Aug 16

Respect the Rules or Stay Home or, Live Theatre Once Again: “Judy Punches Back”

Image via https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/shows/judy-punches-back/

Presented by Central Square Theater and Puppet Showplace Theater 
Written, directed, and performed by Sarah Nolan 

August 13 & August 14 at at 8PM
Starlight Square
84 Bishop Allen Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139
Puppet Showplace on Facebook
CST on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

Cambridge, MA — Starlight Square is the brand, heckin’ new stage within Central Square intended for public performance, art and community brought to us by the Central Square Business Improvement District, Flagg Street Studio, and Boyes-Watson Architects. The performances are FREE thanks to their sponsors (although some dance classes are at a fee because teaching artists deserve to get paid). On Friday, August 14, we masked our faces and girded our loins to attend Sarah Nolan’s Judy Punches Back.  Continue reading

Jul 22

Klaatu Barada Nikto: “The Puritans”

Produced by Sparkhaven Theatre Company
Part of the Camp Strangewood Series
Written by Phaedra ​Michelle Scott
Directed by Hannah Pryfogle
Compositions by Alissa Voth

July 19, 2020 at 8PM
To watch with captions during the live broadcast, head to sparkhaventheatre.com/watch-strangewood.
Sparkhaven on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

YOUTUBE — The Sparkhaven Theatre Company’s anticipated series Camp Strangewood opened last Sunday, July 19 at 8PM. It’s fans gathered on YouTube to watch the first installation, The Puritans. Similar to Sparkhaven’s previous endeavors, it was spoopy, silly and uncannily relatable.  Continue reading

May 27

They stole her body and the pants off a white man: “Our Lady of 121st Street”

image via https://www.facebook.com/LABTheaterCo

Presented by LAByrinth Theater Company
Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Elizabeth Rodriguez
Stage Directions read by David Deblinger

Performed on Saturday, May 23 @ 8PM
A Zoom performance

LAByrinth Theater Company
Cherry Lane Theatre
38 Commerce Street
New York, NY 10014
LAB on Facebook
LAB on Instagram

Holy cats, DONATE!

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“Hang on because it’s gonna be dope.” – From the pre-performance speech by Elizabeth Rodriguez.

ZOOM — This production is made available to viewers as a part of LAByrinth Theater Company’s desire to continue existing past the coronavirus pandemic. If you viewed this production and you are able, please donate to LAByrinth Theater. Donate now so theatre can exist later.

Directors must stop apologizing for their Zoom readings. Our Lady of 121st Street’s triumphant director Elizabeth Rodriguez is not the first to apologize to a Zoom audience. If I had my druthers, she would be the last. It’s unfair to the cast and crew who have put so much energy into the performance. Now is not the time to apologize for variables spinning mundanity far beyond our control. There is no set precedent for corona-times streaming theatre.  We’re inventing the genre. Mistakes and minor emergencies are part of the fun of live theatre. Continue reading

May 05

Streamed Content to Prevent COVID-19 Brain: Justin, It’s May

Dear Readers,

It’s May 5. Boston was originally expected to open yesterday. According to Mass.gov.com, that date was changed to May 18. It is important that we stay at home, use a mask that covers our noses and mouths when we’re outside, keep at least three to six feet from others, and to stay at home. For the love of Patti LuPone, please stay at home!

If you are a person who is consuming content and you can afford to, DONATE. If you can’t donate now, buy a ticket/tickets when the theatres reopen.

If you can do both, DONATE now and BUY A TICKET later.* Consuming streaming content without making a donation means that our theatres might not exist when the economy reopens.

Pay artists. DONATE.

All our love from six feet away,
Kitty, Queen of the New England Theatre Geeks

*P.S. It should go without saying that if you don’t have the cash/are unemployed/are an essential worker, don’t donate.

Let us know if we missed something! Email us at blognetheatregeek@gmail.com or find us on our social media pages.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/netheatregeek
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandTheatreGeek/

Boston Baroque — This 2015 production of Handel’s Agrippina is sexy and hits a little too close to home. The vocals are gorgeous! 

Entropy Theatre — Entropy Theatre offers Domestic Explorations, “a semiweekly series of recipes for creating meaningful experiences for yourself to have inside your home.” They just released Domestic Exploration #8. It is a delight! 

Flat Earth Theatre – Flat Earth continues A. Lehrmitt’s sci-fi radio play Fine-Tuned Universe. New chapters will stream for FREE on Saturday nights at 7pm through May 30th. Each week brings a new 20-minute chapter. Check Flat Earth’s YouTube channel if you missed the streamed reading. 

ImprovBoston — Live (Virtual) Shows this Weekend from ImprovBoston via Twitch. Some are family-friendly. Check the details for more info.

Liars & Believers — LAB has a new Zoom version of Greg Lam’s play, Interventions.

Luminarium Dance –  This week’s online performance features Luminarium’s 2012 production MYTHOS:PATHOS, originally presented at the Center for the Arts at the Armory (Somerville MA) and Arsenal Center for the Arts (Watertown MA), with a culminating sold-out performance at A.R.T.’s OBERON Theater (Cambridge MA).
Also! Luminarium Dance Company & Monkeyhouse are producing the seventh 24-Hour ChoreoFest!
Malden Choreofest
Saturday, May 9
12-6pm: Live-streamed creation period
8pm: Live-streamed performance
Links become available at https://www.luminariumdance.org/choreofest at 12pm & 8pm on May 9th.

MassOpera  – MassOpera is offering Mother’s Day Songs and Shout-outs through a  virtual event on Sunday, May 10th at 4:00 PM. Check this SITE for details. 

New Rep Theatre — New Repertory Theatre announces a call for the general public to describe their quarantine experiences for the Quarantine Creatives project. In an initiative to provide unique, engaging digital content while their doors are temporarily closed, New Rep aims to put real-life stories on the virtual stage. Submission form is HERE.

The Umbrella Arts — This week’s offering comes from Charlotte Anne Dore and Rosalita’s Puppets. “The Sea Story” is an undersea adventure tale based on Dore’s puppet characters.

Elsewhere on the Internets:
The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center posted an “Alumni to Watch” list for Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and other platforms. The list doesn’t include links but it does include the names of the Theatre Center’s alumni and their attending years.
Playbill: Patti LuPone, John Malkovich, Dylan Baker, More to Kick Off New Online Play Reading Series
Broadway World: “Performing Arts Centers in South Korea Plan to Reopen This Week With New Guidelines,” by BWW News Desk.
May the Fourth be with You… And also with Babu.

This is freakin’ cool.