Jul 17

Alarm Goes On, Alarm Goes Off: “Paranormal Activity” (play)

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Cuddles in “Paranormal Activity.” Photo by Matthew Murphy.

A Strictly Limited Pre-Broadway Engagement
Presented by ATG Entertainment
Written by Levi Holloway 
Directed by Felix Barrett
Based on the “Paranormal Activity” films, first written and directed by Oren Peli and brought to the screen by Blumhouse and Solana Films.
Featuring: Cher Álvarez, Travis A. Knight, Shannon Cochran, Andrea Syglowski, Bobby J Howlett.

Sat, Jul 11 – Thurs, July 30, 2026
Emerson Colonial Theatre
Boston, MA

Article by Kitty Drexel

TLDR: Lots of scary, suspenseful fun; excellent acting and stagecraft; Not for folks who dislike suspended tension or jump scares. This critique contains light spoilers. 

BOSTON — I don’t prefer horror movies. I might watch one at home with a friend and the sound off if I have a persistent interest. I feel the same about horror novels unless I know for certain that the dog lives and the female protagonist survives unraped with all her limbs.  

Horror theatre, on the other hand, is good ole’ safe, insane, enthusiastically consensual fun. I take comfort in knowing that, behind the scenes, a hardworking team of corporeal humans has planned for weeks the titillation of their audience. Their work allows us to wriggle ourselves into an adrenaline-spiked, scared (horny?) stupor. If there ever were a real danger, an omniscient stage manager would call “Hold” into the God mic and save us all from a cortisol overdose. If you enjoy such an experience, too, Paranormal Activity running at the Emerson Colonial Theatre is for you. It had thrills and chills aplenty. Its stagecraft is top-notch – Both worthy reasons to shell out for tickets. You will be frightened if you want to be.  Continue reading →

Jun 26

Slapstick reverie: “Death and the Fool: A Tarot-Inspired Medieval Folly”

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Photo via Happenstance Theater.

Presented by Puppet Showplace Theater
Devised by Happenstance Theater
Artistic co-direction by Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell
Featuring Gwen Grastorf, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Sarah Olmsted, and Thomas and Alex Vernon

June 22-23, 2026
Puppet Showplace Theater
32 Station St, Brookline MA 02445

Critique by Maegan Clearwood

BROOKLINE, Mass. – Medieval Europe places quite low on my time travel wish list, but there is nothing like the magic of theatre to reshape one’s imaginings of a time and place. Happenstance Theater’s Death and the Fool: A Tarot-Inspired Medieval Folly sweeps audiences away from the 21st century and into a 15th century dreamland – all the simple, sweet joys of welcoming the harvest, set against a soundscape of old-timey string instruments, no boils or bubonic plagues in sight.

Well, that’s not entirely true. Death is a central figure in this world, and its presence haunts the otherwise worry-free Fool. Characters regularly drop dead at the mere sight of the cloaked, scythe-wielding figure, and the play doesn’t shy away from the grotesque, often absurd, parts of this inevitable cycle. One of the most entrancing vignettes, in fact, follows the decomposition of three bodies, from rotting flesh to rebirth, told simply through physical movement and sound effects. Continue reading →

Jun 19

Sweet & Sour Fruit Meets a Charming Bulldozer: “In Old Age”

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Presented by ArtsEmerson and the Front Porch Arts Collective
By Mfoniso Udofia 
Directed by Dawn M Simmons

Jun 13, 2026 – Jun 28, 2026
Emerson Paramount Center
Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre
559 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
Online playbill

Learn more about the Ufot Family Cycle’s plays HERE.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

TLDR: In Old Age avoids unnecessary trauma, is a GD delight.

BOSTON — In Old Age runs in Boston while parts of the U.S. commemorate the Juneteenth National Independence Day. Fortunately, Massachusetts recognizes this day. Should you find yourself free, In Old Age is a great way to reflect on Juneteenth and to support excellent Black theatre celebrating the African diaspora. We’re privileged to have this opportunity when places like Florida and Texas are determined to erase the fullness of the U.S.’s history. 

In Old Age is the penultimate piece of Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play Ufot Family Cycle. In it, we find Abasiama Ufot (Ebony Marshall-Oliver, unlocking even more depths of a character Boston has come to love over the past year), living in the house where she raised her children (The Grove), unlocked her deceased husband’s trauma (Run Boy Run), and sacrificed her dreams. Her house is falling apart. Abasiama is determined to meet the challenge of rebuilding. She faces it, as she has many challenges across the Ufot Family Cycle: face-on with thoughtful resilience.  Continue reading →

Jun 12

A Swan Lake Superfan Peeled Like a Grapefruit, Stepping Out of Her Skin: “Black Swan”

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The “Black Swan” gala or the “Phantom” gala? We may never know. Photo Credit: Hawver and Hall.

Presented by American Repertory Theater
Based on the Searchlight Pictures Film “Black Swan,” with story by Andres Heinz
Book by Jen Silverman
Music, Lyrics, and Orchestrations by Dave Malloy
Directed and Choreographed by Sonya Tayeh

May 26 – July 12, 2026
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Content Warnings: This production depicts characters experiencing mental health crises and physical violence/body horror. It contains intense strobe, flashing lights, haze, fog, and loud noises. They are frickin’ cool as heck. The lighting, sound, and illusion design departments know how to throw a creepy party. 

Recommended for ages 16+.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

TLDR: Dance = good. Everything else = iffy.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The A.R.T.’s Black Swan is based on the award-winning 2010 Darren Aronofsky film of the same name. It should be noted that the musical is not a strict remake of the film, and the musical makes several swift departures. Patrons can appreciate the musical without intimately knowing its source material. I found a rewatch of the film helpful before attending, as it gave me context for the musical’s more abstract psychological moments. It also reminded me when to expect a potential scare, because I’m an inappropriate giggler. Depending on one’s personal preferences, it may be better to watch the film later. 

If you don’t want to watch the movie, you can get by on reading the Wikipedia summary. Writing of which, this article contains spoilers. You have been warned.  Continue reading →

Jun 06

We Welcome Your Unique Perspective: “Eureka Day”

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The cast. Photography by Liza Voll.

Presented by The Huntington 
Written by Jonathan Spector 
Directed by Margot Bordelon

May 28 – June 28, 2026
The Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave. 
Boston, MA 02115

Review by Kitty Drexel

“If my son can’t bring a peanut butter sandwich to school, then you can’t bring your unvaccinated child.”
 – Elizabeth Cleveland, vice president/planning director of The Martin Agency

BOSTON — Watching Eureka Day at The Huntington is like seeing British philosopher Philippa Foot’s Trolley Problem play out in real time. Foot’s moral dilemma positions the survival of many against the survival of one via violent train death. It’s Sophie’s choice but with trolleys. In the case of Spector’s play, this choice plays out within a private school’s code of operation.

Foot’s philosophical conundrum doesn’t take into account the individuals tied to the track, the engineer steering the trolley, nor the real-life violence represented by the trolley. The Trolley Problem, taken at face value, is relatively simple. Human beings are complicated. When you combine complications such as parenting culture, offensively open-minded liberalism, and antivaxxer pseudoscience with the Trolley Problem, you get the backbone of Eureka Day. Continue reading →

Jun 03

Laughing at the Horror of it All: “The Mystery of Irma Vep”

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Paul Melendy & Gabriel Graetz. Photo: Maggie Hall Photography.

Presented by Central Square Theater
By Charles Ludlam
Directed by David R. Gammons
Cast: Gabriel Graetz (Jane Twisden, Lord Edgar Hillcrest, et al), Paul Melendy (Nicodemus Underwood, Lady Enid Hillcrest, Alcazar, et al)

May 28 – June 21, 2026
Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139

Review by Craig Idlebrook

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Theater is full of silly mashup plays that provide ample opportunity for cartoonish violence and rapid costume changes, but few, I would argue, can help us laugh at the terror of our times as well as the 1984 comedy of The Mystery of Irma Vep, expertly staged at Central Square Theater in Cambridge. The play bear-hugs the penny dreadful genre, with homages to creature features of Victorian vampires, mummies, werewolves, departed former wives and more. Nods to Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde (and probably 15 other references I didn’t catch) are thrown in for good measure. Continue reading →

May 28

The Algorithm is Smarter than the Heart but Not the Stomach: “My Home on the Moon”

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Photo by Ken Yotsukura Photography.

East Coast Premiere presented by Chuang Stage
By Minna Lee
Directed by cara hinh

May 23 – June 13, 2026
Boston Center for the Arts
Plaza Theatre

Article by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Gentrification murders culture in the name of progress. Gentrification isn’t the same as healthy renovation of and fiscal investment in an historically underserved neighborhood (say, Dorchester and Chelsea, MA). Rather, gentrification steals political and fiscal autonomy from longtime residents and bestows it upon rich people. If you can pay the rent, you can remove the people who’ve lived in and loved in an area for generations without a second thought for where The Poors will go once they’re kicked out. 

Chuang Stage’s My Home on the Moon by Minna Lee packages the horrors of gentrification-in-the-name-of-progress with a heaping dose of aptly uncanny A.I. It is a timely science fiction morality tale cum fever dream told through bowls of pho and other Vietnamese dishes. Mai (strong but grouchy Belle Le) wants to feed people well. She’s ready to serve pho to her community at Pho Lan, her boss Lan’s (Christina R Chan, perky and resilient) restaurant. Continue reading →

May 16

Always and Forever, Each Moment with You: “Oedipus El Rey”

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L to R: Victor Almanzar, Javier David, Juan Arturo,Gabe Martínez in Oedipus El Rey; directed by Loretta Greco; photo by Marc J. Franklin

Presented by The Huntington
By Luis Alfaro
Directed by Loretta Greco
Dramaturgy by Sonia Fernandez and Ynika Yuagg
Fight direction and intimacy coaching by Jesse Hinson 
Voice and dialect coaching by Adi Cabral

May 7 – Sunday, June 14, 2026
The Roberts Studio
Calderwood Pavilion 
Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA, 02116

Online Playbill

The show contains full but brief nudity. Do with that information what you will. Check out the warnings HERE. 

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Audience members were activated on Wednesday night’s performance of Oedipus El Rey (now extended through June 14!) in the Calderwood Pavilion. The room buzzed with the conversation of friends greeting friends, ushers finding seats, Latin music played; it was the general hubbub of pre-performance excitement. No matter what happened on the stage, the atmosphere welcomed a good time for most of us.

I say most, because The Huntington’s Oedipus El Rey was written with the LA Chicano community in mind. Alfaro’s play borrows heavily from Chicano stereotypes, such as illiterate criminals and hypersexualized women. Alfaro’s work then grants personhood to some of them.  Continue reading →

May 13

Meaning-making across language and time: “Translations”

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Image via the Longwood Players Facebook page.

Presented by The Longwood Players
By Brian Friel
Directed by Rose Carlson
Produced by Michael Tricca and Kaitlyn Chantry
Set Design by Jessica Algard
Dialect coaching by Mark Hessler
Featuring: Matthew Feldman, Dasha Artemchuk, Jimmy Jack, Via Gould, David Kleinman, Melinda Kalanzis, Anthony Mullin, Raj Bhuva, Carlos Fruzzetti, Gabriel O. Pagán-González

May 8 – 16
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA 02150

Review by Maegan Clearwood

CHELSEA— In 1833, the villagers of Baile Beag are content: they teach each other Latin and Greek, go about their farmwork and household chores, host dances and celebrate christenings. This peaceability is tempered, however, by a palpable unease. The villagers whisper about looming political violence, about phantom sweet potato smells – they are haunted, not by Ireland’s past, but by its future. Continue reading →

May 07

“Something Rotten!” at Lyric Stage passes the smell test.

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The cast; photo by @nilescottstudios

Presented by Lyric Stage
Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick & Karey Kirkpatrick
Book by Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell
Directed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz
Music Directed by Katya Stanislavskaya
Choreographed by Christopher Shin
Dramaturgy by Bindi Kang
Intimacy direction by Samantha Richert

May 1 – June 7, 2026
Lyric Stage Theatre
140 Clarendon Street
Boston, MA 02116

Runtime: 2 hours and 25 minutes including intermission.

Review by Helen Ganley

BOSTON — Something Rotten! The name itself is pithy—the vague and anachronistic “something” paired with “rotten,” a word associated with withered fruit and moldy bread. Accompanying this duo is, inexplicably, an exclamation point, leading to a questionable feeling of excitement after such a combination. Continue reading →