A preview for my solo show at the VORTEX theatre.
August 17, 2006
Getting Fresh at the Vortex
Austinist.com
A few titillating theatre pieces are going down in Austin right now, but our list is topped by the New Plays/Fresh Voices performances running two weeks only at the Vortex.
This and next weekend only, two new plays by two local playwrights will be on the boards.
One of the works is the latest from local, award-winning playwright, poet, and performer Zell Miller, III. B-Boy Bluez is “a fast-paced lyrical rhythmic ride of reflection on innocence to maturity.” Sounds like Miller is up to his most excellent tricks, combining “hip-hop beats, inner-city storytelling, and melodic spoken word” to take us back to a time when hip-hop was “more than bling-bling and insanity.” Trust us, Miller knows what he’s talking about, and has in all certainty once again weaved some profound, beautiful, prose guaranteed to captivate and expand you. We were blown away by The Evidence of Silence Broken, and imagine this will be of similar style and quality.
The other piece is Maggie Gallant’s Hot Dogs at the Eiffel Tower. She performed this work at Frontera, Best of Week, and we liked it very much. Intensely personal and autobiographical, we found it to be well written and thought-provoking. The story is uniquely hers: “In London’s Victoria Station, [she] awaits the 9:25 train from Basingstoke [and] an awkward reunion with the woman who gave her up.” It’s rich, heady stuff. Gallant’s main passion is stand-up comedy, so this foray into acting is a spreading of the wings for her. We’re not sure whether the piece is reworked or extended in any way (likely it is), but we were quite taken with it the first time and would gladly check it out again.
B-Boy Bluez by Zell Miller, III
Hot Dogs at the Eiffel Tower by Maggie Gallant
August 17-26, Thu?Sat @ 8pm
The Vortex, 2307 Manor Rd.
Tickets: 512-478-LAVA (5282)
Pick your Price: $30, $25, $20, $15, $10
Image of Zell Miller III (c) Tru Ruts Endeavors / Image of Maggie Gallant (c) Maggie Gallant.