Jan 22

Tonight with Words Outspoken: “Mother Mary Says to Me”

Presented by Club Cafe
Performed, produced and compiled by Meagan Michelson
Accompanied by J. Kathleen Castellanos
Featuring the works of The Beatles, Carol King, Lerner & Lowe, Bonnie Raitt, and more

Saturday, January 20th at 8pm ONLY
Club Cafe
Boston, MA
C.C. on Facebook
Meagan Michelson on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Meagan Michelson delivered a sincere but rowdy tribute last Saturday night at Club Cafe. Mother Mary Says to Me is a love letter to Mary, her Mom. It expressed the kind of gratitude one hopes to share with their own mother figure. I wish I had brought my Mom to see it; MMSTM had the kind of edge my Mumma Geek enjoys, and the heart to put a twinkle in anyone’s eye.    Continue reading

Jan 21

Gritty Art: THE DEVIL’S MUSIC – THE LIFE AND BLUES OF BESSIE SMITH

 Photo by John Quilty.

Photo by John Quilty.

Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre
By Angelo Parra
Concept, Musical Staging, and Direction by Joe Brancato

January 9th – February 2nd, 2014
Lowell, MA
MRT on Facebook

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Lowell) Do you know the blues?  I mean really know the blues?

I’m not talking about some wannabe pop singer appropriating the blues to make the crowd gasp on American Idol.  I’m not talking about the rock n’ roll hybrid blues that the Rolling Stones used to distance themselves from the Beatles.  I’m talking the unsanitized blues, rife with onion-skin-thin innuendo about graphic sex and domestic violence.  It’s raw and splintered music, the kind where you can taste hunger and oppression and yet you laugh so you don’t cry. Continue reading

Mar 22

Not Your Daddy’s Rock Opera: URO’s JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Courtesy of the URO Facebook Page

Words and Music by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber.

Presented by The Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra*

The Norwood Theatre
109 Central St.
Norwood, MA
March 21st at 7:00 pm – March 24th at 2:00 pm
URO Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Norwood) The Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra (URO) rocks. They have made a brilliant career out of rocking classics by musicians such as The Beatles, Bowie, and Queen. Last night’s performance of Jesus Christ Superstar was no exception. Put simply, they capture all the funk that Andrew Lloyd Weber missed. Continue reading