Garrett of DYT said people interested in performing in the musical should bring a positive attitude to the audition. “It’s a lot of singing,” she said. A script and music to sing will be ready for those who try out. DYT is looking for performers ages 9 and up; children, teens, and families are welcome. Questions? Call Forrest or Eva Garrett or Mindy Zwirn at 903-792-7136 or 903-794-9555.

Also, TexRep just announced its next season. You can read our story about it here: Blasts from the past.

- Aaron Brand

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