‘The Ceremony’ Revisits and Rewrites the Ufot Legacy

September 30, 2025October 1, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Lumanti Shrestha, Khadaj Bennett in CHUANG Stage’s ‘The Ceremony’
Photos by Ken Yotsukura

‘The Ceremony’ — Written by Mfoniso Udofia. Directed by Kevin R. Free. Presented by CHUANG Stage at Boston University’s Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre, 820 Commonwealth Ave., Boston through October 5.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Playwright Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play Ufot Family Cycle follows the various members of the Nigerian Ufot family across three generations, starting with the brutal Nigerian Civil War (also known as the Biafran War) of 1967-1970. With the world premiere of The Ceremony, the sixth in the series, Udofia brings the family firmly into the present (2023) with all its contemporary social mores and cultural pressures.

Kilian Melloy Talks with Chris Grace About His Upcoming Solo Show, “Sardines” at the Huntington

September 26, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Chris Grace in ‘Sardines’ at The Huntington. Photos by Eric Michaud

You might know comedian Chris Grace from his role on Superstore or his appearances on Broad City, Pen15, and other TV shows. But beyond the screen, he’s a busy standup comedian with such a packed itinerary that, he tells Theater Mirror, he hasn’t been home since July… and he won’t be back until just before Thanksgiving.

One of Grace’s most recent stops was the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where he created new material nonstop — a show every day, he says, for each day he was there. Now he’s getting ready to come to Boston, bringing his solo show Sardines (a comedy about death) to the Huntington Theatre for a six-week run, Sept. 30 – Nov. 16. (Find out more at https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/whats-on/sardines/ .)

Lyric Stage’s ‘Our Town’ Is A Classy Production of A Timeless Classic

September 25, 2025September 26, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Will McGarrahan as the Stage Manager in Lyric Stages’ “Our Town”
Photos by Nile Hawver

‘Our Town’ – Written by Thornton Wilder. Directed by Courtney O’Connor; Scenic Design by Shelley Barish; Costume Design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt; Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan; Sound Design by Andrew Duncan Will. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through October 19.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Our Town, Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, is set in the fictional New Hampshire town of Grover’s Corners. Narrated by a Stage Manager (Will McGarrahan, excellent in the sober yet not dispassionate part), this classic uses a minimal set to explore universal themes of life, love, and death. Described by Edward Albee as “the greatest American play ever written,” it presents the fictional American town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, between 1901 and 1913. Through its citizens, and especially the Webb and Gibbs families, Wilder celebrates our shared humanity and the importance of appreciating the present moment, especially the glimmers of community and connection that keep us grounded and give our lives meaning.

And who couldn’t use a glimmer of light during dark times, whether it’s 1938 or 87 years later?

“Our Town” A Poignant, Sobering Reminder of Gratitude

September 24, 2025September 25, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

“Our Town” – Written by Thornton Wilder. Directed by Courtney O’Connor; Scenic Design by Shelley Barish; Costume Design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt; Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan; Sound Design by Andrew Duncan Will. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through October 19.

By Michele Markarian

I first saw “Our Town” on television as a teenager, and I have to say, it freaked me out. As a young person, I didn’t understand the piece for its depth; I thought that it was about death. With some perspective, it is very much a play about life, a point that the superb production at the Lyric Stage subtly brings home.

Kilian Melloy Talks with David Payne About His Upcoming Solo Show, “Churchill” at the BCA

September 24, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

David Payne as “Churchill, coming to the BCA October 7-12

David Payne’s acting career began almost as a lark. An audition for a small part in a play led to his being cast in a much more major role. Later on, he wrote a play of his own — a solo show about the life of C.S. Lewis, the famously faithful author of the “Narnia” fantasy books. The success of that show almost sounds like a fantasy in itself: Payne has made a career of portraying Lewis for two decades.

But he also plays another significant historical figure: Namely, Winston Churchill, the stout, determined, and yet also flawed statesman who saw the danger presented by Adolf Hitler when other British politicians were apt to gloss over the dangers that Nazi Germany presented. He had a long military history, which included serving during the Boer War. He achieved fame as a war correspondent and author and received the Nobel Prize for his writings in 1953.

SpeakEasy’s ‘Primary Trust’ a Warm Bath of Compassion

September 24, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Arthur Gomez and David J. Castillo in Speakeasy’s “Primary Trust”.
Photos by Benjamin Rose

SpeakEasy Stage presents ‘Primary Trust.’ Written by Eboni Booth. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Scenic Design by Shelley Barish. Lighting Design by Karen Perlow. Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl. Sound Design by Anna Drummond. At the Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood/BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through October 11, 2025.

By Linda Chin

Trust me – SpeakEasy Stage’s production of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Primary Trust by Eboni Booth is a warm bath worth indulging in. For 100 minutes without intermission, expect to be immersed in a sweet and uplifting story told by a fabulous four-person cast and deftly directed by Dawn M. Simmons.

Set in the small fictional town of Cranberry, New York, Primary Trust centers on Kenneth (played to perfection by David J. Castillo), an emotionally reserved 38-year-old man whose simple, quiet, relatively isolated life routine – working in a bookstore, going to happy hours at Wally’s, the local tiki bar – is suddenly upended.

CST’s ‘Silent Sky’ Aims for The Stars But Falls Short

September 22, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Lee Mikeska Gardner, Jenny S. Lee, Erica Cruz Hernández in Central Square’s ‘Silent Sky’
Photos by Nile Scott Studios

‘Silent Sky.’ Written by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Sarah Shin. Scenic Design by Qingan Zhang; Costume Design by Leslie Held; Lighting Design by Eduardo M. Ramirez; Sound Design and Composition by Kai Bohlman. A Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production. Presented by Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge through October 5.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Lauren Gunderson’s career as a playwright (she is also a screenwriter and short story author) has largely focused on stories about iconoclastic women in history, science and literature. She is one of the top 20 most produced playwrights in the country, with over twenty plays produced. (Lyric Stage Boston’s 2022 production of her The Book of Will was a knockout).

With Silent Sky, a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production presented by Central Square Theater through October 5, she turns her attention to the story of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, a young astronomer whose scientific brilliance and curiosity led to her discovery of the relationship between luminosity and the period of Cepheid variables (a star that pulsates).

Kilian Melloy Interviews Livy Scanlon, director of ‘Doubt’ at Hanover Theatre/THT Rep

September 22, 2025October 4, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Livy Scanlon, artistic director of The Hanover Theatre Repertory (THT Rep)

More than two decades ago, the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic church exploded into headlines by way of articles published by The Boston Globe. The allegations were beyond shocking, with people coming forward to share stories of abuse at the hands of priests their families had seen as the virtual personification of God. As more details came to light and more people came forward with their stories, a horrifying pattern emerged of a church hierarchy that simply shuffled alleged abusers from one parish to another — a practice guaranteed to put more young people in harm’s way.

Wilbury Theatre Group’s ‘From Here to Where’ Offers Strangely Fascinating Reflections on Being Alive

September 21, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Wilbury Theatre Group’s ‘From Here to Where’. Photos by Erin X. Smithers

From Here to Where (world premiere), Book by Umberto Crenca, Music by The Gillen Street Ensemble; Video Design by Jacob Dixon, Lighting Design by Andy Russ, Set Design by Monica Shinn, Stage Managed by Maxime Hendrikse Liu. Produced by Wilbury Theatre Group (WTG) at 475 Valley Street in Providence, RI. Plays through October 5, 2025.

by Julie-Anne Whitney

When you walk through the door at the Wilbury Theatre, you are drawn in by the soulful, bluesy, rock-like sounds of The Gillen Street Ensemble (GSE), a Providence-based music collaborative. You have been invited to their basement jam session, which has a definite mood. The vibe is loose and cool as the musicians playfully improvise. In this basement of curiosities, designed by Monica Shinn, you find many strange and quirky objects: a dinosaur-sized egg on wheels, a rubber chicken, a comically large skeleton, a giant light bulb, a megaphone, a gong, and dozens of other unusual items. What does this mean, you wonder. What is this about?

SpeakEasy’s Outstanding ‘Primary Trust’ Simmers Slowly Until It Boils Over

September 21, 2025September 22, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

David J. Castillo, Luis Negrón and Arthur Gomez in Speakeasy’s “Primary Trust”.
Photos by Benjamin Rose

‘Primary Trust’ — Written by Eboni Booth. Directed by Dawn Simmons. Scenic Design by Shelley Barish; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Sound Design by Anna Drummond. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company at Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston through October 11.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Like homesickness and old age, some things just “creep up” on us. A feeling that might start suddenly and imperceptibly, the sensation gradually builds until reaching a tipping point, after which we are acutely aware of and significantly affected by it.

Such is the case with SpeakEasy’s first production of the 2025/2026 season, Primary Trust, now enjoying a long run through October 11 (so there’s plenty of time to catch this gem).