Jun 30

When a Cigar is Everything: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

presented by Wax Wings Productions
by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Vicki Schairer

@ the Factory Theatre
Boston, MA
June 27th – July 7th, 2013
Wax Wings Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston) Over time, A Streetcar Named Desire has become like that favorite album you skip over in shuffle to keep special. Oft quoted but performed less and less, it sits on the shelf of American theatre and gathers dust and pious weight until some community theatre takes it down and puts on an ill-advised, chest-beating version down in a church basement. That’s partly because it can seem such a dated portrait of overt sexual politics, something that would fit Michelle Bachman’s view of marriage and gay cures, perhaps, but with little relevance in a blue state. Continue reading

Mar 25

Drama Gives the Power to Civilize Convicts in “Our Country’s Good”

With Jennifer OConnor, Mac Young and Lynn R Guerra; Photos by Chris McKenzie

Presented by Whistler in the Dark Theatre

by Timberlake Wertenbaker
directed by Meg Taintor

March 15-April 6th
The Charlestown Working Theater
Charlestown, MA 02129
Whistler in the Dark Theatre Facebook Page

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Charlestown) Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good is not about the importance of plays but the importance of fiction—dreams, ambitions, and fantasies—to the downtrodden.  The convicts sent to the Australian penal colonies in 1788 have been dehumanized chiefly by circumstance.  The play the officers have the felons put on gives them the dignity they could not find in lives led as thieves and prostitutes in England.  The whole thing is an impressive meditation on how art fiercely alters perspective even if The Charlestown Working Theater’s production suffers peculiar pacing and lingering pauses. Continue reading

Mar 11

Sex, Sexy, Sexy (Sometimes Not), SEX: SUCH TIMES a SEX FESTIVAL

This is a website primarily for educated adults. We do review some Children’s theater for the benefit of all participants. If offended by the content below, one is cordially invited to skip this post. There are other delightful offerings on this site that will suit you better.

SUCH TIMES a SEX FESTIVAL of new work by Boston’s SEXIEST Playwrights

Presented by Heart & Dagger Productions

heartanddagger2

Audience members were invited to share their secret fantasies. They did. A lot.

The Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
949 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215
Friday, March 1st @ 8pm – Saturday, March 9th @ 8pm
Heart & Dagger Productions Facebook Page

It should go without saying that with such a title that this production is not safe for children and prudish adults. It may lead an audience member to expect live-action porn. This was not the case. The production did not contain explicit acts of carnal engagement but the stagings were otherwise immediately revealing to all but the most innocent of eyes and ears.  Continue reading

Feb 25

SUCH TIMES a SEX FESTIVAL of new work by Boston’s SEXIEST Playwrights

Heart & Dagger Productions
presents
SUCH TIMES a SEX FESTIVAL of new work by Boston’s SEXIEST Playwrights

This is NOT a family show. If you aren’t convinced after reading the summary, please seek (sexy or non sexy) therapeutic assistance.

Friday, March 1st @ 8pm – Saturday, March 9th @ 8pm
The Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
949 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
Heart & Dagger Productions Facebook Page

Monologues, scenes, and dances based on sexual desires, situations, and dreams by:
Silvia Graziano, Mary-Ann Greanier, MJ Halberstaldt, Craig Houk, John J King, Grant MacDermott, Lesley Ann Moreau, Rick Park, Joey C. Pelletier, Mary ElizaBeth Peters, Devon Scalisi, Cassie M. Seinuk, Jesse Wood

Directed by: Devon Scalisi, Elise Weiner Wulff, Jesse Wood, Mikey DiLoreto, Danielle Leeber Lucas & Joey C. Pelletier

Featuring:  Amy Meyer, Jesse Coleman, Melissa De Jesus, Chuong Pham, Josh Coleman, Mike Budwey, Noah Tobin, Joey C. Pelletier, Elise Weiner Wulff, Erin Rae Zalaski
& MORE

Mar 16

Crave & Beyond The Light: Emotional Explosion

Daniel J. Raps, Erin Rae Zalaski, Jesse Wood, and Christina Malanga in Beyond the light — at Calderwood Pavilion; photo credit Heart and Dagger Productions

Abigail Matzeder, Michael Underhill, and Terrence Patrick Haddad in CRAVE — at Calderwood Pavilion, Photo Credit: Heart and Dagger Productions

Crave by Sarah Kane and Beyond the Light by Joey C. Pelletier, Heart & Dagger Productions, Boston Center for the Arts Rehearsal Hall A, 3/9/12-3/17/12, http://www.heartanddagger.org/.Partial nudity and mature themes

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Boston, MA) Many have tried to dramatize depression to mixed results. The problem tends to be that depression by it’s very nature is a passive thing-the person doesn’t want to do anything. Heart & Dagger escapes the trap of a dry, clinical look at depression by presenting two one acts that cut to the visceral core of despair and the fight to survive.

Continue reading