Tag Archives: abortion

Apr 15

Hell Hath No Fury: “Don’t Eat the Mangos”

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Left to right: Evelyn Howe, Jessica Pimentel, Yesenia Iglesias; photo by Marc J. Franklin.

Written by Ricardo Pérez González
Directed by David Mendizábal
Featuring: Jessica Pimentel, Yesenia Iglesias, Evelyn Howe, Susanna Guzmán, José Ramón Rosario
Voice of Radio: José C. Massó III
Fight Director and Intimacy Coach: Ted Hewlett

March 26 – April 27, 2025
The Huntington Calderwood
527 Tremont Street. Boston, MA 02116

Content warnings: Don’t Eat the Mangos includes frank discussion of past sexual assault, incest, and traumatic forced abortion. The play includes depictions of patriarchal control in a family setting, at-home end-of-life care, and violent suffocation. There is a brief discussion of suicide and the inclusion of homophobic and sexist slurs.

This play is performed in English and Spanish. 

BOSTON — After the first seeing the striking mango tree (designed by Tanya Orellana with rising sunlight designed by Cha See) burdened with tangibly ripe fruit next to a cozily busy cottage, the audience hears the silence-splitting call of the Puerto Rican coquí frog. (I’ve never been to P.R., but I’ve heard the coquí’s invasive rant from inside my family’s home on Big Island, Hawai’i enough times to recognize the frog’s plaintive call for nonrecreational booty even in my nightmares.) 

The sound design by Jake Rodriguez layers the persistent morning call of coquís under the clanging of daily housework in Don’t Eat the Mangos’ first moments. Shortly after the first lines of dialogue, a ringing bell joins the coquís call. These sounds, with director David Mendizábal’s staging, plus the tense character work between the actors, indicate that something is not right in this house.  Continue reading →

Jan 31

Extraordinary Acts of Intersectional Feminism: “Gloria: A Life”

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Presented by American Repertory Theatre
By Emily Mann
Directed by Diane Paulus
The cast includes Patricia Kalember as Gloria Steinem with Gabrielle Beckford, Joanna Glushak, Patrena Murray, Erika Stone, Brenda Withers, and Eunice Wong. Rachel Cognata is the swing.

January 24 – March 1, 2020
Loeb Drama Center
Cambridge, MA 
ART on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“People say ‘beware!’
But I don’t care
The words are just
Rules and regulations to me, me”
–  “Gloria” by Patti Smith

Cambridge, MA — Gloria Steinem is creating the world she wants to see. She is a multi-generational, intersectional feminist activist, an unflinching journalist, and a courageous journalist. Steinem is kind, compassionate, persistent, patient, and she wants a better world for all of us. The human population is damn lucky to have her fighting on our side. She is one of my personal heroes. 

Gloria: A Life by Emily Mann invites us to participate in the events of Steinem’s life as the unfold onstage. A performance feels like watching the text of Steinem’s My Life On the Road leap off the page. (The book is great! I highly recommend it.) Both are about Steinem’s personal life and career. The greatest difference between Mann’s play and the book is that the play invites the audience into Steinem’s head. Steinem is no longer at a distance. We’re allowed to celebrate and grieve with her in realtime.    Continue reading →

Jun 14

Don’t Expect the Movie: “Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage”

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Craven and Courts. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

Presented by Boch Center
By Eleanor Bergstein
Music supervising and orchestrations by Conrad Helfrich
Choreography by Michele Lynch
Original choreography by Kate Champion
Directed by Sarna Lapine

June 13 – 17, 2018
Shubert Theatre
Boston, MA
Dirty Dancing tour on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage is a great production for professional-dance enthusiasts who enjoyed Dirty Dancing the movie but have no particular emotional connection to it. Diehard movie fans may feel put out by Eleanor Bergstein’s script upgrades. Musical aficionados may snark at the “acting” going on onstage. Anybody ready for some good time media nostalgia will enjoy themselves. Continue reading →

Nov 01

Haunting Memories and Daunting Doubt:”Choice”

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© T Charles Erickson Photography

© T Charles Erickson Photography

Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
By Winnie Holzman
Directed by Sheryl Kaller

October 16-November 15, 2015
Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
Huntington Theatre Company on Facebook

Review by Travis Manni

(Boston, MA) I was stumbling through the rain this past Wednesday night in an outfit that wasn’t remotely appropriate rain attire. After stepping into the lobby of the Calderwood Pavilion, I couldn’t get the clinging wetness sensation off of me, but the second I walked into the theater, finally able to peel away my jacket, I was hit by a friendly warmth from the stage. Continue reading →

Oct 06

The Government Has No Jurisdiction in A Uterus: DRY LAND

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Photo credit: Paul Fox

Photo credit: Paul Fox; Detergent should only be used to clean clothing, not a uterus.

Presented by Company One
Written by Ruby Rae Spiegel
Directed by Steven Bogart
Dramaturgy by Jessie Baxter

October 2 – 30, 2015
Plaza Theatre
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
C1 on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) For as long as there have been uteruses, there have been abortions. For almost as long as there have been abortions, there have been people desiring to control the contents of a uterus that isn’t theirs. Everyone, regardless of gender, deserves to know the capability of their body. Everyone with a uterus deserves to choose what is best for that uterus whether that means ending or beginning a pregnancy. A uterus shouldn’t be political. It is privately owned. No one gets to make decisions about my body but me. I support Planned Parenthood because I believe that everyone else deserves that freedom too.   

Company One’s production of Dry Land is about the consequences of abstinence only education, institutionalized ignorance, and socialized body shaming. Amy (Stephanie Recio) is a pregnant teenager. She doesn’t give us any specifics but it’s implied that she had consensual sex with a boy. Unfortunately, Amy lives in Florida. This means a safe, regulated surgical abortion is impossible for her to acquire without a parent’s input because Florida believes a teenager 16 or older is old enough to engage in sexual congress with someone up to seven years their senior but not to make their own decisions regarding the consequences of that sexual activity*. Instead, Amy has engaged Ester (Eva Hughes) to be her confidante in self-administering an at-home abortion. They are acquaintances through the high school swim team. Continue reading →