Lyric’s Abridged Version of “Camelot” Still a Delight

May 31, 2017May 31, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Mike Hoban

Camelot – Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Music by Frederick Loewe; Directed by Spiro Veloudos; Music Direction by, Catherine Stornetta; Choreography by Rachel Bertone; Scenic Design by Shelley Barish; Costume Design by Elisabetta Polito; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston at 140 Clarendon Street Boston through June 25^th.

Less isn’t always more, but with The Lyric Stage Company’s lovingly trimmed production of Camelot, less is more than enough. Although I’ve been a huge fan of this musical from boyhood, it has always seemed a bit too long, so while this this version may lack some of the grandeur of a “full” staging, it more than makes up for it with some solid performances by its leads and strong cast of supporting players.

“BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE” (The Arctic Playhouse, West Warwick, RI)

May 30, 2017June 11, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Hen Zannini

The Arctic Playhouse’s current production is “Butterflies are Free.” Written by Leonard Gershe, the play is a dramedy about Don, a blind man, who moves into his own apartment in Manhattan against the wishes of his overprotective and overbearing mother, and befriends Jill, the freethinking young woman next door. With the help of Jill, Don works to break free of his mother to prove that he can make it on his own. Gershe was inspired to write “Butterflies Are Free” after he heard the story of Harold Krents, a Harvard educated lawyer who happened to be blind.

GSC’s ‘Bank Job’ – Robbery Goes Wrong, Comedy Goes (Mostly) Right

May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Mike Hoban

Bank Job – Written by John Kolvenbach; Directed by Robert Walsh; Set Design by Jon Savage; Lighting Design by Russ Swift; Costume Design by Linda Ross; Sound Design by David Wilson. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester through June 10.

If you were of television-watching age during the late sixties and you’ve ever wondered what would happen if the Smothers Brothers downed a few cans of Red Bull and then robbed a bank – now’s your chance to find out. Gloucester Stage Company is presenting the New England premiere of John Kolvenbach’s somewhat uneven but very funny Bank Job, which takes us on a lightning-paced ride which slows down only when the bank robbing brothers take time out to relive their Smothers Brothers-esque unresolved childhood squabbles.

A.R.T.s “Arrabal” Electrifies

May 22, 2017June 6, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Mike Hoban

Arrabal – Book by John Weidman; Music by Gustavo Santaolalla/Bajofondo; Choreographed by Julio Zurita; Directed and co-choreographed by Sergio Trujillo; Choreography by Julio Zurita; Scenic Design by Riccardo Hernandez; Costume Design by Clint Ramos; Lighting Design by Vincent Colbert; Sound Design by Peter McBoyle; Projection Design by Peter Nigrini. Presented by the American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, through June 18

It may be relatively early in the 2017 theater season, but it seems highly unlikely that anything you will see on Boston stages (or anywhere else) this year will pack the kind of visual, aural and emotional wallop that Arrabal – now making its United States premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge – will deliver to the senses. This tango-based work combines Latin music and dance with a horrific (and true) political story to create a singular theatrical experience that is alternately steamy and harrowing.

Lyric Stage Delivers Fresh Take on “Camelot”

May 22, 2017May 22, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The closing show of Lyric Stage’s season is “Camelot”, a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. It is a fresh new take on this classic musical by David Lee, a cautionary tale based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T.H. White novel “The Once and Future King.” The original Broadway show opened on December 3, 1960, ran for 873 performances and won 4 Tony Awards, and the original cast album was America’s top selling LP for 60 weeks.

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (The Wilbury Group, Providence, RI)

May 22, 2017May 22, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The Wilbury Group’s closing show of their season is “The Pirates of Penzance” by Gilbert and Sullivan wildly adapted by Sean Graney and Kevin O’Donnell. The show first opened on December 31, 1879 but this version is a fresh take on their most popular comic opera. This subversive, loopy, and fantastically eccentric take on Gilbert and Sullivan’s preposterous musical took audiences in Chicago by storm when presented by rebel theatre makers The Hipocrites.

This is a ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Worth Seeing Multiple Midsummer Nights

May 21, 2017May 21, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By CJ Williams

‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ – Directed by Patrick Swanson; Written by William Shakespeare; Stage Management by Marsha Smith; Composition & Sound Design by David Reiffel; Set Design by Eric Levenson; Puppetry & Design by Elizabeth Rocha; Costume Design by Jessica Pribble; Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan. Presented by Actor’s Shakespeare Project at the Multicultural Center, 41 2^nd Street Cambridge, MA through June 4.

Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s take on “Midsummer Night’s Dream” is both a faithful and thoroughly up-to-date rendition of a classic. But that’s what Shakespeare, performed and produced well, is in a nutshell: timeless. Not every cast or production team can pull that kind of rabbit out of the theatrical hat, though – even the best productions of the Bard often end up slogging through a sad stodgy seriousness in using the centuries old Elizabethan cant, costume, and anything else historical they can get their hands on. (Either that, or they blow it all on a modern spin that mangles the wordplay and subtlety of the language.)

Ellis A Revelation in Speakeasy’s “The Bridges of Madison County”

May 20, 2017May 21, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

‘The Bridges of Madison County’ – Book by Marsha Norman. Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Based on the novel by Robert James Waller. Directed by M. Bevan O’Gara. Music Direction by Matthew Stern. Presented by Speakeasy Stage Company, Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through June 3.

From the opening strains of a sole, mournful cello, you get a sense that the story about to unfold is a sad one. Let me clarify by saying I may have been the only person in the audience unfamiliar with the book or film. Which is a good thing, because I find musical adaptations of films in general to be lackluster, pallid affairs. But M. Bevan O’Gara and the cast of Speakeasy Stage Company’s “The Bridges of Madison County” do such a great job creating an alternate reality that I was truly transported. Adding to the magic is the score, which is very, very intriguing.

LAB’s “Yellow Bird Chase” Great Fun for Kids – And Adults

May 17, 2017May 21, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

‘Yellow Bird Chase’ – Conceived and Directed by Jason Slavick; Written by the LAB Ensemble; Scenic Design and Props by Rebecca Lehrhoff; Puppetry Direction & Design by Penny Benson; Costume Design by Kendra Bell; Lighting Design by PJ Strachman. Presented by Liars & Believers (LAB) at the Boston Center for the Arts, Martin Hall, 527 Tremont Street Boston through May 21.

There’s a lot of fun to be had at Liars & Believers’ expanded production of ‘Yellow Bird Chase’, the laugh-filled fairy tale with music that marks their debut as Artists in Residence at the Boston Center for the Arts. Originally developed as a 30 minute piece for the 2015 “Outside the Box” festival, “Yellow Bird” is 70 minute mash-up of clowning, puppetry, and cabaret-style music that is pure entertainment. And while the production appears to be aimed mostly at the kiddies, there’s still plenty to keep the adults in the audience amused, particularly if they’re fans of iconic 60’s pop tunes.

Jenson Channels the Spirit of Lester Bangs in ArtsEmerson’s ‘How To Be A Rock Critic’

May 16, 2017May 16, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Mike Hoban

‘How To Be A Rock Critic’ – Based on the Writings of Lester Bangs; Written by Erik Jenson and Jessica Blank; Performed by Erik Jenson; Directed by Jessica Blank; Lighting Design by Lap Chi Chu; Scenic Design by Richard Hoover; Sound Design by David Robbins; Dramaturg: P. Carl; Produced by Thomas O. Kreigsmann at Emerson/Paramount Center’s Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre, 559 Washington Street, Boston, through May 21.

If you are a music fan of a certain age who experienced the evolution of Rock n Roll from the late sixties to the early eighties with any degree of enthusiasm, ‘How To Be A Rock Critic’ – a kind of one-night stand with the (deceased) seminal rock critic Lester Bangs – is not to be missed. Erik Jenson, who plays the speed and cough syrup-fueled pseudo-journalist and bona fide creative writer Bangs with a beautifully unhinged bravado, perfectly captures the near spiritual experience of what happens when people like Bangs (and me) hear those three chords that unleash the mind-bending power of a truly great rock song.