Nov 20

Inside and Outside of Time: Hub’s “Tartuffe”

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Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston
By Moliere
Translated by Richard Wilbur 
Director – Bryn Boice
Sound Design – Mackenzie Adamick
​Set Design – Justin Lahue
Costume Design –  Marissa Wolf
Lighting Design/ME – Nars Kelliher
Props Designer – Julia Wonkka

Featuring: Steve Auger, Lily Ayotte, Jeremy Beazlie, Patrick Vincent Curran, Lauren Elias, June Kfoury, Brendan O’Neill, Brooks Reeves, Laura Rocklyn, Kayla Sessoms, Robert Thorpe

Nov. 9 – Nov. 24, 2024
Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Two hours with one intermission
Appropriate for ages 13+

BOSTON — Hub Theatre Company’s Tartuffe is fun. It’s one of the better adaptations of Moliere’s play you’ll see in the next four years. No doubt, we will see quite a few performances of Tartuffe and other satires in the next four+ years. It’s better seeing satiric buffoonery on the stage now rather than the unfunny buffoonery we’ll see play out on the political stage coming this January.  Continue reading →

Nov 19

Frothy, Fun, and Farcical: “Emma”

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Lorraine Victoria Kanyike, Fady Demian, Josephine Elwood, and Liza Giangrande in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of Emma. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project
Play by Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Regine Vital
Scenic design by Saskia Martínez
Costume design by Nia Safarr Banks
Lighting design by Deb Sullivan
Sound design by Anna Drummond
Dramaturgy by Kristin Leahey
Featuring: Alex Bowden, Fady Demian, Josephine Moshiri Elwood, Liza Giangrande, Jennie Israel, Lorraine Victoria Kanyike, Dev Luthra, Mara Sidmore

Tickets and Information Here
November 14 – December 15
The Multicultural Arts Center
41 Second St., Cambridge, MA 02141

Critique by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center theatre is already ornate, bedecked with colorful railings, intricate carvings, and a soaring ceiling. It is a perfect fit for any Regency-era play, but especially for Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s Emma, which is positively dripping with femininity.

Scenic designer Saskia Martínez has draped virtually every surface with soft florals and pastels, cozying up the otherwise cavernous space and inviting audiences (some of whom are seated onstage with the actors – be prepared for audience participation) to settle in for a spot of tea and gossip. Costume designer Nia Safarr Banks paints with the same aesthetic brush: the dresses, stockings, and hats are varyingly anachronistic, with plenty of nods to modern fashion trends, but everything is pulled together with a palette of watercolor blues, pinks, and yellows. Continue reading →

Nov 13

Tomorrow Belongs to All of Us or None of Us: “Cabaret”

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Presented by the Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson Theatre 
Based on the play by John van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood
Book by Joe Masteroff
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Rebecca Frecknall
Fight direction by Thomas Schall
Music direction by Meghann Zervoulis Bate
Choreographed by Julia Cheng

Tickets are available now – March 2025
August Wilson Theatre
245 W. 52nd St.
New York, NY

2 hours and 45 minutes, including one intermission

Critique by Kitty Drexel

I was offered press tickets to “Cabaret” as part of the ATCA conference in New York.

NEW YORK — “I’ll be watching ‘Cabaret’ for survival tactics,” my friend Julia said when I confirmed her ticket for “Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club” on November 6. Julia and I are both gleefully queer on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and terrified by the national and state election results. It was cathartic to watch a musical about the rise and tragic fall of queer culture in Weimar Germany as the Nazis rose to power. It looks a lot like the U.S. today. If one needs proof, they should take to their local news sources. Continue reading →

Nov 11

This Place Must Yield Something Good: “Sojourners”

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Abigail C. Onwunali, Asha Basha Duniani in Sojourners; photo by Marc J. Franklin.

Presented by The Huntington 
Written by Mfoniso Udofia
Directed by Dawn M. Simmons
Dramaturgy by Christine Mok
Voice and dialect coaching by Dawn-Elin Fraser
Fight Director & Intimacy Coaching by Brian C Green
Featuring: Asha Basha Duniani, Nomè SiDone, Abigail C. Onwunali, Joshua Olumide 

Oct. 31 – Dec. 1, 2024
The Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave. 
Boston, MA 02115

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Wednesday, November 6 was a lot. It should have been an occasion for much rejoicing. I can’t have been the only person who expected- whether innocently or obtusely- to celebrate the first female president of color as Boston celebrated Sojourners, the first play of Mfoniso Udofia’s Ufot Cycle at The Huntington. Instead, my heart was in my stomach and between my teeth. I am terrified for my friends, my found family, my community and our children’s children. May they forgive us. 

But, let history remember: We did celebrate Sojourners! Our community gathered at 264 Huntington Ave to rightly praise Udofia, Dawn M Simmons, their cast, crew, production staff, and community leaders for the beginning of a most intrepid, two-year project – to stage and witness Udofia’s complete Ufot Cycle as a unified city of great theatremakers and artists. (A list of involved companies is HERE.) 

Mayor Michelle Wu proclaimed Nov. 6 Mfoniso Udofia Day in Boston before the play started. There was cheering from the swankily dressed crowd. It was a happy moment before a gorgeous play that capped a sad day for the history books.  Continue reading →

Nov 04

The Power of Radical Imagination: “On the Eve of Abolition”

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Photo by Ricardo Alcaraz.

Presented by Arts Emerson
Written by Papel Machete
Directed by Jorge ‘Cano Cangrejo’ Díaz Ortiz
Directing team: Deborah Hunt and Sugeily Rodríguez Lebrón
Selected voices by Rob Thelusma, Krystal Clark, Mumia Abu-Jamal
Puppet and mask design and direction by Deborah Hunt
Lighting design by Luis Felipe Rivera Santiago
In community partnership with Prison Radio and Sisters Unchained

October 31 – November 3, 2024
Emerson Paramount Center, Robert J. Orchard Stage
559 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
Tickets here

Critique by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

Content advisory: flashing lights, strong language, gun violence

BOSTON — In Papel Machete’s On the Eve of Abolition, an ensemble of multi-talented performers demonstrate the power of imagination on two levels.

For one, there is the majesty of inventive storytelling. Papel Machete presents an ever-unfolding series of theatrical surprises: doll-sized prison doors open to reveal cells where marionette revolutionaries bide time until their uprising; pop-up book scenes of abolition camps and prisons are displayed simultaneously on stage and through video projection; characters appear in a variety of awe-inspiring configurations, from tiny figurines trapped in paper prisons to life-sized dancers in detailed, expressive masks. Continue reading →

Nov 04

Same Procedure as Every Year: “Dinner For One”

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Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company
By Christina Baldwin, Sun Mee Chomet, and Jim Lichtscheidl 
Directed by Weylin Symes
Music direction by Tim Goss
Featuring Paul Melendy and Debra Wise
Violin: Tommaso Lorenson

November 1 – 17, 2024
395 Main Street
Stoneham, MA 02180

Online playbill

Critique by Kitty Drexel

STONEHAM, Mass. — Greater Boston Stage Company’s Dinner For One is a short but charming play about a grieving grand dame and her affectionate butler. It has expanded moments of prop work, physical comedy, unsettling puns and a broad range of accents. It’s a silly treat to dislodge the election panic curdling your stomach this presidential cycle. It runs in Stoneham through November 17.  Continue reading →

Oct 26

Some Restrictions May Apply: “Cirque of the Dead”

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Photo is not representative of this year’s “Cirque of the Dead.” Still cool, though. 

Presented by the Boston Circus Guild with Circus 617
Written by Tim Ellis
Directed by Eileen Little
Dance Choreography by Mandy Hackman, Ellen Waylonis
Featuring: Alex Jackson, Ellen Waylonis, Jenna Ciotta, Mandy Hackman, Nana Okada, Rachel Barringer, Rin Judith, Tim Ellis, Tori Markwalder
The online playbill

Oct 24 – Oct 31, 2024
Arts at the Armory
Somerville, MA

Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Runtime is about 90 minutes with a short intermission.
This show is 18+ only, due to graphic/disturbing content.

Review by Kitty Drexel

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — This year’s Cirque of the Dead chronicles the fictitious (or is it?) Cirque of the Dead Historical Society of the 1920s Somerville spiritualist movement. Watch as three psychic mediums materialize ectoplasm from their bodies and commune with the spirit realm to convince a team of Harvard professors (Go Crimson!) and one MIT adjunct (Go Tech!) of their gifts. Tim Ellis and Tori Markwalder emcee the event. How does this match up with the choreography of New Kids on the Block, N*Sync and the Backstreet Boys? Perhaps the boy bands are defenders against the dark arts? You’ll have to attend to find out! 

Supernatural phenomena abound as the occult battles rigid logic for truth equity amongst the masses. Patrons are welcome to dress up in their ookiest, spookiest costumes. The bar is open to distribute libations to 21+ living and nonliving attendees.   Continue reading →

Oct 22

Beating Back the Leviathan of Mediocrity: “Pru Payne”

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Karen MacDonald and Gordon Clapp; Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
Written by Steven Drukman
Directed by Paul Daigneault
Intimacy Direction by Jesse Hinson
Featuring: Marianna Bassham, Gordon Clapp, De’Lon Grant, Karen MacDonald, Greg Maraio

Oct 18 – Nov 16, 2024
Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”

― Dorothy Parker

BOSTON — It’s another excellent production from SpeakEasy Stage and the last non-musical from director Paul Daigneault before he moves to different things. Pru Payne by Steven Drukman is at the Calderwood Pavilion through Nov. 16.

Pru Payne (New England grand dame, Karen MacDonald) is a New York theatre critic with strong opinions, a caustic wit and decades of education and experience who finds herself writing her memoirs when the play begins. She’s trying to write, but she’s experiencing memory lapses. Her son Thomas (De’Lon Grant) sets her up at a state-of-the-art research facility. There, Pru meets Gus Cudahy (Gordon Clapp), a salt-of-the-earth custodial engineer with a heart of gold.  Continue reading →

Oct 13

Controlled Chaos: “Nassim”

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Jared Bowen in “Nassim.” Photo credit: Mike Ritter.

Presented by The Huntington
Written and Performed by Nassim Soleimanpour
With a different local, featured artist for each performance
Directed by Omar Elerian

October 4 – October 27, 2024
The Huntington Calderwood
527 Tremont St. Boston, MA 02116

The digital playbill

Review by Noe Kamelamela

BOSTON — I consume a decent amount of theatre every two weeks, and I go primarily because I enjoy the audiences in Boston. Even when I occasionally go to the movies or a concert, I sit in an active, mostly respectful crowd. To me, Boston folks seem sedate and also cheerful at most shows. I suspect that is because they are sitting down and not driving a car at the time. It is rare that we, the patrons, disrupt the proceedings. It’s also rare to be asked or expected to engage with anyone onstage. Nassim is a mainstage show where an audience member should expect regular interaction.

The Huntington’s synopsis: “Each night a different VIP performs, while the script waits unseen in a sealed box…Nassim is toured globally and is translated and performed in the native language of each country.”

We are introduced to our mainstage entertainer who then must meet the playwright. Once they have truly met despite language and cultural barriers, they both work together to tell a story in the playwright’s native tongue, with mixed success depending on the performance’s audience. It felt more that we were all part of the show, but it was not just performance art, rather it was the ritual of theatre that included us and our input. Continue reading →

Oct 08

The Subjectiveness of Sanity: “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe”

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Photo by Meg Moore/megpix.com; Kathryn Van Meter as Trudy.

Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Written by Jane Wagner
Directed by Courtney Sale
Featuring Kathryn Van Meter

October 2-20, 2024
Nancy L. Donahue Theatre at Liberty Hall
50 E. Merrimack St.
Lowell, MA

Online Playbill

Run Time: approx. 2 hours 25 minutes including one 15-minute intermission

Please note the following content advisories: Adult Language, Death by Suicide, Suicide Ideation, Drug Use, Sexual Violence

Review by Craig Idlebrook

LOWELL, Mass. — There is a tightrope act-feel to a one-person show, as audiences can become painfully aware there is nowhere for the performer to hide, or even catch a breath. Flubbed lines, low energy, or a lack of connection to the source material can lead to a long night for both actor and audience.

Luckily for the audience of Merrimack Repertory Theater’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Kathryn Van Meter (Trudy) deftly dodges all potential pitfalls of a solo performer. She works hand-in-hand within the exquisite source material provided by playwright Jane Wagner for us to see the interconnectedness between an off-kilter woman living on the streets and the universe. Continue reading →