Nov 27

Plucky Repertory at BPT: “How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos” & “Soft Star”

Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 
Produced in collaboration with the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Theatre.
BPT’s Fall Rep Festival

How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos by Maggie Kearnan
Directed by Taylor Stark
Intimacy and violence choreography by Jess Scout Malone
Special effects by Lynn Wilcott
Featuring: Becca A. Lewis, Mark W. Soucy, Robbie Rodriguez

Soft Star by Tina Esper
Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary
Intimacy & Violence Choreographer: Jess Scout Malone
Featuring: Annika Bolton, Mairéad O’Neill, Jesse Kodama, Kamran Bina

November 7-24, 2024 
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (now with a water fountain!) 
Kate Snodgrass Stage
949 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Boston Playwrights’ Theatre presents two plays as part of its Fall Rep Festival: How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos by Maggie Kearnan, a fictional interview with the nonfictional journalist, and Soft Star, a play about secrets between best friends, by Tina Esper. 

While they are running in repertory with each other, these plays will not be critiqued by the same standards. The scripts are at different levels of development: Bezos is nearly if not fully completed; Soft Star requires some tweaking and that’s okay; that’s why BPT exists.   

This critique discusses both plays in the order I viewed them. Both plays ran through Nov. 24 on different days on the Kate Snodgrass Stage at BPT. Their runs have ended but their legacy will live on.   Continue reading

May 12

The Power of Shame: THE VOICES OF WE


Presented by 333 Productions and the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Written by Robbi D’Allessandro
Directed by Shana Gogansky

April 25 – May 9, 2015
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Boston, MA
Voices of We on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

Trigger warnings: domestic abuse, gun shots, political satire, kickass feminism

(Boston, MA) Trigger warnings abounded for The Voices of We. They were plentiful because the writing was effective and the acting was very good. The stories in Voices aren’t necessarily true to life but they could be true for someone. The point is that these stories are true enough to appear realistic in performance. In the case of the scenes with the most abundant triggers, the inherent realism should serve as a warning to audience members that we, as a society living these stories, have a long way to go.   Continue reading

Oct 01

Advances in Tech Nostalgia: “How May I Connect You?”

Courtesy of Paul Cantillon, LIDEC Photo

Presented by Project:Project
How May I Connect You? (Or, Scenes in the Key of D:\)
Scenes written by Lynn Wilcott, Jeffrey Mosser, Max Mondi, Vicki Schairer, Alli Engelsma-Mosser, Tom Blanford, Louise Hamill, Gillian Mackay-Smith, Claire Suni, Sophia Shrand
Directed by Jeffrey Mosser and Vicki Schairer
Music composed by Thomas Blandford
Choreography by Alli Engelsma-Mosser
Ensemble: Sheldon Brown, Mikey DiLoreto, Louise Hamill, Gillian Mackay-Smith, Anita Shriver, Adam Thenhaus, Zach Winston, Lynn Wilcott

Sept. 26 – Sept. 29, 2013
Carol G. Deane Hall
Calderwood Pavilion
BCA
Boston, MA 02116
Project: Project on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel
Review is based on the Sept. 28, 2pm performance.

(Boston) Louis C.K. recently went on record saying that he thinks children shouldn’t have cell phones. (Some “news sources” went on record saying Louis C.K. hates cell phones. This is not true. If one watches the clip, this is obvious.) Children need to experience the horrors and joys of life as they occur. Experiencing this allows children to (hopefully) grow into reasonable, seasoned adults capable of handling the emotions of others and themselves. Perpetually having their eyes on a screen or ear up to a receiver will not. Yet, electronics also have their obvious rewards. The laugh-riot that was/is How May I Connect You? (Or, Scenes in the Key of D:\) examined both sides of the tech coin. Continue reading