Tag Archives: Once Upon a Carnival

Jun 23

Partying On with “Once Upon a Carnival” 

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Presented by Moonbox Productions
Part of the 2024, third annual Boston New Works Festival
Directed by Regine Vitale
Written by Angele Maraj and Brianna Pierre
Music Directed by Harrison Acosta

June 22 – June 23, 2024
The Boston Center For The Arts
The Plaza Theatre
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA
Moonbox Productions on Facebook
Once Upon a Carnival on Instagram

Review by Gillian Daniels

Note: The reviewer is acquainted with one of the writers.

BOSTON, Mass. – Last year’s reading for the first half of Once Upon a Carnival was electric. In it, we watch New York teenager Bhavan (Marshall Romano) travel with his impulsive mother, Radhika (Shubhra Prakash), to Trinidad. With Bhavan, we learn the delights and perils of his new home and, once he meets fellow teenager Jada (Ekaterina Hicks-Magaña) and the eccentric Tantie (Nina Giselle, who approaches the part with charm and humor), they explore the magic of the island. The story’s initial joy and effervescence is largely untouched. It’s a bad sign, however, that the workshop I attended had more polish than the full production.  Continue reading →

Jul 02

The Party Begins: “Once Upon a Carnival – Act I Workshop Performance”

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Presented by Moonbox Productions as part of the Boston New Works Festival 2023
ONCE UPON A CARNIVAL is written by Angele Maraj & Brianna Pierre
Directed by Shania Pahuja
Music Directed by Harrison Acosta
2nd Annual Boston New Works Festival

June 22 – June 26, 2023
The Boston Center For The Arts
The Plaza Theatre
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA

Moonbox Productions on Facebook
Follow the development of Once Upon a Carnival on Instagram

Note: The reviewer knows one of the writers of the production.

Review by Gillian Daniels

BOSTON, MASS – A show that is half done is a show that is difficult to review, but though Once Upon a Carnival is still in its workshopping stage, it’s complete in its sense of joy and cultural complexity. Bhavan (played with churlish realism and charming eagerness by Marshall Romano) is our American, teenage hero. He’s a boy brought to his mother’s home country of Trinidad and then descended upon by relatives (and family friends who might as well be relatives) in a chaotic welcome that, to a young man used to the standoffish city of New York, is completely over-whelming.  Continue reading →