Eklektikos host John Aielli gives you his picks for this weekend and beyond
Rollins Theater at the Long Center for the Performing Arts – The Glass Menagerie
February 17-19 at 7:30 pm CST and February 20 at 3:00 pm CST
“Enjoy the emotion-packed charge and nostalgic laughter of Tennessee Williams’ memory play, The Glass Menagerie, when Austin Shakespeare returns to the intimate Rollins Theater.
Narrated by Tom (Marc Pouhé), come visit with this African-American family and experience some of Williams’s most imagistic, rhythmic language as we journey with the young poet who tangles with his lively Southern mother (Franchelle S. Dorn*), his sensitive beloved sister Laura (Khali Sykes), and Laura’s “gentleman caller” (Kenah Benefield).”
Kam and James Morris Studio, TexARTS – Sweeney Todd
Fridays-Sundays, February 11 – February 27, 2022; Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; 2 p.m. matinees on Sunday and on Saturday, March 26
“The TexARTS Professional Series celebrates the extraordinary legacy of the late Stephen Sondheim with a reimagined version of his grisly 1979 masterpiece Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Sweeney Todd is a heart-pounding thriller set in seedy 19th century London. Filled with chilling terror, diabolical humor and extraordinary music, this eight-time Tony-Award-winning musical tells the tale of an exiled barber’s quest to avenge the wrongs done to him and his family by a lecherous judge. Along the way, Sweeney Todd is assisted by the pie shop owner Mrs. Lovett, who has a few creative ideas about what to do with the victims.”
Long Center’s Dell Hall – Remarkable Romantics
Friday, February 18, 2022 at 8:00 pm CST
“Kennedy Center 2021 honoree, Midori, returns for a much-anticipated performance of Sibelius’ only concerto, the exquisite Violin Concerto in D Minor. Bookends for the program include a work by Dvořák’s pupil, Joseph Suk’s expressive Fantastické Scherzo, and his own Symphony No. 3 written in only three movements. It begins with an expansive melody and ends with a spirited dancelike rondo; how else would you end a remarkable concert for a romantic night out?!”
The Paramount Theatre – Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band
Friday, February 18, 2022; Doors at 7:00 pm and show at 8:00 pm CST
“A Concert of Songs and Stories by Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band (with special guests)
Presented in conjunction with Terry Allen’s exhibition MemWars at the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX, December 18, 2021-July 10, 2022.”
The Paramount Theatre – Gladys Knight
Tuesday, February 22, 2022; Doors at 7:00 pm and show at 8:00 pm CST
“The great ones endure, and Gladys Knight has long been one of the greatest. Very few singers over the last fifty years have matched her unassailable artistry. This seven-time Grammy winner has enjoyed #1 hits in Pop, Gospel, R&B and Adult Contemporary, and has triumphed in film, television and live performance.”
Soundspace at Captain Quackenbush – A GURU NAMED FRANK with John Henry McDonald
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 at 7:30 pm CST
“From the streets of San Francisco to the jungles of Vietnam, from drug addiction and alcoholism and homelessness, to finding his strength and becoming a leading figure in Austin’s financial services sector for 40+ years, John Henry McDonald has lived many lives in one. A GURU NAMED FRANK is John Henry’s story of struggle, perseverance, and transformation, told through his inimitable songwriting and storytelling. All proceeds benefit North Austin Foundation & The 24 Hour Club.”
Bass Concert Hall – Sebastian Maniscalco: Nobody Does This Tour
Saturday, February 19, 2022 at 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm CST
“Currently on the road for his new Nobody Does This Tour, the man Vulture said, “built a tremendous fan base the old-fashioned way: one joke at a time, one audience at the time,” announces a February 19 date at Bass Concert Hall. With so many new experiences to draw from this last year, Maniscalco is sharing his unique comedic perspective with the masses with this brand-new show.”
Bass Concert Hall – Tootsie
February 22-27, 2022; times vary
“Call it “musical comedy heaven” (Rolling Stone). Call it “the most uproarious new musical in years!” (The Hollywood Reporter). Call it TOOTSIE! This laugh-out-loud love letter to the theater tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime. Featuring a hilarious Tony®-winning book by Robert Horn and an outrageously clever score by 2018 Tony-winner David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), this New York Times Critic’s Pick is “a joyful delight” (The Washington Post) that’s “so packed with punchlines, it should be called a jokebox musical!” (Bloomberg). “In these turbulent times, when the world seems out of balance, we need a place to let the good times roll,” raves Rolling Stone. “TOOTSIE is it!””
