Austin gets all the credit for being the arty city in Texas, and Houston residents probably like it that way: When no one's depending on you to bolster your state's reputation, you get a lot more work done! But the city where "Reality Bites" and "Rushmore" were filmed is stepping into the limelight with next month's Cinema Arts Festival Houston.

Held November 11 to 15, the fest says it focuses on "films by and about artists," offering events like a conversation with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga ("Babel") Nov. 13 and a screening of the new documentary "Yes Men Fix The World" with one of the Yes Men, who have been wreaking havoc in Washington D.C. this week with fake press conferences and silly costumes—that's on November 14 and 15. ]]> egw 2009-10-21T16:28:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/13/23855/004

Gleeks and other theater nerds will be thrilled to know that they can catch complimentary shows in more than 120 cities across the country on October 15, the designated Free Night of Theater. But theater newbies benefit, too. They get a chance to dip their feet in the theater pool instead of having to dive right in and become full-fledged patrons of the arts.

The fifth annual Free Night aims to expose theater to the masses, especially those demographics that are typically underrepresented in theater audiences. It's the perfect time to try out a new company that you've been meaning to see or one that you've never even heard of. Offerings include everything from experimental companies to musical-theater troupes, and ballet companies to classical music concerts.]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-10-13T10:33:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/30/104219/414

Having trouble distinguishing between movies and plays? In a movie, the characters don't berate you if your cell phone goes off, as one Broadway audience member found out this week while watching Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig tread the boards together.

Jackman and Craig are currently starring in "A Steady Rain," a Chicago-imported drama about two cops who get into some off-duty trouble. Last Wednesday, they didn't even break accent (Jackman's is better, for the record) to call out an etiquette-challenged patron who didn't turn off a ringing cell phone (which proceeded to go off again). Thanks to TMZ, you can watch the video here, and we beg you, do not be that guy. Or, for that matter, the guy videotaping an entire show from his seat—this isn't U2 at Giants Stadium! ]]> egw 2009-09-30T11:23:51-05:00 40.7583232 -73.986444 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/16/33148/8335
In the Old Globe’s Summer Shakespeare Festival production of Cyrano de Bergerac, Patrick Page plays the nasally-well-endowed titular character and Dana Green stars as Roxane.

If you are looking to wind down the season with one more alfresco outing, head to San Diego's Old Globe Theatre for the Summer Shakespeare Festival. The 74th annual fest offers Bard classics Twelfth Night and Coriolanus and in a break with tradition, Cyrano de Bergerac, the first non-Shakespeare play the theater has featured since it revived the festival five years ago.

The three productions rotate nightly in the Globe’s outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre through September 27. This way, if you're in town for a couple of days, you can catch all three. But if you can only make a day or two, here's a rundown of the shows to help you decide which play to see: ]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-09-16T14:20:46-05:00 32.7322547 -117.15178 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/13/134929/884

The glitz and the glamour of the Great White Way has dazzled many a visitor to New York CIty, but you want something... more. You don't mind seeing a little of the magic dissipated if it means you get a glimpse into what goes on when the show must go on. Prove you're not the average Playbill-collecting fan with these New York theater excursions:]]> egw 2009-08-14T09:29:35-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/3/12412/28522

Now they can stay in their pajamas all day: The cast and crew of Broadway's movie-to-musical version of "9 to 5," cowritten by Dolly Parton, will be out of work by Labor Day as the poorly attended musical is scheduled to close. Based on the 1980 female-empowerment comedy costarring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, "9 to 5" opened April 30 but never found its audience, failing to break 70 percent capacity in the house this past week.

Our recessionary theory: A depressed job market has no place for fantasies about getting revenge on your sexist boss. After all, he could read your mind (or your tweets) and fire you, and then where would you be? More likely, the show's producers wildly overestimated the popularity of the movie (and Parton's drawing power when she's not onstage) when they sunk $14 million into the show; without marquee names either for Broadway or the movies—Allison Janney, we still love you—tourists steered clear. ]]> egw 2009-08-03T13:24:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/7/14250/45937

The Mouse just couldn't mint that money fast enough: The Broadway production of "The Little Mermaid," one of three Disney shows currently running on the Great White Way, will close August 30 and seek its fortunes on a national tour.

"The Little Mermaid" opened in November 2007 after a very mixed out-of-town try-out in Denver and never gained the hearts and minds of critics, while its siblings were either mostly ignored ("Mary Poppins") or unduly celebrated ("The Lion King"). Stung by the stagehands' strike and widespread mockery of the production's use of rollerskates to make its actors "swim" about the stage, the show nonetheless outlasted box office predictions and as of last week was still at 85 percent capacity, while the critically acclaimed play "Mary Stuart" languished at 55.3 percent. (The second-last show in grosses, "Blithe Spirit," is closing this week.) ]]> egw 2009-07-07T16:29:18-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/