Shalom, Salaam, Peace: Three Sisters in Faith Share Their Stories

February 22, 2019February 24, 2019 Theater Mirror1 Comment

*(Rohina Malik, Susan Stone, Kim Schultz)*

By Deanna Dement Myers

‘Keeping Faith: Sisters of Story’ – Written and performed by Rohina Malik, Kim Schultz, and Susan Stone. Music and vocals by Lucia Thomas. Presented at Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham on February 22-24; New Repertory Theater in Watertown on February 25-26.

“The greatest thing in the world is to do somebody a favor.”

Three women grace the stage and tell moving stories of compassion, hope and understanding. These exceptional storytellers from different branches of the Abrahamic faith traditions, are joined by a wonderful musical artist, to weave a series of stories that celebrate their separate beliefs while cultivating the commonalities we all share.

Rohina Malik, a Muslim woman, collaborated with Kim Schultz, a Christian woman, and Susan Stone, a Jewish woman, to create an artistic response to the hate and intolerance currently plaguing our society. Lucia Thomas, a gifted and versatile musician, uses violin, oud, guitar, and a newly acquired banjo, to compliment the storytellers with songs that underscore the themes and emotions in the tales. The performance is enhanced by the layering of singing, instruments and storytelling. The effect is intimate and serves to draw the listeners in.

The four strong voices blend together messages of tolerance and wisdom. Each storyteller approached personal struggles by reaching deep into their individual religions to find strength, insight, and solace. While these religions are traditionally patriarchal, we follow the footsteps of important women in the separate faiths, and learn more about the singularity of the Divine Source central to them all.

The audience is invited to stay for a question and answer session after the performance. It is a chance to process the powerful messages crafted by these talented women, and a brief chance to add our own piece towards healing the world.

‘Keeping Faith’ tickets can be purchased at www.greaterbostonstage.org

or www.newrep.org/events/keeping-faith

GBSC’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” Plays the Hits

December 7, 2018December 7, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

“It’s a Wonderful Life” – Adapted from Frank Capra’s original screenplay by Weylin Symes. Directed by Tonasia Jones and Tyler Rosati; Scenic Design by Sarah Rozene; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Kayleigha Zawacki. Presented by the Greater Boston Stage Company at 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through Dec. 23.

Greater Boston Stage Company’s production of It’s A Wonderful Life is a lot like seeing a tribute band do songs from one of your favorite artists – just hearing the familiar tunes can bring a smile to your face or, in this case, the re-creations of scenes will certainly bring a tear to your eye. There are few holiday films that have the emotional impact that this classic does, rivaling the granddaddy of them all, A Christmas Carol. And for those of us who have made a viewing of the movie a Christmas season ritual, it’s almost impossible to not choke up when you know what’s coming – whether it’s Clarence getting his wings or George saving Mr. Gower from giving a lethal prescription to a child after he finds out his own son has died.

‘The Salonnieres’ Smartly Delivers Wit with a Feminist Twist

November 7, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

The Salonnieres, by Liz Duffy Adams. Directed by Weylin Symes. Produced by the Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through November 11.

As you walk into the theater, the first thing you see is Katheryn Monthei’s whimsically gorgeous set – what appears to be a lovely gilded cage, with period furniture, and a glossy purple cloth partially draped over it. This could be fun, I thought with some relief, a little subdued by the play’s fancy French title. And fun it is, as well as funny. Despite the laughs, the play has a pointed feminist bent that’s not without bite.

Greater Boston Stage Celebrates Late Stages of Beauty with ‘Calendar Girls’

June 12, 2018June 19, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Calendar Girls – Based on the Miramax Motion Picture by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth; Directed by Nancy E. Carroll; Scenic Design, Jenna McFarland Lord; Costume Design, Gail Astrid Buckley; Lighting Design, Karen Perlow; Sound Design, Dewey Dellay;Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street Stoneham, MA through May June 17

By Alicia Googins

The women of “Calendar Girls” show enormous courage under fire. Fire, that is, of the camera snapping shots of them in the buff for an annual calendar. Based on the true story of the English Ladies Club members who bared it all in the name of love and scientific research, the play follows six women as they wade into the unknown waters of artistic nudity. To be fair (a phrase used often by the most modest and endearing of the lot, Ruth (Sarah DeLima), the photos are tasteful, and the women insist on referring to their state of undress as “nude,” not naked. But there’s plenty of room for scandal nonetheless.

GBSC’s “THE LEGEND OF GEORGIA McBRIDE”

April 20, 2018December 27, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: Greater Boston Stage Company presents the Boston premiere of multi-award winning playwright Matthew Lopez’s 100-minute, one-act, musical comedy through May 20: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 2 p.m. 395 Main St., Stoneham. Includes adult language and content. $45-$55; seniors,$40-$50; students with valid ID, $20. 395 Main St., Stoneham. greaterbostonstage.org, 781-279-2200.

Directed and choreographed by Russell Garrett, Matthew Lopez’s one-act play, “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” currently at Greater Boston Stage Company, brought last Wednesday afternoon’s audience to its feet, applauding enthusiastically.

Although the play is classified as a musical comedy, the actors primarily lip-synch, excluding co-star Jared Reinfeldt’s strumming an acoustic guitar and singing his original love song to his fiancé Jo. For me, though, seeing the show was a little bittersweet, especially after learning Boston iconic actor-director Tommy Derrah originally was supposed to helm this show. Unfortunately, he died after a brief illness on Oct. 5, 2017, at Mt. Auburn Hospital, Cambridge.

A Refreshingly Feminist Take on “Miss Holmes”

April 10, 2018April 10, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

Miss Holmes – Written by Christopher M. Walsh; Based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Directed by Weylin Symes. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through April 22.

Dorothy Watson (Brittany Rolfs) is a doctor who has managed to survive the infamous Surgeon’s Hill Riot in Edinburgh, where women scheduled to take their medical exams were harassed and assaulted by a protesting mob. She now works in a female-run hospital in London. Covered in blood from a surgery, she considers the proposal of her suitor, Dr. Michael Stamford (Patrick Varner), who offers “…a chance to put all of this unpleasantness behind you”. A chance meeting with Wilhelmina “Sherlock” Holmes (Marge Dunn) alters the course of Dr. Watson’s life, even as she resists it. The somewhat Asperger-y Holmes has a penchant for solving crime, much to the agitation of her brother, Mycroft Holmes (Alexander Platt). When a woman, Lizzie Chapman (Monica Giordano) comes to Sherlock with anonymous letters warning her to beware of her husband, law-enforcer Thomas Chapman (Daniel Berger-Jones), Holmes’s curiosity is piqued and the adventure begins.

GBSC Brings Magic with “THE IRISH AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY”

March 22, 2018April 2, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: Greater Boston Stage Company adds a wee bit o’ green and Irish charm in Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt’s play, directed by Dawn Simmons, through March 25: Wednesdays, Sundays,2 p.m.; Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 3,8 p.m. $50-$60; seniors, $45-$55; students with valid ID, $20. 395 Main St., Stoneham. 781-279-2200, greaterbostonstage.org.

’Twas an Irish song and story fest when I saw Mynnelou Productions Inc. and the Bernann Company, LLC’s rollicking production of Frank McCourt’s “The Irish and How They Got That Way,” five years ago, in Somerville.

That production was so successful, it was extended for another week, by popular demand. The upbeat, two-hour, two-act, potpourri of Irish traditional, folk and contemporary songs and music accompanying the ensemble’s re-telling of Ireland and Irish-American history through their energetic comic anecdotes and skits, made Irish and non-Irish eyes smile at Davis Square Theater.

Dark History Lesson Runs Through GBSC’s Lively “The Irish and How They Got That Way””

March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

The Irish and How They Got That Way – Book by Frank McCourt; Directed by Dawn M. Simmons; Music Direction by Kirsten Salpini; Original musical arrangements by Rusty Magee; Additional musical arrangements by Kirsten Salpini; Presented by special arrangement with The Irish Repertory Theatre Company, Inc. by the Greater Boston Stage Company at 395 Main St, Stoneham Through March 25^th

Anyone who utters the phrase “the Luck of the Irish” might want to take a closer look at history and reconsider its usage, as the Greater Boston Stage Company’s production of Frank McCourt’s The Irish and How They Got That Way clearly demonstrates. For all the adorable leprechauns and amusing anecdotes about excessive drinking that are associated with the Emerald Isle, there is also a rich vein of melancholy running through the saga of the Irish over the last few centuries, particularly the period that preceded their journey across the pond to America through the beginning of the twentieth century. Which is not to say that this production is in any way a downer. Quite the contrary, the six person (three men and three women) cast rips through a bevy of Irish tunes both familiar and obscure while generating both smiles and tears.

“Unveiled”: A Glimpse of Five Hearts

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

‘Unveiled’ – Written by Rohina Malik. Co-presented by New Repertory Theatre with Greater Boston Stage Company. Blackbox Theater. Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA through January 28.

Entering the black box theater at the start of “Unveiled”, a one-woman show written and performed by Rohina Malik, is like entering another world. Rich, tapestried Oriental rugs drape from the ceiling and cover the floors. A tea set rests on a tray, tabled next to a chair. An oud plays quietly in the background (the excellent player is uncredited in the program, or I would mention him). Jeffrey Petersen’s set design is elegant, formal, and inviting, much like Maryam, the first of five characters singly portrayed by actress and playwright Rohina Malik.

A Daughter Forsaken in “Alligator Road”

October 16, 2017October 16, 2017 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

“Alligator Road” – Written by Camille Kimball. Directed by Weylin Symes. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through October 29.

Recently widowed Kathy (Brianne Beatrice) is stuck with a hardware store she doesn’t want to run. Her feminist daughter, the angry Candace (Sarah Bendell) has just learned that her mother is literally giving away the store to Lavinia (Victoria George), a black woman Kathy perceives to be homeless. This is in order to make what she feels are “reparations”, despite never having slave owners in her family tree. Candace wants the store, Lavinia and her husband Scott (Avery Bargar) want the store, and Kathy just wants to be free from a life and a marriage she was long bored with. The stakes are high all around, which makes for interesting drama.