Month: January 2026

In 1960 Harper Lee published the groundbreaking novel: To Kill a Mockingbird, a startling, unabashedly frank exploration of race relations, gender identity, ignorance and poverty. It exposed the ugly, sad, brutality of fear and resentment, without being didactic. Set in 1930, in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, Mockingbird details a crime: Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The town is in upheaval. Some want to lynch him, some hold with their better angels.

The narrative turns on Attorney Atticus Finch and his children, Scout and Jem. Finch has been assigned to defend Robinson, undeniably the best man for the job. Scout, as a grown woman, describes their life; the neighbors and odd ducks, the friendly and petulant. As incidents transpire, we get the drift of attitudes and values of the community. The cranky dowager with the nice garden, the farmer who must pay Atticus by barter, Tom Robinson’s wife sitting in the segregated section of the courtroom, Mayella watching her father as she testifies. Harper Lee takes us through the intersections between the different classes. She does so without pity or disparagement. Each character (flawed as they may be) is treated with dignity and respect. Never quaint.

Director James Prince has a genius for performance and presentation. In the first act we see five doors to five homes, making a circle. The acting space is surrounded by thresholds to different families and we, the audience might be another household, completing the circle. There’s something tribal, perhaps, something enigmatic about this layout. It emphasizes our participation the story. An equanimity between us and the townspeople. In the second act, the courtroom encircles the stage, again pulling us into the spectacle and action. Are we bearing witness to a ritual, an evocation of the painful truths so often buried under affectation and complicity?

Mr. Prince navigates this versatile, dedicated cast of nineteen (that’s right!?) with kinetic wisdom and rhythmic poise. Each character has their particular demeanor, their own energy: clicking like a cricket or sputtering like a jalopy or sailing like a sloop. Prince orchestrates with precision and grace. Each performer keeps their head in the game, focused and motivated.Kudos to James Prince for his inspired and masterful direction.

Over time, I have seen numerous productions at The Core ( Inferno, Our Town, Our Town, Wait Until Dark..) and never once I have been disappointed. Their slant on dramas familiar and exotic is always intriguing, insightful,and entertaining. The players are spirited, the energy pops and the interpretations sublime. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch To Kill a Mockingbird at The Core in Richardson

The Core presents Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, playing January 26^th, 2026. 518 West Arapaho Road, Suite 115, Richardson, Texas 75080. thecoretheatre.org (214) 930-5338

For the third year, Richardson Theatre Centre has staged their holiday radio play. By now an industry standard, a radio play reveals the actors as they broadcast: zany skits, carols sung with gusto or melancholy, by choir, duet and solo. (Songs are meticulous, harmonious, with flawless phrasing. Not a klinker among them.) And certainly, the Emcee, with his perpetual line of shtick, and groan worthy gags. The formidable ensemble consists of twelve different players, cross cast in sketches and musical numbers. WRTC’s Holiday Show gives us a feel for the cast, behind the scenes. We catch a glimpse of the characters when the ON THE AIR sign is given a break.

Since this particular iteration is set during World War 2, the show is dedicated to the soldiers overseas. Slides and letters to and from home, equal parts comic and wistful. There’s also a fizzy energy: cast and crew jazzed and eager. Contagious as the cocktail flu. These merrymakers are versatile and limber, shifting gears and wielding banter with precision. There’s the brusque gumshoe and congenial, ditzy lady. There’s the squabbling couple and litany of commercials, so characteristic of a time, when everybody got their news and relief from movies or films, or the radio. The flavor and creativity of entertainers like George Burns and Gracie Allen, The Shadow, Orson Welles, Hedda Hopper… and of course, the striving but no less spectacular artists, are so different from today.

Now for the Third Christmas, Richardson Theatre Center has presented this bright, nonsensical, vivid revue, suffused with sincerity and delight. They capture the essence of Christmas spirit, avoiding tropes and putting a fresh slant on the season. The audience is convivial, stoked for this eccentric, buoyant channel of enchantment and humanity. Nothing wrong with A Christmas Carol, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, White Christmas, Holiday Inn, but thanks to RTC, there’s room for fresh material.

From December 5th-21st, 2025, Richardson Theatre Center featured their Annual Holiday Radio Show (with hearty thanks to Rusty Harding). 518 West Arapaho Road, Suite 113, Richardson, Texas 75080. 972-699-1130. richardsontheatrecentre.net

For the third year, Richardson Theatre Centre has staged their holiday radio play. By now an industry standard, a radio play reveals the actors as they broadcast: zany skits, carols sung with gusto or melancholy, by choir, duet and solo. (Songs are meticulous, harmonious, with flawless phrasing. Not a klinker among them.) And certainly, the Emcee, with his perpetual line of shtick, and groan worthy gags. The formidable ensemble consists of twelve different players, cross cast in sketches and musical numbers. WRTC’s Holiday Show gives us a feel for the cast, behind the scenes. We catch a glimpse of the characters when the ON THE AIR sign is given a break.

Since this particular iteration is set during World War 2, the show is dedicated to the soldiers overseas. Slides and letters to and from home, equal parts comic and wistful. There’s also a fizzy energy: cast and crew jazzed and eager. Contagious as the cocktail flu. These merrymakers are versatile and limber, shifting gears and wielding banter with precision. There’s the brusque gumshoe and congenial, ditzy lady. There’s the squabbling couple and litany of commercials, so characteristic of a time, when everybody got their news and relief from movies or films, or the radio. The flavor and creativity of entertainers like George Burns and Gracie Allen, The Shadow, Orson Welles, Hedda Hopper… and of course, the striving but no less spectacular artists, are so different from today.

Now for the Third Christmas, Richardson Theatre Center has presented this bright, nonsensical, vivid revue, suffused with sincerity and delight. They capture the essence of Christmas spirit, avoiding tropes and putting a fresh slant on the season. The audience is convivial, stoked for this eccentric, buoyant channel of enchantment and humanity. Nothing wrong with A Christmas Carol, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, White Christmas, Holiday Inn, but thanks to RTC, there’s room for fresh material.

From December 5th-21st, 2025, Richardson Theatre Center featured their Annual Holiday Radio Show (with hearty thanks to Rusty Harding). 518 West Arapaho Road, Suite 113, Richardson, Texas 75080. 972-699-1130. richardsontheatrecentre.net