Greater Boston Stage’s ‘All Is Calm’ Strikes the Perfect Chord

November 30, 2021November 30, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Cast of ‘All* *is Calm’ at Greater Boston Stage Company* – *Photos by Nile Scott Studios*

by Shelley A. Sackett

‘All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914’ – Written by Peter Rothstein; Vocal Arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach; Directed by Ilyse Robbins; Music Direction by Matthew Stern; Set Design by Erik D. Diaz; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Sound Design by Dewey Dellay; Costume Design by Bethany Mullins. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company at 395 Main St., Stoneham through December 23, 2021.

From the first note of the first song in the remarkably affecting ‘All Is Calm,’ the choreography chops of its director, Ilyse Robbins, are indisputably evident. Two lines of uniformed men, distinguishable by their country’s military dress, slowly march to the front of the stage as they sing the Scottish folk song, “Will Ye Go to Flanders?” They briefly merge, forming a united single line, before those in the back row return to their original and separate positions. This powerful prologue literally sets the stage and tone for the next intermission-less 70 minutes. We have entered a holy place of unity where a folksong can become a hymnal and where men have the power and ability to come together as one, even if it is merely for a fleeting moment.

*Caleb Chew, David Jiles, Jr., Christopher Chew, and Zachary McConnel*

Apollinaire Theatre Company Shows Us ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

November 24, 2021November 25, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Cast of* *‘The Importance of Being Ernest’* *by Apollinaire Theatre Company at the Chelsea Theater* (*Photos by Danielle Fauteux Jacques*)

by James Wilkinson

‘The Importance of Being Ernest’ – Written by Oscar Wilde. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Musical Direction/Sound Design: David Reiffel. Costume Design: Elizabeth Rocha. Scenic Design: Marc Poirier. Dialect Coach: Christopher Sherwood Davis. Produced by Apollinaire Theatre Company at the Chelsea Theater, November 19-December 19, 2021

Apollinaire Theatre’s The Importance of Being Ernest is a stately affair. The cucumber sandwiches are cut neatly into precise triangles with the crust removed. The porcelain tea sets sparkle under the stage lights. The hats come with a variety of plumage and sit atop actors who have been upholstered into their costumes, (quick shout out to costume designer Elizabeth Rocha, whose period work is excellent). The mood is loose and silly without ever tumbling into full-on goofy territory. Without question, it manages to do absolutely everything you expect an Oscar Wilde play to do. I’ll confess to walking into the show hoping to see the creative team take a bigger swing on the material but getting distracted by the show that could have been does a disservice to the charms of the show that’s in front of you. There’s a good-heartedness to the production. You feel warm toward the endeavor. We’re not being sold anything. It’s not making any promises it can’t fulfill. The actors on stage are working as honestly as they can and offering up their best. “Let’s just have a laugh at frivolous things and have some fun,” they seem to be saying. Indeed, why not? It may appear a small matter, but it’s a kernel of an idea reminding us why we go to the theater in the first place.

Lyric Stage’s ‘The Last Five Years’ Explores Joy and Pain of Love

November 18, 2021November 23, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Jared and Kira Troilo in Lyric Stages “The Last Five Years” Photos by Mark S. Howard*

by Mike Hoban

‘The Last Five Years’ – Written byJason Robert Brown; Directed by Leigh Barrett; Scenic Design by Jenna McFarland Lord; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow; Sound Design by Andrew Duncan Will; Costume Design by David Lucey. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston at 40 Clarendon St., Boston through December 5^th, 2021

As anyone who has gone through a divorce or bitter breakup can tell you, there are few things in life that can generate such deep emotional pain. Fortunately for music and theater fans, it’s also a great source of material for creative artists. Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years mines this fertile territory via a clever framing device that allows the audience to witness the joy of a young couple’s budding romance while simultaneously experiencing the soul-crushing agony of their breakup.

Central Square Theatre Gives The Half-Life of Marie Curie

November 17, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Lee Mikeska Gardner & Debra Wise in “The Half-Life of Marie Curie” at the Central Square Theatre Photos by Nile Scott Studios*

by James Wilkinson

‘The Half-Life of Marie Curie’ – Written by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Bryn Boice. Scenic Designer: Lindsay Genevieve Fuori. Costume Designer: Leslie Held. Lighting Designer: Whitney Brady-Guzman. Props Designer: Jennifer Butler. Sound Designer: Elizabeth Cahill. Presented by The Nora at Central Square Theater through December 12, 2021

I may eat these words by the end of the review but for now I’ll say that it’s hard to get too worked up about Central Square Theatre’s production of The Half-Life of Marie Curie; the play is so unassuming in its intentions. It seems content to keep its head down and do the work that it’s trying to do. So why not let it? Surely no one is going to be irreparably harmed by spending ninety minutes in its company. (I’ve yet to hear a credible story about anyone getting beheaded at the theater.) I’m not convinced that you’re going get anything substantial out of it, but while watching I did eventually reach a mindset of “Go on, take a few whacks at the pinata and see if anything tumbles out.” Is that something? The play by Lauren Gunderson is a loving portrait of the entwining of science and female friendship that’s quite possibly a bit too loving for its own good. It has an agenda, (which isn’t a crime, most plays do), and manages to clamp its teeth down so hard on that agenda that nothing else can get in. The title is a reference to the elemental decay studied by its characters, but in its own ironic way becomes strangely apt to the whole project. We’re only getting half of what we could be out of its subject.

Lee Mikeska Gardner & Debra Wise in “The Half-Life of Marie Curie” at the Central Square Theatre. Photos by Nile Scott Studios

Music, Comedy and Epic Fables Create Unique Experience in “The Old Man and The Old Moon” at Umbrella Stage

November 15, 2021November 15, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of “The Old Man and The Old Moon” at Umbrella Stage in Concord

by Tom Boudrot

‘The Old Man and The Old Moon’ – By PigPen Theater; Director: Julia Deter; Music Director: Matthew Stern; Lighting Design: Ben Rush; Sound Design: James Cannon; Scenic Design: Baron E. Pugh; Costume Design: Brian Simons; Puppet Master: Veronica Barron. Presented by The Umbrella Stage Company, 40 Stow Street, Concord through Dec.5th.

As I watched The Old Man and the Old Moon I thought to myself, who wouldn’t want to see this mashup of so many of the really fun ideas in fiction and storytelling? The authors pull together some of our most beloved and entertaining concepts into one crazy quilt show that reaches far and wide. The hand of the Brothers Grimm can be felt as well as influences from such varied sources as JM Barrie’s Peter Pan, Homer’s Odyssey, and the stories of Oz and the Bible. There is such a wide range of sources to this work that it makes perfect sense to learn that the content of this stage performance was not created by one author or one musician but by PigPen Theater, a group that started as freshmen drama students at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 2007. They have since gone on to create works that have garnered awards and critic’s choice raves. It feels like everyone in PigPen Theater company got to contribute to The Old Man and the Old Moon. Where else can one find laughter, music, sea battles, puppetry, hot-air balloons, mythical cities of light, apocalyptic upheaval, ghosts, love’s devotion, mistaken identity… and a dog that catches fish on command, all in one story?

Documentary theater asks: Where do unwanted people go? – An interview with Arlekin Players’ Igor Golyak

November 10, 2021November 11, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Shelley A. Sackett

(This interview originally appeared in the Jewish Journal)

When Igor Golyak, founder and artistic director of Needham’s Arlekin Players Theatre, was researching “The Merchant of Venice,” he was smacked in the face by the discovery that Jews have been on the move throughout the span of their existence.

Their constant migration reminded him of his own family, which emigrated in 2004 from Ukraine.

Then, on July 1, Brighton Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was stabbed. Golyak attended a meeting with other Jewish refugees and he remembers someone asking, “Where do we go now?”

“My family came here to escape antisemitism. What I suddenly understood is that there is no escaping antisemitism,” Golyak said.

Fear in Having ‘Gone Nowhere’ at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre

November 10, 2021November 10, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Marc Pierre and Sam Warton in ‘Gone Nowhere’ at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre

by James Wilkinson

‘Gone Nowhere’ – Written by Daniel C. Blanda. Directed by Noah Putterman. Scenic Design: Adam Hawkins. Lighting Design: Kevin Dunn. Sound Design: Nicholas Y. Chen. Costume Design: Sandra Zhihan Jia. Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Ave. Boston through November 14

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s Gone Nowhere passes through the mind so quickly that you’re going to have to remind yourself it was ever there. Even now I’m having difficulty conjuring up scenes to write about. It’s a whisp of an experience made all the more disappointing because, I actually went into the production with high hopes. We’re in the middle of a strange time in Boston theater where everything being offered to audiences is trapped in the death grip of respectability. Come on in and feel better. Let us remind you how important theatre is. Cynical as it may sound, I don’t say that as a knock against quality; some of the recent shows post-pandemic have been quite good. But being stranded in a sea of noble intentions does make you long for something that breaks the mold a bit and indulges in some trashy fun for its own sake. Gone Nowhere, with its promises of eerie atmosphere and pulpier materialseemed poised to liven things up. Is it unfair for me to expect the play to be something that it isn’t? Perhaps. But then you fall into the frustrating puzzle of trying to figure out just what the play’s intentions really are.

Whitney White and Friends Deliver a Rockin’ ‘MacBeth’ at the A.R.T.

November 1, 2021November 5, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Whitney White, Phoenix Best, Reggie D. White, and Kira Helper in ‘Macbeth In Stride’ at the A.R.T. Photos by Lauren Miller*

by Mike Hoban

‘Macbeth in Stride’ – Created and performed by Whitney White; Directed by Tyler Dobrowsky and Taibi Magar; Choreography Raja Feather Kelly; Orchestrations by Steven Cuevas and Whitney White; Music Director, Steven Cuevas; Scenic Design, Dan Soule; Sound Design, Alex Giorgetti; Lighting Design, Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew; Costume Design, Qween Jean. Presented by American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, through November 14.

Shakespeare has never been particularly kind to women, with many of his tragic “heroines” not making it through to the end of the play. Whether they died by their own hand, accident, or were murdered, the common thread has always been that they were generally partners to powerful men that were grossly insecure, paranoid or outright lunatics (Romeo aside). Lady Macbeth, the most brutally determined of all of Shakespeare’s women, is the driving force behind her husband’s ascension to the throne, convincing him to commit murder, but is rewarded for her blind ambition by going mad and committing suicide – offstage no less.