Deb and Sandy are auditioning Tim for the role of the Wolf in an adult adaptation of The Three Little Pigs, but there’s a mysterious haze in the basement of the Mortier Civic Playhouse and that, along with interruptions from the director of ‘the Scottish play’ that’s having its opening night upstairs, is making things, well, even hazier. Then the mysterious Liz shows up throwing the room into utter chaos and revealing the deep, ancient evil at the heart of the community theater audition process.
Directed by Catastrophic core artist Jeff Miller, whose past directing credits include Catastrophic hits Buried Child, Curse of the Starving Class, and Baby Screams Miracle. Miller also teamed with actor Luis Galindo to co-direct Suzan-Lori Parks’ The Book of Grace in 2022, in which Galindo also starred. The Houston Press hailed the production as a triumphant “resurgence of the magical power of theater.”
It is Magic features an all-star cast of Catastrophic core artists: Amy Bruce, Tamarie Cooper, Dillon Dewitt, Luis Galindo, and Courtney Lomelo.
Mickle Maher’s plays have been produced Off-Broadway and throughout the world. Catastrophic has produced a whopping 12 productions of his plays, some of them more than once: last season’s It Is Magic, Song About Himself, The Hunchback Variations, There Is a Happiness That Morning Is, The Strangerer, Jim Lehrer and The Theater and Its Double and Jim Lehrer’s Double, and the world premieres of The Pine and Small Ball, commissioned and co-produced by Catastrophic and former Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey. Maher is a co-founder of Chicago’s Theater Oobleck and has taught playwriting and related subjects at The University of Chicago, Columbia College, and Northwestern University. His plays are published by Hope and Nonthings.
“Maher [is] one of the most original voices in American theater today.” – Houston Chronicle
“This is peak CATASTROPHIC THEATRE, and the entire production is on FULL TILT BOOGIE from start to finish. … It’s funny, it’s quirky, and it is unlike anything else you are likely to see anytime soon.”
Luis Galindo, Courtney Lomelo, Tamarie Cooper in IT IS MAGIC. (photo by Anthony Rathbun)
