“Liv at Sea” — Written and directed by Robert Kropf. Presented by Harbor Stage Company at Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., Boston, through January 28.
By Shelley A. Sackett
Who among us has never wondered about what our lives might have been like if, like Robert Frost’s famous protagonist, we had chosen the road less traveled when our path diverged into two? Did we choose wisely? Given the chance to relive that pivotal moment, would we again choose the security and comfort of the path we know or risk all on the thrill of the other, the unknown?
Jim Ortlieb in Huntington’s ‘Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight’ Photos by Nile Hawver
“Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight” – Written and directed by John Kolvenbach. Presented by Huntington Theatre Company, the Maso Studio, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, through March 23.
By Michele Markarian
“I’m getting an East Village vibe here,” I whisper to my friend as we wait for the curtain to go up. But there is no curtain, only a low wooden platform for a stage, with mismatched, elegant chandeliers strung from the ceiling. Our chairs are mismatched as well. The house lights are up, and a buzzy kind of energy vibrates among the audience – what is it that we are about to witness?
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.
Alex Pollock and Robert Kropf in Harbor Stage’s ‘Northside Hollow’
‘Northside Hollow’ – by Jonathan Fielding and Brenda Withers. Presented by Harbor Stage Company. Lighting Design by Andrew Garvis. Original Scenic Design by Sara C. Walsh. Original Sound Design by David Lanza. At BCA Plaza Black Box Theatre, 539 Tremont Street, Boston, through January 20, 2024.
By Linda Chin
Following an acclaimed world premiere in 2015 at its harborside home in Wellfleet, MA, two pre-pandemic professional productions at Fort Worth’s Amphibian Stage in 2017 and Sarasota’s Urbanite Theatre in 2018, Harbor Stage Company’s Northside Hollow has been reprised with its sensational original cast, scenic and sound design and remounted at the Boston Center for the Arts for a limited run in January 2024.
“Moby Dick” by Plexus Polaire. Inspired by Herman Melville’s novel. Directed by Yngvild Aspeli. Presented by ArtsEmerson, Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington Street, Boston, through January 28.
“There are three types of men – the living, the dead, and those who go to sea,” Ishmael (a charismatic Julian Spooner) tells us at the beginning of Plexus Polaire’s 85-minute version of Moby Dick . At a directionless point in his life, Ishmael joins the crew of the Peqoud and lives to tell the tale. Gorgeous and disturbing, this production uses both humans and puppets, lighting, and live music to create an atmosphere that’s dense with mystery, death, and rebirth.
Cast of Apollinaire’s ‘Lunch Bunch’. Photos by Danielle Fauteux Jacques
‘The Lunch Bunch’ – Written by Sarah Einspanier; Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques; Scenic & Sound Design: Joseph Lark-Riley; Lighting Design: Danielle Fauteux Jacques; Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company Chelsea Theatre Works, located at 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea, MA through January 21
by Mike Hoban
What do you do when the stress of your thankless job drives you to the brink of madness every single day? You could drink like a fish and do boatloads of cocaine like the brokers in Wolf of Wall Street, or there’s always the healthier options of meditating, doing yoga, getting a therapist, or working out. Or you could try a third option: engage obsessively in a ritual that gives you the illusion of control over your chaotic and unpredictable life. The latter is the route that the characters in Apollinaire’s production of the Lunch Bunch have taken, and while it works just about as well as you would suspect it would for the characters, this very funny sendup of foodie culture is a great stress reliever for audiences.
Jeanine Kane, Tony Estrella, Gunnar Manchester, and Gabrielle McCauley in Gamm Theatre’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Photo by Cat Laine
Reviewed by Tony Annicone The 39th season of GAMM Theatre continues with their opening show of 2024, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” a 1963 Tony Award-winning Best Play by Edward Albee. The Broadway show opened on October 13, 1962, ran for 664 performances, and became a movie three years later, starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis. This play examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening after a university faculty party, they receive a visit from two guests, an unwitting younger couple, Nick and Honey, and they draw them into their bitter and frustrated relationship. George and Martha’s consumption of alcohol during the course of the evening reveals secrets about themselves, with Martha denigrating George as not being able to rise to the position of head of the university, which her father expected him to attain. Martha exclaims “He’s a great big fat flop!” and George’s temper gets the better of him as he smashes a bottle on the floor. Honey runs off to the bathroom in a panic. Tensions escalate, and things get scary as revelations about all of them come tumbling out in comic and dramatic moments that keep your attention all night. Director Steve Kidd casts these four iconic roles marvelously and elicits brilliant performances from his talented cast. His wife, Jessica Hill Kidd, aided him in this task with the magnificent set she created for this show. It’s so realistic that the audience would love to move into it. The splendid 1960s costumes are by David T. Howard, with lighting by Jeff Adelberg and sound by Hunter Spoede. Hardworking stage manager Kelsey Emry keeps things running smoothly.
The first show at Trinity Rep in 2024, which is the continuation of its 60th season, is the world premiere of “La Broa'” by Orlando Hernandez, inspired by “Latino History of Rhode Island: Nuestras Raices,” oral histories collected by Marta V. Martinez. “La Broa”’ (Broad Street) draws from real-life stories of Providence’s Spanish-speaking immigrant communities over sixty years and is directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo, a resident artistic company member. Hernandez takes these oral histories and weaves interesting, poignant, and awe-inspiring tales into a show that audience members can savor and enjoy. These stories are based on real people with some fictional events mixed in, ranging from gripping to entertaining but, most of all, educating and entrancing the crowd to understand how different cultures exist, not only on Broad Street. Rosa’s Market on Broad Street is the center of the stories Dona Rosa tells Ana, a student at Providence College, in 1992. The show is told with flashbacks to 1947 when Rosa came to New York from The Dominican Republic. She met her husband Tony there, and they eventually moved to Providence. This is where the characters interact during the show as Dona Rosa weaves tales of her past. They speak of immigration, how they adjusted to Providence, and cultural matters that affect them. Marta Martinez has worked on this script for the past ten years, and Trinity Rep performers make her and real-life people extremely proud in this astounding show.
‘The Band’s Visit’ appeared on all four reviewers Top Ten lists for 2023
2023 was not only the year that the COVID masks literally came off in theaters (although with the recent spike in cases, they’re wisely coming back on in some venues), it also saw a minimizing of COVID-related cancellations thanks to a downturn in cases and an explosion of understudies for critical roles. It was also a year when theaters realized they could offer quality programming instead of well-intentioned but artistically weak messaging plays and still achieve diversity goals. Not surprisingly, that meant bringing back works by masters like Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, and Tony Kushner while still presenting new works by talents like Josh Harmon and newcomers Lenelle Moïse (K-I-S-S-I-N-G) and LaDarrion Williams (Boulevard of Bold Dreams). Here are the Top 10 picks for 2023 by our reviewing staff:
Cast of “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical” at the A.R.T. Photos by Nile Hawver and Maggie Hall
‘Real Women Have Curves: The Musical.’ Music & lyrics by Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, book by Lisa Loomer. Directed and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. Music Supervisor Nadia DiGiallonardo; Music direction by Robeto Sinha. Scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado. Costume design by Wilberth Gonzalez and Paloma Young. Lighting design by Natasha Katz. Sound design by Walter Trarbach. Video design by Hana S. Kim. At the American Repertory Theater’s Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge, through January 21, 2024.
by Linda Chin
Like the ad campaign from my childhood about Levy’s Real Jewish Rye, you don’t have to be Latinx to love Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, an exuberant and empowering production enjoying its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater. Set in the summer of 1987 in Boyle Heights, LA, home to a growing population of Hispanic and Latino residents, the story centers on the three “real women” of a Mexican family. Matriarch Carmen Garcia (Justina Machado) is a housewife and traditional, old-fashioned wife to her husband Raúl, a house painter (Edward Padilla), and mother to two daughters. The eldest, Estela (Florencia Cuenca), runs a small dressmaking shop but aspires to be a designer. The youngest, new HS graduate Ana (Lucy Godínez), was born in the US and is a citizen, aspires to go to college and pursue a writing career. Despite the many bumps and curves in their immigration and life journeys, all three “Garcia Girls” have not lost their accents nor lost sight of their big dreams. But they, like all of us, are desperate to be seen for their authentic selves, beyond their curves and the stereotypes society has placed on them.
