Theater Mirror’s Shelley Sackett Interviews Modern Dance Visionary Mark Morris

January 20, 2025January 20, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

The Mark Morris Dance Company in *The Look of Love*. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

The Mark Morris Dance Group returns to Boston with Morris’ evening-length work, The Look of Love at Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre from January 23 through January 26. The piece is a wistful and heartfelt homage to the chart-topping hits of Burt Bacharach, a towering figure of popular music, newly arranged by jazz pianist, composer, and MMDG musical collaborator Ethan Iverson. Bacharach’s melodies and unique orchestrations soar with influences from jazz, rock, and Brazilian music. The stage comes alive in a powerful fusion of dance and music with an exceptional ensemble of vocals, piano, trumpet, bass, and drums, led by singer, actress, and Broadway star Marcy Harriell.

Malpaso Dance Company Brings Its Hot Fusion of Cuban Dance, Music, and Spice to Boston’s Winter Wonderland

January 19, 2025January 19, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Malpaso Dance Company. Photos by Robert Torres

Celebrity Series of Boston presents Malpaso Dance Company. Executive Director and Co-Founder Fernando Sáez. Artistic Director and Co-Founder Osnal Delgado. At the Robert J. Orchard Stage, Paramount Center, January 17-18.

By Shelley A. Sackett

With good reason, Malpaso Dance Company is one of Cuba’s most sought-after dance companies. Since its inception in 2012, the company of 11 dancers has served as global ambassadors of Cuban culture, heritage and artistry.

Lyric Stage’s ‘Crumbs from the Table of Joy’ Has A Tale to Tell

January 19, 2025January 19, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘*Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’.* Photos: Mark S. Howard
Thomika Marie Bridwell, Madison Margaret Clark, and Dominic Carter

‘Crumbs from The Table Of Joy.’ Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Tasia A. Jones. Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Costume Design by Mikayla Reid. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco. Lighting Design by Eduardo Ramirez. Produced by Lyric Stage at 140 Clarendon Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, through February 2nd.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Luck

Sometimes a crumb falls
From the tables of joy,
Sometimes a bone
Is flung.

To some people
Love is given,
To others
Only heaven.

— Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes, best known for his Harlem Renaissance Jazz Poetry, wrote “Luck” in 1947. The poem can be interpreted as a commentary on unfairness, deprivation, and the pursuit of love. It could also be read as a reminder of the injustices faced by Black Americans and other “have-nots’ who must bear witness to the overflowing bounty of the “haves” and hope they are in the right place at the right time to scoop up the discarded scraps.

Flight 1619 Finally Lifts Off in SpeakEasy/Front Porch’s Ambitious ‘Ain’t No Mo’

January 17, 2025January 17, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of SpeakEasy/Front Porch’s ‘Ain’t No Mo’ Photos: Nile Scott Studios
MaConnia Chesser, Kiera Prusmack, De’Lon Grant, Schanaya Barrows, and Dru Sky Berrian.

‘Ain’t No Mo’.’ Written by Jordan E. Cooper. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Co-produced by SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective at the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, through February 8.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Jordan E. Cooper’s Ain’t No Mo is a complicated, uneven, scathing, audacious, and hilarious rollercoaster ride of a play. It covers a lot of ground, and Cooper dips his pen into the inkwell of every genre known to playwrights: from satire, allegory, fiction, and parody to tragedy and Shakespeare-worthy soliloquy.

Lyric Stage’s ‘Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’ is a Feast Full of Hope

January 14, 2025January 15, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘*Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’.* Photos: Mark S. Howard

‘Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’. Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Tasia A. Jones. Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Costume Design by Mikayla Reid. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco. Lighting Design by Eduardo Ramirez. Produced by Lyric Stage at 140 Clarendon Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02116 runs from January 10th – February 2nd.

By Charlotte Snow

“It smooths my pain, and that’s all I want right now,” earnestly pleads Godfrey Crump (Dominic Carter), during a verbal altercation with his late wife’s sister. That aspiration of finding hope can be found in all five of the characters who populate Crumbs From The Table Of Joy, now playing at the Lyric Stage.

‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at Apollinaire Theatre Co. Delivers On Its Promise

January 12, 2025January 12, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cristhian Mancinas-Garcia and Parker Jennings in ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at Apollinaire.
Photos by Danielle Fauteux Jacques

Every Brilliant Thing’. Written by Duncan Macmillan with Johnny Donahoe. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Scenic and Sound Design by Joseph Lark-Riley. Lighting Design by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Produced by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA through January 19th.

By Shelley A. Sackett

A one-person show about suicide and depression that threatens random audience participation, runs for approximately 75 intermission-less minutes, and pledges to be funny and uplifting has a pretty high bar to clear. Yet, Apollinaire Theatre Company does just that with room to spare in its brilliant production of Every Brilliant Thing.

Newton Theatre Company’s ‘Dracula’ Entices, Entertains

January 11, 2025December 10, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Newton Theatre Company’s ‘Dracula’

‘Dracula’ – Based on the novel by Bram Stroker. Adapted by Steven Dietz. Directed by Melissa Bernstein. Presented by Newton Theatre Company at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, 96 Otis Street, Newton, MA, through February 8

Review by Shayne F. Gilbert

The Newton Theater Company’s latest offering is the classic gothic story Dracula, featuring a gender-bending twist: Dracula is portrayed by female actor Linda Goetz, who masterfully handles the role in this first-rate interpretation of the Gothic classic.

Trinity Rep’s ‘Someone Will Remember Us’ Examines the Personal Toll of War

January 10, 2025January 31, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Alison Jones and Ashley Aldarondo in Trinity Rep’s ‘Someone Will Remember Us’.
Photos by Mark Turik.

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The world premiere of “Someone Will Remember Us” continues the true story of “Boots on The Ground,” which played at Trinity Repertory Company back in 2006 and told of Rhode Islanders deployed in the Iraq War. It examines how the legacy lives on almost twenty years later. This show combines the testimonies of U.S. military veterans, a Gold Star Family, Iraqi civilians, and refugees living in Rhode Island. It examines how the war affected these people then and how they still deal with it all these years later. We see the emotional toll these events had back then and how conflicts in other parts of the globe still concern us today. “Someone Will Remember Us” is the fourth show of Trinity Rep’s 61st season and is well-directed by Christopher Windom. He has his cast members deliver multilayered performances as the residents of this state who were profoundly affected by the Iraqi War. Each of the different groups of people convey their stories and interact with each other in this powerful one-act play written by Deborah Salem Smith and Charlie Thurston. Dr. Michelle Cruz and the two authors create an informative, emotion-packed show that resonates with the audience in a profound manner, especially with the uncertain times that this country is currently facing with the rest of the world, and hopefully will help them and us heal from these traumatic events. This powerhouse production receives a spontaneous standing ovation at the close of the show.

Apollinaire’s ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ Sparks Joy During Unprecedented Time

January 7, 2025January 7, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cristhian Mancinas-García and Parker Jennings in Apollinaire Theatre’s ‘Every Brilliant Thing’
Photos: Danielle Fauteux Jacques

‘Every Brilliant Thing’. Written by Duncan Macmillan with Johnny Donahoe. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Scenic and Sound Design by Joseph Lark-Riley. Lighting Design by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Produced by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA through January 19th.

By Charlotte Snow

Can times really be that ‘unprecedented’ when more and more different kinds of ‘unprecedented’ actions and events appear time and time again? It’s a question that I have been asking myself repeatedly with the turning of the new year (and admittedly with the overturning of the old administration). It’s been far too easy for all of the negative thoughts about the world and one’s place in it to form a snowball of anxiety that grows in speed and size as it hurtles downward.

Hughes a One-Woman Tour de force in Gamm’s ‘Girls And Boys’

January 1, 2025January 7, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Donnla Hughes in Gamm Theatre’s Girls and Boys. Photos: Cat Laine

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The third play of GAMM Theatre’s 40th Anniversary season is “Boys and Girls” by Dennis Kelly. It’s a 2016 one-woman British show that narrates a story of love, marriage, and, eventually, violence. She meets the man of her dreams, and the romance seems destined for greatness. Before long, the couple settles down and buys a house. Their life is filled with passion, success, and the joys of parenthood. They juggle careers; after having two children, Leanne and Danny, they seem to become an ordinary family. But as ambitions grow, things begin to unravel, and matters take an unexpected turn as her career takes an upspring by forming her own film company with Liam, and he goes in the opposite direction by not adapting from selling antique wardrobes to more contemporary ones.