• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Up Her Alley

    Houston beats Broadway: A top playwright and Smash creator makes her choice clear — she's no Fool

    Tarra Gaines
    Mar 4, 2014 | 12:34 pm

    Adult Language, Adult Situations, Beheadings. This is the description the Alley Theatre gives as a guidance for audiences planning to see the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck’s farce Fool. And while most adults breeze over these types of warnings this particular juxtaposition of advisories seems to aptly represent how the horrific can sometimes be hilarious especially when the beheadings are surrounded by cross-dressing, deadly food fights and lots of fart jokes.

    Set in the sub-kitchen of a 14th century castle, Fool juggles questions about the nature of comedy, identity and power as two rival court jesters are forced by their kings to compete in a joke-off, with the loser losing his or her head.

    When I recently had a chance to speak with Theresa Rebeck, I had to ask how a playwright so well known for scathing comic looks at contemporary power struggles, especially among the creative classes, came to write a play filled with references to witch burning and pig farming — one where kitchen wenches are threatened by literal cutthroats.

    Foolish Inspiration

    Rebeck explains that the idea of two fools in competition came to her several years ago, but she did not really discover their story until later.

    “I had gone through a series of situations that were connected to big power structures, and I started to understand that anything about a pair of fools would have to also be about power and comedy. When those pieces began to fall into place, I decided it was time to start writing this,” she says.

    “Sometimes when you do work in New York, everyone gets so obsessed with what kind of movie stars or TV stars you can put in this. It sort of starts to feel that it’s not about the play."

    Along with being the author of the Broadway hit plays Seminar and Dead Accounts, the Pulitzer Prize nominee is also the creator and first showrunner of the NBC drama Smash. The show’s behind-the-scenes drama was well publicized and, for some viewers, might have become more interesting than the on screen drama. So it would be easy to interpret Fool as a allegory for Hollywood power struggles, but after seeing the play, I think that might be the least interesting take on this comedy.

    In fact, it might be better to pair Fool with a trip to the Museum of Natural Science to view the Magna Carta exhibition, then to review Smash gossip.

    Truth in Comedy

    All the characters in the play from the fools to the villainous king’s advisors to the king himself are at the whim of whoever has the most power at any given moment. Sometimes that power comes from a sword or a seduction, other times from a well-timed joke. Even a seemingly decent king can easily become a despot when confronted with a “no.” Meanwhile, two fools just trying to tell some jokes, discover good comedy has a tendency to also reveal truths and sometimes that’s the last thing powerful people want to hear.

    “This play quite literally becomes about speaking truth to power in a comedic voice,” Rebeck says.

    Add in the constant exchanging of costumes and roles in the play, and Fool also struggles (and pratfalls) with issues of identity, a theme Rebeck has not explored much in her previous work.

    “Everyone in the play is in some sense wearing a costume. . .You’re not so much a jester as you are a person in a jester costume,” Rebeck explains, also making connections between the life of a medieval jester and the way we life today. “As the other classes show up we perform for them, as we all perform for people who have more power than us.

    “If the boss shows up, you want to wear a nice outfit. If the boss isn’t around you go: Ugh, I hate that guy. It’s very much about the way we perform for different classes of people and then when we aren’t performing you can still be in costume but you’re not performing the costume. There’s a lot of that that goes on, not just the fools but for everybody in the play.”

    Fool Finds a Home at the Alley

    Rebeck has been in town for rehearsals and is “thrilled” with what she’s seeing. Fool getting its world premiere at the Alley was no accident. Alley artistic director, Gregory Boyd, who is also directing Fool, attended one of the first readings of the play at the Eugene O'Neill Theater. When the play was ready Rebeck says she was quite “audacious” in calling Boyd and asking if he wanted the play for the Alley. She wanted Boyd especially for his gifts as a comic director.

    “The play is complicated, but there’s a strong farcical element to it, so that was a big part of wanting to do it here because I could get it to Greg Boyd,” she says.

    Another thing Rebeck finds refreshing about debuting a work so very far off Broadway is that the production is all about the play itself, not foremost a vehicle for a star.

    “Sometimes when you do work in New York, everyone gets so obsessed with what kind of movie stars or TV stars you can put in this. It sort of starts to feel that it’s not about the play. The play somehow gets turned into a platform to attract stars. That gets a little wearing on the heart,” Redeck confesses.

    At the Alley, she found “Largely the intent was to build a perfect a production of this play, with that being the main goal and that’s very exciting as a playwright to feel like you’re in hands that secure.”

    Fool runs at the Alley Theatre through March 16.

    Jeremy Webb as Stuart in the Alley Theatre’s production of Fool.

    Jeremy Webb as Stuart in the Alley Theatre\u2019s production of Fool
      
    Photo by © Michal Daniel
    Jeremy Webb as Stuart in the Alley Theatre’s production of Fool.
    unspecified
    news/arts

    most read posts

    Houston speakeasy ranks No. 59 on 100 best bars list for North America

    Houston suburb's rapid growth and 4 more popular stories

    9 new bars shaking up Houston with cocktails, live music, and more

    bookworms unite

    This is what Texans are reading the most in 2025

    Amber Heckler
    Apr 21, 2025 | 3:58 pm
    Bookstore
    Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash
    Support local bookstores, y'all.

    A new study revealing the top book genres enchanting each of the 50 states has revealed fantasy books are the No. 1 pick for avid readers in Texas.

    The book trends report by security experts Cloudwards examined Google Trends data to discover the top literary genres for each state. Romance was the leading genre infatuating most states (22 in total), with literary fiction, poetry, and fantasy ensnaring 24 other states combined.

    Besides being the No. 1 genre in Texas, fantasy books also dominate for readers in Washington, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, and North Carolina.

    The report says these innovative states that boast high quality universities and bustling tech sectors are the driving force behind growing demand for fantasy books and other works of imaginative literature.

    "The enduring popularity of fantasy may be attributed to its unparalleled world-building capabilities and capacity to address complex social issues through allegorical frameworks," the report said. "Undoubtedly, for many, fantasy offers a temporary escape from day-to-day stresses and worries."

    The rise of BookTok — a popular TikTok category centered around reading, book clubs, and popular books — may be another major factor in the younger generation's shift towards reading. The category has nearly 53 million posts to prove it.

    Well-known fantasy books that have remained in the zeitgeist in recent years include George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (a.k.a. Game of Thrones), Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series, and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series.

    Many of these titles can be found on the shelves of Houston's many independent bookstores, just in time for Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 26. It's crucial that Houstonians support their local bookstores rather than shop from big box stores like Amazon, Target, or Barnes and Noble.

    The annual Houston Bookstore Crawl, which runs through April 30, is a wonderful guide for touring many of these local literary havens.

    Here are a few non-exhaustive options for shopping at independent bookstores in the Houston area:

    • Becker's Books
    • Blue Willow Bookshop
    • The Book Attic, Tomball
    • Books Abound
    • Books by the Bay, La Porte
    • Brazos Bookstore
    • Good on Paper
    • Houston Book Warehouse
    • Kaboom Books
    • Katy Budget Books, Katy
    • Kindred Stories
    • Lit Java Coffee & Books, Pearland
    • Murder By The Book
    • Quarter Price Books
    • Village Books, The Woodlands
    bookstoresreadinglistshouston
    news/arts
    Loading...