‘Pride and Prejudice’: A Farcical Adaptation at the Trinity Rep

October 12, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Deanna Dement Myers

‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen. Directed and Choreographed by Birgitta Victorson; Set Design by Michael McGarty; Costume Design by Olivera Gajic; Lighting Design by Dawn Chiang; Sound Design by Broken Chord Voice; and Dialect Coaching by Candice Brown Production Stage Managed by Meg Tracy Leddy. Performance through Nov. 4 at Trinity Rep., 201 Washington St., Providence.

“I love balls.”

So sighs the delightful Katie Croyle, who plays Lydia, the wild, youngest daughter of the Bennet family as she contemplates the upcoming party in their English neighborhood. This overshadows the traditional opening line (“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”) and signals that there might be a contemporary spin on this classic tale of manners, misunderstanding, and proper matches.

“TOMMY” Bristol Theatre Company

October 11, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Bristol Theatre Company’s latest show is the Who’s rock opera “Tommy” with music and lyrics by Pete Townshend and book by Townshend and Des McAnuff. Originally written as a concept album in 1969 and the movie in 1975, it was adapted into a stage play in the 1993 and ran on Broadway for almost 900 performances. The story is about Tommy, who as a four year old child witnesses his father kill his mother’s lover in self defense. As he stared at the mirror when this happened, he became deaf, dumb and blind. His parents search for a cure for many years and Tommy finds the one thing that he’s good at is pinball. When his upset mother finally smashes the mirror, Tommy recovers. Now famous for both becoming a pinball wizard and being cured, Tommy gets caught up in his fame, but when he returns, his fans turn on him. However instead of going back, to what he was before, Tommy turns to his family. This high energy show is beautifully executed, wins a standing ovation and it captivates the audience in while weaving a spell with fabulous singing, acting and dancing.

ASP Delivers a Stunning, Satisfying “MacBeth”

October 9, 2018October 10, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

MacBeth. Written by William Shakespeare, in a modern verse translation by Migdalia Cruz. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project, The United Parish in Brookline, 210 Harvard Street, Brookline through November 11.

As you walk into the nave of The United Parish of Boston, the setting for Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s “MacBeth”, you feel a deep sense of foreboding. Now okay, anyone familiar with the play has a pretty good idea of what they’re in for, but Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s productions are always wonderfully and dramatically atmospheric, and this show is no exception. Jon Savage’s stark, wood beamed set suggests both elegance and gloom, augmented by Laura Hildebrand’s lighting design and Elizabeth Cahill’s sound design. What follows over the next two and a half hours is one of the more accessible and affecting productions of “MacBeth” that I have ever seen.

Trinity Rep’s “Pride and Prejudice” a Gender-Bending Comic Romp

October 9, 2018October 9, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The opening show of Trinity Rep’s 55th season is “Pride and Prejudice” by Kate Hamill, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel. Written in 1813, the story depicts events, society and romance of that era. The four Bennet sisters, through their individual personalities, relationship to each other, their parents, societal acquaintances from all classes and finally their love interests reveal the manners and mores, the wit, pangs of the heart and the spunk of Austen’s characters.

Flat Earth’s ‘Delicate Particle Logic’ Artfully Examines Science, Truth

October 5, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Christine Power, Thomas Grenon)

by Linda Chin

‘Delicate Particle Logic’ – Directed by Betsy S. Goldman; Darren Cornell (Set Design); Elizabeth Krah (Costume Design); PJ Strachman (Lighting Design); Brad Smith (Sound Design), and Christine Banna (Projection Design). Presented by Flat Earth Theatre at the Mosesian Center for the Arts’ Black Box, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown through October 13

One response to the question “What is the play with the [elusive] title Delicate Particle Logic about?” is as follows: it’s about scientists in Nazi Germany who discover nuclear fission and unleash the atomic age. A more elaborate, and less delicate description is that the play is the story of two scientists, one a German chemist (a man), one an Austrian physicist (a woman), who closely collaborated over decades and across borders and co-discovered the splitting of atoms, but didn’t end up splitting the credit.

Muppet Gone Wild – Hijinx Theatre’s ‘Meet Fred’ is a Darkly Comic Gem

September 29, 2018September 29, 2018 michaelhoban1 Comment

‘Meet Fred’ – Performance by Hijinx Theatre; Presented by Puppet Showplace Theater at the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA), Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St., Boston.

It really makes no difference whether you’re a fan of puppetry or not. Hijinx Theatre’s wonderfully absurd Meet Fred is bound to be one of the funniest and most original productions you’ll see this year. Meet Fred tells the story of Fred, a puppet in search of his humanity. Operated by three puppeteers (one for the head and voice, one for legs, the other for arms) he embarks on a journey that takes him through life’s essentials – work, love, regrets and revelations – all in a tidy 80 minutes. Along the way we’re treated to laugh-out-loud comedy that is definitely not for the kiddies.

Abolition and Women’s Suffrage Leaders Fight for Rights in ‘The Agitators’ at Gloucester

September 28, 2018October 8, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: Two-act, two-hour, two-person play, written by Mat Smart, directed by renowned playwright-actress-director Jacqui Parker, making its New England premiere through Oct. 7: Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; matinees, Saturday, Sunday, 2 p.m., 267 East Main St., Gloucester. $35-$45, discount tickets for senior citizens,18-year-olds and younger, and Cape Ann residents. 978-281-4433, gloucesterstage.com.

“I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.” – Susan B. Anthony

“I didn’t know I was a slave until I found out I couldn’t do the things I wanted.”

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons or property will be safe.” – Frederick Douglass

GBSC’s ‘BEING EARNEST’ Adds 60’s Twist to Wilde Classic

September 28, 2018September 28, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: Two-act, two-hour musical comedic interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” by Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska, appearing through Oct. 7, at 395 Main St., Stoneham: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (sold out) ; Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.$50-$60; seniors, $45-$55; students with valid ID, $20. stoneham.greaterbostonstage.org, 781-279-2200.

Oscar Wilde’s social satiric comedy, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” takes a modernized, musical twist in Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska’s two-act, two-hour play, “Being Earnest, appearing through Sunday, at Greater Boston Stage Company.

Everyone Could Use a Pops to Protect Their Rent-Controlled Apartment, Legacy and Identity

September 27, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Linda Chin Workman

‘Between Riverside and Crazy’ – Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis; Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene; Set Design: Erik D. Diaz; Costume Design: A.W. Nadine Grant; Lighting Design: Daisy Long; Sound Design: Nathan Leigh. Presented by Speakeasy Stage Company at the BCA Roberts’ Theater, 527 Tremont St., Boston through October 13

Between a riveting script and crazy talented actors, Speakeasy Stage Company’s production of Between Riverside and Crazy is a surefire hit. Upon entering the BCA’s Roberts’ Theater, you are transported to a spacious pre-war railroad flat on Manhattan’s west side with high ceilings and wood trim, furnishings that show generations of wear, and the clutter of daily urban life – handsomely and meticulously designed by Erik D. Diaz. This apartment is indeed full of character – and is inhabited by a cast of colorful characters – insightfully and delightfully directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene.

Political Comedy No Longer an Oxymoron with MRT’s ‘Native Gardens’

September 25, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

‘Native Gardens’ – Written by Karen Zacarías; Directed by Giovanna Sardelli; Scenic Design by Alexis Distler; Costume Design by Miranda Kau Giurleo; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow; Original Music & Sound Design by Ursula Kwong-Brown and Daniel Erdberg. Produced by the Merrimack Repertory Theater, 50 East Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA, through October 7.

Political comedy may be the most difficult of all of the genres to get right, even more so in these deeply divided times. Since many of us have lost the ability to even entertain the possibility that other points of view might have some validity, when politically charged issues are presented on stage, all too often good comic writing takes a back seat to caricature or cheap preaching-to-the-choir grandstanding.