Yearly Archives: 2024

Aug 07

2024 MEDINA PRIZE DEADLINE: ATCA’s third annual Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism has Aug. 16 Deadline

Posted on by

NEW YORK, NY, July 5, 2024 – The American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association (ATCA) deadline for applications for the third annual Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism is Friday, August 16, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

The application link is HERE.

The Edward Medina Prize for Excellence in Cultural Criticism awards theater critics and journalists in the United States from under-represented groups who write about the arts and its role in highlighting people from various cultures, backgrounds and experiences.

All applicants will be notified of their application status by early October. The Medina Prize will be presented in November. 

The purposes of the prize are to (1) cultivate relationships between ATCA and diverse critics, (2) encourage increased readership of cultural criticism composed by diverse writers, and (3) offer monetary support for critics from under-represented groups.

The honor includes a $1,000 cash prize, one free year of membership to ATCA, and financing to subsidize travel costs to the annual ATCA convening in November. Continue reading →

Aug 07

“The Suppliant Women:” When We Shout, We Wake the Gods

Posted on by

Photo by Danielle Fauteux Jacques.

Presented by Apollinaire Theatre, in collaboration with Teatro Chelsea and the City of Chelsea
Play by Aeschylus, adapted by David Greig
Music by John Browne
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Choreography by Audrey Johnson
Music Direction by David Reiffel
Accompanied by Aneesh Kashalikar, Laura Jordan, Stephen Guerra
Featuring Paola Ferrer, Brooks Reeves, Andres Molano, Parker Jennings, Pearl Scott, Charleen Andujar

August 2 – 17, 2024
Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm
Pre-show starts at 6pm, featuring music from members of the ensemble and beer and food from local vendors
Content advisory for mentions of sexual violence.

The Playbill

Free at Port Park
99 Marginal Street, Chelsea MA
Information here

The production is Bilingual, English/Spanish.

Critique by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

CHELSEA, Mass. — Last month, the Healey administration announced a new policy that caps overflow shelter stays to only five days. Days ago, just before the policy went into effect, the administration relaxed the guidelines for individuals who meet certain criteria — but many migrant families are still facing the very real, very immanent threat of having nowhere to go. It’s heartbreaking, made even more so because it’s barely a blip on the news cycle’s radar.

“The worries of women and exiles are endless,” the titular suppliant women of Aeschylus’ 2,500-year-old play exclaim, in this eerily prophetic production by Apollinaire Theatre Company. Over and over, the women plead for compassion from kings and citizens who are more concerned with consolidating their own power than opening their doors to those in need. Continue reading →

Aug 05

Nothin’ But a Good Time: “Rock of Ages”

Posted on by

Photo by Isaac Mishkit.

Presented by Seacoast Repertory Theatre
Book by Chris D’Arienzo
Arrangements and orchestrations by Ethan Popp
Direction by Alyssa Dumas
Music Direction by Andrew Strout
Choreography by Alyssa Dumas and Dargan Cole
Featuring Jared LeMay, Sophie Mings, Christopher Hobson, Jamie Bradley, Michelle Faria, Tobin Moss, Spencer “Skip” Stewart, Sean Mullaney, Alexandra Mullaney, Sieglinda Fox, Michael Thompson, Dargan Cole, Hadley Withington, Heather Conti-Clark, Briar MacDonald, Finn Graff, Max Cavanaugh, Robert Fabricio Armstrong, and Shaina Schwartz

July 18 – September 8, 2024
Seacoast Rep.
125 Bow St.
Portsmouth, NH 03801

Review by Craig Idlebrook

PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire — The production team of the Seacoast Repertory Theatre likely faced a dilemma when considering to stage Rock of Ages, the big-hair-metal jukebox musical. The theater is small and intimate, with limited seating surrounding the stage on three sides. How, in this environment do you stage a musical in which the musical genre calls for soaring guitar solos and high notes belted to the rafters? Do you pull back to fit the space or do you say, “(bleep) it, let’s turn it up to 11?”

Luckily, this production chose the latter, wisely deciding that many theatergoers misspent their youth playing metal so loudly on Walkman cassette players that all they could hear afterwards was ringing sounds. Like Grease before it, the only way this nostalgia trip works is by going full tilt. Continue reading →

Aug 03

Because They Can: “The Queen of Versailles”

Posted on by

The Cast of The Queen of Versailles – Credit Matthew Murphy

Presented by the Emerson Colonial Theatre
Based on The Queen of Versailles documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker Lauren Greenfield
Book by Lindsey Ferrentino
Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Directed by Michael Arden
Choreographed by Lauren Yalango-Grant & Christopher Cree Grant
Music supervision by Mary-Mitchell Campbell
Orchestrations by John Clancy

July 16 – August 25, 2024
Emerson Colonial Theatre
106 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — The audience was packed into the Emerson Colonial Theatre on Thursday night to see Kristin Chenoweth and F Murray Abraham in Ferrentino and Schwartz’s The Queen of Versailles musical. The musical officially opened on August 1 after much ado: Mayor Michelle Wu proclaimed July 24 as Kristin Chenoweth Day for Chenoweth’s “contributions to the betterment of the City of Boston.” It was also Chenoweth’s birthday. Happy belated birthday, Kristin Chenoweth!

FYI the links that should allow audience members to order drinks and food delivered to your seat don’t work. (We tried multiple QR codes in our row and the row in front of us). Despite the page on the website. Despite the foyer monitors’ messaging. You will have to choose either the bathroom line (wash your damn hands) or the concessions line. 20 minutes is not long enough to do both when the show is sold out. 

Audience members and some enterprising theatre staff were dressed in their finest pink and gold pieces. Attendee fashion ranged from blazers with designer sneakers to ballgowns. Satin tops to flowy dresses. All sorts braved the bawls-hot weather to flaunt their finest ‘fits. Thankfully, the Emerson Colonial had the AC cranked to accommodate the heat and the bold statements. 

Pink and gold are the signature colors of Jackie Seigel, proto-influencer and billionairess famous for the Lauren Greenfield 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles and 2022 reality TV show Queen of Versailles Reigns Again. The musical is named after the 2012 documentary and tells the rags-to-riches-down-to-rags-back-to-riches stories (and villain origins) of Jackie and her husband David Seigel, the Timeshare King of Westgate Resorts.  Continue reading →

Jul 26

We Need No Grave to Bury Honesty: “The Winter’s Tale”

Posted on by

The Cast of The Winter’s Tale. PC: Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Bryn Boice
Original Music by Mackenzie Adamick
Choreography by Victoria Lynn Awkward
Fight/Intimacy Consultant: Jess Meyer
Scenic Design: James J. Fenton
Costume Designer: Rachel Padula-Shufelt
Lighting Designer: Maximo Grano De Oro
Sound Designer: David Remedios
Properties Designer: Lauren Corcuera

July 16 – August 4, 2024
The Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common
Boston, MA

Accessibility Info
All performances of The Winter’s Tale are open-captioned.

Fancy interactive digital Playbill

Content Advisory from the CSC website: jealousy, betrayal, a child and mother dying, child abandonment, false imprisonment, pick-pocketing–and being pursued by a bear (while exiting). A copy editor needs to check the website’s grammar. For example, periods go outside of parentheses when ending a sentence.  

The Winter’s Tale runs approximately two hours and twenty minutes plus a 15-minute intermission.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Some people love Shakespeare; I don’t prefer him; it’s not my thing. I appreciate Shakespeare: the poetry in his language and the traditions surrounding his works, but I don’t seek him out. Shakespeare on the Common is for an audience who loves an outdoor performance (no thanks), who wants to see Shakespeare’s works reconsidered (nope), and who loves the summer ritual of Shakespeare in the Park (alas, nay). 

Reader, I had an enjoyable time at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s The Winter’s Tale on Boston Common. CSC and its cast and crew created a delightful experience. This may be one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” that alienates audiences with its complications and, while this production has its problems, it is entertaining and will please more people than it disappoints. Continue reading →

Jul 23

Bizarre and Heartbreaking Beats of History: “46 Plays for America’s First Ladies”

Posted on by

4 out of 5 cast members looking patriotic. Photo by Andrew Keefe.

Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston
Written by Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Chloe Johnston, Andy Bayiates, Bilal Dardai, and Sharon Greene
Direction and Choreography: Ilyse Robbins
Music Direction by Jack Cline
Puppet Design by E. Rosser and Samantha Mastrati
Produced by Lauren Elias
Lighting Design by Emily Bearce
Scenic Desig by Justin Lahue
Costume Design by E. Rosser
Featuring Yasmeen Duncan, Lauren Elias, Eleni Kontzamanys, Sophia Muharram, Katie Pickett

July 20 – August 3, 2024
Club Cafe
209 Columbus Ave. Back Bay
Boston, MA 02116

Article by Craig Idlebrook

BOSTON — When is history actually in the rear-view mirror?

That was the question that intentionally and unintentionally arose on a Sunday matinee showing of 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies, being performed by Hub Theatre Company of Boston. When the play began, it offered a complete telling of the lives of the women most closely connected to U.S. presidents through marriage, bloodlines, or involuntary servitude, or some combination of the three. When the play ended, it felt glaringly incomplete, as news had broken that the current occupant of the Oval Office had ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the new Democratic nominee. Continue reading →

Jul 22

Pole Dancing Ants and Serenading Pill Bugs: Cirque du Soleil’s “OVO”

Posted on by

Photo by Vlad Lorenzo. OVO by Cirque du Soleil.

Presented by Cirque du Soleil 
Written, Directed, and Choreographed by Deborah Colker
Director of Creation: Chantal Tremblay
Costumes by Liz Vandal
Composed and music directed by Berna Ceppas
Makeup design by Julie Bégin
Acrobatic performance design by Philippe Aubertin
Rigging and acrobatic equipment designed by Fred Gérard
Set and props designed by Gringo Cardi
Sound design by Jonathan Deans
Lighting designed by Éric Champoux

Jul 19-28, 2024
The Agganis Arena
925 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — OVO currently playing at the BU’s Agganis Arena is about anthropomorphized bugs falling in love, playing, and working. It features Cirque du Soleil’s famous feats of human athletic and artistic ingenuity. This production runs approximately two hours. A time that is slightly shorter than the touring productions previously housed at Suffolk Downs.

Ovo means “egg” in Portuguese (and many other languages) from the Latin “ovum.” Cirque du Soleil’s references to Portuguese culture end there. Many things hatch from eggs: birds, lizards, amphibians, rare marsupials. OVO is about insects. Temper your purchasing accordingly.  Continue reading →

Jul 15

Gold, Acrylic, Altar Work, Prayer, Selena & Janelle Monáe: “HOOPS”

Posted on by

Presented by Company One Theatre in partnership with Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and the City of Boston’s Office of Arts and Culture
By Eliana Pipes
Adapted from The HOOPS Project by Nicole Acosta 
Directed by Tonasia Jones
Dramaturgy by afrikah selah
Compositions by Brandie Blaze
Choreography by Jenny Oliver 
Featuring: Brandie Blaze, Elijah Brown, Albamarina Nahar, Tiffany Santiago, Kaili Y Turner, Karimah Williams, Beyonce Martinez (swing)

July 12 – August 10, 2024
The Strand Theatre
543 Columbia Road
Dorchester, MA

Approximate run time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
This production includes explicit language.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

DORCHESTER, Mass. — Hoops is adapted from The HOOPS Project by Nicole Acosta in 2019. It was created when Acosta asked fellow members of the art collective LUNA, “What do hoop earrings mean to you?” Their answers were accompanied by photos of the members wearing their own hoop earrings. 

Playwright Eliana Pipes adapted stories from The HOOPS Project for the stage. Company One presents HOOPS at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester through August 10. It has also played in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Continue reading →

Jul 02

Fear and Loneliness in El Serano: “Fade”

Posted on by

Photo via Teatro Chelsea Facebook page.

Presented by Teatro Chelsea
By Tanya Saracho
Directed by Armando Rivera
Movement direction by Audrey Johnson
Intimacy direction by Olivia Dumaine
Featuring: Luz Lopez & Cristhian Mancinas Garcia

June 19th – 30, 2024
Chelsea Theatre Works
181 Winnisimmet Street
Chelsea, MA 02150

Teatro Chelsea in METRMAG

Critique by Kitty Drexel

The play is presented in English and some Spanish. Run time is approximately 106 minutes with no intermission.

CHELSEA, Mass. — Teatro Chelsea’s Fade at Chelsea Theatre Works was excellent. At 106 minutes in a wee black box, it was compact and intimate. Congratulations to the cast and crew on a successful run and a sold-out final performance! 

Mexican-born novelist Lucia (Luz Lopez) moves to El Sereno, Los Angeles to write for a copaganda TV series. She forges an unexpected friendship with the Mexican American custodian, Abel (Cristhian Mancinas Garcia), because she is homesick, and he speaks Spanish. As their friendship grows, Abel trusts Lucia with the details of his life. The boundaries between his stories and hers fade.  Continue reading →

Jun 26

Critiques and Commentary: Moonbox’s 3rd Annual Boston New Works Festival

Posted on by

Presented by Moonbox Productions as part of the 3rd Annual
Boston New Works Festival Partnered with the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund

June 20-23, 2024
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont St 
Boston, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Moonbox had its 3rd annual Boston New Works Festival at the BCA. The three performances I attended on different two days were well attended. This is a hopeful sign that the Boston theatre ecology is healing from lockdown. We love to see it.

The festival hosted readings and staged performances of new works by living playwrights over four days. The BCA’s foyers were alive with visual art by local artists. Actors, crew, and designers bustled from show to show with audience members. Moonbox did a good job of telling attendees they were in the right place: brave, tireless volunteers handed out playbill inserts and directed attendees; free pins awaited pickup on tables with festival information.

The bathrooms were atrocious, but that’s a festival for you. Transfer times from show to show were rushed, but that should be expected, too.

The vibes were otherwise positive and the seats had butts in them. Theatre is a lifestyle choice, and it was a good weekend to choose the theatre.

Moonbox partnered with TCBF to produce the 2024 3rd Annual Boston New Works Festival. TCBF provides financial relief to its community members in times of need. It is a venerable organization. Please consider donating. No donation is too large.

Continue reading →