Tag Archives: 2016

Oct 04

Lizzie is Not Herself Today: Angela Carter’s “The Fall River Axe Murders”

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Presented by imaginary beasts
Adapted from the short story by Angela Carter
Directed by Matthew Woods

Oct. 1-22, 2016
Plaza Black Box Theater
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
Imaginary beasts on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Anyone who lives in NE and isn’t familiar with the Lizzie Borden story, can’t call themselves a native. On August 4, 1892, Lizzie Borden allegedly murdered her father and stepmother with an axe. An axe any family of the times would have kept to chop wood for the kitchen or other necessary household fires. The Borden axe was spectacular for its extracurricular activities only. Continue reading →

Oct 02

Rebel Theatre Without Activism is as Pointless as Sending Thoughts and Prayers After a Tragedy: “The Plough and The Stars”

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Presented by A.R.T.*
Abbey Theatre on Tour in association with Cusack Projects Limited
Written by Sean O’Casey
Directed by Sean Holmes
Voice direction by Andrea Ainsworth

Loeb Drama Center
Cambridge, MA
ART on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

Trigger warnings: gun fire, siren and other loud effects, punk rock

(Cambridge, MA) Ladies and gentlemen, Unions are legal and necessary. Unions are one of the only protections low to middle income wage earners have against power-hungry suits with no regard for struggles that aren’t their own. Please support your local unions to ensure that they remain strong, honest, and transparent. Continue reading →

Sep 29

Strange Women Laying in Ponds: SPAMALOT

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Presented by Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre
Book and Lyrics by Eric Idle
Music by John du Prez & Eric Idle
Lovingly ripped off from the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”
Directed and Choreographed by Billy Sprague, Jr.
Music Direction by Jesse Warkentin

September 27 – October 9, 2016
62 Dunham Road
Beverly, MA
Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(Beverly, MA) Hey guys, did you know that there’s a Broadway-quality equity theatre dedicated to bringing glittering seasons of musicals to the North Shore just a stone’s throw from Boston?  Maybe it’s because I’m non-native, but until last night I definitely did not.  I count myself among the most unhappy of masses to have missed what I’m certain were previous spectacular seasons at Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre.  Spamalot, their current offering, is a treat for any Python-head, musical enthusiast, or person with even a tiny sense of humor. Continue reading →

Sep 29

“Machine” Delivers a Bumpy Ride

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Presented by Arts Emerson
Director, Co-Writer, and Original Idea by Vincent Dubé
A Machine de Cirque Production

September 21 – October 2, 2016
559 Washington St
Boston, MA 02111
Machine de Cirque on Facebook

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) In the face of the neon polish standard that is Cirque de Soleil in the Canadian acrobat scene, Machine de Cirque’s simplicity is real, grim, and refreshing. Here, the stage is covered in junk—bicycles, drums, stripped down scaffolding, juggling pins. The performers who encounter each item play and experiment, piecing the fragments into an act. It’s stunning. Perhaps a bit dark, too, as a viewer is left to wonder where, exactly, these performers are. Are these homeless young men in a junk yard? Or has the apocalypse come and gone, and they’re left with nothing but pieces in the dust of the cataclysm?  Continue reading →

Sep 29

Needs More Lesbian Kissing or No Dick is a Picnic: “Cleanliness, Godliness, and Madness: A User’s Guide”

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Daniels and Wiseman getting sexy with their Republican selves; Photo credit: David Marshall

Daniels and Wiseman getting sexy with their Republican selves; Photo credit: David Marshall. 

Presented by Sleeping Weazel
Written by Charlotte Meehan
Directed by Robbie McCauley

Sept. 15-24, 2016
Boston Center for the Arts
Plaza Black Box Theatre
Boston, MA
Sleeping Weazel on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

My sincerest apologies to the good folks involved with Cleanliness, Godliness and Madness. I’ve been quite ill with what I can only describe as the Devil’s lurgy. I shall endeavor to disallow my human frailty in the face of illness to force my hand (quite literally) in this way ever again.

(Boston, MA) To the lovers of button pushing, wildly liberal avant garde theatre, Cleanliness, Godliness and Madness: A User’s Guide (CGM) has closed. You missed a striking theatrical event. Attempts to remedy this miscalculation should be attempted. Continue reading →

Sep 26

Trump Might Not be the Worst*: 45 PLAYS FOR 45 PRESIDENTS

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Terrell Donnell Sledge starts off the show as George Washington. Photo by Meghan Moore;

Terrell Donnell Sledge starts off the show as George Washington. Photo by Meghan Moore.

Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Written by Andy Bayiates, Sean Benjamin, Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Chloe Johnston, and Karen Weinberg
Directed by Sean Daniels

September 7 – October 2, 2016
50 East Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA
MRT on Facebook

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Lowell, MA) Do you know that dull portrait of all the U.S. presidents that’s on the inside binding of high school history textbooks? Mix it with an episode of Game of Thrones and an episode of Who’s Line is it Anyway?, and you have 45 Plays For 45 Presidents. Continue reading →

Sep 23

Dabs of Drama on a White Stage: “Sunday in the Park with George”

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The cast; Photo: Paul Marotta

The cast; Photo: Paul Marotta

Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company
Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Directed by Peter DuBois
Music directed by Eric Stern
Choreographed by Daniel Pelzig
Orchestrations and new chromolume music by Michael Starobin

Sept. 9 – Oct. 16, 2016
BU THEATRE/ AVENUE OF THE ARTS
264 Huntington Avenue
Boston MA 02115
Huntington on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Sunday in the Park with George (SitPwG) is a Sondheim/Lapine musical not frequently performed. That’s probably because it’s not nearly exciting as his more popular shows. Yet, It behooves the hundreds of area artists to go see it for their own personal education. Theatre advocates and appreciators should attend because it simply gorgeous across the board. The Huntington gives us a fine production. Continue reading →

Sep 21

Succeed at All Costs: LOOSE, WET, PERFORATED

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Aliana de la Guardia as Loose and Brian Church as Wet. Photo credit: Liz Linder Photography

Aliana de la Guardia as Loose and Brian Church as Wet. Photo credit: Liz Linder Photography

Presented by Guerilla Opera
Music and Libretto by Nicholas Vines
Directed by Austin Regan

Sept. 21 – 24, 2016
The Zack Box Theater at Boston Conservatory at Berklee
8 The Fenway, Boston, MA
Guerilla Opera on Facebook

Performance for review was Sept, 20, 2016, an open dress rehearsal.

Review by Kitty Drexel

Trigger Warning: partial nudity, sexy times, crass language, sock puppet murder

(Boston, MA) Guerilla Opera is making a name for itself as a company that refuses to allow its actors to merely stand and sing. It’s frequently avant garde, often dark, and always giving us something unexpected. Continue reading →

Sep 20

Jordan Needs a Xanax and a Snuggle: “Significant Other”

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vanessa-shower-with-nsfw-props

Photo Credit: Justin Saglio; Penises at the Hen Party. Penis. Penis. Penis.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
By Joshua Harmon
Directed by Paul Daigneault

Sept. 9 – Oct. 8, 2016
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
SpeakEasy on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Significant Other (SO) is Sondheim’s Company is the music were stripped, and Bobby was made both gay and genuinely likable. The percentage of justifiable choreography remains equal between the two shows. The set design is similarly simple. The scene transitions are more facile. All in all, based entirely on sympathetic characters alone, Significant Other is the more pleasant viewing choice. Whether this is true for you depends upon your own theatrical preferences. Continue reading →

Sep 19

Happy Families Don’t Make Good Theatre: “Regular Singing”

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Presented by New Rep Theatre
By Richard Nelson
Directed by Weylin Symes
In association with Stoneham Theatre

Sept. 3 – 25, 2016
Arsenal Center of the Arts
Charles Mosesian Theater
Watertown, MA
New Rep on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Watertown, MA) My charming date to New Rep’s Regular Singing described the show as “a play about white people having white feelings about JFK’s assassination” for two hours with no intermission. She continued, “this play isn’t discussing anything new or political.” It barely breaches JFK’s assassination, or singing, for that matter. My lovely, astute companion may have been harsh in her description but she’s not wrong.   Continue reading →