Tag Archives: July

Jul 31

A Few Moments of Grace: Steel Magnolias

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Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, directed by Nancy Curran Willis
Nextdoor Center for the Arts, July 13-28 2012, http://www.nextdoortheater.org/STEEL.html

photo credit: Nextdoor Center for the Arts

Reviewed by Kate Lonberg-Lew

(Winchester, MA) When I watch an Olympic gymnast fly on the balance beam or the uneven bars, I
know I am watching genius, not because I know the difference between a punch- front summersault and a double pike, but because they make it look easy, effortless. The same can be said of playwright Robert Harling, the author of Steel Magnolias. Continue reading →

Jul 23

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Black Comedy in the Park

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photo credit: Apollinaire Theatre Company

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
by Tom Stoppard

Apollinaire in the Park 2012

Performances run July 11-28 at 7:30,
in English on Wed. Thurs. & Sat. and Spanish on Fri. & Sun.
Mary O’Malley Park, http://www.apollinairetheatre.com/productions/productions.html.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Chelsea, MA) In a twist on Shakespeare in the Park, the Apollinaire Theatre Company has chosen to perform a free production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead during the most gorgeous time of year. Each act is in a different location through out Mary O’Malley Park with the audience following the actors during intermission. The sunset, view of the river, docks, mural, and brilliant staging make a surprisingly fitting backdrop for Stoppard’s clever script. Continue reading →

Jul 21

True Believers: Attempting a Tribute to Nerd Culture

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photo credit: Vagabond Theatre Group

True Believers by Thom Dunn, Vagabond Theatre Group, The Factory Theatre, 7/12/12-7/21/12, http://vagabondtheatregroup.wordpress.com/.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) San Diego Comic-Con is less a comic book convention than a blown up Hollywood cousin of the original concept.  I both loved and feared it when I attended last year.  It’s a beautiful, strange mess of a con, bloated with action movie advertisements, cameras from SPIKE and BBCA, and hundred dollar t-shirts.  While still a sort of haven for those obsessed with action figures and trade comics, its proximity to tinsel town has turned it into an exciting, stressful hype machine.

Vagabond Theatre Group’s production, True Believers, does an excellent job in distilling this over-saturation. Continue reading →

Jul 18

Bye, Bye, Birdie: Fully Loaded Fun

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photo credit: Reagle Players

Bye, Bye, Birdie, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams, book by Michael Stewart, Reagle Music Theatre, Waltham High School Robinson Theatre, 7/13/12-7/22/12, http://www.reagleplayers.com/current.html#Birdieinfo.

Reviewed by John Herring

(Waltham, MA) I’ve always enjoyed seeing shows at Waltham High School’s Robinson Theatre. The audience space is ample, clean and comfortable, the orchestra pit plenty big enough for a mid-size ensemble, the technical facility is as good as or better than many professional theatres, and the acoustics are good. Which brings me to the sound quality of the orchestra. Winds and strings went together as tightly as I recall ever hearing a show orchestra play, with volume to fully envelop the listeners. So much so that I worried about the actors having to belt when they should soften, or being overpowered altogether. But worries were unfounded. Music Director Dan Rodriguez and Conductor Jeff Leonard made sure that the orchestra did what any good show orchestra should do – support and enhance the action. Continue reading →

Jul 02

“Polaroid Stories” Messily Blends Myth and Teen Anguish

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Kiki Samko, Luke Murtha, Michael Underhill, Elizabeth Battey, and Michael Caminiti, photo credit: Heart & Dagger Productions

Polaroid Stories by Naomi Iizuka, Heart & Dagger Productions, Boston Actors’ Theatre, and Happy Medium Theatre**,  Black Box Theatre at Boston Center for the Arts, 6/29/12-7/14/12, http://www.heartanddagger.org/.

**THIS REVIEW WAS SCHEDULED PRIOR TO THE CHANGES IN OUR REVIEWING POLICY AND WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE THAT HAPPY MEDIUM THEATRE COMPANY WAS DIRECTLY INVOLVED

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) With mixed success, Polaroid Stories attempts an abstract production that marries mythology and youth drug culture.  It’s a uneasy union.  The actors, at least, mine the material to the best of their abilities. Continue reading →

Jun 25

ADHD NPR – CAR TALK: THE MUSICAL

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The cast in a scene from Underground Railway Theater’s and Suffolk University’s co-production of Car Talk: The Musical!!! running from June 14 – August 12 at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. Tickets & Information: 866.811.4111 or CentralSquareTheater.org. Photo: A.R. Sinclair Photography.

Car Talk: The Musical, book and lyrics Wesley Savick, original music by Michael Wartofsky, Underground Railway Theater & Suffolk University, Central Square Theater, 6/14/12-8/12/12, http://www.centralsquaretheater.org.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

Charisma can carry a show a long way. Just look at what it did for Tom and Ray Magliozzi, a pair of goofball (and genius) brother-mechanics who talked their way into a hit show on National Public Radio. For 35 years, the pair has giggled their way through thousands of calls from car owners with mystery questions, strewing terrible puns and corny humor on the road as they went.

And now, on the eve of the brothers’ retirement from “Car Talk”, they have gotten themselves involved in a musical, written by Wesley Savick, with music by Michael Wartofsky. Continue reading →

Jun 21

Cirque du Soleil: Serenity Under the Big Top

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photo credit: Evan Witek

Totem, Cirque du Soleil, Marine Industrial Park, 6/10/12-7/15/12, http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/totem/default.aspx.

(Boston, MA) It’s not logical or, frankly, believable that a circus featuring so many acrobats in body stockings could be capable of such grace.  In performance, style, and message, though, Cirque du Soleil’s Totem is enthralling.  I found the show unique and lovely among Boston’s other attractions this month. Continue reading →

Jun 16

Awesomeness on Wheels: ROLLER DISCO: THE MUSICAL

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photo credit: Ministry of Theater

Roller Disco:  The Musical, book by Sam Forman and Jen Wineman, lyrics by Sam Forman, music by Eli Bolin, Ministry of Theater and Club Oberon, 5/30/12-8/30/12, http://www.rollerdiscothemusical.com/Home.html.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Cambridge, MA) Sometimes, you come across a play that works so effortlessly on so many levels that it skates circles around your standard theatrical fare.  Club Oberon’s Roller Disco, glittery, vacant, hyper and hysterical, draws the audience into a disco-soaked world from the theme song’s opening strands.  We have no choice but to harken back to striped tube socks, gritty skating rinks and cheesy eighties movies.  Heck, we never even put up a fight. Continue reading →

May 19

Just Shy of Hilarious: AVENUE Q

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John Ambrosino & Phil Tayler; photo credit: Mark S. Howard

Avenue Q, music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, book by Jeff Whitty, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 5/11/12- 6/24/12,  EXTENDED to 7/1/12, https://lyricstage.com/main_stage/avenue_q/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston, MA) Comedy is a game of milliseconds.  The difference between a good laugh and a belly laugh is all in the timing.  If you don’t land the gag just right, the joke can fall flat.  Lyric Stage’s production of Avenue Q is very funny, but it could have been crack-a-rib hilarious.

The script and song are the closest you can come to a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.  Take the earnestness of Sesame Street, mash it with the slacker sensibilities of Friends and the crowd can’t help but laugh.  Continue reading →