Category Archives: Comedy

Mar 24

Pride and Prejudice: Stage Proves a Better Home for the Classic Satire Than Film

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Pride and Prejudice, based on the novel by Jane Austen, adapted by Elizabeth Hunter, Theatre@First, Somerville Theatre, 3/22/12-3/31/12,   http://www.theatreatfirst.org/shows/pride_prejudice/pride_prejudice.shtml.

 

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Somerville, MA) Elizabeth Hunter adapts, directs, and brings an enormously funny Pride and Prejudice to the stage.  Longtime Austen-fans should rejoice at their good fortune.  The thorough play is probably closest to my own imagining of the classic 1813 novel.

The book is a smart satire of the husband-hunting rat race that young women engaged in during the Georgian Era when inheritances were more likely to pass to sons.  Continue reading →

Mar 18

Apocalypse Weird: BOOM

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Photo by Peter Goldberg

BOOM by Peter Sinn Nachtreib, Sandra Feinstein Gamm Theatre, 3/8/12-4/8/12,

http://www.gammtheatre.org/OurSeason/Season2720112012/Boom/tabid/
332/Default.aspx. contains nudity.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Pawtucket, RI) Every creation story has a few holes in it, be it the Big Bang or the Garden of Eden.  (I will now pause for defenders of said creation stories to get snippy.)  But few creation stories have holes as absurdly funny as in the play Boom, which is now playing at the Gamm Theatre in Rhode Island.

Boom may best be described as what happens after you have to back up your statement of “Not if you were the last person on Earth.”  Continue reading →

Mar 17

James and the Giant Peach

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James and the Giant Peach, based on the book by Roald Dahl, Boston Children’s Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 3/17/12-3/25/12, http://bostonchildrenstheatre.org/season/jamesandthegiantpeach/.

Reviewed by John Herring

(Boston, MA) James and the Giant Peach follows a young orphan boy and the charming crew of insects he befriends on an entertaining and hilarious trans-Atlantic journey aboard a gigantic piece of fruit.” If you have read the story, or have been read the story, you know and probably love it already. If not, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING?! And you also will love the story in full live presentation. Continue reading →

Mar 15

The Play About The Baby – Or Is It?

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Lynn R. Guerra (Girl), Janelle Mills (Woman), Bob Mussett (Man), Zachary Eisenstat (Boy). Photo Credit: Alison Naturale

The Play About The Baby by Edward Albee, Exquisite Corps Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre, 3/7/12-3/31/12, http://www.exquisitecorps.org/.  Contains nudity.

(Boston, MA) Innocence and responsibility intertwine with reality and absurdity in Exquisite Corps Theatre’s production of The Play About The Baby.  A young couple, known only as boy and girl, explore their relationship as they bring new life into the world.  Through wicked twists and turns the couple spend their time trying to be intimate while they are constantly interrupted, first by the baby and then by a man and woman who act as a cross between social anthropologists and time-share sales people (although no time-shares were sold in the making of this play). Continue reading →

Feb 24

The Zoo Story: The Isolated, Transitory Man

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Photo: Devon Scalisi

The Zoo Story by Edward Albee, New Theatre Company, The Factory Theatre, 2/23/12-3/4/12, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/227168.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) The Zoo Story is an uncomfortable story of a stranger in Central Park finding an audience. Peter (Rob Gustison) plays the hesitant witness to the yarns Jerry (Devon Scalisi, also the director) spins about his life.  Continue reading →

Feb 14

Election Day: A Light, Non-Political Escape

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Election Day by Josh Tobiessen, Happy Medium Theatre, The Factory Theatre, 2/9/12-2/18/12, http://www.happymediumtheatre.com/.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) In the tradition of screwball comedies, a relatable everyman is the victim of seemingly normal circumstances that escalate until someone’s handcuffed to a bed and there are Molotov cocktails in the freezer.  Well, maybe that’s not most screwball comedies, but the trajectory of Election Day is certainly familiar. Continue reading →

Feb 02

The Real Thing: An Infidelity Play in Capable Hands

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Joseph O'Meara, Mark O'Donald and Sarah Carlin (© 2012 Jon Sachs)

The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, Salem Theatre Company, 1/28/12-2/18/12, http://salemtheatre.com/on_stage.htm.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Salem, MA) Much ink has been devoted to the subject of infidelity and romantic betrayal.  Whether in songs, books, or plays, it’s a well-worn trope.  Tom Stoppard recognizes this early on in The Real Thing, establishes that it’s a literary convention in the first scene, and spends the rest of the play dissecting what it really means to the characters. Continue reading →

Jan 19

ART: A Matter of Perspective

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l. to r. Robert Pemberton as Marc and Robert Walsh as Serge in 'ART'. Photo by Andrew Brilliant/ Brilliant Pictures.

Art by Yasmina Reza, New Repertory Theatre, Arsenal Center for the Arts, 1/15/12-2/5/12, http://newrep.org/art.php.

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Watertown, MA) Art is…well, about art–the styles, philosophies, the impact on the individual.  When a person creates a work of art, using quality tools always helps in creating a quality piece (although that’s not to say that there aren’t some interesting works of art made from found objects).  Antonio Ocampo-Guzman starts with some of the finest:  a brilliant script and a trio of Boston talent.  Without any deeper analysis, those are two reasons to see the show.  The problem with art, as the play postulates, is that art is subjective and will not necessarily be seen the same through the same lens by each person. Continue reading →

Jan 16

A Mainly Nutritious Treat: Superior Donuts

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Will LeBow, Omar Robinson. Photo by Mark S. Howard

Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts, Lyric Stage, 1/6/12-2/4/12, https://lyricstage.com/main_stage/superior_donuts/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston, MA) Allow me to digress right from the get-go and say that it’s worth the price of admission of Superior Donuts to watch Lyric Stage Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos give his send-up of the standard fire-exits-and-cell-phones spiel before this play begins. A theater that sets loose a dry wit like Veloudos on the crowd before the play begins is bound to produce something worthwhile.

And Superior Donuts doesn’t disappoint.  Continue reading →

Jan 16

Laugh-Out-Loud Ridiculousness: LEND ME A TENOR

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Lend Me A Tenor by Ken Ludwig, Ciitizen’s Bank Performing Arts Series,The Palace Theatre,  1/13/12-1/28/12,  http://www.palacetheatre.org/event-calendar.aspx?event=442&dt=1/13/2012&category=ALL.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Manchester, NH)  They usually don’t hand out acting awards for comedies, and that is a crying shame.  Is it really harder for an actor to emote than pratfall down the stairs a dozen times a show?  Is biting dialogue really harder to memorize than fifty quick entrances and exits?  A farce may be light on character development, but it is a full-court press of physicality and split-second acting.

Continue reading →