2019 – A Year in Boston Theatre

December 30, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Ireon Roach, Crystin Gilmore, Veronica Byrd in School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play – Photos by Maggie Hall Photography)

by James Wilkinson

What a time to be alive, huh? Now at the end of 2019, I’m recalling a moment way back in the early months when I was speaking with an Artistic Director about reviewing theater. “Really?” She inquired, “You enjoy seeing all of those shows?” As she asked the question, she had the furrowed brow of someone deeply concerned for my mental state. The word “enjoy” received an extra note of emphasis that signaled she wasn’t prepared to believe me if I answered in the affirmative, (which I did). I’ve counted it up. In 2019 I saw 56 plays in the Greater Boston area; I reviewed 46. With figures like those, perhaps we should be concerned for my mental state. But I figure that until I’m discovered crouched in a dark corner, eating my own hair, I haven’t cracked yet. I’ve been covering Boston theater for a little over two years and I’m happy to report back that I still think it’s the most exciting thing in the world when the house lights go down, the stage lights come up and anything at all might happen on that spot in front of you. Go figure.

Apollinaire Theatre Company Lets You ‘Cry it Out’

December 28, 2019December 30, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Amie Gem Lytle, Lily Kaufman and Becca A. Lewis in Apollinaire Theatre Company’s ‘Cry it Out’*

Review by James Wilkinson

Cry it Out – Written by Molly Smith Metzler. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Set Design: Ilona Overweg. Costume Design: Elizabeth Rocha. Sound Design: David Reiffel. Properties Design: Kevin McGrath. Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea through January 19, 2020

If you stop and think about it, it’s actually a rather brutal title. We’ll be given context early on in the play by Molly Smith Metzler that’s now being produced by Apollinaire Theatre Company, which is helpful for those of us who have yet to enter the parenting game. “Cry it Out,” as in “Letting them cry it out,” refers to a method of sleep training where the parents refrain from comforting their wailing newborns so that the infants can learn to fall asleep without assistance. It’s a necessary skill for life, (I guess), but by attaching the phrase to a play about parenting, Metzler gives it much darker implications. As her characters attempt to navigate the trials and tribulations of young motherhood through a lens of class and circumstance, the title starts to feel like an unspoken sneer coming from the society around them – one that’s dripping with existential dread. “Yeah, no one’s coming to help you. Figure it out for yourselves” seems to be the lesson imparted. Grim stuff to attach to the joys of motherhood.

ASP Serves Up Comic Cliff Notes on the Bard with ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)’

December 27, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

ASP’s ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)’. Ivy Ryan, Marc Pierre, Rachel Belleman; Photos: Nile Scott Studios

by Kevin Patterson

‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)’ – Written by Jess Winfield, Adam Long, Daniel Singer; Directed by Christopher V. Edwards; Scenic Design by Afsoon Pajoufar; Lighting Design by Aja Jackson; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill; Costume Design by Ysabelle Regis. Presented by Actors Shakespeare Project at Charlestown Working Theater, 442 Bunker Hill St, Charlestown through January 12

What’s in a name? If the title of the Actors’ Shakespeare Company’s newest production The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) is any indication, a name may well perfectly encapsulate the essence of a thing. Behind what may seem to be a promise of schoolhouse pedantry, this new production prepares an ambush of low-key, unassuming fun for the whole family.

‘White Christmas’ at Wang a Good Old-Fashioned Holiday Entertainment

December 22, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Shelley A. Sackett

‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: The Musical’ – Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin; Book by David Ives and Paul Blake; Based on the Paramount Pictures film written for the screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama and Melvin Frank; Directed and Choreographed by Randy Skinner; Musical Direction by Michael Horsley; Scenic Design by Anna Louizos; Scenic Adaptation by Kenneth Foy; Costume Design by Carrie Robbins; Lighting Design by Ken Billington; Sound Design by Keith Caggiano; Orchestrations by Larry Blank; Vocal and Dance Arrangements by Bruce Pomahac. Presented by Work Light Productions at the Boch Center Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St., through Dec. 29.

From before the curtain rises until well after it has fallen, the live orchestra of ‘Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: The Musical,’ infuses the stage and the audience at Boston’s magnificent Boch Center Wang Theatre with wholesome, happy, good vibrations. This is a grandly old-fashioned and thoroughly enjoyable theatrical experience, with tap dancing, fabulous costumes, stunning sets and, most importantly, an incomparable score by the equally incomparable Irving Berlin.

Christmas Revels Brings Its Special Cheer to Depression Era America

December 18, 2019December 18, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*David Coffin leading the audience, band, and chorus in this year’s Chrismas Revels.*
*Photos by Roger Ide.*

by Mike Hoban

‘The Christmas Revels: An American Celebration of the Winter Solstice’ – Directed by Patrick Swanson; Musical Direction by Megan Henderson; Set Design by Jeremy Barnett; Sound Design by Bill Winn; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Costume Design by Heidi A. Hermiller; Presented by Revels at The Sanders Theater at Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, through December 29th.

The snow fell early in Cambridge this year, reminding folks that the holiday season is indeed upon us and it’s once again time for the Christmas Revels, the non-traditional holiday family tradition that brings back folks from far and wide, year after year. Founded in 1971, this is the 49^th version of Revels, which each year presents a different culture and its traditions centered on the Winter Solstice/Christmas. For this year’s setting, the Revels returns stateside for the first time in recent memory (although the show did touch down in Louisiana in 2016’s Acadian-Cajun version), transporting us back to Depression Era America in 1933.

Moonbox Productions’ ‘Parade’ is an Ugly Tale, Beautifully Told

December 16, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Phil Tayler (center) and cast of Moonbox Productions’ “Parade” – Photos: Sharman Altshuler*

By Julie-Anne Whitney

‘Parade’ – Book by Alfred Uhry, Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown; Produced by Sharman Altshuler; Directed by Jason Modica; Music Direction by Catherine Stornetta; Choreography by Kira Trolio; Set Design by Lindsay Fuori; Lighting Design by Steve Shack; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Stage Managed by Cesara Walters; Dramaturgy by Allison Olivia Choat; Presented by Moonbox Productions at the Boston Center for the Arts (Roberts Theatre) through December 28, 2019.

In the early hours of August 17, 1915, a rabble of twenty-five men stormed a prison farm in Milledgeville, Georgia and captured Leo Frank, a Brooklyn-raised Jewish man wrongfully accused of raping and murdering Mary Phagan, a 13-year-old factory worker in his employ. After driving more than 100 miles back to Phagan’s hometown of Marietta, the angry mob hoisted Frank on top of a table under a large oak tree and demanded an admission of guilt. 31-year-old Frank repeatedly proclaimed his innocence – and was promptly hanged by the neck until dead. One month after the lynching, members of the group, The Knights of Mary Phagan, gathered around a burning cross on Stone Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia and ignited the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan.

A.R.T.’s ‘Moby Dick’ Rocks Theatrical Conventions

December 16, 2019December 16, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast, audience members in A.R.T.’s ‘Moby Dick’ – Photos by Maria Baranova

by Mike Hoban

Moby Dick – Music, Lyrics, Book, and Orchestrations by Dave Malloy; Developed with and Directed by Rachel Chavkin; Based on Moby-Dick by Herman Melville; Music Direction and Supervision by Or Matias; Choreography by Chanel DaSilva; Mimi Lien, Scenic Design; Hidenori Nakajo, Sound Design; Bradley King, Lighting Design; Brenda Abbandandolo, Costume Design; Eric F. Avery, Puppet Design and Puppet Direction. Presented by American Repertory Theater, at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, through Jan. 12

There are a lot of adjectives one could apply to Moby Dick, the musical adaptation of the novel now being given its world premiere at the A.R.T., but “boring” would not be one of them. Considering the source material and the three-and-a-half hour run time, that may come as a bit of a surprise, but given the success that Dave Malloy and much of the same creative team that adapted (a portion) of “War and Peace” into Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet, maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise at all.

Trinity Rep’s ‘Fade’ – American Dream or Betrayal?

December 15, 2019January 21, 2020 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Lucia (Elia Saldana) and Abel (Daniel Duque-Estrada) in Trinity Rep’s ‘Fade’ – Photos by Mark Turek

by Shelley A. Sackett

‘Fade’- Written by Tanya Saracho. Directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo; Set Design by Efren Delgadillo, Jr.; Costume Design by Amanda Downing Carney; Co-Lighting Design by Pablo Santiago and Ginevra Lombardo; Sound Design by David R. Molina. Presented by Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington Street, Providence, R.I through January 5.

Fade, a two-person play in production on Trinity Rep’s smaller downstairs stage through January 5, is a welcome respite from the same-oldness of the usual holiday theatrical suspects. Although a bit uneven and in need of serious editing (trimming 10-15 minutes from the 100-minute intermission-less production could do wonders for its pacing), Tanya Saracho’s script is a witty and perceptive antidote to sugar plum fairies and ghosts of Christmases past, present and future.

Central Square Theatre’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Warmly Stirs Memories

December 12, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Review by James Wilkinson

‘A Christmas Carol’ – Based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Adapted and Directed by Debra Wise. Scenic Designer: David Fichter. Costume Design: Leslie Held. Costume & Properties Designer: Elizabeth Rocha. Lighting Designer: John Malinowski. Sound Designer: Mark Bruckner. Dialect Design: Charles Linshaw. Choreographer: Susan Dibble. Presented by Central Square Theatre at 450 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge through December 29, 2019

I suspect that there are some theater critics who approach the holiday season with a higher than usual sense of dread, (I mean, don’t we all have some degree of dread at this time of year?). The sunsets arrive earlier, the cold weather streams in, and all of the theaters whip out their annual holiday show for another go-around. The source of dread isn’t the prospect of watching these productions, (which are often delightful); it’s the idea of trying to come up with something new to say about a show that you’ve seen any number of times before and will see any number of times again. (For the record, this is my first time reviewing a production of A Christmas Carol, but seeing as I have no plans of checking out anytime soon, I know it’ll be far from the last.) Add in the additional hurdle that the sources for so many of the holiday theater shows are fairly well ingrained in our collective pop culture. When everyone goes in already knowing the story, beats, and even individual lines, just what is a critic supposed to do?

Greater Boston Stage Company’s ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ Adds Hearty Dose of Humor to Holiday Classic

December 12, 2019December 12, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

The Cast of “Miracle on 34th Street” – Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios.

by Mike Hoban

‘Miracle on 34th Street’- Adapted by Mountain Community Theater from the novel by Valentine Davies. Based upon the Twentieth Century Fox motion picture Miracle on 34th Street. Directed by Ilyse Robbins; Scenic Design by Jon Savage; Lighting Design by Andrew Andrews; Sound Design by David Wilson. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham through December 22

The holiday season is upon us, and theatergoers looking for a worthwhile Christmas-themed production (other than whatever version of A Christmas Carol is playing at your local theater) should take a trip to Stoneham to check out Miracle on 34th Street at Greater Boston Stage. Director Ilyse Robbins has crafted a buoyant version of the 1947 film of the same name, employing a light comedic touch rather than an overly sentimental tone. The comic flavor is enhanced by a brilliantly colored set by Jon Savage that looks like the backdrop of a 1960’s cartoon, and the hilariously over-the-top performances by the play’s secondary characters produce unexpected laughs throughout.