Penfold Theatre Co.

After taking Errol to yet another questionable cultural outing, I think he has banned me for life, so I will have to find another unwitting soul to accompany me to these outings.
Having been raised in the theater, to a certain degree (my grandfather was a playwright and director of the Harbor Street Playhouse in Corpus Christi, my grandmother a community actress, her first husband, bio-​grandpa, also a community actor, and our family dog starred in the 1984 production of Rumors at Harbor Street) I am spoiled to a certain degree. I want to see theater, but also used to getting to go for free to a the biggest, swankiest playhouse in town with the best actors, costumes, directors, and plays.
I think what killed this production for me (A Minister’s Wife) was the play and the costumes. And the songs. Though the singing was quite good. And the actors themselves were excellent. The magic of the theater is when it all comes together seamlessly that you don’t even realize how swept up you’re getting in the moment, until the house lights come up and you have to awaken yourself from the daze. Aw those were the daze. Days. Err.

In a perfect Unilocal world, there would be three separate reviews for every play you see: One for the venue, one for the production company, and one for the play itself. For me, it’s the total package that makes or breaks a memorable theater experience. And in this particular case, the venue was cool, the Penfold Company superb, but the play itself stank. Two out of three ain’t bad.
I have no doubt Mr. Shaw’s «Candida» was controversial in 1900, but it’s 2013, and if you’re in frenzied anticipation because you can’t see the final scene coming, you’re seriously out of touch. «A Minister’s Wife» is a musical remake of that play, there are clever arrangements and catchy lyrics, but I would’ve paid a higher price to hear Mr. Cannata break into «On the Street Where You Live.» The smartest thing about the evening was not having an intermission, because polite people won’t walk out on a local company giving its best.
The Trinity Street Theater is a wonderful venue on the fourth floor of the downtown Baptist Church, who would’ve thunk? (See what I mean? That’s a whole other review.) Totes admiration for professional actors living in Austin, this cast hit their marks and notes as smoothly as anyone else I’ve seen on a stage. I tend to notice stuff like pants and hemlines that could have been tweaked, but it’s not a major distraction, and it’s got to be difficult to do period pieces on what I assume to be a tight budget.
4-​stars for the venue, 4.5 for the company, and maybe less than one for the play — I think that comes out to about three or so for the package. But I left here wanting to see this Penfold Theater Company in just about anything else. I guess that makes me an overall four-​star fan.

What an amazing performance I just experienced last night! I bought a Living Social voucher for a friend and I to attend the play «A Minister’s Wife,» which starred: Greg Holt, Jill Blackwood, Andrew Cannata, Amy Dowing, and Nathan Jenkins. I was seriously blown away by their talent!
First, let me start off by saying that the theatre is located at 901 Trinity St. in Austin. It is a Baptist church. My friend and I didn’t know this and walked right past it (using my non-​trusty iphone walking directions my my gps) and down 10^th St’s ginormous hill — then back up it when we realized ½ an hour later that my phone must be wrong. Anyway, we head in and the theatre is located on the 4^th floor. They offered candy and wine before entering. There was no intermission and it was a 90-​min show. I was a bit bothered by this at first but it ended up not being bad once the show got started. I’m honestly glad there was no intermission because I don’t think it would have had the same effect. The «stage» was extremely small and used the same room for the setting the entire performance. My only issue through their performance was the comfort of the chairs. They were conference-​type boardroom chairs, which admittedly could have been worse but better just the same.
Back to the actors. BRAV FRICKIN’ O. They were amazing — just AMAZING. I’d never experienced chamber opera before and it honestly brought tears to my eyes hearing the main character Candida (Jill Blackwood) belt out singing like she did. The play itself was comical yet serious and provided many laughs throughout the show. I thought that the secretary was the funniest. I won’t give away what the story is about because you just need to go and see it!
We’ll be attending «Shipwrecked!» with a bunch of friends in June for their FREE performance in the park at the Round Rock Amphitheater for sure!

This is the second summer I have been to Penfold Theater’s free summer play performed at the Round Rock Amphitheater (behind the Baca Center at 301 W. Bagdad Ave, Round Rock TX 78 664). Last year was «The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)» which was pretty funny. Even my notoriously aloof husband laughed a bit. This year the offering is «A Servant Of two Masters» by Carlo Goldoni. Not as funny as Shakespeare on fast forward, but enjoyable none-​the-​less. Mostly enjoyable because it’s free, it’s outdoors-​so you bring a picnic (or get one of the scrumptious box lunches Round Rock Café has provided for $ 6 or a Kona Ice at their truck), a chair or blanket, and your friends. At the very least it’s something different than going to the movies (AGAIN).
The company boasts some decent, likeable, actors, gorgeous costumes, and a clever, if ascetic, set designer (at least at this outdoor venu). The audio is atrocious at the Round Rock Amphitheater and that’s the one thing that might mar your lovely summer evening theater experience. There are comment cards at the Penfold Information Tent, so I hope that if enough people comment on the audio, the city of Round Rock will be moved to do something to fix it, and next summer will be even better. The train will come thundering by periodically as well, but that’s OK because the actors will stop in the middle of the scene and do some very silly dancing and juggling and other things to entertain you until the train has passed.
I encourage you to go, support these guys, support free summer theater. Bring the kids (but not the babies and toddlers PLEASE!), bring the grandparents. Enjoy the stars, enjoy your picnic, enjoy the play!

Penfold Theatre is up and coming in the Round Rock Area! Their current production, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) is absolutely RESPLENDENT! I especially love how they deal with the trains that run right next to the theatre, so funny!
I know they’ve won awards and stuff for shows down in Austin, but it’s very exciting to have a theatre group who really want to be a part of the Round Rock community. Looking forward to their next production!