Tag Archives: Jared Hite

Aug 25

Banish John Falstaff: Henry the 4th

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Presented by Theater@First
A New Adaption of William Shakespeare’s Histories
Directed by Shelley MacAskill

August 21st – 30th
Unity Somerville
6 William Street, Somerville
Theatre@First on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(Somerville) Shakespeare’s histories can be problematic to bring to the stage. In these plays, the usual issues of Shakespearean verse and thick language are compounded with cinematic scope, characters sometimes too big to be readily believable, and all kinds of crazy epic battle scenes. Compounding two histories into one doubles the trouble. Henry the 4th is a conflation of the two parts of Henry IV relying mostly upon part 1 with some of the more salient and dramatic moments of part 2 tacked onto the play’s end. Continue reading →

Mar 18

“Lysistrata”: Adorably Filthy

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The lovely ladies of Lysistrata refusing to get sexy. Photo Credit: Theatre@First.

The lovely ladies of Lysistrata refusing to get sexy. Photo Credit: Theatre@First.

Presented by Theatre@First

Written by Aristophanes
Directed by John Deschene
Choreographed by Alex Nemiroski

Unity Somerville
6 William Street
Somerville, MA
Theatre@First Facebook Page

Review by Gillan Daniels

(Somerville) Comedies, especially those that depend on references contemporary to when they’re written, don’t often age well.  Plays survive on the universal quality of their themes, like mortality, revenge, and hope, most of which belong to the sphere of drama. For a long shelf life, they must be built on ideas that resonate down the ages. It certainly says something about the nature of humor that Lysistrata, produced in 411 B.C.E. and one of Aristophanes few surviving plays, continues to be well remembered and celebrated for its bawdiness. Continue reading →