Tag Archives: Boston Playwrights’ Theatre

Nov 13

Looking at the stars is looking at the past: “Chosen Child”

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Photograph credit: Kalman Zabarsky

Presented by Boston Playwright’s Theatre
Written by Monica Bauer
Directed by Megan Schy Gleeson

October 30-November 22, 2014
Boston Playwright’s Theatre
Boston, MA
BPT on Facebook

Review by Noelani Kamelamela

(Boston) Boston Playwright’s Theatre deftly handles heavy subject matter to thoroughly explore one family’s patterns in Chosen Child.  Cleverly overcoming technical limitations, intertwined histories emerge and recede amidst light and shadow in this production. Continue reading →

Oct 14

1 Little, 2 Little, 3 Little Puritans: “Reconsidering Hanna(h)”

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Photograph credit: Kalman Zabarsky

Photograph credit: Kalman Zabarsky

Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
By Deirdre Girard
Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary

Sept. 25 – Oct. 19, 2014
Boston Playwrights’ Theater
Boston, MA
BPT on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) It feels like I’m the only person who’s never heard of Hannah Duston. My friends had plenty to say when I mentioned seeing this show. In 1697, she was captured by Canadian Abenaki Native Americans and transported to what is now Pennacook, NH. After freeing herself with the aid of two other captives, Hannah killed 11 natives and sought safety away from the Abenaki. In a surprising twist to the story, Hannah has all but left the camp where she was held hostage but then returns to scalp the Abenaki for a bounty. At the time, she was lauded for her success and the first statue to commemorate a woman in the US ever was placed in Boscawen, NH. The second statue is currently located in Haverhill, MA (There’s confusion as to which is which.). Duston is considered a folk hero by some (typically White). She is considered a violent, racist Puritan by many others.   Continue reading →

Jun 17

OperaHub Announces: DER VAMPYR

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OperaHub Announces June 2014 Show:

Heinrich Marschner’s

DER VAMPYR

in a new English-language adaptation
Boston’s “opera punks” say, “Bite me!”

Librettist: John J King
Stage Director: Christie Lee Gibson
Music Director: Lina Gonzalez

June 19 – June 26, 2014

FREE ADMISSION!
In the spirit of accessible opera for all, tickets are absolutely free, and may be reserved in advance online here!

 

BOSTON, MA – OperaHub broadens their ambitions with their June 2014 production: a new adaptation of Heinrich Marschner’s 1828 gothic opera DER VAMPYR. Though the work had its American premiere at the Boston Conservatory in 1980, it has not been seen in Boston since. Several companies around the world have produced it in recent years, including the American Symphony in Spring 2013 and the New Orleans Opera last fall. Hailed by the New York Times as a “gem of an opera,” it falls stylistically between Weber’s DER FREISCHUTZ and Wagner’s FLYING DUTCHMAN, with a thematic debt owed to Mozart’s DON GIOVANNI.

In the original version of DER VAMPYR, Lord Ruthven, the blood-sucker in question, has not been sucking his fair share of blood. The other vampires in his coven gather at the witches’ dance to charge him with taking three virgins by the end of the third day, or he will perish as a mortal. Tragedy ensues in the local village until the vampire is vanquished. Continue reading →

Jun 16

Dancing Wilde(ly) with Boston Actors Theater

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Photo from BAT facebook page

Presented by Boston Actors Theater
Adapted by Elizabeth DuPré and Nicole Howard
Directed and Choreographed by Danielle Lucas

Playing June 13th – June 28th
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Boston, MA
BAT on Facebook

Review by Gillian Daniels

One of the very best and worst things about Oscar Wilde is that his reputation proceeds him. His piercing one-liners and scathing insults are quoted extensively in speeches, jokes, and birthday cards. Wilde’s private life is largely viewed as decadent, however factual that is. Because of this, it’s surprising that the fairy tales he wrote during his career, in sharp contrast to his perceived debauchery, are syrupy and Victorian. Boston Actors Theater attempts to marry the brevity and wit of Wilde’s legacy with the softer side of his stories for children and the result, while enthusiastic, is uneasy. Continue reading →

Jun 06

Unrelable Narrator presents “Human Contact: Short Sci-Fi Plays”

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Unrelable Narrator presents Human Contact: Short Sci-Fi Plays
Written by Carl Danielson

(BOSTON) Performances are July 11-19 at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.  Tickets are $15/$12 for students and seniors at http://www.unreliable-narrator.com or call (866) 811-4111. Check out humancontactshorts.tumblr.com for more information, and follow us on Twitter @unarrator or like “Unreliable Narrator” on Facebook!

Danielson’s Human Contact: Short Sci-Fi Plays is an evening of five thought-provoking one-acts that ask whether technology robs the soul or augments it.  These original tales explore the evolution of the nature of humankind as we confront aliens, time travel, self-directed evolution, and more.  With well-crafted stories performed by a large cast of Boston’s finest actors, Human Contact is a unique vision of the 21st Century’s future.

Founded in 2008, Unreliable Narrator produces strange homemade theater in and around Boston. They are best known for creating 2010: Our Hideous Future: The Musical!, which began at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre and played at various theatres, bars, and sci-fi conventions in the Northeast from 2010-2012. Other Unreliable Narrator productions include 2008’s Schmolitics, 2009’s Paranormal, and 2011’s The Way of the Warrior-Bunny.

The plays of Human Contact: Continue reading →

Feb 10

Clear the Room: “Absence”

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Photograph credit: Kalman Zabarsky.

Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Written by Peter M. Floyd aka PFlo
Directed by Megan Schy Gleeson

February 6 – March 2, 2014
Boston Playwright’s Theatre
Boston, MA
BPT on Facebook

Review by Noelani Kamelamela

(Boston) Absence, Peter M. Floyd’s first full length play, is a multi-layered and filmic production at Boston Playwright’s Theatre which was both a terror and a joy to see.

At a slim 90 minutes without intermission, it is finely focused on Helen, who in her 70s experiences the slowly squeezing hand of time on her body and mind, but not her soul.  Kippy Goldfarb, who stepped up when Joanna Merlin took ill, as Helen is a clear and self-possessed woman, and it is hard to believe that Helen could, in fact, be suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s at all.  Helen’s passion play is underscored by a serious exploration of how her family and herself must undertake to keep her as safe and as sane as possible.   Continue reading →

Jan 16

“The Haberdasher!” A Tale of Derring-Do

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Photo Credit: Brett Marks

By Walt McGough
Presented by Argos Productions
Directed by Brett Marks
Fight Direction by Angie Jepson

January 11 – 25, 2014
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
949 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston MA
Argos Productions on Facebook

(Boston) Well, this season theatre has really shown Boston that girls can kick some serious butt.  From the A.R.T.’s Robin Hood, to Imaginary Beast’s winter Panto Rumplestiltskin, we’ve seen our share of swashbuckling dames on the Boston stage this winter.  The Haberdasher! doesn’t buck the trend and delivers ungenderbiased asskickery in the form of rapier-crossing adventure and witty banter.

Simply and sweetly: this is a fun show with high entertainment value that would be particularly attractive to the young or young-at-heart. Continue reading →

Sep 02

Not the End of the Line for “T Plays V: Last Call”

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Winning play: “SL1 12:32am,” Greer Rooney and Kevin LaVelle, Photo by Meg Taintor

Presented by Mill 6 Collaborative
Artistic directed by John Edward O’Brien
Co-managing directors: Irene Daly, Antoine A. Gagnon

Aug. 21-31, 2013
The Boston Playwright’s Theatre
Boston, MA
Mill 6 Collaborative on Facebook

Written by : Lisa Burdick, Patrick Gabridge, Emily Kaye Lazzaro, Alexa Mavromatis, Bob Murphy, Rick Park

Plays directed by: Barlow Adamson, Matt Chapuran, Mikey DiLoreto, Lindsay Eagle, Kathy Maloney, Kim Anton Myatt

Actors: Jake Athyal, Irene Daly, Jillian C. Couillard, Kelley Estes, Kevin LaVelle, Lonnie McAdoo, Mal Malme, Janelle Mills, Bob Mussett,Jason Myatt, Greer Rooney, Forrest Walter, Stephanie Yackovetsky

Review by Kitty Drexel

My apologies to the cast and crew of T Plays. I had intended to get this review out several days ago. Life interceded and prevented me from doing ago. Please accept this as compensation.

(Boston) The MBTA has its own special kind of magic that transcends beyond the brilliance of a puppy’s smile or the tragedy of a dropped ice cream cone. It affects us all, pedestrian, car-driver and commuter alike. It’s a wonder that local transit hasn’t inspired more art in Boston. That is where Mill 6 Collaborative steps in. This theatre troupe brought us six 1-act plays all inspired by the MBTA in its many forms. The playwrights pick a bus or T line out of a hat, ride the last trip of the evening and write a short play based on their experiences. They hand the show over to their assigned directors and actors who then churn out theatre for an audience three days later. The audience then votes* for their favorite. The play that wins gets to brag and return for the next round in 2014.  Continue reading →

Jul 15

But still, like terrible comments on unmoderated blogs, I’ll rise: PAPER CITY PHOENIX

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Photo Credit: Boston Actors Theater

Presented by Boston Actors Theater
By Walt McGough
Directed by Melanie Garber

July 12-27
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Boston, MA
Boston Actors Theater Facebook Page

Review by Noe Kamelamela

(Boston) For the past nine years, Boston Actor’s Theater has made every effort to involve community in choosing and putting on performances that have distinct flavor.  Their latest production of local playwright Walt McGough’s salute to The Connected Era is an homage to the Internet and how we, as users, understand and relate to it. Continue reading →

Mar 17

Random Waves and Good Promise: THE SEABIRDS

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With David Lutheran and Brendan Mulhern. Photo credit: Argos Productions.

With David Lutheran and Brendan Mulhern. Photo credit: Argos Productions.

Presented by Argos Productions
by William Orem

Boston Playwrights Production
949 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA
March 15th – March 30th, 2013
Argos Productions Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston) Purgatory can be the hardest thing on a man, the play The Seabirds seems to suggest. It also can be very difficult on an audience. And that’s what makes a new script so deliciously maddening to watch take shape.

There are so many good elements to this play, which revolves around a Union lighthouse keeper, Laben Shadfield (David Lutheran), and a Confederate deserter, Mickey Leance (Brendan Mulhern) who are forced to share a spit of rock on the sea. Great central characters, winning snatches of dialogue and nuanced touches of historical accuracy help immerse the audience into a time when the nation was tearing itself in two. Continue reading →