“The Drowsy Chaperone” is Fabulous Fun

April 14, 2024April 14, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Joy Clark and the cast of “The Drowsy Chaperone” at Lyric Stage

“The Drowsy Chaperone” – Music and Lyrics by Lisa Lampert and Greg Morrison. Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. Directed and Choreographed by Larry Sousa. Musical Direction by Matthew Stern. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through May 12.

By Michele Markarian

From the moment the Man in Chair (an engaging Paul Melendy) puts on a record of his favorite musical from the 1920s to shake himself out of a gloomy mood, we know we are in for a fun ride. Melendy’s sincerity, wry delivery, and easy charm set the tone for the rest of the show, where the acting is impeccable, the vocals are terrific, the songs are catchy, and the script is funny.

Dreams Deferred in Lyric’s ‘Trouble in Mind’

January 24, 2024January 25, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Trouble in Mind’ at Lyric Stage

Trouble In Mind by Playwright Alice Childress. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Scenic Design by Shelley Barish. Costume Design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt. Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan. Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. At the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Clarendon Steet, through February 4.

By Linda Chin

In his 1951 poem “Harlem” Langston Hughes poses an important question: What happens to a dream deferred? It continues with additional questions:

      Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
      Or fester like a sore – And then run?
      Does it stink like rotten meat?
      Or crust and sugar over—like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags, like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

In her 1955 play “Trouble in Mind,” Alice Childress (Hughes’ contemporary) tells the story of a group of Black and white actors rehearsing a play for Broadway. The play (within-the-play), “Chaos in Belleville” is an anti-lynching drama written by a white playwright, directed by white male director Al Manners (Barlow Adamson), and stars a Black actress, Wiletta (Patrice Jean-Baptiste), a seasoned actor who will be making her Broadway debut – a long-awaited dream.

Lyric Stage’s ‘The Game’s Afoot’ Delivers the Gift of Laughter

November 18, 2023November 18, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Maureen Keiller, Kelby T. Akin, Dan Garcia, Gabrielle McCauley, Remo Airaldi, Pamela Lambert and Sarah Sinclair in “The Game’s Afoot” at Lyric Stage Photo: Mark S, Howard

‘The Game’s Afoot: Holmes for the Holidays’ by Ken Ludwig. Fred Sullivan Jr., Director. Janie E. Howland, Scenic Designer. John Malinowski, Lighting Designer. Chelsea Kerl, Costume Designer. Andrew Duncan Will, Sound Designer. Jennifer Butler, Props Artisan. At Lyric Stage, Clarendon Street, Boston through December 17.

by Linda Chin

Lyric Stage’s long-term Producing Artistic Director, the larger-than-life Spiro Veloudos – now a giant in the sky – knew his audiences well, especially the subscribers who filled the matinees. He invited them to his Clarendon Street “castle” to see a play or musical, have a good time, and to come back again.

Lyric Stage’s ‘Assassins’ Hits the Mark

September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of “Assassins” at Lyric Stage Company. Photos by Mark S. Howard

‘Assassins’ – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by John Weidman. Courtney O’Connor (Director). Dan Rodriguez (Music Director). Ilyse Robbins (Select Choreography). Baron E. Pugh (Scenic and Lighting Design). Rachel Paula-Shufelt (Costume Design). Alex Berg (Sound Design). At Lyric Stage, Clarendon Street, Boston, through October 15, 2023.

by Linda Chin

Like the late composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, Lyric Stage has not shied away from exploring challenging themes or dark material. But opening a theatre season in the angry aftermath of a post-Trump America with one of Sondheim’s less familiar works – about violent attacks on U.S. presidents, no less – is a risky proposition. Assassins takes us into the minds of nine men and women who gained notoriety through our nation’s history because they killed (or failed to, but gave it a good shot) former Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, Roosevelt, McKinley, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Kennedy). Not exactly uplifting fare, but in the capable hands of director Courtney O’Connor, music director/conductor Dan Rodriguez and his four-piece orchestra, and 15 outstanding actors, audiences can expect a thoroughly engrossing and entertaining theater experience.

“Fascinating Rhythm” Sparkles with Humor and Song

July 19, 2023July 19, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Jared Troilo, Kirsten Salpini in “Fascinating Rhythm”

By Michele Markarian

“Fascinating Rhythm” – Created by and Starring Kirsten Salpini and Jared Troilo. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston through July 16.

“Fascinating Rhythm,” created and performed by Kirsten Salpini and Jared Troilo, is a lively and entertaining tribute to the music of George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein, with the intimacy and warmth of a house party to which you’ve been specially invited. The two talented performers periodically don costumes (Gershwin and Bernstein, who else?), play piano, and sing their way – with inspired pockets of audience participation – through a well-rounded catalog of works by both composers.

Small Town, Big Dreams in Lyric’s ‘Rooted’

June 6, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Katherine Callaway, Karen MacDonald, and Lisa Tucker in ‘Rooted’ at the Lyric

Written by Deborah Zoe Laufer. Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland, Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl, Lighting Design by Karen Perlow, Original Music and Sound Co-Design by Dewey Dellay, and Sound Co-Design by Andrew Duncan Will. Properties by Lauren Corcuera.

by Linda Chin

In crafting Rooted, the story of two small-town, medium-aged women with big dreams, playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer returned to her childhood roots in the Catskills for inspiration. Besides Hazel (Karen MacDonald), an energetic, fast-talking waitress and primary caregiver of her younger sister, Emery (Lisa Tucker), who has a physical disability and uses a walker, the fictional town of Millerville’s inhabitants include Stuart, Giancarlo, and dozens of other potted plants who live with the people-phobic, biophilic Emery in a tree house – named Mabel – that she hasn’t emerged from in over a decade. There are also lots of animals – birds in the sky above, cows in the pasture below. From the safety of the tree house, Emery does plant research and broadcasts her results via YouTube, and is satisfied with having no direct human contact – just peace, calm, and quiet. In contrast, Hazel is dissatisfied and bored with small-town life, and though she loves her sister deeply, she desperately wants to escape.

Nuns Just Want to Have Fun in Lyric’s ‘Sister Act’

April 12, 2023April 13, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Glenn Slater. Book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner. Additional material by Douglas Carter Beane. Direction by Leigh Barrett. Music direction by David F. Coleman. Choreography by Dan Sullivan. Scenic Design by Jenna McFarland Lord. Lighting Design by Christopher Brusberg. Costume Design by Kelly Baker. Sound Design by Alex Berg. Presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston, through May 14

by Linda Chin

With composer Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors) behind this musical, I was surprised to leave the Lyric without a song stuck in my head. Have faith, however – with its star – (and sequined) studded cast divinely directed by Leigh Barrett, spirited choreography by Dan Sullivan, and a funk-R&B-gospel-disco score soulfully conducted by David F. Coleman, Sister Act lives up to its billing as a “feel good” musical comedy. Regardless of what church you belong to, after seeing this show “you will go out in joy (Isiah 55:12).”

Strange and Beautiful “Preludes” Enchants at the Lyric

January 11, 2023January 11, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

‘Preludes – Music, Lyrics, Book and Orchestrations by David Malloy. Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Music Direction by Dan Rodriguez. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston through February 5.

Where does creative inspiration come from? The heart? The mind? Are artists the instruments, or merely vessels for what can only be called divine? A blocked Rachmaninoff (the excellent and brooding Dan Prior) is told, “Virtuosity has its moments, but if you want to be truly great, use more…silence.” Silence and its space create room and stillness for ideas to flow through the subconscious. If you’ve ever wondered about the nature of creativity and the role of the artist, this is the play for you.

Lyric’s ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ Gets Its Comedy Right

November 16, 2022November 17, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Kelby T. Atkin, Dan Whelton, Michael Liebhauser, Marc Pierre, Mitch Kiliulis in Lyric’s *The Play That Goes Wrong*. Photos by Mark S. Howard

The Play That Goes Wrong – Conceived and written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields. Directed by Fred Sullivan, Jr.; Scenic Design by Peter Colao; Costume Design by Gail Buckley; Lighting Design by John Malinowski; and Sound Design by Dewey Dellay. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon St., Boston through December 18.

by Mike Hoban

Fans of farce and physical comedy are in for a treat with The Play That Goes Wrong, now being presented by Lyric Stage. Pratfalls, spit takes, corpses that won’t lie still and even a fart joke are delivered rat-a-tat by a solid cast, and although the genre may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s hard to imagine that there won’t be at least a few belly laughs for even the most discerning playgoers. And for anyone who’s ever been involved in community or fringe theater productions, you can safely revisit your fears of impending doom from the safety of your seat.

Smart, Funny “Fabulation” Entertains at the Lyric

September 21, 2022September 21, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Fabulation’ at the Lyric Stage. Photos by Mark S. Howard

“Fabulation, or, the Re-Education of Undine” – Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Dawn M Simmons. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston through October 9.

by Michele Markarian

There’s nothing yielding or hesitant about the seemingly unstoppable Undine (Lyndsay Allyn Cox), owner of a boutique public relations agency with high-profile clients in New York. She speaks to her assistant Stephie (Brittani Jenese McBride) brusquely, brushes off the warnings of her accountant (Barlow Adamson), and seems unconcerned about the flight of her suave and sexy husband, Herve (Jaime José Hernández). Undine’s self-centeredness gets kicked up a notch when she realizes that Herve has absconded with all of their money and she’s unexpectedly pregnant. With her office, apartment and bank accountant liquidated, Undine has nowhere left to go but home – to the family in Brooklyn that she claimed had died in a fire fourteen years ago. Undine’s real name is Sharona; she chose Undine when she renounced her family, in an admiring nod to the social climbing Undine Sprague in Edith Wharton’s novel Custom of the Country. Unlike Wharton’s ruthless Undine, Nottage’s Undine finally learns gratitude and humility, after an unfortunate series of events brought on by her own ambition.