Jan 26

‘A Number’ of Sons

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Mark Cohen and Danny Bryck, Photo Credit by Whistler in the Dark

 

A Number by Caryl Churchill, Whistler in the Dark, The Factory Theatre, 1/20/12-2/4/12, (in repertory with Fen by Caryl Churchill),  http://www.whistlerinthedark.com/productions/wantedsomething.html.

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Boston, MA) If you were/are a parent, what would you do if you had a chance to fix the mistakes you made raising your child?  As a child, what would you do if your parents told you that you were not their original child, but a new, improved version made to fix the mistakes they made with their first child?  Caryl Churchill’s play, A Number deals with a controversial matter:  cloning.  Since the Dolly the sheep was cloned in the late nineties, fear and wonder has surrounded the possibility of cloning a human being.  This play speculates on what might result from such a procedure and the repercussions of such a decision upon a father and his son. Continue reading →

Jan 25

FEN: In Between Living and Breathing

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Fen by Caryl Churchill, Whistler in the Dark, The Factory Theatre, 1/20/12-2/4/12, (in repertory with A Number by Caryl Churchill),  http://www.whistlerinthedark.com/productions/wantedsomething.html.

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Boston, MA) A lone girl sits amongst the dirt and potatoes of this agrarian society trying to chase away birds until she can try no more.  Striving for more than mere existence in a world controlled by tradition and an inflexible economy often seems futile in the Fenland.  Whistler In The Dark compels the audience to exist and hope with the characters for something more.

As the women in the play sing various choruses to songs, one is struck by the pure beauty in these women in this desolate place.  One also struggles with the evisceration of these women as they give their lives and their souls to the land.  With the assistance of Danny Bryck and an enormous amount of concentration, the actors speak with the flawless dialect of the British countryside.  Each cast member plays multiple characters in this dark landscape.  The main plot revolves around Val (Aimee Rose Ranger) who is trapped between her obligation to take care of her children and a desire for a better life in London with her lover.  She takes no solace in the vices of the other local folk such as valium, religion, dreams, or masochism as she is constantly pulled in both directions.  The one direction that she would want to go in, to London and a new life seems millions of miles away.

Continue reading →

Jan 25

Concert/World Premiere: “The Cat and the Moon”

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Photo credit: Ellen Mandel; The cat will not be performing.

Daniel Neer sings music by Ellen Mandel at the “Pianos Plus Concert”

New songs to poems by Thomas Hardy, Seamus Heaney, WB Yeats, e.e. cummings, and others, including a World Premiere of Yeats’ sweet  “The Cat and the Moon.”

New Gallery Concerts
Thurs January 31 at 7 PM
The Community Music Center of Boston
34 Warren Avenue, Boston, MA 02116

Ellen Mandel Facebook Page
more information:  (617) 254-4133
http://www.newgalleryconcertseries.org/

Also on the program: Pianists, Sarah Bob, Marti Epstein, and John McDonald, performing music by Barish, Epstein, McDonald, and Woolf, and an exhibit of works by multi-media artist Chelsea Revelle. Continue reading →

Jan 24

Life is a cabaret, old chum

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You and I, The Cabaret Series, Central Square Theatre, 2/13/12,

http://www.facebook.com/events/165355680235635/.

Interview by Becca Kidwell

(Cambridge, MA) On December 12, 2011, while many people were decking the halls and looking for luminescent reindeer, a group of people gathered for a warm evening of song with friends and family.  Much laughter and a few tears were shared as the five singers, the pianist, cellist, and drummer poured their hearts into an entertaining set of songs.  The December audience will have a new evening of heart-filled melodies on February 13th.  For those who did not make the December show, they will get to see what everyone was talking about as The Cabaret Series takes on love in all of its forms.

De’Lon Grant answered some questions about the inception of The Cabaret Series and the group’s approach to the shows: Continue reading →

Jan 24

Sugar: A Naturally Sweetened Life Story

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Sugar by Robbie McCauley, ArtsEmerson, Jackie Liebergott Black Box in the Paramount Center, 1/20/12-1/29/12, http://alturl.com/fj8j3.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) Robbie McCauley begins the story of her life reciting food from her Georgia upbringing in the 1940’s.  In detail, she describes cake and succulent barbecue ribs, the taste of Southern cooking compacted with an African American childhood restricted by racial segregation.  She cheerfully rattles off the names of her favorite dishes and the relatives she best associates with them before revealing the diabetes with which she continues to fight. Continue reading →

Jan 23

Green Eyes: A Room With A View

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Alan Brincks and Erin Markey Photo: Travis Chamberlain

Green Eyes  by Tennessee Williams, Company One in collaboration with Chris Keegan and The Kindness, The Ames Hotel, 1/18/12-2/26/12, http://www.companyone.org/Season13/Green_Eyes/info.shtml.  Contains nudity.

Reviewed by Anthony Geehan

(Boston, MA) “Welcome to my honeymoon,” the manic looking blond in the short white dress says “I do expect an invitation to yours.” She snaps a picture of the audience on an out of date Polaroid and then has one of its members unzip her dress as she strips down and gets into bed. This is the first part of the voyeuristic experience that is Green Eyes, a lost Tennessee Williams play currently being put on by a Company One and The Kindness at the Ames Hotel in Boston. Continue reading →

Jan 20

Announcement: You and I: The Cabaret Series–The Journey Continues

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l-r, starting at top: Jennifer Ellis, Tim Maurice, Kami Rushell Smith; bottom: Brian Richard Robinson, Cheo Bourne, De'Lon Grant

If you missed their last show JOURNEY HOME, you don’t want to miss:

February 13, 2012 at 7:30PM, Central Square Theatre

https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/9541965

YOU AND I
One way or another, every song is a love song. Either it’s exultation and happiness or heartbreak and devastation. Are we miserable because we’ve listened to all these heartbreakingly romantic love songs or have we merely idealized love and let emotion take us away? Share the joy and laugh at the pain with us as we examine the love song and the Valentine’s Day experience.

Regular orchestra seats only $15.00 before February 1st – Get Them Now
OR

Order a table for 2 and make it a true Valentine’s Day Experience:

Enter the code TABLE and secure an exclusive and limited table, flowers and a sweet treat for you and your sweet.

 

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 →