Author Archives: Diana Lu

Dec 16

The WASPs are Not OK: “Incels and Other Myths”

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Photo by Stratton McCrady: Matthew Swain, Julien Tornelli, Fady Demian.

Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 
Written By Ally Sass
Directed by Erica Terpening-Romeo
A BU New Play initiative production
Produced by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Theatre

December 2-12, 2021
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
949 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
BPT on Facebook

Review by Diana Lu

BOSTON — Incels and Other Myths invites the audience into the world of massive multiplayer online gaming and the Lord of the Flies corners of the internet, where misogyny has even less consequences than in the physical world. Elaine (Allison Blaize), a mythology teacher at an all-girls high school, and her precocious but awkward son Avery (Aidan Close) play the historical fantasy game, “Oracle.” In “Oracle,” they try on highly gendered, performative personas and encounter friends and monsters that help them get in touch with integral parts of themselves they couldn’t face in real life. Continue reading →

Nov 08

Witches, Vamps, and Rock & Roll: “Macbeth in Stride”

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Steven Cuevas at the piano with Kira Helper, Charlie Thurston, Reggie D. White, and Whitney White in rehearsal for Macbeth In Stride.
Photo: Lauren Miller

Presented by American Repertory Theatre
Created and performed by Whitney White
Orchestrations Steven Cuevas and Whitney White
Music Director Steven Cuevas
Choreography Raja Feather Kelly
Directed by Tyler Dobrowsky and Taibi Magar

October 23 – November 14, 2021
Audio Described Performances: Friday, November 12 at 7:30PM and Saturday, November 13 at 2PM
Open Captioned Performances: Thursday, November 11 at 7:30PM and Saturday, November 13 at 2PM
Loeb Drama Center
Cambridge, MA
ART on Facebook

Review by Diana Lu

Macbeth in Stride is a lush pop, rock, gospel, and R&B musical theater event that can only be described as An Experience. It is the first of a five-part series by Obie Award-winning artist Whitney White examining the women of Shakespeare through a black, queer, feminine lens. I’m often skeptical of shows with stated agendas like this, but Macbeth in Stride delivered far more than what was promised, in more ways than I expected. Continue reading →

Dec 14

Tweeting Truth to Power: How Far Has Cyrus Come?

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Presented by Fort Point Theatre Channel and Boston Cultural Council
By Cyrus McQueen

Tuesday, Dec 1, 2020, 7 PM
Streamed Live via Youtube
Boston Cultural Council on Facebook
FPTC on Facebook

Review by Diana Lu

YOUTUBE–Cyrus McQueen used to be just your everyday standup comedian of Last Comic Standing fame. In the Age of Trump, he’s also become Twitter-famous as a cultural critic, offering race and politics analyses and wisecracks 280 characters at a time. He’s developed his experiences over the last four years into a first book, Tweeting Truth to Power: Chronicling our Caustic Politics, Crazed Times, & The Great Black & White Divide, which is supposed to be equal parts memoir and political discourse. Continue reading →

Jul 15

“Waiting for Kim Lee” Doesn’t Do Asian American Women Justice

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Presented by Asian American Theatre Artists of Boston
Written by Vivian Liu Somers
Directed by Alison Qu

Virtual Staged Reading, July 8, 2020, 7PM
HowlRound Theatre Commons
AATAB on Facebook

Critique by Diana Lu

ZOOM/HOWLROUND — Let’s be clear: Waiting For Kim Lee is not a play; it’s a rant, forced into a dialogue. I hate it when people screech from the steps of a soapbox and call it art (David Mamet* comes to mind). I also hate the superficial media representation-discussion that seems to be the only thing Asian American artists ever talk about.

That was fine in 2016, but right now, we’re dying of COVID-19 at higher rates than the national average and getting hate-crimed for America’s pathetic epidemic response. We’re struggling to keep our businesses afloat, and protesting for our right to exist, and for Black lives. Complaining about parents and how many auditions you’re getting right now seem like outdated and out of touch problems.

It would be one thing if Waiting for Kim Lee had anything especially insightful or new to say about it, but this play just recycles the same few talking points that have already been rehashed by every Buzzfeed article for the last five years. Not only are they stale, but they are also narrow-minded and miss the point. Continue reading →

Jun 13

An Interview with Actor Michael Tow

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Interview by Diana Lu for the New England Theatre Geek.

Actor Michael Tow:

Boston Theatre Scene
IMDB database

DIANA: So, Michael, I recently saw you in a Zoom reading of a local play (Wild Goose Dreams by Hansol Jung) in Boston and you’re such a fun, playful actor. What are your upcoming projects?

MICHAEL: The big one is Lucky Grandma. We premiered the movie at Tribeca, which was really my first part in the lead cast in a movie. And that was pretty exciting. The premiere was really successful at Tribeca and we went to LA and London and Macau and it did really well. Continue reading →

Apr 05

An Interview with Playwright Felicia King on “White Pearl”

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White Pearl
Written by By Anchuli Felicia King
Directed by Nana Dakin

Royal Court Theatre
10 May — 15 June, 2019
Sloane Square
London SW1W 8AS
Directed by Priscilla Jackman

Sydney Theatre Company
24 October — 9 November, 2019
Lennox Theatre, Riverside Parramatta
New South Wales, Australia
Directed by Desdemona Chiang

Studio Theatre
November 6 — December 15, 2019
Milton Theatre, 1501 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20005

Interview by Diana Lu

DL: Can you tell us about yourself, how you became a playwright, where you got the idea for your play White Pearl?

FK: I am half Thai, half Australian. I grew up between Thailand and Philippines and then moved to Australia when I was quite young. My whole life has been spent as a global citizen in the broader international community with lots of other ex-pats, lots of like immigrant kids. I’ve always been really interested in global culture, and in 2016 when I started writing this play, I saw that a bunch of ads for skin whitening companies, a lot of them Thai ads, were going viral on my news feed. Continue reading →

Sep 30

The Restoration of Henry VIII

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Presented in concert by Odyssey Opera
Composed by Camille Saint-Saëns
Libretto by Léonce Détroyat and Armand Silvestre
Gil Rose, conductor
Version prepared with assistance from Hugh Macdonald
Supertitles provided by Danielle Sinclair

September 21, 2019
New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall
30 Gainsborough St, Boston, MA 02115
Odyssey Opera on Facebook

Review by Diana Lu

(Boston, MA) The year is 1521. Henry VIII (Michael Chioldi) rules England with unhinged fury. The chorus announces that Henry is about to behead the Duke of Buckingham, once a beloved best friend. It is a grave foreshadowing of Anne Boleyn’s infamous fate. The chorus pleads, “please, can someone save us from this mad tyrant?” Continue reading →

Aug 13

“The Intersection” presented by Bodega

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The Intersection presented by Bodega Commedy

Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019
Doors at 7:30 p.m., Show at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $22
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
527 Tremont Street
South End
Boston, MA 02116

Featuring the talents of Geeks Diana Lu and Shiyanbade Animashaun!

They’re back again! Mark your calendars for the return of The Intersection. Come to the South End on Saturday, September 7 for a night of comedy!

Come witness the baddest comedians, poets, sketch artists, and improvisers create community on stage while making you laugh! The Intersection is produced by creatives of color from across the Boston area.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Show at 8:00 pm.

#FUNinBOS

F.U.N. – Fierce Urgency of Now: Energizing Young Professionals of Color to Unlock Boston’s Promise

What is the Fierce Urgency of Now Festival?

A five-day series of events hosted by local businesses and organizations geared at highlighting the experiences, challenges, and opportunities for young professionals of color in our city with the ultimate goal of creating community. With more than 30 events scheduled, you can plan to learn, connect, and have fun all week long, while also lending your voice to change. Join us September 4-8 to help make Boston more inclusive for all.Why are we involved in F.U.N.?
With half of the workforce in Boston being classified as millennials, and nearly half of millennials in Greater Boston being people of color, we know that the business community must play a key role in improving the city’s image and increasing access and opportunities to attract and retain talent. Retention of young people of color is of critical importance to our future as a region.

F.U.N. is for you: young professionals and young professional of color looking to build community and gain allies.

Jun 25

The Emperor Has No Clothes: ‘Masquerade’ Was a Smug, Misogynistic Mess

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Presented by Cherry Orchard Festival
Produced by Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre of Russia
Based on the ‘verse drama’ by Mikhail Lermontov
Directed by Rimas Tuminas
Set Design by Adomas Yatsovskis
Costumes by Maxim Obrezkov
English Subtitles by Ivan Samokhin

June 18—19, 2019
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre
Boston, MA 02116
Cherry Orchard Festival on Facebook

Critique by Diana Lu

(Boston, Mass.) My program calls Masquerade a “verse drama.” That’s about the most pretentious thing I’ve ever seen. Even Shakespeare just wrote “plays.” Other reviewers keep comparing this 19thcentury Russian romantic play to Shakespeare’s Othello. I’m sure writer Mikhail Lermontov filched his basic plot points from The Bard, but the similarities end there. Continue reading →

May 07

“Vietgone” Baby, “Vietgone”

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Quentin Nguyen-duy and Rob Chen – Photo by Paul Fox.

Presented by Company One
In partnership with Pao Arts Center
Written Qui Nguyen
Directed by Michelle Aguillon

April 26 – May 25, 2019
Boston Center for the Arts
Plaza Theatre
Boston, MA
Company One on Facebook

Review by Diana Lu

(Boston, MA) A hip hop musical play, Vietgone is Qui Nguyen’s new rom-com style re-telling of his parents’ love story. Though it’s presented as “a story about falling in love, not a story about war”, it very much is also a story about the Vietnam War, its devastating consequences, and the dignity and fortitude of its survivors. As a play, it’s well-written, at times hilarious, at times, heartbreaking. Continue reading →