CST’s ‘Breaking the Code’ Is Not To Be Missed

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Matthew Beagan and Eddie Shields in Central Square’s ‘Breaking the Code’
Photos by Nile Scott Studios

Breaking the Code by Hugh Whitemore; directed by Scott Edmiston, scenic design by Janie E. Howland, lighting design by Karen Perlow, costume design by Chloe Moore, sound design by Aubrey Dube, projections design by SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal, props design by Julia Wonkka, dialect coach Danny Bryck, stage manager Charles Waite Clay. Presented by Central Square Theater at 450 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, MA, through April 26, 2026.

By Julie-Anne Whitney

Many of us have heard the name Alan Turing, but few know much more about him than what he is most known for: breaking the Nazi Enigma code, which helped bring an end to WWII. Known as the father of computer science, Alan Turing was a pioneering English mathematician and cryptographer. In 1936, at just 24 years old, he developed the Universal Turing Machine, which would later lead to the creation of the first modern computer. During the Second World War, he worked as a codebreaker for the British government, creating a machine that could decode the German military’s encrypted transmissions, which likely saved millions of lives. In 1950, he published a paper that asked, “Can machines think?” which became the foundation for artificial intelligence. 

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Lyric Stage’s “…Shamelessly Gorgeous” Puts Black Women Center Stage

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Patrice Jean-Baptiste in Lyric Stage’s ‘Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous’

Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous by Pearl Cleage; Directed by Jacqui Parker, Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland, Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl, Lighting Design by Karen Perlow, Sound Design by Aubrey Dube, Props by Julia Wonkka, Stage Managed by Nerys Powell. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston at 140 Clarendon Street in Boston, MA, through April 12, 2026.

By Julie-Anne Whitney

Aging is not usually perceived as an enjoyable part of life–particularly for women. As women age, they are wrongly seen as less interesting and appealing, less sexy and beautiful, and less useful and valuable. This is especially true for actors, singers, and dancers–professions that all but require women to remain young and beautiful, even falsely so, in order to stay successful. 

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Theater Mirror’s Kilian Melloy Interviews The Huntington’s Lois Roach, Dramaturg for ‘Lifted’ the 7th play of the Ufot Family Cycle

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Lois Roach

Initiated by the Huntington Theatre, the Ufot Family Cycle is a massive undertaking by the Boston theater community. Across nine plays and three generations, Mfoniso Udofia’s series examines both the intimate life of one family and the expansive reach of the African diaspora. The artistically and logistically complex effort began last season and is slated to conclude this season. This citywide collaborative undertaking will have given five of the nine plays their premieres by the time the theatrical epic reaches its conclusion.

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Theater Mirror’s Kilian Melloy Interviews Boston Gay Men’s Chorus Music Director Reuben M. Reynolds III

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Rueben M. Reynolds. III Photo Credit: Michael Willer
 

The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus has been making music and making change through music for the better part of a half-century. In that time, our community has seen victories and setbacks, from the depths of the AIDS crisis to growing representation and acceptance in popular culture, to judicial and political attacks, to the advent of marriage equality, and the current moment’s dismantling of access and protections for marginalized Americans of every sort.

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Barmakian, Melendy Light Up GBSC’s Thrilling ‘Wait Until Dark’

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Cast of GBSC’s ‘Wait Until Dark’. Photos by Nile Scott Studio

‘Wait Until Dark’ – Written by Frederick Knott and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.Directed by Weylin Symes; Scenic Design by Katy Monthei;  Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Costume Design by Deirdre Gerrard; Sound Design by Caroline Eng; and Fight Choreography by Naomi Kim. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company at 395 Main St, Stoneham, MA, through March 22nd.

By Mike Hoban

Greater Boston Stage has once again mined the suspense genre and struck theatrical gold with an exhilarating production of the white-knuckle thriller, Wait Until Dark. Featuring a stellar cast that blends GBSC regulars with a handful of talented relative newcomers, they adroitly deliver on the twists and turns of playwright Frederick Knott’s serpentine narrative with precision and heart.

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“Stereophonic” A Grueling Celebration of Making Art

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Cast of “Stereophonic” at the Emerson Colonial. Photos: Julieta Cervantes
 

“Stereophonic”.  Written by David Adjami.  Original Songs by Will Butler.  Directed by Daniel Aukin. Presented at Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston Street, Boston, through March 15.

By Michele Markarian

When I first saw “Stereophonic” a few years ago in New York, I was surprised at how familiar I was with some of the dialogue. “It’s the book!” I whispered to my husband, who had no idea what I was talking about. The book, “Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album” by Ken Caillat with Steven Stiefel, had been given to me as a birthday present by a friend ten years before. Caillat had been the co-producer of “Rumours” and wrote a book describing the exhilarating and often harrowing process, a journey Mick Fleetwood corroborates in his book “My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac”. The playwright eventually settled out of court with Caillat. In fairness to Adjami, while the book is good, the play, which depicts the arduous recording sessions of a seminal album by a band loosely based on Fleetwood Mac, is better.

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SpeakEasy’s ‘The Antiquities’ Warns of Future Dangers of A.I.

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Cast of SpeakEasy’s The Antiquities. Photos: Benjamin Rose Photography

The Antiquities (New England premiere) by Jordan Harrison. Directed by Alex Lonati; Scenic Design by Christoper & Justin Swader; Lighting Design by Amanda E. Fallon; Costume Design by Lila B. West; Sound Design by Anna Drummond; Props Coordination by Julia Wonkka; Intimacy Choreography by Shira Helena Gitlin; Fight Choreography by Margaret Clark; Dialect Coaching by Rebecca Schneebaum; Stage Managed by Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company at the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA in Boston, MA, through March 28, 2026.

By Julie-Anne Whitney

Imagine a world where humans have created electronic beings that mimic our thoughts and behavior. In the not-so-distant future, these artificial beings will be so good at doing what we’ve programmed them to do that they’ll do it better, faster, and more efficiently than we can. This “artificial intelligence” will be used to ravage the planet of its natural resources. It will be used as a weapon of war and will cause mass destruction. 

Not so hard to imagine, is it?

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Wakka Wakka’s “Dead As A Dodo” Resurrects Hope And Wonder

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ArtsEmerson’s‘Dead As a Dodo’. Photo credits: David Zadig

‘Dead As A Dodo’ − Written, directed, and set design by Gwendolyn Warnock and Kirjan Waage. Original Music and Sound Design by Thor Gunnar Thorvaldsson. Puppet Design and Construction by Kirjan Waage. Touring Lighting Design by Scott Monnin. Presented by ArtsEmerson, from March 5th to March 8th at Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116. 

By Charlotte Snow 

Puppetry has been a staple of theatricality for centuries, but it often gets a bad rap as being trite and hokey. But in recent years, many theatre companies have been pushing back against this narrative, creating innovative and thought-provoking puppet plays for kids and adults alike. Gloriously, the Wakka Wakka theatre company practically demands that Dead As A Dodo joins, if not leads, the fold of exceptional puppet shows. 

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MRT’s ‘Kween’ Finds Light in a Dark World

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Brittani J. McBride, Ray K. Soeun and Pichanny Som in MRT’s ‘Kween’

‘Kween’ (world premiere), by Vichet Chum; Direction by Pirronne Yousefzadeh; Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Costume Design by Yao Chen; Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal; Sound Design by David Remedios; Projection Design by Camilla Tassi; Stage Managed by Brian M. Robillard; Produced by Merrimack Repertory Theater in Lowell, MA. Runs through March 15. 

By Liana Chow

Kween is a gorgeous new one-act play by Vichet Chum, written for Merrimack Repertory Theater and harmoniously directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh. Set in the present day and focusing on Cambodian American characters in Lowell, “Kween” reflects back to its audience the beauty that can be found in their community. Commissioned a few years ago during a surge of I.C.E. detentions and deportations, the play is premiering during another terrifying moment for immigrants and refugees that mirrors America’s apparent determination to repeat its long history of deportation and detention. Kween is a salve for despair because it makes a case for the everyday strength and wisdom of the younger generations, the millennial and Gen-Z children of diasporas.

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“Zabel in Exile”  An Emotional Journey of Oppression, Resistance and Faith

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Sarah Corey in Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s “Zabel in Exile”
Photos by Scornavacca Photography

Zabel in Exile.  By R.N. Sandberg.  Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian.  Sponsored by Judith Saryan and Victor Zarougian.  Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, through March 8.

By Michele Markarian

For this audience member of Armenian heritage, Zabel in Exile is a cultural expedition into the Armenian psyche. The favoritism and privilege of boys and men. The devastation and tragedy of the death marches. The mystical visions of Death, dressed in garments of scarlet and black. My great-grandfather saw such a vision riding towards him on horseback and told his family it was coming for him. He was right; he died the next day along with his wife and three of his children.   My thirteen-year-old grandmother escaped. Zabel is a memory play based on the life of Armenian writer Zabel Yessayan. She’s a very compelling character, and her life, though hard and full of peril, embodies the bravery and compassion of the Armenian spirit.

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