Cast of Moonbox Productions’ “Crowns” at Arrow Street Arts. Photos: Chelcy Garrett
Moonbox Productions presents ‘Crowns’ by Regina Taylor, adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Mayberry. Regine Vital, Director. David Coleman, Musical Director. Davron Monroe, Associate Director. Kurt Douglas, Choreographer. Isaak Olson, Lighting Designer. Baron E. Pugh, Scenic Designer. James Cannon, Sound Designer. Danielle Ibrahim, Props Designer. E Rosser, Costume Designer. Schanaya Barrows, Wig Designer. At Arrow Street Arts, 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, through May 4, 2025.
By Linda Chin
At Arrow Street Arts in Cambridge, American playwright Regina Taylor’s award-winning Crowns – the most performed musical in the country in 2006 – is getting the royal treatment from resident company Moonbox Productions. As are the audience members. Based on a series of ‘Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats’ whose images and personal narratives were captured by photographer Michael Cunningham and journalist Craig Mayberry in their book of the same name, Crowns takes us on a journey that teaches us about the significance of hats in Black culture, tantalizes us with glorious gospel, soul and hip hop sounds and treats us to the work of talented theater artists.
Cast of Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”Photos: Nile Scott Studios
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at Mosesian Center for the Arts,321 Arsenal St., Watertown through May 4.
By Shelley A. Sackett
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of those plays that is firmly etched in most people’s long-term memory banks, whether as a first introduction to Shakespeare in high school or as one of scores of film and theatrical productions. There are countless riffs on the play, from the sci-fi A Midsummer Night’s Gene to recently produced The Donkey Dream. Even The Beatles got in on the act in their 1964 TV special, “Around the Beatles,” when they played the “Pyramus and Thisbe” section of the play to an audience of hecklers and moonstruck fans, especially appropriate for this comedy play within a play. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvREt_w_KOE)
Cast of Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”Photos: Nile Scott Studios
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, by William Shakespeare. Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown through May 4.
Cast of Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”Photos: Nile Scott Studios
By Michele Markarian
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind”, insists Helena (Deb Martin), a maid musing on the unreasonable and unpredictable foibles of attraction. The minds in this production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” are busy at work, their bodies preening and pursuing the objects of their lusty desires, a kind of Beltane in the middle of summer. This vigorous production is set in a disco, with all the dangers and dreams that go with it.
Cast of Boston Lyric Opera’s ‘Carousel’. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Carousel,’ 80th Anniversary Production. Music by Richard Rodgers. Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Conducted by David Angus. Directed by Anne Bogart. Presented by Boston Lyric Opera, Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston Street, Boston. Run has ended
By Shelley A. Sackett
Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Carousel is being touted on many levels. It is a return of Rogers and Hammerstein’s second musical (written just two years after the smash hit Oklahoma) on the same stage where it débuted in 1945 with John Raitt (Bonnie Raitt’s late father) as the lead, Billy Bigelow. Director Anne Bogart’s program notes stress the tension inherent in staging a show with such strong nostalgic ties to tradition for a contemporary audience. She checks the reverence box by not changing a syllable of the original script or lyrics. The notes refer to checking the innovation box by envisioning the players-within-the-play as “a group of refugees who arrive from a great distance to perform the play, seeking to gain access and acceptance,” but, at least for this viewer, that intention yielded only confusion.
Cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘The Great Reveal’ Photos by Mark S. Howard
Lyric Stage Boston presents ‘The Great Reveal.’ Written by David Valdes. Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary and Charlotte Snow. Scenic Design by Baron E. Pugh. Costume Design by E. Rosser. Lighting Design by Christopher Brusberg. Sound Design by Kai Bohlman. At Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through April 27, 2025.
By Linda Chin
With concern about revenues and audience attendance – particularly post-pandemic – many theater companies have been skittish about including new titles or playwrights in their seasons. Lyric Stage Boston has boldly programmed a new work, The Great Reveal, by playwright David Valdes, as their spring 2025 production, right before the popular classic Hello, Dolly! as their season closer.
Antonia (Toni) Turilli and Jupiter Lê
The Great Reveal is about a gender reveal party hosted by Lexi and Christopher, a married and expectant cis couple. Set in 2020 during the pandemic, all of the expected guests opt out, except for two – Lexi’s brother, Linus, and his partner, Dosia, a trans couple. Linus and Dosia are conflicted – not only about condoning a celebration that reaffirms society’s gender binarism, but also with each other – Dosia has a plan up her sleeve for making her feelings known that might sabotage the event and damage their relationship; Linus wants to maintain a peaceful relationship with his sister.
Casting plays that put queer and trans characters in the foreground – which Valdes enjoys writing – can also be challenging. With directors Bridget Kathleen O’Leary (who directed Valdes’ The Mermaid Hour at Moonbox last year) and Charlotte Snow at the helm of an ensemble that includes Paige Clark as Lexi, Arthur Gomez as her husband Christopher, Jupiter Lê as Linus, and Antonia Turilli as Dosia, this four-hander dramedy is brought to life with authentic storytellers.
Lê and Paige Clark
Last seen at Lyric Stage in Yellowface (NWOAOC) and in many other productions around town, Jupiter Lê delivers a soft-spoken but powerfully-heard, seen, and felt portrayal of Linus and demonstrates his versatility as an actor. A recent graduate of Northeastern University, Jupiter is a queer trans masculine Vietnamese theater-maker who was born and raised in Boston.
Making her Lyric Stage debut with her portrayal of Dosia, actor Antonia (Toni) Turilli, a recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, who is a “proud transgender woman,” is positively luminous. Her passion for her artistry is palpable, and I look forward to seeing her onstage again.
Both Lê and Turilli seem younger than their characters are written, but they are well-matched and both possess a depth of maturity, poise, and lived experience that never caused a mismatch between their actual age and the script or took me out of the moment.
As the married cis couple Lexi and Christopher, Boston stage veterans Paige Clark and Arthur Gomez add their considerable acting talents to the ensemble (which notably includes 75% BIPOC actors despite none of the characters being specified as BIPOC in the script).
Arthur Gomez’ and Turilli
Playing Lexi in The Great Reveal marks Paige Clark’s Lyric Stage debut, and shows off her generosity as a scene partner. I found the scenes where Lexi and Linus recalled experiences from their childhood – both loving and rivalrous – and bonded over their parents’ limitations and absence (Valdes’ fifth character is their elderly father, who does not appear but whose stubbornness and sense of loneliness and isolation pervades the production) extremely moving – possibly because I couldn’t help but imagine him as an Asian dad like my own.
Returning to the Lyric Stage, where he appeared in Assassins and Kiss of the Spider Woman, Boston actor and director Arthur Gomez’ added humor and heart to the ensemble as father-to-be Christopher. To relieve his anxiety and relax his nerves, he took drugs that he got from Dosia. While amusing at first – and showing off Gomez’s comedy chops – he was high for much of the play/party, and these scenes dragged. (The play in general could benefit from some trimming and attention to pacing.) A scene towards the end of the play – a poignant flashback to Chris and Lexi’s wedding day – when Jupiter helps Chris tie his bow tie, cementing their bond as “brothers from another mother” was worth waiting for.
The life-sized working set, thoughtfully designed for the Lyric’s ¾ thrust stage by Scenic Designer Baron E. Pugh, contributed to this world premiere production’s artistic excellence. Set in a backyard in the Boston area, the clapboard-sided house, painted a lovely sage green, with patio sliders that open onto a fenced wooden deck, provides wonderful stage pictures and views from every seat in the audience and ample playing areas for the two-person scenes.
Turilli, Clark
In the Artist Spotlight in the show program, in response to the question “What has being a part of The Great Reveal meant to you?” Antonia Turilli (Dosia) states, “My hope is that audiences feel seen in the story we share with them, as these characters are truly not that different from any one of us.” Paige Clark (Lexi) notes, “I hope everyone watching gets a chance to recognize their shadow self and find ways to heal it.” My favorite moment was a flashback scene on the beach when Lexi and Dosia connect and bond as the sisters they’ve each wanted. Heartfelt and real, they showed us that their friendship’s foundation was strong enough to withstand some hard conversations. I also related to the important role that chosen family members have in my own life. For more information and tickets, go to: https://www.lyricstage.com/
Abhann Productions presents Riverdance 30: The New Generation at the Boch Center Wang Theatre, April 8-13, 2025.
Under the loving and expert guidance of husband-and-wife production team John McColgan and Moya Doherty, a seven-minute dance number at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 featuring Irish dance champions Jean Butler and Michael Flatley has blossomed into a full production – Riverdance – that opened in Dublin in 1995 to great popular acclaim. The high-stepping, highly successful, hit show has since been performed over 15,000 times in 49 countries and six continents, enchanting and entertaining 30 million audience members worldwide. Riverdance celebrates its 30th year milestone with a special anniversary tour in 35 major cities across the US, including an 8-show run in Boston from April 8 – 13.
Cast of Broadway in Boston’s‘Shucked’ at Citizens Opera House Photos by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
‘Shucked.’ Book by Robert Horn. Music and Lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. Directed by Jack O’Brien; Choreographed by Sarah O’Gleby; Music Supervision by Jason Howland. Presented by Broadway in Boston at Citizens Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston through April 20.
By Shelley A. Sackett
If ever we were collectively in need of some levity, it’s now. Between the political roller coaster, serious Boston theater topics and frigid spring temperatures, we could all use a light, fun break. As if reading the tea leaves, Broadway in Boston has come to our rescue with its lighthearted, raucous production, Shucked.
Evelyn Howe, Jessica Pimentel, Yesenia Iglesias in The Huntington’s Don’t Eat the Mangos Photos by Marc J. Franklin
‘Don’t Eat the Mangos.’ Written by Ricardo Pérez González. Directed by David Mendizábal. Scenic Design by Tanya Orellana; Costume Design by Zoë Sundra; Lighting Design by Cha See; Sound Design by Jake Rodriguez; Original Music by Jake Rodriguez with Alexandra Buschman-Román and Jason Stamberger. Produced by The Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston, through April 27.
By Shelley A. Sackett
Don’t Eat the Mangos,Ricardo Pérez González’s one-act play, has a lot going for it. Set in 2019 in El Comandante, a neighborhood outside San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tanya Orellana’s bright island set plunks the audience smack into a festive, colorful vibe where curtains are doors and a commanding mango tree dominates the yard. We immediately meet three sisters, as different in personality as in looks, yet clearly cut from the same mold.
Cast of Boston Lyric Opera’s ‘Carousel’. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.
“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Carousel’”; 80th Anniversary Production. Music by Richard Rodgers. Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Conducted by David Angus. Directed by Anne Bogart. Presented by Boston Lyric Opera, Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston Street, Boston through April 13.
By Michele Markarian
From the moment two stern police officers open the large chain-link gates to reveal a cast of colorfully clad misfit New Englanders at a carnival, it’s obvious that this isn’t going to be a staid rehashing of “Carousel”, the much-beloved and oft-produced musical ultimately immortalized on film with Shirley Jones and Gordon McRae as the mismatched lovers. This “Carousel” sparkles with originality, grit and passion, as well as with the operatic voices and excellent acting and dancing skills of the talented cast. In short, it’s a beautiful pageant of a show that amplifies a very sad yet uplifting story.
Edward Nelson as Billy (center)
Billy Bigelow (Edward Nelson) is a loutish but attractive carnival barker that all the girls pine for. His boss, the widowed Mrs. Mullin (a brooding Sarah Heltzel), has a special claim on Billy, which is threatened when it’s clear a young woman in the crowd more than catches his eye, the feisty Julie (Brandie Sutton). Billy falls for Julie, marries her, and finds himself out of a job. Things go from bad to worse as Billy’s lack of income takes a toll on his fragile self-esteem. The shaky marriage between Billy and Julie is in direct contrast with Julie’s best friend, Carrie (the magnetic Anya Matanovic), and the stable Mr. Snow (Omar Najmi), a practical man with a plan. After learning he is going to be a father, Billy attaches himself to the corrupt Jigger (Markel Reed), gets involved in a robbery gone bad, and, seeing no way out, kills himself. Once dead, Billy is given one last chance to redeem himself to the daughter he’s never met, and to the wife he’s left behind.
Nelson as Billy and Brandie Sutton as Julie
The productions I’ve seen in the past have played up the Good Girl Meets Bad Boy dynamic, but the casting here is richer, more complex. Sutton’s Julie is feisty and outspoken, and her feeling for Billy convincingly comes across as maternal – she sees a wounded boy in the man and wants to make him better. When she sings “What’s the Use of Wond’rin” – a song about loyalty to your lover – to Carrie, she sings it with confidence, not resignation, even though “Common sense may tell you that the ending will be sad”. And Nelson, as Billy, is as wonderful an actor as he is singer, covering up Billy’s wounded vulnerability with anger and toughness. You can see him struggling to make sense of things, unlike the laid back and confident Jigger, who Reed gives a smart and funny edge to, despite his degeneracy.
It’s hard to cover up certain aspects of the script – lines like “He’s unhappy because he ain’t working. That’s why he hit me” are tough to hear. And in spite of his attractiveness, Billy is just so damn dumb! How many rounds of “21” is he going to play with Jigger before he figures out Jigger’s cheating? You could see why Julie feels the need to take care of him – God knows he needs it. And there’s a character onstage in orange coveralls reading a book called “Carousel” who sometimes interacts with the actors, showing them the book. Who was he? Why?
Anya Matanovič (as Carrie) and Brandie Sutton (as Julie)
The gorgeous voices and beautiful staging, though, far surpass any foibles of the script. The spirit of community and the idea that one can be salvaged through love is a powerful message that leaves one feeling refreshed and somehow relieved. If there’s hope for Billy Bigelow, there’s hope for us all. For more information and tickets, go to: https://blo.org/
Jade A. Guerra, Lorraine Victoria Kanyike in Central Square Theater and The Front Porch Arts Collective’s “Her Portmanteau”. Photos by: Maggie Hall Photography
“Her Portmanteau” by Mfoniso Udofia. Directed by Tasia A. Jones. Co-produced by Central Square Theater and The Front Porch Arts Collective, , 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, through April 20th.
By Michele Markarian
I was hesitant about seeing this piece, the fourth in a series of nine under the umbrella of the Ufot Family Cycle by Mfoniso Udofia, as I hadn’t seen the other plays, and its length – an hour and forty-five minutes without an intermission – was off-putting. From the very beginning, when Jade A. Guerra, as Iniabasi Ekpeyong walks onto the stage with a suitcase and an air of wariness, I was completely sucked in. An hour and forty-five minutes never went by so quickly, as the rest of the audience and I were pulled into one of the more compelling, well-written, and well-acted family dramas this season.
