Tag Archives: Boston

Apr 15

Child-Like Wonder & Awe: LITTLE GIANTS

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Photo Credit: Imaginary Beasts

Photo Credit: Imaginary Beasts

Presented by Imaginary Beasts
written by Thornton Wilder
Directed by Matthew Woods

BCA Blackbox Theater
Boston, MA
April 5 – 27, 2013
90+ minutes, no intermission.
Imaginary Beasts Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) Little Giants has puppets, masque work, gender reversal, religious metaphor, interpretive dance, song, tumbling, Greek mythos, Bible references, and mime work. It’s influences range from the Commedia dell’Arte to the modern circus. That is where the similarity ends. The production is a lot to process in one sitting but the cast and director, Matthew Woods, weave it into an enjoyable albeit sometimes overwhelming evening. Continue reading →

Apr 15

80’s Sitcom Flashback: THINKING OF YOU

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With Jennifer Reddish, Drew Linehan, Preston Graveline, Andrew Hicks, David Lucas and Damon Singletary. Photo Credit: Boston Actors Theater Facebook Page


With Jennifer Reddish, Drew Linehan, Preston Graveline, Andrew Hicks, David Lucas and Damon Singletary. Photo Credit: Boston Actors Theater Facebook Page

*** Correction to Review, April 18, 2013: St. John the Divine of Iowa was written by Lyralen Kaye, not by Elizabeth DuPre. Our apologies.***

Written by Elizabeth DuPre
Directed by Danielle Lucas

Boston Actors Theater
Boston Playwright’s Theatre
Boston, MA
April 5th – April 20th, 2013
Boston Actors Theater Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston) Local playwright Elizabeth DuPre is making progress, if her new comedy Thinking of You is any indication. It is a sparse and fairly entertaining sitcom-style take on corporate culture rebellion. While there is little ground broken here, there are funny moments and witty dialogue that show DuPre’s progress as a writer. She backs off from imposing her vision and leaves space for the audience to have fun. Continue reading →

Apr 10

Girls’ Sports – She Shoots, She…

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GIRLS’ SPORTS

by Emily Kaye Lazzaro
Directed by Jeffrey Mosser

Fresh Ink Theatre
Factory Theatre, Boston, MA
April 5-20, 2013
Fresh Ink Theatre Facebook Page

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Boston) New drama is a tricky game that needs to be practiced over and over again.  Even after all of that practice, the playing field is the only true test of its mettle.  Girls’ Sports has gone to court to test itself and it’s come up short. Continue reading →

Apr 08

Sing Along with the Common People: BOUNCERS

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Cantab Lounge, Club Bohemia
Cambridge, MA
April 5th – April 27th, 2013
Stickball Productions Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Cambridge) At times, beautiful, sassy and hypnotic, at times purposely pointless, crass and heartbreaking, the play Bouncers hits all the right notes to catch the highs and lows of a night of clubbing.  If you were an anthropologist and wanted to study the alcohol-fueled mating rituals of  the young, you wouldn’t find a more accurate snapshot than these 1.5 hours of traffic playing at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge. Continue reading →

Apr 02

Beautiful & Grotesque Misrepresentations: BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK

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Photo Credit: Mark S. Howard; Hannah Husband, Kami Rushell Smith, Kelby T. Akin, Gregory Balla

by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Summer L. Williams

The Lyric Stage Company
Boston, MA
March 29, 2013 – April 27, 2013
The Lyric Stage Facebook Page
Running time: Approximately 2 hours & 15 minutes, includes one intermission

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) The events of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark appear to be comedic. In truth, viewed with the perspective of historical racial prejudice, it is more like a tragedy. Vera Stark is a Black actress living in Los Angeles and nursing a dream of appearing on the big screen as more than an anonymous face in a club scene. She dreams of being a character that isn’t a slave and definitely isn’t a “Mammy” role. Determined to make her mark in Hollywood, Stark rallies her friends and boss Gloria, and manages to slightly alter bureaucratic race relations at the same time. It was one small step for woman and a held breath for the rest of mankind. Continue reading →

Mar 24

Singing in Authenticity: Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, “Seize the Day!”

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Photo Credit: Borrowed from the BGMC Facebook Page

Photo Credit: Borrowed from the BGMC Facebook Page

Presented by the fabulous Boston Gay Men’s Chorus

With support from Mass Cultural Council & Boston Cultural Council

Reuban Reynolds III, Music Director
Chad Weirick, Principal Accompanist & Assistant Music Director
ASL Interpretation by Lewana Clark (This woman deserves her own concert)
Michelle Chasse, Choreographer

 March 23 & 24, 2014 (Get in there!)
Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory
Boston, MA
BGMC Facebook Page

The title of the programme comes from Alan Menken and Jack Feldman’s Newsies.

If you’ve been involved in either the Boston area theatre or LGBTQ scenes long enough, you have heard of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC). If you haven’t heard of their exquisitely executed, heart rending concerts, you’ve been living under a metaphorical rock. Shame on you! They’ve been making sweet music since 1982 and deserve all the accolades they get for their musicianship and their outreach. Continue reading →

Mar 18

Love & Hate Are Two Sides of the Same Spork: DOG SEES GOD

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Joey C. Pelletier as Beethoven and Michael Underhill as CB. Credit: Happy Medium Theatre/Robyn Linden

Joey C. Pelletier as Beethoven and Michael Underhill as CB. Credit: Happy Medium Theatre/Robyn Linden

Presented by Happy Medium Theatre Company

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead

by Bert V. Royal

Directed by Lizette M. Morris

Unofficially based on the comic by Charles M. Schulz

The Factory Theater
Boston, MA
March 14 – March 30
Happy Medium Theatre Co Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

This play dramatizes adult themes such as sex, violence and drugs. It is not suitable for kids under 14, prudes or the extra-sensitive.

(Boston) Hating someone for being gay makes as much sense as hating someone because they are 8 feet tall. Yet, in Dog Sees God (and much of the world), the peanut gallery unjustly hates Beethoven/Schroeder (Joey C. Pelletier) for just that. Beethoven is bullied mercilessly. They hate him because he is different, because that is easier than confronting what the real impetus behind their hate is. Inspired by the true stories of gay teenagers who were literally bullied to death by their peers and academic staff, Dog See God examines the consequences of absentminded hate speech and action. It points a finger of blame at the kids who bully and at the adults who watch. Continue reading →

Mar 17

Muito Obrigado: Ana Moura at the Berklee Performance Center

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Photo borrowed from the lovely Ms. Moura's Facebook Page

Photo borrowed from the lovely Ms. Moura’s Facebook Page

World Music/CRASHarts presents, in collaboration with the Mass Cultural Council

Saturday, March 16, 2013
Berklee Performance Center
Boston, MA
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook Page
Ana Moura Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston by way of Portugal) While a large percentage of Bostonians were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day (a made up holiday to celebrate something that never happened) there was a smaller part of Boston reaping the benefits of Portuguese culture. The concert given by Ana Moura and her exquisite band (Portuguese guitar player Angelo Freire plays with incomparable skill. His performance was virtuosic.) on Saturday, March 16 was as near perfect as fate can make it. She performed traditional Fado, Portuguese folk, and jazz standard from her 2012 CD, Desfado. 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 →

Mar 17

There’ll Be a Whole Lotta Sunlight Someday*: “A Raisin in the Sun”

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Keona Welch ("Beneatha Younger") and Corey Allen ("George Murchison") in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of Lorraine Hansberry's A RAISIN IN THE SUN. Mar. 8 - Apr. 7, 2013 at Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre. huntingtontheatre.org. photo: T. Charles Erickson

Keona Welch (“Beneatha Younger”) and Corey Allen (“George Murchison”) in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Lorraine Hansberry’s A RAISIN IN THE SUN. Mar. 8 – Apr. 7, 2013 at Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre. huntingtontheatre.org. photo: T. Charles Erickson

Presented by Huntington Theatre Company 
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Directed by Liesl Tommy

March 8-April 7
BU Theatre
Boston, MA
Huntington Theatre Company Facebook Page

Review by Noelani Kamelamela

(Boston) Theatre with an African American focus owes its considerable roots to Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, which debuted on Broadway in 1959.  The Younger family’s struggle against external limitations has been the inspiration behind the musical Raisin (1973) as well as the play Clybourne Park (now at Speakeasy Stage Co, running through March 30th) to name a few.  The racial oppression that existed then hid behind God and country, and now decades after the gains of the civil rights movement in the 1960’s has the power to still do so, to hold prisoner hard-working men and women and to frame that incarceration as well deserved. The Huntington’s current production is definitely not a re-staging of their 1995 show, and makes a bold statement about resistance to the status quo and the courage it takes to insist on fair treatment in any era. Continue reading →