Mar 26

Punk, Communist Opera to Burn Your Daddy’s Ears: The Threepenny Opera

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The Threepenny Opera from Boston Lyric Opera on Vimeo.

Presented by Boston Lyric Opera
Music by Kurt Weill
Libretto by Bertolt Brecht
English translation by Michael Feingold
Original German text based on Elisabeth Hauptmann’s German Translation of John Gay’s
The Beggar’s Opera
Conducted by David Angus
Stage directed by James Darrah

March 16 – 25, 2018
Huntington Avenue Theatre
264 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA
BLO on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) 3Penny is not your Daddy’s stodgy traditional opera. Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht were communist rabble rousers hell-bent on challenging the operatic form. They were freedom fighters rebelling against the Nazis through theatre. A stalwart Marxist, Brecht wanted to destroy opera’s association with the bourgeoisie. Weill believed opera could belong to the proletariat if given the opportunity. Both would have appreciated the BLO’s production of The Threepenny Opera. Opera purists would not.     Continue reading →

Mar 26

Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club presents “The Laramie Project”

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Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club Presents THE LARAMIE PROJECT at A.R.T.’s Club OBERON

 Cambridge, MA – Tickets are now on sale for Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club’s production of The Laramie Project. Performances will take place on Wednesday, April 11 and Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 PM, as well as Friday, April 13 at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Performances are at the American Repertory Theater’s second stage, Club OBERON (2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, MA).

Tickets ($15-$35) may be purchased through the A.R.T. box office (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA – (617) 547-8300), online (http://bit.ly/laramieatoberon), or at the door pending availability.

Facebook Event: http://bit.ly/laramie2018

About the Play – In 1998, Matthew Shepard was fatally injured and left for dead because he was gay. Following his death, the Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie, Wyoming to understand the town which came to be defined by two men’s crime. The Laramie Project retells the words of Laramie’s residents verbatim, and in their retelling, begins to uncover the prejudices, both loud and quiet, that boil over into violent hate crime.

Join the ensemble of actors as they embody these stories, bringing the Laramie of 1998 to the immersive Club OBERON. Join them as they ask – what does Laramie have left to tell us? Continue reading →

Mar 26

ANTIGONE: Death at the Parthenon

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Presented by Flat Earth Theatre
Original Tragedy by Sophocles
Adapted by Lewis Galantiere from the play by Jean Anouilh
Directed by Lindsay Eagle

ONE WEEK LEFT: March 26th @ 7:30pm; March 29th @ 8pm; March 30th @ 8pm; March 31st @ 8pm
The Black Box at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown, Massachusetts 02472
From the MBTA — take the Red Line to Central Square in Cambridge; then take the 70 or the 70A bus.
Flat Earth on Facebook

Review by Bishop C. Knight

(Watertown, MA) I could provide an enthusiastic review for every aspect of this play.  I will start with a nod to costuming. Continue reading →

Mar 26

“The Bakelite Masterpiece”: The voice that asks not “should I,’ but ‘can I?’

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Benjamin Evett (left) and Laura Latreille (right). Photo by Andrew Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures.

Produced by New Rep Theatre
Written by Kate Cayley
Directed by Jim Petosa

March 17 – April 8, 2018
Mosesian Arts Center
Watertown, MA
New Rep on Facebook

Review by Polly Goss

(Watertown, MA) Set in 1946 among the rumble of post-war Holland, The Bakelite Masterpiece immerses you in the days leading up to the trial of forger Han Van Meergeren. Awaiting trial for charges of conspiracy with the Nazis, Van Meergeren protests his innocence to the formidable Resistance Officer Geert Piller. Based on true events, this captivating moral drama gives voice to a nation struggling to rebuild itself as it emerges from the clutches of fascism. Continue reading →

Mar 21

An Interview with Sam Gould from Open Door Theatre

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Samantha Gould (SG) took a moment for an email interview with the New England Theatre Geek (NETG). Open Door Theatre presents Cinderella this week in Acton. Tickets are HERE.

Cinderella plays March 16 – 25, 2018
All performances open captioned
Friday, March 16 – 18, 2018 – ASL-Intepreted
Saturday, March 24, 2018 1:00 PM – Sensory-Friendly Performance
Saturday, March 24, 2018, 2017 7:00 PM – Audio Described
R.J. Grey Junior High School
Acton, MA
Accessibility information

NETG: Please introduce yourself. What is it you do at Open Door Theater?
SG: My name is Sam Gould and I am the President of the Board of Open Door Theater. However, as we are all volunteers at Open Door, I am a producer, grant writer, accessibility coordinator, public liaison, Make up person, backstage crew, recruitment coordinator, mediator, floor sweeper, etc. Continue reading →

Mar 19

The First Tragic Big Man of Hollywood: “Lost Laughs – The Slapstick Tragedy of Fatty Arbuckle”

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Aaron Muñoz (Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle) and Kristen Mengelkock (Will); Photo by Meghan Moore.

Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Written by Andy Bayiates and Aaron Muñoz.
Directed by Nathan Keepers

February 14 – March 11, 2018
50 East Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01852
MRT on Facebook

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Lowell, MA) Since the advent of the movie industry, we only pay money to see fat men on the silver screen if we can laugh at them. This has invited a parade of tortured souls willing to be crying-on-the-inside clowns in exchange for riches and some measure of acceptance. Too often, however, these jesters (John Belushi, Chris Farley, etc.) break down, and we celebrate the tragedy of a “brilliant life cut short” while waiting for the next heavy man waiting in the wings. Continue reading →

Mar 16

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Stevens: “Steve”

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Travolta eat your heart out. Photo by David J. Miller

Presented by Zeitgeist Stage Company
By Mark Gerrard
Directed by

Plaza Black Box Theatre
3/2-3/24
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
Zeigeist on Facebook

Review by Noelani Kamelamela

(Boston, MA) Zeigeist Stage Company’s production of “Steven” is comedy which depicts the fracturing of a modern queer family. Since on average everyone’s a little more queer than they would have been a decade ago, there isn’t much dialogue or action that would make sense to only a queer audience. Coded moments between the characters are more about their bonds of friendship or assumed family bonds. At a zippy 80 minutes with no intermission, this is a compact show with a quick-moving cast. Continue reading →

Mar 15

Fear Isn’t Logical: “The Humans”

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Photo by Julieta Cervantes

Presented by Boch Center and the Roundabout Theatre Company
By Stephen Karam
Directed by Joe Mantello

Shubert Theatre
Boston, MA
Boch Center on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) The Humans is a play about fear and the ways we humans navigate them. Brigid(Daisy Egan) and Rich (Luis Vega) are hosting Thanksgiving in their first adult apartment in Manhattan. Sister Aimee (Therese Plaehn) has recently broken up with the love of her life. Parents, Deirdre (Pamela Reed) and Erik (Richard Thomas) have brought grandma Momo (Lauren Klein). Regardless of their troubles, everyone is determined to have a nice time. Continue reading →

Mar 09

“The Hotel Nepenthe”: Here’s looking at you and you and your other you, kid kid kid…

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Photo by Maggie Hill Photography

Presented by The Brown Box Theatre
Written by John Kuntz
Directed by Alex Lonati
Produced by Kyler Taustin

March 9-11, 2018 in Massachusetts
Atlantic Wharf, 290 Congress St., Boston
March 15, 2018 in Princess Anne, MD
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Brown Box on Facebook

Reviewed by Bishop C. Knight

(Boston, MA) It was a wintry evening in Boston’s Financial District and, as the audience moseyed into the lobby of an office building with wet snow piled upon our hats and coats, we found our seats to the soundtrack of bubbly theme songs from classic pre-1970s television and cinema. There were themes from Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, and that kicky rendition of the Charleston dance song as featured in It’s A Wonderful Life (1940s).

Once seated and ready for the performance, patrons sat with our four actors lounging around the small stage space in short leopard-print bathrobes. Hm? Earlier in the week, I told a pal that I was going to see a play by John Kuntz, and their heads-up was “John Kuntz? His stuff is weird but wonderful!” And yes, very immediately, with the bouncy lyrics of “The Ballad of Gilligans Island” promising a fateful trip, I knew I was in for a theatrical adventure. Continue reading →

Mar 06

Laughing Together to Confront Suicide Stigma: “Every Brilliant Thing”

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Krstansky with audience members. Those happy faces tell you all you need to know. Maggie Hall Photography

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
By Duncan MacMillan
With Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Marianna Bassham
Featuring Adrianne Krstansky

March 21 – 31, 2018
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
SpeakEasy on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Every Brilliant Thing is a story about a woman’s appreciation for living as told through a long list of joys. Audience participation is nearly mandatory. Adrianne Krstansky is so welcoming that volunteering is fun. The Calderwood Pavilion is a safer space for an hour.   Continue reading →