Photo credit: Teri Incampo
Presented by Exiled Theatre
By Sarah J. Mann
Directed by James Wilkinson
September 16-October 2, 2016
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Boston, MA
Exiled Theatre on Facebook
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre on Facebook
Review by Travis Manni
(Boston, MA) Anybody can pull off a little black dress. Sarah J. Mann’s She Looks Good in Black proved that only a few can make it look connivingly sexy. Continue reading
Photo courtesy of TTC Facebook page; the cast, looking much happier here than their characters do in the production.
Presented by Titanic Theatre Company
Written by Jamie Pachino
Directed by Michelle M. Aguillon
September 8-25, 2016
Central Square Theatre
Cambridge, MA
Titanic Theatre on Facebook
Review by Noelani Kamelamela
(Cambridge, MA) It is a presidential election year in these United States. Ordinary campaigns are already the cesspools of public opinion where good policies raise their hands and get passed over for workable compromises. Presidential campaigns are therefore a special circle of our own red, white and blue hellscape where we, the people, can gather together and worry about our future as a nation. It is a Sisyphean task, which means the situation is ripe for comedy. Titanic Theatre Company’s production of The Return to Morality elicits anxious laughter in this context. Continue reading
Photo credit: Chantal Acacio; it’s clobbering time.
Presented by The MIT Musical Theatre Guild
Music and Lyrics by Steven Sondheim
Book by John Weidman
Directed by Matt Putnam
Vocal Direction by David Favela
Music Direction by Marek Subernat
September 2 – 17, 2016
MIT Kresge Little Theatre
48 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA
MIT Musical Theatre Guild on Facebook
Review by Danielle Rosvally
(Cambridge, MA) As an American history buff (can you call yourself a “buff” anymore when you’re technically a professional historian?), I will be the first to admit that Assassins holds a special place in my heart. Who else but the dynamic Steven Sondheim could take a subject matter like the murder of the president of the United States, and write a poignant, witty, yet ever-so-tenaciously perky musical about it? The MIT Musical Theatre Guild has put together a fine production of the show, well worth your time despite the beginning-of-semester crunch. Continue reading
The company in performance; Photo credit: Lee Bader
Written & Presented by Trinacria Theatre Company
Directed by Mariagrazia LaFauci
August 24-27, 2016
Sicily, NYC & Boston (various locations)
Trinacria Theatre Company on Facebook & Instagram
Review by Travis Manni
(Boston, MA) A Saturday afternoon in the North End’s Langone Park along the Charles River provided a beautiful, and apt, backdrop for Trinacria Theatre Company’s inaugural performance of La Storia di Colapesce. Continue reading
Come see MTG’s summer production of Assassins! A musical about the men and women who took US politics into their own hands. Assassins features a beautiful score and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a clever book by John Weidman.
Directed by Matt Putnam ’09
Assistant Direction by Noelle Colant ’17
Vocal Direction by David Favela ’18
Music Direction by Marek Subernat ’19
Performances will be held at MIT’s Kresge Little Theatre
September 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17 at 8 PM, & September 4 at 2 PM
MTG’s Assassins Facebook event page
Reserve your tickets at http://web.mit.edu/mtg/
Tickets are:
$3 – Incoming MIT freshmen
$6 – MIT and Wellesley students
$10 – MIT faculty, staff, and community; all other students; seniors and children
$15 – General public
Assassins is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
www.MTIShows.com
The Trinacria Theatre Company Produces Its Inaugural US Performance Tour
LA STORIA DI COLAPESCE
An Original International Theatrical Event, from Sicily to the United States.
Limited Run: August 26 – 27 2016, three performances only
Show Dates:
Friday, August 26th, 8pm
Watertown Sons of Italy
520 Pleasant Street, Watertown, MA 02472
Saturday, August 27th at 1pm
Langone Park in the North End
Commercial Street, Boston 02109
Saturday, August 27th at 7pm
St. John’s Episcopal Church*
48 Middle St, Gloucester, MA 01930
*A portion of the proceeds from this performance will benefit St. John’s Youth Ministry.
Purchase tickets in advance here: http://lastoriadicolapesce.brownpapertickets.com
More info is available at www.trinacriatheatre.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TrinacriaTheatre
Instagram: www.instagram.com/trinacriatheatreco
(Boston, MA) Trinacria Theatre Company presents its inaugural theatrical production, La Storia di Colapesce in various locations in the Boston and Greater Boston Area. The production is an original piece created and devised by the company during a 4-week residency in Sicily, at the Istituto San Placido Calonerò in the Messina region of Sicily. The cast of La Storia di Colapesce is comprised of an ensemble of eight American theatre artists. The Trinacria Theatre Company’s mission is to use theatre as a tool to promote Sicilian history, heritage, and culture at home and abroad. Continue reading
Photo credit: Eurah Joanna Ko
Presented by The MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players
Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards
Book by Peter Stone
Directed by Emma Brown
Vocal Direction by Tom Ostrowski and Johnnie Han
Orchestra Directed by Julie Henion
August 12 – 14
MIT Kresge Little Theatre
48 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA
MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players on Facebook
Review by Danielle Rosvally
(Cambridge, MA) 1776 is one of those archaic mainstays of musical theatre that gets some seasonal adoration around the patriotic holidays of summer and spends the rest of the year hiding in its box waiting for people to remember how catchy the good songs are (and forget how atrociously lingering the bad ones get). It’s also got some technical and social difficulties: the cast is large; dare I say ungainly; and made almost exclusively of men. Costuming the show is serious business since it’s a period piece (rarely modernized). And the script… oh the script… the script has not aged well. Sherman Edwards wrote some poppy songs that still captivate, but Peter Stone’s book is definitely a product of its time. Once again; the good parts are great. The bad parts just linger a little too long. Last, but certainly not least, the show attempts to tackle some very dark eras of American History and doesn’t exactly do it in the best possible way. Continue reading
Photo credit: Earl Christie Photography, earlchristie.com.
Presented by Bad Habit Productions
Book by Terrance McNally
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Based on the 1994 film, “A Man of No Importance” by Suri Krishnamma
Directed by Daniel Morris
Music directed by Meghan MacFadden
August 6 – 28, 2016
The Stanford Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
Bad Habit on Facebook
Review by Kitty Drexel
(Boston, MA) 1994’s “A Man of No Importance” is a difficult movie to find (legally). My library didn’t have a copy that wasn’t on VHS. Amazon won’t let one buy a copy for less than $95.00. eBay has laserdisc copies but who still uses a laserdisc player? My journey to view the source material before writing a review yielded no positive results. Albert Finney is an excellent actor. It must be a good movie to produce such a lovely musical. Bad Habit’s is a lovely musical. Sad face. Continue reading
Photo by Andrew Brilliant, from Facebook.
Presented by Bridge Repertory Theater
By Retro Finger
Translated by Lily Sykes
Directed by Guy Ben-Aharon
August 4-20, 2016
Studio Theater at Central Square Theater
Cambridge, MA
Bridge Rep on Facebook
Review by Kitty Drexel
(Cambridge, MA) Dog Paddle (Or, Struggling Inelegantly Against Drowing) is a brisk 55 minutes long. It is brief, packs a wallop, and, to be blunt, is just short enough that one can still run errands or what have you before the day’s exhaustion catches up. Dog Paddle is an opportunity to enjoy cranial, abstract theatre without wearing one out for the rest of life. It’s perfect. Continue reading
Presented by Theatre@First’s FirstWorks
by Andrea Aptecker
directed by Dave Policar
Thursday, July 28th, at 8pm
Unity Somerville
6 William Street
Somerville, MA 02144
T@F on Facebook
Review by Kitty Drexel
(Somerville, MA) FirstWorks is Theatre@First’s initiative to support local playwrights as they write new plays. The intent of this program is to provide constructive feedback by experienced directors and actors to playwrights on a play submitted for this purpose. After a workshopping period, a staged reading is performed for the Theatre@First community at large. The most recent subject of the FirstWorks program is Andrea Aptecker’s You’re Killing Me Already! (YKMA!). Continue reading
