Strong Performances Lift NSMT’s ‘Grease’

August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of “Grease” at North Shore Music Theatre. Photos by Paul Lyden.

‘Grease – Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Kevin P. Hill (Director & Choreographer), Milton Granger (Music Director), Jack Mehler (Scenic & Lighting Design), Alex Berg (Sound Design), Rachel Padula-Shuflet (Wig & Hair Design), Rebecca Glick (Costume Coordinator), Alaina Mills (Associate Director & Choreographer). Presented by North Shore Music Theatre at 54 Dunham Rd., Beverly, MA, through August 24, 2025

By Mike Hoban

Those expecting an onstage re-creation of the 1978 movie musical Grease may be in for a bit of a surprise with North Shore Music Theatre’s entertaining production of the same name, running now through August 24^th. Unlike the 70s sitcom treatment of troubled high school teens in the movie version, we get a cast of characters that owes more to West Side Story than Happy Days – and the added grittiness elevates the story above the usual pablum that passes for a book in most movies adapted for the stage. That’s because this production combines the best elements of the original 1971 Off-Broadway (via Chicago) musical theater production and the movie (including some of its strongest musical numbers). It’s also much more of an ensemble piece, focusing on multiple stories rather than just the leads (played in the film by 1970s pop culture icons John Travolta and the late Olivia Newton-John), and it’s one of the strengths of the show, allowing multiple members of the talented cast to shine.

GSC’s Timely ‘No Child…’ Lauds Teachers And Showcases An A+ Solo Performance

August 18, 2025August 18, 2025 Theater Mirror3 Comments

Valyn Lyric Turner in “No Child …” at Gloucester Stage Company. Photos by Jason Grow Photography

‘No Child…’ — Written by Nilaja Sun. Directed by Pascale Florestal. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Amanda Fallon; Sound Design by Jacques Matellus. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main St., Gloucester through August 23.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Playwright Nilaja Sun’s conventional tribute to the trials and tribulations of our unsung heroes who day after day teach the toughest kids at their toughest ages (high school) in the toughest neighborhoods is must-see theater for one reason— the luminous performance by its solo star, Valyn Lyric Turner.

Playing no fewer than a dozen roles, Turner is a whirling dervish of talent, her physicality and vitality hoisting the play from a ho-hum trope to a true tour de force.

At The Cape Playhouse, A Warm & Welcoming ‘Come From Away’

August 10, 2025December 29, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Come From Away’ at the Cape Playhouse

The Cape Playhouse presents Come From Away. Book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. Directed and Choreographed by Kelly Devine. Music Direction by Lena Gabrielle. Set Design by Alexander Woodward. Lighting Design by Kirk Bookman. Costume Design by Gail Baldoni. Sound Design by Walter Trarbach. Wig Design by Bobbie Zlotnik. At the Cape Playhouse, 820 Main Street, Route 6A, Dennis MA, through August 30, 2025.

By Linda Chin

When skies over the United States shut down after the September 11th attacks, 38 international flights were diverted to a once-bustling airport on the island of Newfoundland, on the northeast tip of North America, next to which was the tiny town of Gander. The influx of 7000 stranded passengers and crew who needed meals, clothing, accommodations, showers, and access to phones swelled Gander’s population to twice its usual size, practically overnight.

In Company One’s ‘The Meeting Tree,’ Family Legacy Confronts Memory To Reshape The Future

August 8, 2025August 8, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Sarah Elizabeth Bedard and Anjie Parker in Company One’s ‘The Meeting Tree’.
Photos by Annielly-Camargo

‘The Meeting Tree’ — Written by B. Elle Borders. Directed by Summer L. Williams. Dramaturgy by afrikah selah and Ilana M. Brownstein. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Costume Design by Amanda Mujica; Lighting Design by Elmer Martinez; Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Presented by Company One Theatre in partnership with Front Porch Arts Collective and the City of Boston’s Office of Arts and Culture. At Strand Theatre, Boston through Aug. 9. All tickets are pay-what-you-want.

By Shelley A. Sackett

B. Elle Borders’ The Meeting Tree (her first play) is a bold and effective new work that portrays the story of six generations of women and their interconnected lives as a backdrop for her exploration of bigger ticket issues. For 75 intermission-less minutes, she keeps the audience engrossed with her skillful storytelling that combines a tale of complex, emotionally deep characters with thought-provoking questions that prompt reflection about family history, the legacy of slavery in the United States, and the power of personal connection to overcome history.

In polarized times, Borders seems to ask, is redemption and healing possible? And if it is, at what price?

Ogunquit Playhouse’s ‘High Society’ is “De-Lovely”

August 6, 2025December 29, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Robyn Hurder and Max Clayton in Ogunquit Playhouse’s ‘High Society’. Photos by Nile Scott Studios

Choreography by Jeffry Denman; Music supervision and orchestrations by Greg Jarrett; Music Direction by Nicholas Connors; Scenic Design by Alexander Dodge; Costume Design by Tracy Christensen; Lighting Design by Richard Latta; Sound Design by Haley Parcher; and wig, hair, and makeup design by Roxanne De Luna.

By Mike Hoban

The Ogunquit Playhouse once again makes a sparkling case for being New England’s premier summer theater with a bubbly, champagne-fueled re-imagining of the 1956 film, High Society. Powered by a Cole Porter score, Broadway performers (including multiple Tony Award nominees), and a terrific supporting cast, High Society is the very essence of summer theater – a rollicking good time that delivers a ton of laughs along with its superbly executed song-and-dance numbers.

CSC’s ‘As You Like It’ Breathes Fresh Air into the Bard’s Timeless Tale

August 5, 2025August 6, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of CSC’s ‘As You Like It’. Photos by Nile Scott Studios

‘As You Like It’ — Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Steven Maler. Scenic Design by Riw Rakkulchon; Costume Design by Miranda Giurleo; Lighting Design by Eric Southern; Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Production on Boston Common through August 10.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Boston is a garden of many earthly delights, but none more eagerly awaited and appreciated than Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Free Shakespeare on the Common that, for 29 years, has invited people to lay down a blanket, bring a picnic dinner, and enjoy top-notch theater on Boston Common under a starry crescent-mooned sky.

Theater Mirror Talks with Academy Award Winner Ernest Thompson (‘On Golden Pond’) as his Upcoming One-Person Play, ‘Archie Parish’s Parting Words’ Opens

August 1, 2025August 2, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Ernest Thompson was only 28 when he wrote the play he’s perhaps best known for: On Golden Pond, the story of a retired university professor named Norman Thayer who is slowly succumbing to dementia but who agrees, together with his wife, to watch after his young grandson for a summer. Initially wary, the two end up becoming friends as well as family thanks to shared fishing adventures (and misadventures). Despite Norman’s failing health — he suffers a cardiac incident in the course of the play, as well as suffering a slow mental decline — the play ends on a note of hope and grace.

Thompson adapted his play for a movie that’s still renowned today for its casting of Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. That film won Thompson the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as garnering dual wins for Best Actor and Best Actress for Ford and Hepburn.

Theater Mirror’s Kilian Melloy Interviews Playwright Crystal Skillman as ‘Open’ Opens

July 28, 2025August 1, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

“I’m running between Tech and a few things, so I just want to make sure a little crazy right now,” playwright Crystal Skillman tells Theater Mirror. “But hey, I love crazy.”

That comes through in Skillman’s powerful, moving play “Open,” a solo show that ran Off-Broadway July 12-27 at WP Theater in New York City.

The play is intended to be produced with no set, no props… nothing, in fact, but some evocative lighting, some precise sound effects work, and a performer that can live up the sleights-of-hand that Skillman has invested in her script about a magician and the story she tells: A story of love, tragedy, and transformation.

Hub Theatre’s ‘The Understudy’ Searches For Its Light

July 27, 2025July 28, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Kevin Paquette, Lauren Elias, and Cristhian Mancias-Garcia in Hub Theatre’s ‘*The Understudy’*

‘The Understudy’ — Written by Theresa Rebeck. Directed by Paula Plum. Scenic Design by Peyton Tavares. Projections Design by Justin Lahue. Sound Design by Gage Baker. Lighting Design by Emily Bearce. Costume Design by Kara McGuinness. Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston at Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave., Boston, through August 2.

By Charlotte Snow

There is no harder play to write than one with three persons. It’s tough to balance roles, hard to envision blocking properly, and there’s a reason the adage of ‘three is a crowd’ exists. However, when a script manages to juggle three-person scenes properly, they end up being some of the best in the theatrical canon (think Glass Menagerie, Red Light Winter, This is Our Youth, Proof, Agnes of God, The Flick, Angels in America, the list goes on). Do I believe Theresa Rebeck’s ‘The Understudy’ deserves to join that list? Not quite. However, the Hub Theatre Company must be commended for the incredible effort in making the case. 

Theater Mirror Interviews Kathy St. George on Her BTCA Award for Sustained Excellence

July 23, 2025July 23, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By Kilian Melloy

Longtime star of the Boston theater scene Kathy St. George cemented her status as a stage icon last month with the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence — an award that seems both overdue and inevitable, given her prolific career and multiple talents as a singer, dancer, and instrumentalist, as well as a gifted actor in both comedic and dramatic roles.