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Past Productions2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 |2002
= Denotes Renaissance Austin Theatre Co. Production 2007 SEASON (January-December 2007)
This wis a' aboot Ann Marie, a savvy pre-teen, whose da, Jimmy, starts tae frequent the local Buddhist centre insteid o' his local pub, an' whit happ'n'd when the lamas fae Tibet arrived ... Special appearances by Ann Marie's da, Ann Marie's ma, Ann Marie, Sammy Rinpoche and Sharon's mammy. Photo by Donnelle McKaskle.
2006 SEASON (January-December 2006)
"Loftus handles the poetic, rhythmically stylized text with a grace relatively uncommon to Austin stages. Her performance, while clearly connected, manages to capture the essence of V – finding both the high and low points of this heavily distressed character while avoiding dragging the audience through an entire performance of overly emotional, snotty speeches of self-loathing (which, believe us, might very well have happened with a less-experienced, or less-talented actress)." "... it's Kane's mesmerizing description of a disease-riddled mind and soul that stands as the star of this show."
"Lorella Loftus plays her (Josie Hogan) spot-on, alternating between a brassy mask and real tenderness." "Renaissance Austin brings O'Neill's play back to town after many years with an authentically dark and droll Celtic sensibility, drawn from Scotswoman Lorella Loftus, who stars as Josie, and Austin band the Tea Merchants, who provide contemporary background music that suits the piece well. Loftus has the best Irish brogue, and with her red hair frizzed out, her dirty costume, and her coarse nurturing and sharp tongue, it almost seems like O'Neill wrote the part just for her." "O'Neill's plays are carried - or dropped - by the actors. The beauty of realist drama is being able to see deep emotion resonating within the actors even when they are not speaking about those emotions. This production succeeds in this task. Loftus particularly shines in the fourth act, skillfully conveying the ache of temporarily glimpsing a life she knows she cannot have. Anyone, from any generation, can relate to the joy and pain that come from simply interacting with other people - or failing to do so. O'Neill knew how to write that truthfully, and thanks to this production, Austinites can experience it for themselves." "Overall, the actors did a fine job … catapulting the audience onto the emotional rollercoaster that makes this such a great piece. I commend them. This is no easy work! ... I enjoyed the comedic interaction between Loftus and D'Arcy ... Charles P. Stites as the haunted Jim Tyrone, Jr. ... really clicked in to his role. By the third act, Loftus and Stites carried the show. The chemistry between the two actors on stage was brilliant! ... There was a strong connection between these two characters that deepened as the scene played through all the emotional ups and downs of their relationship."
2005 SEASON (January-December 2005)
A specially adapted historical version of Shakespeare's tragedy, set in 11th century Scotland. Written and directed by individual artist, Lorella Loftus, for the Celtic Cultural Center of Texas. MacBeth was played by Todd J Porter with Stewart McGregor as Malcolme, Zach Freeman as Banquo, Steven Tausch as MacDuff, and Lorella Loftus as Lady MacBeth. Una Taylor, Anne Marshall, and Nadia Loftus played the three witches. The cast also featured Christopher Buckley on fiddle and Jeffrey Jones Ragona on vocals, along with Roger Borgelt, Collin Galloway, Steven Fay, Art Dibianca, Angela M. Loftus and Brent Jacob. Set Design by Ann Marie Gordon, Lighting Design by Jennifer Rogers, and Costume Design by Anne Marshall. "In the title role, Todd Porter was unquestionably passionate. He committed wholly to the role … As Macbeth's more malevolent half, Lorella Loftus turned in an all-out performance …"
By incorporating film as part of the play's action, Renaissance created a new angle on the old Greek story of a stepmother's illicit passion for her indifferent stepson. Todd J Porter played Hippolytus with Lorella Loftus as Phaedra. The theatre cast included Michael DeMinico, William Rene, Cindy DiCosimo and Ruby Glaberman. Film actors included John Lansch, Shawn P. May, Paula Gilbert, Gina Houston, Chris Sykes, Carl Gonzales, Cynthia A. Burton and Brandi Hughes. Co-directed and designed by Lorella Loftus and Todd J Porter. Set Design by Todd J Porter, Lighting Design by Todd J Porter, Costume Design by Lorella Loftus and Sound Design by Chad Salvata. "At the helm of this controversial project are co-directors, producers and stars Lorella Loftus and Todd Porter. Upon first meeting, neither seem the type to produce such an unsettling work of theatre. But when they step on stage and take on the roles of Phaedra and Hippolytus respectively, they transform into dark, twisted characters. This particular production strikingly integrates elements of both film and theatre … Lorella Loftus and Todd Porter want their audience to experience this work at its fullest." "Kane's plays were part of the "In-Yer-Face" movement in her homeland, where young writers slapped audiences with confrontational viscera. It's not for the prudish eye."
Renaissance Austin Theatre Company presented this dramatization of Robert Burns' classic tale of misadventure. Tam O'Shanter and his old nag Meg, travel late one night through the haunted countryside of Ayr, Scotland … The performances featured special guests, Scottish folk singer, Ed Miller as the Narrator, and Ken Liechti of the Silver Thistle Pipes and Drums as Auld Nick. The cast included Una Taylor, Jeffrey Jones Ragona, Sarah Coronado, Lorella Loftus and Roger Borgelt as Tam.
2004 SEASON (January-December 2004)
The cast featured Mick D'arcy as "Captain" Jack Boyle, Garry Peters as "Joxer" Daly, Preston Jones as Johnny Boyle, Marc Gunn as Jerry Devine, Lorella Loftus as Juno Boyle, Anne-Marie McKaskle as Mary Boyle, Betsy McCann as Maisie Madigan and Sian Rees-Cleland as Mrs Tancred.
The production featured Anne Marshall, Una Taylor and Sian Rees-Cleland as the three witches, Lorella Loftus as Lady MacBeth, Barry Pineo as MacBeth, Charles Hobby as Banquo, Roger B. Borgelt as Duncan, Monica Kurtz as Malcolme, Allan Wilson as MacDuff, Weldon Phillips as the Sergeant and Thane of Angus, Todd J Porter as the Thane of Caithness and Cameron Walsh as Fleance.
2003 SEASON (January-December 2003) HOLY WELL AND SACRED FLAME by Bonnie Cullum "Like a redheaded Prometheus, Brigid defies him [Dagda], signaling the end of the time before time. Loftus renders St. Brigid as a sparky Frank McCourt character who almost ruins her family with generosity."
CORIOLANUS by William Shakespeare The cast featured Matt Patterson as Coriolanus, Todd J Porter as Aufidius, Jennifer Underwood as Volumnia, Betsy McCann as Menenius, Melissa Vogt as Virgilia, Content Love Knowles as Sicinius, Blake Anthony DeLong as Brutus and Sean O'Brien as Cominius. Also featuring Errich Petersen, Kate Michael Gibson and Abbey Wyndham as the Citizens and in other assorted roles. "… director Lorella Loftus gives even this minor Shakespeare due respect. Her actors snap at the words, biting off big speeches with uniform accomplishment. Veteran Matthew Patterson … plays the title role with vigor … Jennifer Underwood and Todd Porter dedicate a consistent fierceness to the general's sharp-taloned mother and to his sinewy opposing commander. This is an honorable production of a play without much honor." "The production is grounded in the elements and gathers force like a storm … Costumers Chad Salvata and Kari Perkins neatly symbolize the blazing temper of this warrior, and Patterson matches it with a seething anger that seems to burn away his patience for the politics and customs of his people. When he isn't matching swords with his mortal foe Aufidius -- Todd Porter, in a roaring, tigerish turn -- Coriolanus is getting an earful from his mother Volumnia … Jennifer Underwood's imperious Volumnia … projects such arrogance that you believe Coriolanus suckled it from her breast … the playwright makes it difficult for anyone staging Coriolanus. By making the play turn again and again on the title character's irritability, rashness, and mercurial nature, the Bard makes it nigh impossible for anyone to communicate the nobility the Roman is said to possess. Loftus and company make a noble effort, however, attacking Coriolanus with a fierceness of imagination and commitment that would do the Roman general proud."
The cast featured David Phillips, Allan Wilson, Roger B. Borgelt, Jason McDonald, Sian Rees-Cleland, Una Taylor, Anne Marshall, Betsy McCann and Lorella Loftus in assorted roles.
2002 SEASON (January-December 2002)
The production featured Lorella Loftus as Mary, Anne Marshall as La Corbie, Paul Norton as John Knox, Bernadette Nason as Elizabeth, Dan Bisbee as Bothwell, Scott Daigle as Darnley, David Saldana as Riccio and Elizabeth Marquis as the fiddler. Set Design by Ann Marie Gordon, Lighting Design by Jennifer Rogers, Costume Design by Star Costumes, Sound Design by David Saldana and Musical Direction by Lorella Loftus. The production received an Austin Critics Table nomination. The play was featured in a lengthy article in ACOT's "Curtain Call." "Mary sounded sententious and … authentic. Loftus struck all the right notes as the flighty Scottish queen, while Nason was properly practical as her rival Elizabeth I … Norton gave a most riveting performance as the religion-mad John Knox … Boyish Scott Daigle and manly Dan Bisbee balanced nicely as competitors for Mary's heart. This was … an exhaustively conceived and executed version of Lochhead's script. Renaissance Austin Theatre is a welcome addition to Austin's diverse arts scene." "Native Scot Lorella Loftus places her head on the chopping block as the producer, director and star of … Renaissance Austin Theatre Company's ambitious first production. Another alliterative Scottish talent, Liz Lochhead, penned this award-winning dramatization of the bonnie queen's reign. … The strength of Loftus' performance does justice to that of Mary. Anne Marshall sprouts wings in an impressive debut. Dan Bisbee and Scott M. Daigle wield their swords tolerably well as Mary's second and third husbands … The brilliant Nason plays Elizabeth with the right measure of dilettante and stateswoman … the accomplished Norton salivates acid … Lacking a confrontation between Elizabeth and Mary, the knife-edge climax occurs when Knox and Mary accuse each other of mixing religion and politics … As director, Loftus' masterstroke may be the inclusion of music at the forefront of the proceedings … Loftus the producer prevails by enticing some of Austin's finest actors from the Shakespearean courts back to the realm of the experimental." MEDEA by Liz Lochhead The cast featured Paula Gilbert, Wendy Goodwin, Betsy McCann and Regina Yunker as the Medeas, with Stewart Johnson as Jason, Traci Laird as the Nurse, Steven Fay as Kreon, Jennifer Blair as Glauke and Josh Meyer as the Tutor. Zach Pettichord, Aaron Williams, and Brittany Williams played the children of Medea. Set design by Ann Marie Gordon, Lighting Design by Jason Amato, Costume Design by Pam Fletcher Friday, Original Musical Score by Edmund Pantuliano and Sound Design by Blaine Indemaio and Edmund Pantuliano. The production received three B. Iden Payne nominations and two B. Iden Payne awards. "A cool rationalism guides director Lorella Loftus' approach to Liz Lochhead's elegant and near-minimalist adaptation of "Medea," … The production, … is all the more sinister for restraint. … The precisely executed movement by all players, however, enhances the title character's calculating psyche. Four women (Paula Gilbert, Wendy Goodwin, Betsy McCann, Regina Yunker) make up Medea and her chorus, emphasizing the multifaceted and diabolical nature of this clever woman. … this current production comes out strongly in favor of fate as the ruler of all things. … If you are lucky, your own fate will take you to see this well-told and savvy take on "Medea," with its risky terrain of marriage, love, betrayal and treachery." "Scottish playwright Liz Lochhead's version of Medea, … puts a slight feminist twist on this centuries old story. Underscored by the solid direction of The Vortex's Lorella Loftus, Medea is no longer just a snubbed and inflamed paramour. She becomes the divorcee, the ex-girlfriend, the overweight wallflower and the anorexic waif. Loftus' Medea is every woman who has ever been discarded by society, which, in some sense, is every woman in general. Her role yields a provoking recital, the memory of which indeed outlasts its performance. … Anyone curious about … women who defy the borders of femininity and womanhood – should see this play at once." "…director Lorella Loftus and her design team have created a sequence of striking dramatic tableaux, … The feast for the eyes includes Loftus' use of four actresses to share the title role, as well as play the Chorus. This allows for some dynamic and expressive stage pictures, a modicum of humor, and occasional symbolic flashes. … Occasionally, the poetry in the script and Loftus' stage images combine to dark and eerie effect."
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BUDDHA AN' MA DA by Anne Donovan 
