Million Dollar Quartet Scorches the Greater Boston Stage

April 30, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Hawver, Geerloff, Linsteadt, and Price in GBSC’s “Million Dollar Quartet”)

By Mike Hoban

‘Million Dollar Quartet’ – Book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux; Directed by Ilyse Robbins; Music Directed by James Scheider; Scenic Designer, Patrick Lynch; Lighting Designer, Jeff Adelberg; Costume Designer, Stephen Pasqual; Sound Designer, John Stone; Presented by the Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham through May 19

From the hammering opening riffs from Carl Perkins’ guitar until the rocking finale, Greater Boston Stage Company’s production Million Dollar Quartet is a scorcher of a show. A fictionalized account of an actual studio session featuring early rock n’ roll pioneers Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, Quartet may be the first “jukebox musical” that doesn’t make the moniker sound like an insult. In fact, the term is both accurate and complimentary as the songs blasting out of this jukebox are given explosive new life.

Restlessness and Reclamation in “Caroline or Change”

April 26, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Pier Lamia Porter, Davron Monroe, and Yewande Odetoyinbo in Monnbox’ ‘Caroline or Change’)

By Michele Markarian

“Caroline or Change”. Book and lyrics by Tony Kushner; Score by Jeanine Tesori; Directed by Allison Olivia Choat; Presented by Moonbox Productions at Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through May 11.

“39 and still a maid,” sings Caroline (Yewande Odetoyinbo), who, in 1963’s Lake Charles, Louisiana, is a single mother of four children, one of whom is serving in Vietnam. She works for a Jewish family, the Gellmans, who have just suffered a crisis of their own – Betty, the mother, has died of cancer. Widow Stuart (Robert Orzalli) has decided to marry his deceased wife’s best friend, Rose (Sarah Kornfeld). His eight-year old son, Noah (Ben Choi-Harris) does not like his stepmother, much to her sad consternation. He is attached to Caroline, who lets him light her cigarettes. She also delivers some pithy advice: “When cancer eat people Noah, it God eating them. God sometimes eat people like a hungry wolf. He make this whole world as a test. Cancer was your momma’s test, and her death is your test.” Sounds harsh, but ultimately more comforting than what the emotionally detached Stuart has to offer his son with “There Is No God, Noah”.

Something Lurks in Boston Playwrights’ Dead House

April 23, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by James Wilkinson

‘Dead House’ – Written by Beirut Balutis. Directed by Adam Kassim; Scenic Design by Steven Doucette; Lighting Design by Hannah Solomon; Sound Design by J Jumbelic; Costume Design by Ruth King; Fight Choreography by Jessica Scout Malone. Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre at 949 Commonwealth Ave. through April 28, 2019

***Author’s note: Due to the holiday weekend, I was unable to attend the press performance of Dead House and instead saw one of the previews. Therefore, please know that the show may have changed between that performance and the official opening night. The following is based on the performance that I saw.

As we grow up, we absorb so much information via osmosis about what high school is like. I’m inclined to call bullshit on a lot of it. Pop culture feeds us stories about the prevalence of social groups and the strict hierarchies that they exist in, however at the time of my own high school experience, I never found much of that information particularly useful or accurate. Yes, absolutely, everyone had their own circle of friends, but the cliques people belonged to were more guidelines than scripture and there were always individuals that broke through the stereotypes. Cheerleaders could be seen hanging out with the goths. The art students would date the athletes. The captain of the football team was also one best students in school. Involvement with the marching band was a point of pride, not shame. I never really experienced that “stick to your lane” mentality that we’re told to expect.

Israeli Stage Company Founder Promises a Bold Return

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Linda Chin

Guy Ben-Aharon and his family left their home country of Israel and moved to Boston when he was nine. After a gap year in Spain before college, he returned to study at Emerson, and while there, founded the Israeli Stage Company. The Return by Hanna Eady and Edward Mast, a human story of the desires of a Palestinian citizen of Israel and a Jewish Israeli, marks the last play of the company’s final season. With two of Boston’s best actors – Nael Nacer and Philana Mia – in the lead roles and Ben-Aharon directing, The Return promises to be another groundbreaking and thought provoking production. Family, friends, and fans may be reassured to know that Ben-Aharon is not leaving Boston, nor his life as a theater artist behind, but is creating a new venture that promises a bold return.

Few Bones to Pick with Theatre UnCorked’s ‘Sylvia’

April 20, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Mayo, McLure and Dirik in Theatre Uncorked’s ‘Sylvia)

By Linda Chin

‘Sylvia’ – Written by A.R. Gurney; Directed by Michelle M. Aguillon; Presented by Theatre UnCorked at the Deanne Hall, Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through April 21

Sylvia, the 1995 comedy about a Manhattan romantic triangle – Gregg, Kate and their new dog Sylvia – is a love letter to man’s best friend but mostly to the whimsical, wonderful writing of A.R. Gurney.
Great American playwright A.R. Gurney died in 2017 at the age of 87, and left us with a body of work that should be staged more frequently for audiences to appreciate. Gurney is most known for Love Letters, but Sylvia, Sylvia, wherefore art thou Sylvia? With its universal themes, of love, loyalty, and marriage, who can’t relate? In 2019 who doesn’t need to laugh (non-stop) for 2 hours (including intermission). It seems relatively easy to do on a limited budget, set mostly in a Manhattan apartment, a bench in the park, a therapist’s office and the 2W, 2M (flexible casting) are all meaty roles with delicious dialogue.

Theater Mirror’s Linda Chin Previews Company One’s ‘Vietgone’

April 20, 2019April 20, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Christina Mei Chen, Quentin Nguyen-duy and Rob Chen will be in “Vietgone” at Company One, from April 26 to May 26. (Image courtesy of Andrew James Wang.)

by Linda Chin

Greater Boston theater audiences – time to buckle your seat belts and get ready for a rollicking ride across 1970s America. In collaboration with the Pao Arts Center, Company One Theatre’s Vietgone by Marvel Studios writer Qui Nguyen opens April 26, and knowing the team of authentic artists involved, they will tell their truths and touch our hearts. Set in and around the fall of Saigon in 1975 the subject matter is serious, but with the playwright’s irrepressible and irreverent style promises to be a hilarious road trip.

Trinity Rep’s Little Shop of Horrors Makes Being Green Look Easy

April 19, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*(Rebecca Gibel, Jude Sandy and Stephen Berenson in Trinity Rep’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’)*

By Linda Chin

Little Shop of Horrors – Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman; Music by Alan Menken; Directed by Tyler Dobrowsky. At Trinity Repertory Theater, 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI through May 12

Like the beloved Elphaba, Shrek and Kermit the Frog can attest, it’s not easy being green. This lament also holds true for the trio of characters – Audrey, Seymour, and Audrey II – trapped in a flower shop on the skids. Trinity Rep’s Little Shop of Horrors makes being green look easy, and simply delightful. Director Tyler Dobrowsky sets the production in Providence, spelled out in a giant mural next to the fabulous on-stage (!) band directed by Esther Zabinsky.

James and the Giant Peach is Family Theater at its Best

April 18, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Cast of WFT’s “James and the Giant Peach”)

By Nicholas Whittaker

‘James and the Giant Peach’ – Words and Music by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. Book by Timothy Allen McDonald. Based on the book, James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. Directed by Emily Ranii. Musical Direction: Matthew Stern. Choreography: Juanita Pearl. Production Stage Manager: Nicky Carbone. Presented by Wheelock Family Theater at Boston University; Fenway Campus, 200 The Riverway, Boston, MA 02215 through May 12th

Wheelock labels itself a “Family Theater” company. Such a phrase may send many a “theatrical connoisseur” into a conniption, promising puppetry and slapstick humor and inane characterizations. Wheelock, to their credit, couldn’t care less what those snobs think. James and the Giant Peach is family theater at its very best: absolute, complex, emotionally nuanced, fun. This is not a production for one to plop their children in front of before dipping out into the lobby for two hours; no adult should miss the fun. Nor is it one that tries too hard to be “smart”, to betray its most earnest audience – children – with unwarranted cynicism. James is thrilling in its accessibility, forcing any audience member to embrace its ludicrous logic for the sake of a good time.

ArtsEmerson’s ‘American Moor’ Reimagines Black Performance

April 16, 2019April 16, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Nicholas Whittaker

‘American Moor’ – Written and performed by Keith Hamilton Cobb (with additional performance by Josh Tyson). Directed by Kim Weild. Set Designer: Wilson Chin. Lighting Designer: Alan C. Edwards. Sound Designer: Christian Frederickson. Stage Coordinator: Tareena D. Barbe. Presented by ArtsEmerson at the Emerson Paramount Center through April 21st.

Who is American Moor for? For what audience is it meant? This question becomes complicated in any work directly concerned with race and racism, which always involves at least two parties: the marginalized and those who marginalize, the victims of racism and its perpetrators. The question of audience is in this case, then, political. If a production on Blackness is meant for Black viewers, then we might say it presents Black viewers with too-scarce representation, but we might also worry that it does nothing the change the hearts and minds of non-Black folks. But if that Black artwork is meant for non-Black viewers, while we may laud its potential to heal racial strife, we also may worry that Black audiences are, once again, being deprived of art for their own sake.

Theater Mirror Interviews American Classics’ Ben & Brad As They Prepare for George M. Cohan Tribute

April 15, 2019April 16, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

‘George M. Cohan 2019 Revue’ – Presented by American Classics. Performances: Friday, April 26, 2019 at 7:30pm, First Parish Church, 75 The Great Road, Bedford, Massachusetts; Sunday, April 28, 2019 at 3:00pm, Pickman Concert Hall, Longy School of Music, 27 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Bradford Conner and Ben Sears of American Classics have been entertaining audiences with their unique offerings for over 20 years. Part history lesson, part musical theatre revue, the shows take a deep dive into the American Songbook by featuring the works of influential individual composers as well as exploring broad themes and specific eras from the 20^th century.The duo has been aided through the years by a bevy of Boston theater luminaries, including Leigh Barrett, Amelia Broome, Mary Callanan, Bob Jolly, Kerry Dowling, and Davron S. Monroe, as well as John O’Neil, Brian De Lorenzo, Tracey O’Farrell, and the song duo Valerie Anastasio & Tim Harbold.