Category Archives: Musicals and Opera

Mar 22

Not Your Daddy’s Rock Opera: URO’s JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

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Courtesy of the URO Facebook Page

Words and Music by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Presented by The Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra*

The Norwood Theatre
109 Central St.
Norwood, MA
March 21st at 7:00 pm – March 24th at 2:00 pm
URO Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Norwood) The Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra (URO) rocks. They have made a brilliant career out of rocking classics by musicians such as The Beatles, Bowie, and Queen. Last night’s performance of Jesus Christ Superstar was no exception. Put simply, they capture all the funk that Andrew Lloyd Weber missed. Continue reading →

Mar 14

Moonbox Productions presents A NEW BRAIN

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Moonbox Productions presents
William Finn and James Lapine’s
Hilarious, Engaging and Uplifting Musical
A NEW BRAIN

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Directed by Allison Choat
Music Direction by Dan Rodriguez

March 15 – April 6, 2013
BCA Plaza Theatre
530 Tremont Street
Boston, MA
Moonbox Production’s Facebook Page

 A musical based on the actual life experience of composer William Finn. This engaging and fast-paced musical by the author of Falsettos and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee recounts the life-changing experience of fictional composer, Gordon Schwinn.  Barely enduring a frustrating job working on a children’s TV show, Gordon suffers a sudden life-threatening brain disorder which sends him into emergency surgery.  The tumultuous, comical and surreal ordeal that engulfs Gordon and those closest to him — his mother, partner and publicist — teaches everyone, especially Gordon, something profound about what is truly important in life, and in love.

Approximate Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes with no intermission. Continue reading →

Mar 11

Dead Nuns and Stubble: NUNSENSE A-MEN

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The Little Sisters getting jiggy.

Presented by LynnArts After Hours
by Dan Goggin

Directed by Kevin Cirone
Choreographed by Nicole Spirito
Music directed by Mario Cruz,

LynnArts
Rantoul Black Box Theatre
25 Exchange Street
Lynn, MA 01901
March 7th – March 23rd, 2013
Lynn Arts After Hours Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Lynn) Traditional nuns make such easy targets for comedy, dressed so imposingly and yet looking so much like penguins.  Dan Goggin, the creator of the Nunsense  series, makes comedic scriptwriting look easy when nuns get involved; his scripts read like a group of friends began to one-up each other over drinks to devise funny scenes about nuns.  If nuns are funny, the script seems to say, then nuns at a leper colony are funnier.  If leperous nuns are funny, then nuns getting high are even funnier.  And if nuns getting high don’t give you a case of the guffaws, then nothing beats a bunch of dead nuns in the freezer. Continue reading →

Mar 11

Thoroughly Marvelous “Millie”

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Presented by The Boston Conservatory Theater Ensemble
Directed by Michael Susko; Music Directed by Steven Ladd Jones

The Boston Conservatory Theater
31 Hemenway St. in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood
March 7—10, 2013
Boston Conservatory Facebook Page

Review by Nicola McEldowney (reviewed 3/8/2013)

(Boston) Occasionally, a performance comes along that reminds you what a certain genre is all about – be that genre Greek tragedy, or Renaissance lute songs, or shadow puppetry. For me, the Boston Conservatory’s Thoroughly Modern Millie is one of these performances. Helmed by director Michael Susko and music director Steven Ladd Jones, this production encapsulates the heart and soul of American musical theatre at its most energized, polished and professional. All the more remarkable, it is performed by students. Continue reading →

Feb 14

Wandering into the “Lunar Labyrinth”

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Based on “A Lunar Labyrinth” by Neil Gaiman
Directed by Steven Bogart
Music composed by Mary Bichner, Mali Sastri, John J. King, Phillip Berman and Jesse Amerding
Harp incidental music by Phillip Berman

Presented by Liars & Believers

February 13 @ 8pm (only one performance, alas!)
Club Oberon
Cambridge, MA
Liars & Believers Facebook Page

Review by Special Guest: Noe Kamelamela

(Cambridge) Lunar Labyrinth was truly a collaborative performance, a meeting of varied art forms.  A theatrical adaptation of a chilling story which Neil Gaiman specifically wrote for Liars & Believers, this production made for a night filled with nontraditional staged performance buoyed by the aide of formatted storytelling styles and brave performers. Continue reading →

Feb 04

Irish Nationalism and Irish Charm: “The Irish and How They Got That Way”

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Gregg Hammer, Janice Landry, Jon Dykstra, Meredith Beck, Andrew Crowe and Irene Molloy

Gregg Hammer, Janice Landry, Jon Dykstra, Meredith Beck,
Andrew Crowe and Irene Molloy

Frank McCourt’s The Irish and How They Got That Way

Directed by Danielle Paccione Colombo

Davis Square Theatre
255 Elm Street
Somerville, MA
January 24 – March 17, 2013
Frank McCourt’s Facebook Page

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Somerville) Frank McCourt’s The Irish and How They Got That Way is a musical revue that’s less about the Irish than what goes into being Irish American.  Lots of drinking and tragic songs, it says. The fare is light, airy, and mainly interested in adding to the mystique of the Emerald Isle.

The Irish and How They Got That Way is infectious in its charm.  It’s funny, sweet, and, at least for the first half of the show, sad.  Stirring versions of “Danny Boy,” “Fields of Athenry,” and “Mrs. McGrath” can be difficult to endure without a twinge of feeling.  The show never makes the mistake of taking itself too seriously, though, with a cast all too happy to lapse into “Give My Regards to Broadway” as well as the comic, “Finnegan’s Wake.”  Storytelling and scraps of history keep the action moving between numbers. Continue reading →

Jan 14

Incomplete Sweetness: MARRY ME A LITTLE

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Photo by Andrew Brilliant/ Brilliant Pictures

Photo by Andrew Brilliant/ Brilliant Pictures

presented by New Repertory Theatre

songs by Stephen Sondheim
conceived and developed by Craig Lucas and Norman Rene
directed and choreographed by Ilyse Robbins
musical direction by David McGrory

Arsenal Center for the Arts
in the Charles Mosesian Theater
Watertown, MA
January 6th – January 27th, 2013
New Repertory Theatre Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Watertown) As a songwriter, Stephen Sondheim is better than you.  He just is.

He mastered the art of straightforward musicals with West Side Story and he’s been toying with us ever since.  After figuring out what sappy audiences want in a love song, he’s been not giving it to them, choosing instead to dwell in the tensions and the ambiguities of our romantic natures in lovely, sonic dissonance. Continue reading →

Jan 13

Out-of-Control Silliness: SPANK: THE FIFTY SHADES PARODY

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Photo credit: Mills Entertainment; naughty, naughty


Photo credit: Mills Entertainment; naughty, naughty

 

presented by Mills Entertainment

January 12th – May 30th 2013
Wilbur Theatre
Boston, MA
Spank! Facebook Page 

Review by Craig Idlebrook

This review contains discussion of adult themes.

(Boston) On its surface, the parody looks like an easy genre to nail, as it seems much easier to make fun of an existing storyline than create a memorable one. But there are pitfalls in the genre, including the lack of opportunity for character development. Think of the Naked Gun or Airplane! movies; the characters must be blank slates who never realize they are in a strange world. To succeed, the parody must be either short (SNL) or have a unified comedic vision that is funny independent of the original storyline.

Spank!: the Fifty Shades Parody is full of gags that will make any cursory reader of the S&M novel Fifty Shades of Grey spit out her gag with laughter, but it fails to create a complete world of ridiculousness, as the actors never can get on the same page for the comedic feel for the show. In the end, the joke nearly spirals out of control and the show grows tedious. Continue reading →

Nov 27

Charm and Spirit: “Sunset Blvd”

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Photo credit: Pentucket Players, Inc

presented by Pentucket Players, Inc.
Sunset Boulevard

Book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Based on the 1950 film of the same title
Movie directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, produced and co-written by Charles Brackett

Rogers Center for the Arts
Merrimack College
North Andover, MA
Review is based on the performance of Nov. 24 at 8pm.
Performances ran Nov. 16 – 24, 2012
Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(North Andover) Sunset Boulevard is based on the classic 1950 American noir film directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. It is named after the boulevard that runs through Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. William Holden played unlucky screenwriter Joe Gillis. Screen legend Gloria Swanson starred as the silent film star Norma Desmond. She ensnares Gillis with the luxury and excess only oodles of money can buy. What starts as an opportunity to reclaim their successes ends in tragedy for both. Continue reading →

Nov 06

The Drowsy Chaperone: Breezy Surface, Deeper Meaning

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Photo credit: Curtain Call Theatre; L to R, Melinda Edge as Janet, Lance Wesley as Robert, and Sharon Petti as The Drowsy Chaperone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison.

directed by Martha Sawyer
musical direction by Meri-Lee Mafera
choreography by Jennifer Walsh

presented by Curtain Call Theatre
182 Commercial Street, Braintree MA.
November 2 -10

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Braintree) The Drowsy Chaperone pulls a neat trick. In order to treat its audience to an old- fashioned musical comedy in a jaded age, it bookends the story with the alternately joyous and grim analysis of a musical fan. Richard Carey plays the asocial, contemporary fan in question, obsessed with the non-existent 1928 play of the title. His interest in the sunny musical and his running commentary turns the show-within a-show into a meditation on how a lonely man deals with sadness. Continue reading →