Category Archives: Comedy

Dec 18

Celebration Through Sitcoms: “Holiday Feast”

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Presented by The Front Porch Arts Collective
Directed by Jackie Davis
Stage Directions by Kandyce Whittingham
The scene chewing “Holiday Feast” team is HERE.

​Dec. 12-14, 2024
Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Porch’s “Holiday Feast” was an evening of staged readings from beloved Black sitcoms Amen, The Jeffersons, A Different World, and Family Matters. The Porch did what it does best; it brought its community together in a celebration of Black joy. 

It was silly: The cast sometimes diverged from the script to playfully mess with each other as good friends do; actors embraced the quirks of revered characters George Jefferson, Whitley Gilbert and Steve Urkel. It was serious: Christmas episodes teach important lessons while recognizing their characters’ shortcomings… But, the cast didn’t dwell in severity; they found joy and kept it lifted through the evening. When the moment called for it, we sang along with the cast. There were teary eyes and boisterous laughs; the very best ingredients for a great night of theater no matter who you are. 

Christmas can be a dark time for some folks. It is for me. Watching other people laugh and love is healing. And, the United States is about to go into a dark period of conservative politics armed and ready to hurt minority groups for daring to feel joy in their presence. Very soon, our joy will be weaponized against us (like when Harris danced at a party, and it became a reason not to vote for her). It behooves us now to claim our joy and our healing as rebellion. We will need it and each other in the New Year to get through the following four. 

So, I urge you to find your joy and to hold close friends, old and new, who will celebrate it with you. The New England Theatre Geeks wish you a merry Kwanzaanukkahdad and a mele New Year! I hope it’s a good one without any tears.  

Dec 03

Lucky Number 7: “The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show”

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Photo credit: Jacob Ritts

The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show
Presented by Boch Center Wang Theatre
Created & Written by BenDeLaCreme & Jinkx Monsoon
Director: BenDeLaCreme
Choreographer: Chloe Albin
Movement Direction by BenDeLaCreme
Original Compositions by Major Scales
Lyrics: BenDeLaCreme, Jinkx Monsoon, & Major Scales
Music Production: Markaholic & Keith Harrison
Starring: BenDeLaCreme & Jinkx Monsoon
Featuring: Chloe Albin, Mr. Babygirl, Jace Gonzalez, Ruby Mimosa, Derrick Paris, Scott Spraags, and Gus Lanza as “Hunky the Elf”

Dec. 2, 2024
Wang Theatre at Boch Center
270 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON – December marks the start of a very special time for us in Boston. No, it’s not the Baby Jesus’ red and green capitalist wet dream known as Christmas. It’s the month when The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show visits Boston to spread cheer (and legs) across the land, sillies. Merry Kwanzanukkahdad and Mele New Year, the holiday season has begun!  Continue reading →

Nov 27

Plucky Repertory at BPT: “How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos” & “Soft Star”

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Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 
Produced in collaboration with the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Theatre.
BPT’s Fall Rep Festival

How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos by Maggie Kearnan
Directed by Taylor Stark
Intimacy and violence choreography by Jess Scout Malone
Special effects by Lynn Wilcott
Featuring: Becca A. Lewis, Mark W. Soucy, Robbie Rodriguez

Soft Star by Tina Esper
Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary
Intimacy & Violence Choreographer: Jess Scout Malone
Featuring: Annika Bolton, Mairéad O’Neill, Jesse Kodama, Kamran Bina

November 7-24, 2024 
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (now with a water fountain!) 
Kate Snodgrass Stage
949 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Boston Playwrights’ Theatre presents two plays as part of its Fall Rep Festival: How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos by Maggie Kearnan, a fictional interview with the nonfictional journalist, and Soft Star, a play about secrets between best friends, by Tina Esper. 

While they are running in repertory with each other, these plays will not be critiqued by the same standards. The scripts are at different levels of development: Bezos is nearly if not fully completed; Soft Star requires some tweaking and that’s okay; that’s why BPT exists.   

This critique discusses both plays in the order I viewed them. Both plays ran through Nov. 24 on different days on the Kate Snodgrass Stage at BPT. Their runs have ended but their legacy will live on.   Continue reading →

Nov 26

“Funny, Antiquated Slapstick: Noises Off”

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The cast. Photo by Mark S Howard.

Presented by Lyric Stage Boston
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Ilyse Robbins
Sound Design – Andrew Duncan Will
​Scenic Design – Erik D. Diaz
Costume Design –  Seth Bodie
Lighting Design – SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal
Props Artisan – Emily Allinson
Voice & Dialect Coach  – Allison Beauregard
Fight Consultant – Ted Hewlett
Featuring:  Amy Barker, Grace Experience, Dan Garcia, Eliza Fichter, Michael Jennings Mahoney, Joseph Marrella, Chip Phillips, Samantha Richert, Lewis D. Wheeler

Nov. 15 – December 22, 2024
Lyric Stage Boston
140 Clarendon St.
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Craig Idlebrook

Two hours and thirty minutes, with two intermissions

Content Advisory: “The shenanigans of Noises Off include a bit of salty language, some sexual situations, and slapstick humor.” – Lyric Stage

BOSTON — Sometimes, reviewers best serve the audience by declaring their biases up front. Usually, those biases are about something we hate, but not always.

In this case, I should warn you that I love Noises Off as a play, and I fully realize I probably love it more than its inherent cultural worth warrants. Like with a close family member, I am inclined to defend it from accusations of its shortcomings more than I should. There is something about the play within a play about the ridiculous backstage antics of a middling theater cast that resonates with me as a high school drama nerd. Continue reading →

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 →

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 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 →

Sep 18

Every Moment of Life Is Decay… And Ecstacy: “Laughs In Spanish”

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From left: Luz Lopez, Daniel Rios Jr., Brogan Nelson, Rebekah Rae Robles, and Paola Ferrer. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
Written by Alexis Scheer
Directed by Mariela Lopez-Ponce
Intimacy coordination by Paulina Martz
Dance consultant: Audrey Johnson

September 18 – October 12, 2024
Boston Center of the Arts
The Calderwood Pavilion: Roberts Studio Theatre 
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Laughs In Spanish is a snapshot into the lives of art gallery manager Mari (Rebekah Rae Robles) and her intern/best friend Caro (Luz Lopez) on the day of a major exhibit for a male celebrity artist. The paintings have gone missing! So the gallery’s security guard (and Caro’s boyfriend) Juan (Daniel Rios Jr.) investigates. 

They are troubleshooting when Mari learns that her mother is in town. Estella (Paola Ferrer), a true Hollywood star, arrives and disrupts everyone’s day with her presence. Her trusty assistant Jenny (Brogan Nelson) is at her side. Estella promises to help. Mari is dubious. Caro and Juan are keeping secrets. Jenny is trying to salvage Estella’s day. Continue reading →