Jul 18

Mommy Issues on Foreign Soil: BRENDAN

Photo credit: Josephine Anes;  Avery Bargar and Kiki Samko.

Photo credit: Josephine Anes; Avery Bargar and Kiki Samko, not so snugly.

Presented by Happy Medium Theatre Company
Written by Ronan Noone
Directed by Brett Marks and Victor L. Shopov

July 15-30, 2016
Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St

Boston, MA 02116
Happy Medium on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

Disclaimer: I auditioned for this show way back when. I wasn’t cast. Only a self-serving, insecure butt-face would let something like that color their review.

(Boston, MABrendan marks the return of Happy Medium Theatre Company. Welcome back, guys; we’ve missed you. Please don’t ever leave us like that again. Continue reading

Oct 27

The Last Ones Standing: “Language of Angels”

Photo credit: Mikey DiLoreto; Cast members: Michelle Rubich, Eliott Purcel, Elizabeth Battey, and David D’Andrea.

Presented by Happy Medium Theatre Company
By Naomi Iizuka
Directed by Lizette M Morris

Oct. 23 – Nov. 1, 2014
The Factory Theatre
791 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02118
HMT of Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

Trigger warnings: depiction of rape and gun violence, smoking

(Boston, MA) Bruner/Cott & Associates, Inc. is turning our beloved Factory Theatre into a gym (to be absolutely clear, I am painting them as the greedy, black-hatted bad guys because they are, hats or not.). Because what Boston really needs is another dank, dark basement gym that draws in rich tenants. Tenants who will pay a monthly membership fee as part of their rent but may never actually step into the gym they pay for.

Continue reading

Jul 25

Beware the Uffish Jabberwock: FORTUNE’S FAVORED

Courtesy of Paul Cantillon, LIDEC Photo

Courtesy of Paul Cantillon, LIDEC Photo. Stitch is my favorite.

Presented by Vagabond Theatre Group
By Lesley Anne Moreau
Directed by Zach Winston

July 11 – 26, 2014
The Factory Theater
Boston, MA
Vagabond on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) Fortune’s Favored almost works as theatre. It is so close to being a very well-written, sensitively acted play that it is devastating that it doesn’t achieve the success it’s capable of. The premise is quite clever, the small cast is capable and Zach Winston’s direction is sympathetic to the actors’ needs but the combination of the elements is mismatched. They are crafted pieces from three different puzzles. They don’t fit.

Eudora Redden (Annie Hochheiser) is running the Redden Arcade in Big Ugly, West Virginia for her drunk father. It’s been the family business for three generations. Her cousin Luann O’Hare (Lauren Robinson) has recently crawled home with her tail between her legs from Washington, DC after getting involved with a political scandal. They both meet Davis Milford (Conor Walsh) when he expresses interest in purchasing the business centerpiece, the fortune teller game, and in getting to know Eudora better. Things go south when business and family tangle over the potential sale. Mikey DiLoreto is the recorded voice of John Barrymore. Continue reading

Mar 18

Love & Hate Are Two Sides of the Same Spork: DOG SEES GOD

Joey C. Pelletier as Beethoven and Michael Underhill as CB. Credit: Happy Medium Theatre/Robyn Linden

Joey C. Pelletier as Beethoven and Michael Underhill as CB. Credit: Happy Medium Theatre/Robyn Linden

Presented by Happy Medium Theatre Company

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead

by Bert V. Royal

Directed by Lizette M. Morris

Unofficially based on the comic by Charles M. Schulz

The Factory Theater
Boston, MA
March 14 – March 30
Happy Medium Theatre Co Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

This play dramatizes adult themes such as sex, violence and drugs. It is not suitable for kids under 14, prudes or the extra-sensitive.

(Boston) Hating someone for being gay makes as much sense as hating someone because they are 8 feet tall. Yet, in Dog Sees God (and much of the world), the peanut gallery unjustly hates Beethoven/Schroeder (Joey C. Pelletier) for just that. Beethoven is bullied mercilessly. They hate him because he is different, because that is easier than confronting what the real impetus behind their hate is. Inspired by the true stories of gay teenagers who were literally bullied to death by their peers and academic staff, Dog See God examines the consequences of absentminded hate speech and action. It points a finger of blame at the kids who bully and at the adults who watch. Continue reading

Feb 14

Election Day: A Light, Non-Political Escape

Election Day by Josh Tobiessen, Happy Medium Theatre, The Factory Theatre, 2/9/12-2/18/12, http://www.happymediumtheatre.com/.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) In the tradition of screwball comedies, a relatable everyman is the victim of seemingly normal circumstances that escalate until someone’s handcuffed to a bed and there are Molotov cocktails in the freezer.  Well, maybe that’s not most screwball comedies, but the trajectory of Election Day is certainly familiar. Continue reading