Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Providence College Theatre’s current show is “Beasts”, an original play written by current PC senior Thomas Edwards and directed by John Garrity, associate professor of theatre. This is the first time an original student written work will be presented as a mainstage production. According to the writer and director, “Beasts” tells the story of corruption in a small town in America called Ouranos and is fueled by Jason Anderson. He has the desire for power to control those around him including his wife and political assistant. Loyalty is everything and the truth is feared. There is no good and evil, only humanity. It is definitely a cautionary tale for our times At first glance you might think this was ripped out of headlines of our contemporary society but it flashes back and forth from 1945 to 1948. The show is narrated by Left Samael, the Angel of Death and Right Samael, the Demon of Temptation who appear at the start of each scene of the show. John Garrity casts eight strong college performers in these intense and gripping roles. The song “You Are My Sunshine” plays on the radio during the show. The set has chairs, tables, desks and other assorted furniture strewn about the stage and even some of them floating above the stage. It looks like a tornado hit the town as the audience witnesses the battle between good and evil and discovers the deadly sins that are committed including Envy, Pride, Greed and Wrath. Voices are heard by Jason but are they for vices or virtue? Secret relationships are revealed and one of the lessons learned is when you destroy love, life is meaningless.
Month: January 2020
Burbage Theatre Company’s ‘EDWARD II’
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Burbage Theatre Company’s third show of their ninth season continues with “Edward II” by Christopher Marlowe. It’s their first show in 2020. Although it was written back in 1594, the show still has relevance today with Edward II who is a flawed leader at the helm of the country who gives favored positions to people who are not worthy or deserving of them. He also has many unsavory sexual escapades that his father and the nobility frowned upon. Edward I banishes Piers Gaveston to France to end his unnatural relationship between the man and his son. However upon the death of his father in 1307, Gaveston was welcomed back to England by Edward II. Edward bestows a high political title to him as governor of Ireland but rouses the wrath of the nobles because Gaveston was a commoner by birth. In the meantime, Edward married Isabel and they have a son who grows up to be Edward III. Mortimer who is the leader of the nobles rebels against the King’s shoddy treatment. Civil war ensues when Edward II decides to retaliate against the nobles. The play highlights the political machinations and power struggles of the past and how they influence all people whether they be Kings, nobles or common people. Director Jeff Church modernizes the casting by giving the theatre’s female actresses 15 of the 18 pivotal roles in the show reversing the tradition of the past when men were cast in female roles in Shakespeare and Marlowe’s time. He also obtains powerful performances from his talented cast and once again brings out the best in them.
Read more “Burbage Theatre Company’s ‘EDWARD II’”Umbrella Stage Company Delights with a Mind-Blowing “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
By Michele Markarian
“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”. Text by John Cameron Mitchell. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Trask. Directed by Julia Deter. Presented by The Umbrella Stage Company, 40 Stow Street, Concord, through January 12.
I had no idea what to expect from “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”, running four days this weekend at the newly revamped theater space of Concord’s Umbrella Stage Company. I bought the soundtrack when it was released in the late 90s; the music was fun and unlike any musical theater I’d heard. My only frame of reference for the show was watching Neil Patrick Harris perform the role at the Tonys. A friend of mine called me up sputtering during that performance, right after Neil Patrick stepped from the stage mid song to kiss his husband on the mouth. “Hedwig would never do that! It is not in character!” hissed my friend.
Read more “Umbrella Stage Company Delights with a Mind-Blowing “Hedwig and the Angry Inch””ANY FRIEND OF PERCY D’ANGELINO IS A FRIEND OF MINE (Arctic Playhouse)
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The Arctic Playhouse’s first show of the 2020 season is “Any Friend of Percy D’Angelino Is a Friend of Mine” by Jason Milligan. It originally starred Peter Falk, Christian Slater and Jean Smart in a staged reading at Westwood Playhouse on March 28, 1994. This Mafia style comedy is a series of eight vignettes and takes place on Long Island where much theorizing goes on when a mysterious stranger appears out of the blue. The Mafia boss and his younger wife discover the stranger is going to play the part of the boss in a movie. This sends the both of them into a tizzy with the boss threatening to take “measures” to see it never take place. What are they going to do, let the stranger play him in a movie or will they rub him out at his brazen behavior? These and other questions about life, love, eating, and Mafia antics are discovered in this wacky comedy. Can this young man convince the hoodlum to let him play the gangster in the movie? Director Fred Davison casts these three character roles wonderfully and picks the perfect music for each of the scenes. The second act is better written and it is here where they leave the audience laughing merrily all night long.
Read more “ANY FRIEND OF PERCY D’ANGELINO IS A FRIEND OF MINE (Arctic Playhouse)”A BRONX TALE, THE MUSICAL – Hanover Theatre
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The current Broadway National Tour to play the historic Hanover Theatre in Worcester is “A Bronx Tale, the Musical” which is based on the play by the same name. The book is by Chazz Palminteri while the music is by Alan Menkin, and lyrics by Glenn Slater. The original one man play was a story of a young New York boy’s tough childhood in the 1960’s where he is torn by his father’s old school ethics and a life of crime which is based on Chazz’s traumatic childhood encounter with murder. It is a coming of age story about reaching your full potential and trusting your heart. This version took ten years to write and be developed from a one man show eventually being adapted into a new musical. It premiered at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey on February 4, 2016. It opened on Broadway on December 1, 2016, ran for 700 performances and was co-directed by Robert DiNero, who directed the original film, and Jerry Zaks who directed the one man show in 2007. This touring version is directed by Stephen Edlund. The fabulous high energy choreography was by Sergio Trujillo in the original Broadway show while the touring choreographer is Britanny Conigatti. Conductor David Alan Brown keeps the harmonic balance between the performers and his 10 piece orchestra splendidly with the dance numbers performed in perfect unison. This coming of age musical will leave you laughing and crying in all the right spots. Bravo on a job very well done and a spontaneous standing ovation as its reward.
Read more “A BRONX TALE, THE MUSICAL – Hanover Theatre”THE COUNTRY HOUSE (The Players, Barker Playhouse)
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The Players third show of their 111th season is “The Country House” by Donald Margulies. There is a family gathering at the Patterson home in the Berkshires during the Williamstown summer theatre season. Matriarch Anna, who is a star of stage and screen, invites her protege, Michael, a younger man who is now a famous TV star, to stay at her home. She also has family members visit, including Walter, her son in law who is a famous teen picture movie director and his new girlfriend Nell whom had a flirtation with Anna’s son, Elliot 11 years earlier. And they are still mourning Anna’s daughter, Kathy, who was married to Walter and passed away a year ago from cancer at the age of 41. Their daughter, Susie, a senior at Yale, clad in black for the first act, is still mourning her mother. This group of people wrestle with fame, their art and each other. However, all good intentions go awry during their weekend sojourn when arguments break out and secrets are spilled. These happenings threaten the very fabric of the family with memories of the past mingling with new love as well as discarded dreams. Director Alan Hawkridge elicits strong performances from his six talented cast members. They move the audience to laughter and tears with familiar struggles all families face. “Did mother spend more time doting on you or your sibling?” and “ Were you talented enough to make it in show business?” are a couple of the questions asked in this well written play. The show starts off like a comedy about eccentric family members but turns into a dramatic, gut wrenching finale where even the hardest heart in the audience dissolves into tears.
Read more “THE COUNTRY HOUSE (The Players, Barker Playhouse)”THE MAIDS (Providence College)
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Providence College’s Theatre Department’s current show is “The Maids” by Jean Genet. It is based loosely on a true historical story which occurred in Le Mans, France in 1933 where two sisters Christine and Lea Papin brutally murdered their employer and her daughter. The two sisters, Claire and Solange, have been trained to be exceptional servants where they work for Madame and Monsieur. They feel that they are treated like outcasts and looked down upon by their high society employers where one mustn’t break the servant/mistress barrier. Claire, the younger more head strong girl, likes to dress up and pretend to be the Madame when her employer is out of the house. Solange joins her in this role playing by casting aspersions on the Madame by saying she considers them worthless like filth beneath her feet. However the husband has been put in jail by the sisters and when the Madame returns to the house, she tells the maids she will stand by her husband no matter what happens.
Read more “THE MAIDS (Providence College)”‘Suddenly Last Summer’ at Epic Theatre Company, Cranston
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Epic Theatre Company’s first show of 2020 is Tennessee William’s “Suddenly Last Summer.” This one act show is set in 1936 in the New Orleans garden of the home of wealthy Violet Venable. It begins after the death of a young man away on a holiday. She speaks nostalgically about her late son, Sebastian to her guest, a doctor. Her son was a poet who died under mysterious circumstances in Spain the previous summer. His mother has put his memory up on a pedestal. The only witness to Sebastian’s demise was her niece, Catherine who has been under psychiatric care at St. Mary’s asylum since then. Violet wants her son’s reputation preserved from her niece’s revelation of his violent and lurid death that might reveal a family secret. The wealthy woman wants to protect her son at any cost and the change it might bring about might not be the one she wants or expects. When everything is revealed the consequences for past actions rear their ugly head and once again the downtrodden are marginalized by the haughtiness of wealth and position. Director Geoff Leatham casts these seven roles splendidly. He gives them the insight into each of William’s finely drawn characters and obtains the depth each role calls for. A gut wrenching finale of the show leaves every performer and audience member in tears.
Read more “‘Suddenly Last Summer’ at Epic Theatre Company, Cranston”‘BERMUDA AVENUE TRIANGLE’ – Arctic Playhouse
Reviewed by Sue Nedar The latest offering at the charming and friendly Arctic Playhouse is “Bermuda Avenue Triangle,” written by Renee Taylor (best known for her portrayal of Sylvia Fine, on The Nanny) and her husband Joseph Bologna. The script is a recipe for success, filled with one-liners, farce, and just plain old funny circumstances.
Read more “‘BERMUDA AVENUE TRIANGLE’ – Arctic Playhouse”Trinity Rep’s ‘Tale of Two Cities’ Re-Imagines Classic
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Trinity Repertory Company’s latest blockbuster epic show deals with the French Revolution and is one of the best shows about the best of times and the worst of times. Events of that time are examined in a unique way with Trinity Repertory Company’s “A Tale Of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. It was adapted into a two hour show that examines the major events in the novel. It was written by Company member Brian McEleney who delves through the layers of the Dickens epic novel and brings the major characters into clearer focus for the audience to enjoy and savor in the hopes that the same mistakes are not repeated in the 21st Century.
Read more “Trinity Rep’s ‘Tale of Two Cities’ Re-Imagines Classic”