Tag Archives: Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts

Jan 31

To Believe Things Still Make Sense: “A Case for the Existence of God”

Posted on by

Hinson and Grant. Nile Scott Studios photo.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
Written by Samuel D Hunter
Directed by Melinda Lopez
Intimacy choreography by Ted Hewlett
Featuring De’Lon Grant as Keith and Jesse Hinson as Ryan

Jan 26 – Feb 17, 2024
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA 02116

Approx. 90 minutes with no intermission

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, Mass. — A Case for the Existence of God is the story of two lonely men in small-town Idaho finding friendship in a mortgage brokerage. Keith (De’Lon Grant) and Ryan (Jesse Hinson) meet at their daughters’ daycare. Keith is a Black, culturally astute broker. Ryan is a white, blue-collar factory worker with a heart of gold and coffers of dust who needs a mortgage. 

They bond over the struggles of single fatherhood. Keith is fostering Willa and hopes to adopt her. Ryan wants to buy a plot of land on what used to be his great-grandad’s original plot so he can leave it to baby daughter Crista. What begins as a grueling process of jumping through bank hoops becomes a true friendship between men who have more in common than they don’t.  Continue reading →

May 18

“The Prom”: Celebrities Want Posterity, Find Purpose

Posted on by

Tori Heinlein (center) and ensemble. (Photo via Nile Scott Studios)

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
Book & Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Book by Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Directed by Paul Daigneault
Music Direction by Paul S. Katz
Choreography by Taavon Gamble

The Huntington at the Calderwood Pavilion / BCA
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116
May 5–June 10, 2023

To purchase tickets, visit SpeakEasy Stage

Review by Gillian Daniels

BOSTON, Mass – The Prom begins as an unsentimental, comic takedown of show business opportunism. Broadway diva Dee Dee Allen (Mary Callanan) and leading man Barry Glickman (the charismatic Johnny Kuntz) look to soften their public image after their recent musical flop by utilizing a viral controversy in the midwest. Continue reading →

Jan 30

Did she go crazy or did she go crazy at you?: “The Art of Burning”

Posted on by

Presented by The Huntington
In association with Hartford Stage
Written by Kate Snodgrass
Directed by Melia Bensussen
Original music by Jane Shaw
Fight direction and intimacy consultancy by Ted Hewlett
Dramaturgy by Charles Haugland
January 13–February 12, 2023

The Huntington @ Calderwood/BCA
527 Tremont St. 
Boston, MA 02216
The Playbill 

Production trigger warnings: slut shaming, victim blaming, mansplaining, manipulative and controlling behavior

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, MA — Theatre doesn’t dive into feminine wrath the same way other media does. M3GAN, a current popular horror movie about a prescient AI doll, Jennifer’s Body (2009), and Teeth (2007) all hit the mainstream in ways that other horror plays haven’t. 

Popular theatre gets the Medea myth, the Greek tale about a half goddess, enchantress and unfortunate mother of Jason’s (of the Argonauts fame) who became so enraged by her husband’s infidelity she mercy-kills his children. Honestly, what did Jason expect? They don’t call it divine retribution for nothing.   

The Art of Burning follows five adults and one teen through vicious divorce proceedings. Patricia (Adrianne Krstansky in a wig that is doing no one any favors) and Jason (Rom Barkhordar) are about to finalize their divorce when Patricia requests full custody of their daughter Beth (Clio Contogenis). Jason’s girlfriend Katya (Vivia Font) is pregnant and Jason wants to keep it. Divorce lawyer and friend Mark (Michael Kaye) and his wife Charlene (Laura Latreille) are having marriage problems of their own.  Continue reading →

Dec 21

Art is a Gateway Drug to Realness: “Passing Strange”

Posted on by

The cast getting down. Photo Credit: Nikolai Alexander

Presented by Moonbox Productions
Written by Stew with collaborator Heidi Rodewald
Orchestrations by Heidi Rodewald
Directed by Arthur Gomez
Music direction by Julius LaFlamme
Choreography by Elmer Martinez 
Intimacy consulting by Olivia Dumain 
Band: Miles Ahlstrom, Hector Saint-Hilaire, Sahil Warsi

12/10/21 – 1/1/22
South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Boston, MA
Moonbox on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON – I was today years old when I realized that “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is an bacronym for LSD, the psychedelic drug made famous by Harvard Professor Timothy Leary. It took watching Moonbox Productions’ Passing Strange on Saturday afternoon to figure it out. Several hours and a weak tea later, I realized I was a total square. Continue reading →

Dec 17

Messing with Your Algorithm or Not Your Daddy’s Inspiration Porn: “Teenage Dick”

Posted on by


Presented by The Huntington
Produced in association with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Pasadena Playhouse
Written by Mike Lew
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel
Assistant direction and movement coordination by Ashleigh King
Choreography by Jennifer Weber
Fight choreography by Robb Hunter

December 3 – January 2, 2022
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Boston, MA
The Huntington on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Content warning: Disabled people exist everywhere 24/7. If this play “expands your world,” you should know that’s ableist, and it’s really not about you.

BOSTON — This one time, in the Before Times, I was taking an ashtanga-style yoga class, and a random woman told me I was “inspirational.” I was dripping in sweat after having performed 60-minutes of intermediate poses with only one arm, and a brunette Karen in Athleta and Lululemon compression wear decided it was super important to tell me that I inspired her. She didn’t say what I inspired her to do, just that I was “inspirational.” 

I wish I could say that I told the Karing Karen she inspired me to vomit a little in my mouth, but I was too shocked to say much of anything. I picked up my mat, and I skedaddled out of the studio to fume inspirationally in peace.

This horse can’t even do yoga.

I live with brachial plexus palsy, a permanent paralysis of my left arm from my shoulder through my fingers. (Coincidentally, it’s also the sexiest of the palsies.) Sometimes complete strangers find my ability to do completely normal, everyday things Inspirational. Showing up to yoga is difficult for everyone, Karen. 

Abled people have a nasty habit of deriving inspiration from the inabilities of disabled people. We aren’t inspirational just because you find relief from not being disabled. Your inability to see us as people with lives is a You problem. As Buck says in Teenage Dick now at The Huntington, “Please don’t involve me.” Continue reading →

Jul 10

What We Mean When We Say Black Lives Matter

Posted on by

Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA 10th Anniversary Ribbon Cutting: (L-R) BCA Chairman Philip W. Lovejoy, Huntington Trustees Gerald and Sherryl Cohen, Calderwood Charitable Foundation Trustee John Cornish, former Huntington chairman J. David Wimberly, (behind) Paul Grogan of The Boston Foundation, BCA Executive Director Veronique Le Melle, Huntington Chairman Carol G. Deane, (behind) former BRA member Harry Collings, former Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Bank of America Massachusetts State President Robert Gallery, Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois, (behind) former Huntington president William P. McQuillan, Huntington President Mitchell J. Roberts, Nancy Roberts, Huntington Managing Director Michael Maso, photo: Paul Marotta

Article by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — The July 9 press release said, “Huntington Theatre Company announces the election of 4 new board members and the promotion of two Huntington Advisors to Trustee level. The election took place during the Huntington’s year-end meeting of the Board of Trustees and Advisors on June 8, 2020.”

The headliner of the press release, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner, director of Huntington productions, and historically relevant badass Billy Porter is a new trustee of the Huntington. Porter and global businessman Professor George Yip are the only two people of color added to the Huntington’s snowflake white board leadership. Three of the six promotions are white women. The other is, of course, a rich, cis, white male.

While we congratulate all of the new board and trustee members, we can’t help but notice the Huntington’s hypocrisy. The theatre penned and posted a Black Lives Matter solidarity statement on its website. The election of four white people flies in the face of that solidarity statement. Continue reading →

Feb 24

Distracted by T-Rex: “She the People”

Posted on by

Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
Resident Direction / Choreography by Carisa Barreca
Original Direction / Head Writing by Carly Heffernan
Original Music & Sound Design by Mary Mahoney
Music Direction & Sound Design by Jacob Shuda
Stage Managing by William Collins

Performance dates: Feb 18 – Mar 8
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
527 Tremont St., Boston:
Facebook link

Review by Chloé Cunha

Boston, MA — I am woman, hear me roar… with laughter? She the People is fun, high-energy, and, in its best moments, a cathartic release of female frustrations. At its least effective, it is as on the nose as the opening sentence of this review, and narrow in its vision. Though not as radical as one might expect or hope for, it nevertheless presents an entertaining piece of political bubblegum pop to chew on. Continue reading →

Feb 03

“Pass Over”: Repetition and Resonance

Posted on by

The cast at a friendly picnic. The cops were called. Photo by Nile Scott Studio.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
Written by Antoinette Nwandu
Directed by Monica White Ndounou
With Kadahj Bennett, Hubens “Bobby” Cius, Lewis D. Wheeler

January 3 – Feb. 2, 2020
Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
SpeakEasy on Facebook
The Front Porch on Facebook

Review by Shiyanbade Animashaun

Boston, MA — When directed to their seats, audience members were asked to stay clear of the stage. Set in-the-round, the four seating sections surrounded a square with an off-center lamp post and brick. Soon the direction became clear as Kadahj Bennett (Moses) and Hubens “Bobby” Cius (Kitch) took to the stage in the pre-show moments, with interactions that foreshadowed the events of the play. Continue reading →

Jan 23

Bickering is A Language of Love: “We All Fall Down”

Posted on by

Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
by Lila Rose Kaplan
Directed by Melia Bensussen
Jan. 10 – Feb. 15, 2020
South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Boston, MA
Huntington on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“Ring-a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down.” – Traditional song (American version)

Boston, MA — We All Fall Down is a family portrait that examines clashing egos during a period of family dilemma. The Stein family isn’t talking to each other. In their defense, they aren’t listening either. It’s Passover. Everyone has an agenda and none of them correspond. We All Fall Down is about the power we give denial. The stronger the denial, the tauter the family bond. Continue reading →

Jan 17

Calling the Police Over a Picnic:”Pass Over”

Posted on by

Photo by Nile Scott Studios; Lewis D. Wheeler, Kadahj Bennett, Hubens “Bobby” Cius

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Co. with The Front Porch Arts Collective
By Antoinette Nwandu
Directed by Monica White Ndounou
Fight choreography by Brandon G. Green
Movement coaching by Mila Thigpen
Dramaturgy by Pascale Florestal

January 3 – Feb. 2, 2020
Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
SpeakEasy on Facebook
The Front Porch on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Trigger warning: white guilt, language, fuck the police

(Boston, MA) The sheer volume of what one must understand as true regardless of personal belief in order to not merely understand but thoroughly digest Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over at SpeakEasy Stage is overwhelming. The role that white people play in perpetuating racism’s systemic horrorshow machinations against Black people (and all people of color) is astounding.

Here is a list of links containing basic concepts that could be helpful. 

  • It is not the responsibility of Black people to explain racism or to convince white people that it exists. 
  • Being nice isn’t the same as not being racist. Racist people are nice all of the time. Nice people are racist all the time.
  • Black friends won’t make a white person less racist. Dismantling internalized racism requires a lifetime of work.  
  • It should go without saying that Black people want equality. They don’t want to reverse their treatment at the hands of white people back onto white people. 
  • Racism is about power. Reverse racism doesn’t exist. 
  • White people have to stop taking personally Black resistance to oppression.  
  • All of this information is a Google search away. 

Continue reading →