GSC’s ‘Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson’ Delights

September 16, 2025September 16, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Breezy Leigh, Stephen Shore, Erin O’Sullivan in Gloucester Stage’s ‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson’
Photos by Shawn G. Henry

By C.J. Williams

Gleeful send-up and homage, this gender-swapped Holmesian adventure set in 2021 London, featuring a New Yorker Watson and a cast that clearly delights in the havoc of playing multiple roles at speed (one-man Lestrade-Moriarty-Sleazy Politician, anyone?) Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson by Kate Hamill is a quirky, funny-bone-prodding sprint for its full two-hour runtime.

‘My First Ex-Husband’ Spotlights Joy Behar And Divorce’s Light and Dark Sides

September 16, 2025September 16, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

THE VIEW – The View’s Season 28 Co-host photo shoot – Joy Behar. “The View” airs Monday-Friday, 11am-12noon, ET on ABC. (ABC/JEFF LIPSKY) JOY BEHAR

‘My First Ex-Husband’ — Play by Joyce Behar. Directed by Randal Myler. Presented by The Huntington Selects. Produced by Caiola Productions and Cyrena Esposito. At The Huntington Calderwood, 537 Tremont St., Boston, through September 28.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Joy Behar is familiar to fans of television’s ABC daytime talk show, “The View,” as the co-host with the comedic, acerbic wit. She won an Emmy Award in 2009 and is also known as a sharp-tongued, incisive stand-up comic.

With My First Ex-Husband, her fourth play that ran successfully off-Broadway and is now in production at The Huntington Calderwood through September 28, she will be known to Boston audiences as a playwright as well.

Theater Mirror’s Mike Hoban interviews Pulitzer Prize Finalist, “Kristina Wong, Food Bank Influencer”

September 15, 2025September 15, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Kristina Wong in ‘Kristina Wong, #FoodBankInfluencer’ at ArtsEmerson

ArtsEmerson will bring Kristina Wong, #FoodBankInfluencer, to the Emerson Paramount Center from September 19–21, 2025. Written and performed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristina Wong and directed by Jessica Hanna, this “uproarious and heartfelt solo karaoke musical” promises to celebrate America’s emergency food system with “biting wit and unstoppable charm”. Theater Mirror’s Mike Hoban had a chance to speak with her last week, before the launch of the tour.

Theater Mirror: You describe this piece as being about “falling in love with the emergency food system” and that it follows the same trajectory as a musical love story. Can you explain?

Broadway in Boston’s ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Is A Raucous Good Time

September 14, 2025September 14, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Broadway in Boston’s Mrs. Doubtfire’ Photos: Joan Marcus

‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Music and Lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick. Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. Based on the Twentieth Century Studios Motion Picture. Arrangements and Orchestrations by Ethan Popp. Tour Direction by Steve Edlund. Tour Choreography by Michaeljon Slinger; Original Choreography by Lorin Latarro; Original Direction by Jerry Zaks. Scenic Design by David Korins; Costume Design by Catherine Zuber; Lighting Design by Philip S. Rosenberg; Sound Design by Keith Caggiano. Presented by Broadway in Boston and Work Lights Productions at the Emerson Colonial Theatre through Sept. 21.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Every family has that iconic favorite movie or television show that follows its members throughout childhood, adulthood and parent/grandparent-hood. For mine, it was (and is) “Mrs. Doubtfire,” the 1993 movie that has been with us from Blockbuster rental to VHS to DVD to stream-on-demand. So any live version of this holy grail was going to have a very high bar.

Thankfully, Broadway in Boston and Work Light Production’s musical version of the Broadway hit at the Emerson Colonial Theatre manages to hurdle over that bar more often than knock it over.

Eryn O’Sullivan Lifts Gloucester Stage’s ‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson’

September 10, 2025September 16, 2025 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Breezy Leigh, Stephen Shore, Erin O’Sullivan in Gloucester Stage’s ‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson’

‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2b.’ Written by Kate Hamill. Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw. Set Design by Kristin Loeffler; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan; Sound Design by Julian Crocamo. Presented by Gloucester Stage, 267 East Main St., Gloucester, through September 27.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Playwright and actor Kate Hamill, known for putting a feminist spin on adaptations of classic literature, turns her droll pen on the iconic partnership of Detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson in the hit-and-miss Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2b, in production at Gloucester Stage through September 27. While set design (Kristin Loeffler), crisp direction (Rebecca Bradshaw), and a captivating Eryn O’Sullivan as Holmes dull the play’s dull edges, its 2-hour, 45-minute (one intermission) length at last Sunday’s matinee was as unwarranted as it was irritating.

A.R.T.’s Ephemeral ‘Passengers’ Awes with Acrobatics, Music and Dance

September 8, 2025September 8, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Passengers’ by The 7 Fingers (Les 7 Doigts) at A.R.T.

The 7 Fingers ‘Passengers.’ Written and Directed by Shana Carroll. Composition and Musical Direction by Colin Gagné; Lyrics by Colin Gagné and Shana Carrol; Scenic Design by Ana Cappelluto; Costume Design by Camille Thibault-Bédard; Lighting Design by Éric Champoux; Projection Design by Johnny Ranger; Sound Design by Colin Gagné and Jérôme Guilleaume. Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, through Sept. 26.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Train travel has always evoked a magical aura of nostalgia and romanticism, an opportunity to slow down, observe and contemplate while suspended between past and future, between here and there. American Repertory Theater’s production of Passengers, a contemporary circus performance that combines acrobatics, dance, music and a gossamer thread of dramatic narrative, makes a case that train travel (as a metaphor for life) is all about the journey, not the destination.

Theater Mirror’s Kilian Melloy Talks with New Speakeasy Artistic Director Dawn Simmons on Her New Role and “Primary Trust”

September 4, 2025September 4, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Dawn Simmons (R) directs Arthur Gomez and David Castillo in “Primary Trust”

By Killian Melloy

“But that’s another story.”

It’s a line of dialogue Kenneth, the main character and narrator of “Primary Trust,” uses often. Kenneth has been through a lot, and he touches on painful memories only glancingly, leaving it to the audience to try to imagine what he’s not saying. One of only a few Black people in the mostly white town of Cranberry, New York, Kenneth has endured the occasional brush with racism; he’s also someone who grew up in an orphanage. We can’t tell what’s going on in his mind, except for the inferences he makes, the way he sometimes has to put himself on hold and count in order to stay grounded, and what he reveals through his fourth wall-breaking asides and his conversations with his best friend, Bert, and Corrina, a waitress with whom he starts to become friendly.

Theater Mirror’s Kilian Melloy Talks with Joy Behar about Her New Play, “My First Ex-Husband”

September 1, 2025September 1, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Joy Behar in “My First Ex-Husband” at The Huntington. Photo: Joan Marcus

By Kilian Melloy

An arranged marriage in an Orthodox Jewish community. A husband whose love of dressing in his woman’s clothing isn’t a dealbreaker — until he starts using her makeup, too. Men with wandering eyes and, err, vital organs. A husband of half a century who is still as randy as ever… to his wife’s despair. These are just a few of the hilarious real-life marriages described in the round-robin collection of monologues titled My First Ex-Husband by standup comedian, talk show host, author, and playwright Joy Behar. The play is coming to The Huntington Calderwood at the Boston Center for the Arts for a run from Sept. 12 – 28.

Theater Mirror’s Mike Hoban Interviews Melissa Rivers on Her New Play About Her Iconic Mom, ‘Joan’

August 29, 2025August 29, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Beginning on September 3^rd, The Cape Playhouse will present JOAN, a new play about the life and career of legendary comedian Joan Rivers. The play premiered last fall at the South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, CA, and was most recently produced by the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires. The play also focuses on River’s relationship with her daughter, Melissa, who, along with her longtime writing partner Larry Amoros, worked with playwright Danny Goldstein on the script and executive-produced the show. The production will run through September 20^th at The Cape Playhouse.

by Mike Hoban

Theater Mirror: So many of the theatrical biographies that we’re seeing on stage now are centered around the careers of musicians like Carole King (Beautiful), Tina Turner (Tina), and Neil Diamond (A Beautiful Noise). How do you create a play that showcases the subject’s artistic genius when Joan’s career and persona were built around comedy performances and television appearances?

Theater Mirror’s Kilian Melloy Interviews ‘Entourage’s Jeremy Piven – Coming Soon to the Wilbur Theater

August 23, 2025August 23, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

“Is this for print?” Jeremy Piven asks as the Zoom call commences. He’s up early for a day of interviews. Assured that the interview will be published as text, not a video, he takes off his cap momentarily, revealing a glimpse at a crown of cowlicks. “Okay, so the visuals don’t matter on this at all,” he says. No, and if they did, I would be in far worse shape than he is.

“I haven’t had my coffee,” Piven goes on to say, “and forgive me: I’m a slow starter, and I’m not good in the morning. I’m not interesting, and I’m grumpy, so I’m just having a moment where, in about four seconds, I am going to have some incredible personality.” True to his word, mere moments later, he blossoms into a bon vivant, his enthusiasm driving the conversation well past our allotted time.