Presented by Central Square Theater Based on the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle By Steven Canny & John Nicholson Directed by Lee Mikeska Gardner Featuring: Aimee Doherty, Jenny S. Lee, Sarah Morin
September 12 – October 6, 2024 Central Square Theater 450 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139
The running time is approximately 2 hours, 15 minutes including an intermission.
Critique by Kitty Drexel
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Central Square Theater’s The Hound of the Baskervilles is intentionally silly and joyfully performed. In this time of immature politicians who make up stories for negative attention like spoiled brats, it is refreshing to laugh with actors creating great theatre and not at bad actors bastardizing the First Amendment. THOTB runs in Cambridge, MA through October 6. Continue reading →
Presented by Pansy Rampant Productions
Play by Lawrence Gullo
Co-facilitation by Liz Diamond and Jo Michael Rezes
Costume design by Sherman
Scenic design by Ellie Gillis
Lighting design by M Berry
Hair/makeup design by Em Salzman
Featuring: Mandy Jo Bemis, Sebastian Crane, Leanna Hieber, Lydian Meloccaro, Justin Peavey, Matti Steriti
August 23-25, 2024 The Foundry
101 Rogers Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
Information here
Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood
SOMERVILLE, Mass. — The not-so-roaring-2020s are a struggle-full time, particularly for queer folks who just want to exist in peace. Playwright Lawrence Gullo’s labor of love, Let’s Misbehave, transports us back in time almost a full century, not as a form of escapism, nor to prove that one era was crueler or kinder than the other, but to simply remind us that trans people have always existed – not only existed, but thrived. There’s profound hope in that simple sentiment, especially right now.
Gullo’s play has been simmering for over a decade, evolving from a TV pilot to a Zoom reading to this summer’s Boston stage premiere, and in that time, its characters have clearly had time to grow into their own. Fittingly, the play has something of a sitcom feel, featuring a merry band of friends who more or less just like hanging out together – except that these friends are queer social outcasts living in London in the 1930s. Continue reading →
Content note: Please be advised this show contains implied explosions, described violence, allusions to domestic violence, discussions of terminal illness, and homophobic and racially insensitive microaggressions.
Review by Kitty Drexel
SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Theatre@First’s plucky production of Rachel Teagle’s The Impracticality of Modern-Day Mastodons is lots of fun! It runs at Unity Somerville church through March 23.
Jess’s (Angele Maraj) life is chugging along – could be better, could be worse – when, one day, the world’s population wakes to discover their childhood dreams have come true! Jess awakes as a mastodon (never to be confused with a mammoth), tusks, and all because Buster (Juan Jose Boschetti) wished everyone’s wishes would come true. Continue reading →
Left to right: Brianna Martinez, Jules Talbot, Victoria Omoregie, Haley Wong in John Proctor is the Villain; directed by Margot Bordelon; photo by T. Charles Erickson
Presented by The Huntington By Kimberly Belflower Directed by Margot Bordelon Dramaturgy by Lauren Halvorsen Choreography by Victoria L Awkward Fight and Intimacy Direction by Jessica Scout Malone Voice and dialect coaching by Christine Hamel
BOSTON, Mass. — It’s simple: believe girls. Believe women. Believe femme non-binary persons. Believe gender-expansive people who don’t fit your idea of how a person should look. Believe our stories. We don’t want fame. We want due process.
The Huntington’s John Proctor is the Villain running through March 10 at the BCA is an age-old story of victim blaming and abuser protection. Four teen girls (Brianna Martinez, Victoria Omoregie, Jules Talbot, and Haley Wong) are coming of age in post-#MeToo Appalachia. The four best friends and their bro classmates (Maanav Aryan Goyal, Benjamin Izaak) are taught by the school’s coolest homeroom teacher, Mr. Smith (Japhet Balaban), and new counselor Ms. Gallagher (Olivia Hebert). Continue reading →
Presented by Food Tank Written by Bernard Pollack Directed by Dori A. Robinson Dramaturgy and Production by Elena Morris
Wed, Feb. 7 @ 7 PM Wed, Feb. 21 @ 7 PM SOLD OUT The Burren Backroom Somerville, MA
Critique by Kitty Drexel
SOMERVILLE, Mass. — The Food Tank presents two readings of Little Peasants: A Peek Behind Closed Doors of a Food Workers’ Union Organizing Campaign. This article is based on the reading performed on Feb. 7 at 7 PM. Little Peasants is supported by the Somerville Arts Council through the Massachusetts Cultural Council.Continue reading →
(at table) Laura Hubbard as Nicole, Alex Leondedis as Greg, Parker Jennings as Tuttle, Cristhian Mancinas-García as Jacob, Michael (Shifty) Celestin as Tal, Paola Ferrer as Hannah, Julia Hertzberg at Mitra – Photos: Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company
Play by Sarah Einspanier
Direction and Sound Design by Danielle Faeuteux Jacques
Scenic and Sound Design by Joseph Lark-Riley
Featuring: Cristhian Mancinas-Garcia, Parker Jennings, Paola Ferrer, Michael (Shifty) Celestin, Alex Leondedis, Julia Hertzberg, Laura Hubbard, Dev Luthra, Katie Pickett, Brooks Reeves
December 30, 2023 – January 21, 2024 Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet St
Chelsea MA, 02150
Content advisory: dialogue about diet culture
Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood
CHELSEA, Mass. — Lunch Bunch feels longer than its snappy one-hour run time, and that’s very much a positive: the lives depicted onstage are so harried, so high-stakes, so existentially draining, that I left Apollinaire Theatre Company feeling as though I’d lived an entire lifetime. Continue reading →
Presented by The Hungtington A Die Hard parody Produced by James Seabright Written by Richard Marsh Directed by Hal Chambers Performed by Darrel Bailey
December 27-December 31, 2023 Huntington Theatre 264 Huntington Ave Boston, MA
BOSTON, Mass. — Bruce Willis told us Die Hard is not a Christmas movie in 2018.
Richard Marsh’s Yippee Ki Yay is a Die Hard parody, but it’s not about Die Hard. It’s about love: the love between a man and his favorite film, the love between two Die Hard uberfans, and the love between an NYPD cop and his shoes.
Yippee Ki Yay: The Die Hard Parody is visiting The Huntington through December 31. There are only a few performances left.
Allow me to explain why nearly everyone needs to see this one-man tour de force play about a Bruce Willis movie from 1988. It’s come from the Edinburgh Fringe (Do we want a fringe festival in Boston? Support fringe shows to get a fringe festival.) for audiences of most ages whether those ages enjoy action films or not. Bailey performs the play like an epically kinesthetic standup routine. Only people who hate fun dislike standup comedy. Continue reading →
Presented by New World Stages Author: Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen Director: Gordon Greenberg Original Music/Sound Design by Victoria Deiorio Dialect coaching by Jerome Butler Intimacy direction by Judi Lewis Ockler Puppetry design by Tijana Bjelajac Schedule of Performances New World Stages / Stage 5 340 West 50th Street New York NY 10019
1 hour and 30 minutes, no intermission
Review by Kitty Drexel
NEW YORK — Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is cutely queer. It isn’t in New England yet, but it could be when the rights become available. Performances are ongoing at New York’s New World Stages through November.
This Dracula, like so many of its predecessors, tackles Bram Stoker’s most famous novel with a modern spin and blatant sexual references. Persons seeking a severe homage to either the novel in letters or the 1992 film with Winona Rider and Gary Oldman should look elsewhere. This play lacks depth but makes up for it with absurd puppetry and the clever execution of thoughtful props. Continue reading →
Presented by The Huntington in association with Alliance Theatre and Front Porch Arts Collective Written by James Ijames Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb Choreography by PJ Johnnie Jr. Fight Direction and Intimacy Coaching by Jesse Hinson Dialect Coaching by Adi Cabral Voice Lessons by David Freeman Coleman
“Haam” Slang: Hard as a motherfucker. One can go haam for anything: Sports, homework, smoking, sex, drinking, driving, etc. From UrbanDictionary.com
Or,
“HAM” Slang: A Ham is a burger with no bread. A loser, a peasant, a bum with no motion and no desire or solution to make some money. Whatever you do stay away from Hams they are contagious and NEED a vaccine. From UrbanDictionary.com
BOSTON, Mass. — 2023 Pulitzer-prize winning play Fat Ham is at the BCA’s Calderwood Pavilion now thru October 29. Stevie Walker-Webb brings James Ijames’ hilarious opus to Boston thanks to the collaboration of Front Porch Arts Collective, the Huntington, and Alliance Theatre.
Many modern Shakespeare productions claim to be for a new audience. Some of these productions are merely Shakespeare set in an urban environment or slightly updated to correct historical sexism, racism, or homophobia. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining this tradition.
Fewer Shakespeare productions are truly for a modern audience: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) summarizes the Bard’s works; Shit-Faced Shakespeare performs for improv-loving, alcohol-fueled audiences of frat-bros and frat-bro allies. Fat Ham truly goes where no modern production has gone before.
Fat Ham transcends a retelling of Hamlet. It doesn’t merely transpose the story of a young man bent on parricide/patricide because the ghost of his father visits him after his uncle marries his mother. It goes harder. Continue reading →
This play was a finalist in Teatro’s 3rd Annual A-Tipico Latinx New Play Festival.
Critique by Kitty Drexel
CHELSEA, Mass. — Teatro Chelsea’s production of Josie Nericcio’s 619 Hendricks ran at Chelsea Theatre Works through July 1. The run is over but maybe, if we ask nicely, it will play somewhere else soon. Massachusetts needs to celebrate more quality theatre like 619 Hendricks.
The general rule, when it comes to family or friends and money, is don’t lend. Give. That money is already gone and will never be paid back once it changes hands. Humans have a short memory for gratitude.
In Laredo, Texas, two brothers mourn the death of their mother. Mama has left them her house in her will. The eldest, Nesto (Juan Carlos Pinedo Rivera), wants to sell right away to a big developer in town. Richie, a fancy Hollywood writer, (Cristhian Mancinas-Garcia) wants to wait. They stubbornly refuse to discuss why they feel this way. Their inability to talk leads to a war for the house and for their pride. Continue reading →
