Merrimack Repertory Theatre Chases after ‘Wild Horses’

September 26, 2021 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Leenya Rideout in Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s *Wild Horses*

by James Wilkerson

‘Wild Horses’ – Written by Allison Gregory. Directed by Courtney Sale. Costume Design by Lee Viliesis. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre through October 3.

Watching Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s Wild Horses, I couldn’t stop turning the physical room into a metaphor for the performance. Good lord did I try to, but when it’s staring you so nakedly in the face, see how well you manage to look elsewhere. The Rep has chosen to venture out from its home theater for Alison Gregory’s one-woman play, utilizing different locations around Lowell for performances, (an at least partly COVID-related decision as much as an artistic one, I’m sure). I caught the show at the Whistler House Museum of Art where an auditorium was set up in one of the galleries. There we sat, surrounded on all sides by landscapes and still lifes. Large gilded frames encompassed each painting with at least a foot of wall space on either side. The placement serves a purpose; it ensures that viewers can’t make the error of thinking that any of these images are formally connected to each other. And there you have it. Greggory’s play is a lot like that. Much happens to the protagonist in this tale of adolescence long past but there’s a lack of connective tissue you can’t help but feel. Certainly, the play is convinced that it’s saying something, but try to pin down just what that something is and I think you’re going to stumble.

Gloucester Stage Wraps Outdoor Season with Thought-Provoking ‘Reparations’

September 8, 2021 Theater Mirror1 Comment

From L to R: Lisa Tharps, Angela Pierce, Jason Bowen and Malcolm Ingram in Gloucester Stage’s ”Reparations’

‘Reparations’ – Written by James Sheldon. Directed by Miriam Cyr. Creative Team: Jon Savage (Scenic Design); Kat C. Zhou(Lighting Design); Veronica Barron and Christopher Vu (Sound Design); Deirdre McCabe Gerrard (Costume Design); Logan Pitts(Dramaturg). Presented by Gloucester Stage Company at Windhover Center for the Performing Arts, 257R Granite St, Rockport, MA through September 19

By Mike Hoban

If you’re considering seeing the Gloucester Stage production of Reparations, but are wary of being drawn into a staged version of yet another politically charged discussion in our increasingly polarized world, let me say that the title may be a bit misleading. While the play does examine the topics of race and privilege, the 400 years of systemic racism is not necessarily the central theme; instead, Reparations delves into a more universal horror while exploring the intersection of power and evil.

Ogunquit’s ‘Mystic Pizza’ Hits You With Its Best Shots

September 7, 2021September 19, 2021 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Cast of ‘Mystic Pizza at Ogunquit Playhouse

‘Mystic Pizza’ – Based on the MGM movie ‘Mystic Pizza’, with story and characters by Amy Holden Jones. Directed by Casey Hushion, Choreography by Liz Ramos, Additional Music Staging by Connor Gallagher, Orchestrations and Music Supervision by Carmel Dean, Music Direction by Kristin Stowell, Scenic Design by Nate Bertone, Lighting Design by Richard Latta, Sound Design by Kevin Heard; Costume Design by Jennifer Caprio; Wig Design by Roxanne De Luna. Presented by the Ogunquit Playhouse through October 7^th.

By Linda Chin

The much-anticipated world premiere production of Mystic Pizza: A New Musical at Ogunquit Playhouse brings together two cultural highlights of the 80s and 90s: the film Mystic Pizza (1998) that launched then unknown 21-year old actor Julia Roberts’ career, and the music video Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1984) that propelled Cyndi Lauper’s iconic career (and became not only her signature song but a feminist anthem for girls of all ages). Add a venue where starving audiences and artists can safely participate in live performance again, and you get a summer 2021 theater trifecta – a perfect storm of a production.

“Hurricane Diane” Blows Into Boston

September 3, 2021September 3, 2021 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Kris Sidberry, Jennifer Bubriski, Esme Allen, and Marianna Bassham in Huntington’s “Hurricane Diane”

“Hurricane Diane” – Written by Madeleine George. Directed by Jenny Koons. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, through September 26^th.

by Michele Markarian

“I have returned and it begins”, is the first line uttered in Madeleine George’s play “Hurricane Diane” by the character of Dionysius (Rami Margron). A cheer erupted from the masked, packed house at the Calderwood, where live theater has returned after a nearly 550 day absence. Dionysius has been hiding out as Diane, and living on a lesbian separatist community of sustainability outside of Burlington, Vermont. Dionysius has returned because he knows we’ve been doing bad things to the environment. Seeking a quorum of four women, he disguises himself as Diane, a landscaper, to seduce housewives from a suburban cul-de-sac of New Jersey in the hopes that they’ll embrace permaculture and restore the earth to its former wilderness.

Dorset Theatre Festival’s ‘Queen of the Night’ Spins Evening Magic

August 28, 2021August 28, 2021 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Leland Fowler and Danny Johnson in ‘Queen of the Night’ at the Dorset Theatre Festival

‘Queen of the Night’ – Written by travis tate. Directed by Raz Golden. Scenic Design by Christopher and Justin Swader; Lighting Design by Yuki Nakase Link; Sound Design by Megumi Katayama; Costume Design by Fabian Fidel Aguilar. Presented by Dorset Theatre Festival at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, Vermont through September 4.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Finding one’s seat (a folding beach chair) for Dorset Theatre Festival’s world première of “Queen of the Night” at Southern Vermont Art Center’s rustic plein-air stage is like entering a fairy forest world where reality and theater blend. Night creatures are everywhere – by design – piped in over the sound system, and by Mother Nature in the woods, open field and air that are the outdoor playhouse. As dusk fades to night, the stars complement the strung overhead lights to create a magical haven far removed from the day’s blaring headlines and latest COVID statistics.

Come Hear the Music Play at Seacoast Rep’s ‘Cabaret’

August 26, 2021 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

‘Cabaret’ – Written by John Kander (Lyrics); Fred Ebb (Music) and Joe Masteroff (Book). Ben Hart and Brandon James (Co- Directors), Jason Faria and Alyssa Dumas (Choreographers), Suzanne Jones (Music Director), Kelly Gibson (Lighting Design), Andrew Cameron (Sound Design), DW (Costume Design), Elise O’Connell (Properties). Through September 5 at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, Portsmouth, NH.

By Linda Chin

In a beautiful seaport city called Portsmouth, New Hampshire in a country called America there is a wonderful Theatre…and though this past year has felt like the end of the world, artists and audiences have continued to safely gather there and connect with each other. One of the few theatres in New England performing for in-person (and live-streamed) audiences in 2021, Seacoast Rep closes its summer block with the audience-favorite, the Tony Award-winning musical Cabaret.

Feeling All the Feels Again – Rock of Ages at Company Theatre

August 16, 2021 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Cast of ‘Rock of Ages’ Rocks at Company Theatre in Norwell

Directed by Zoe Bradford, Musical Direction by Steve Bass, Choreography by Sally Ashton Forrest, Costume Design by Alison Gordon, Lighting Design by Dean Palmer Jr., Set Design by Ryan Barrow.

by Linda Chin

Welcome to the 80s, or as the show’s narrator (Brad Reinking) delightfully describes, “the Reagan era…a time before most of the people on this stage were born.” Like many musicals, Rock of Ages is thin on plot, a classic girl-meets-boy story of small-town girl and aspiring actress Sherri (Emily Lambert) and city boy and rock star wannabe Drew (Braden Misiaszek) searching for fulfillment in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Their field of dreams – the Bourbon Room – is being targeted by a greedy developer Hertz (Kevin Groppe), and club owner Denise’s (Janis Hudson) attempts to save her business from the wrecking ball, including hiring an egomaniacal rock star Stacee Jaxx (Trey Lundquist/Shane Hennessey) add additional twists to the storyline.

Gloucester Stage Serves Up a Tasty Comic Dish with ‘Seared’

August 11, 2021August 16, 2021 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Jordan Pearson, James Louis Wagner, Matt Monaco, and Emily Bosco in ‘Seared’ at the Windhover Center for the Performing Arts in Rockport. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company. Photos by Jason Grow.

Seared – Directed by Victoria Gruenberg. Scenic Design by Anya Klepikov; Stan Mathabane Sound Design by Stan Mathabane; Lighting Design by Aja M. Jackson; Costume Design by Kathleen Doyle. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company at Windhover Center for the Performing Arts, 257R Granite St, Rockport, MA through August 22

by Mike Hoban

It’s an age-old question. Does making money and achieving a degree of fame from one’s chosen art form somehow diminish the art itself? If your name is Harry, the gifted chef in Theresa Rebeck’s entertaining comedy Seared, the answer is a resounding ‘YES’. After winning praise from New Yorker magazine for a particularly inventive and mouthwatering scallop dish that is boosting business at his struggling restaurant, Harry (James Louis Wagner) immediately goes full-on diva, refusing to make the meal for customers because (ostensibly) the quality of said mollusks at the fish market fail to meet his lofty standards.

CSC’s ‘Tempest’ Casts an Enchanting Spell

July 30, 2021July 31, 2021 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s “The Tempest” (Photos by Evgeina Eliseeva)

“The Tempest”. By William Shakespeare. Directed by Steven Maler. Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Boston Common through August 8.

by Michele Markarian

From the opening moment of “The Tempest”, Prospero (John Douglas Thompson) front and center, the cast readied behind him, exhaling audibly with rising urgency, you know you’re about to witness something special. The tempest itself is a thing of terrifying beauty, causing sails and passengers to flail and fall. There’s nothing like the wonder of watching a play where you know what’s going to happen but, in the moment of the scene, you completely forget. Let’s just say I was relieved when Prospero assures his daughter Miranda (Nora Eschenheimer) in the next scene that none of the passengers have been hurt.

Gloucester Stage’s ‘Baskerville” Is A Literal Breath of Fresh Air

July 23, 2021July 24, 2021 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Alexander Platt as Holmes and William Gardiner as Watson in Gloucester Stage’s ‘Baskerville’. All photos by Jason Grow

‘Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery’ – Written by Ken Ludwig. Directed by Jim O’Connor. Set Design by Janie E. Howland; Lighting Design by Marcella Barbeay; Original Music/Sound Design by Dewey Dellay; Costume Design by Miranda Kau Giurleo; Props Design by Emme Shaw; Dialect Coach – Erica Tobolski; Action Consultation by Robert Walsh. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company at the Windhover Center for the Performing Arts in Rockport through July 25.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Nothing could be finer than to be at theater-en-plein-air in Rockport on a clear and balmy summer evening carousing with the brilliant cast of the spectacularly entertaining Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. Penned by Ken Ludwig, the Tony-award winning playwright of Lend Me A Tenor, this fast-paced comedic melodrama is a riff on the quintessential detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his faithful sidekick, Dr. John Watson.

This time, the dynamic duo is called upon to crack the case of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” before a family curse dooms its newest heir. Along the way, they encounter a motley crew of eccentric characters, hair pin plot twists and turns and red herrings galore. The 2-hour-15-minute (including one intermission) production flies by as five spectacularly talented actors play more than forty characters whose slapstick gestures and hyperbolic speeches they perform with impeccable pacing and precision. Couple this with stellar set, lighting, sound and prop designs, and theatergoers are in for a rollicking evening of good old-fashioned fun.