Reviewed by Sue Nedar
What do Charles Dickens, two escaped convicts, a mama’s boy, a red-headed detective, a smitten D.A., and a slightly dippy if not delightfully naive mama have in common? Well…you’ll just have to go and see A Christmas Cactus, by Eliot Byerrum, currently playing at The Newport Playhouse, to see for yourself.
Read more “A Christmas Cactus – Newport Playhouse”
by Linda Chin
‘Oliver!’ – Book, Music and Lyrics by Lionel Bart. Michael J. Bobbitt, Director; Sariva Goetz, Music Director; Luciana Stecconi, Scenic Designer; Rachel Padula-Shufelt, Costume Designer; Frank Meissner, Lighting Designer; Kevin Alexander, Sound Designer. Presented by New Repertory Theatre at Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown through December 29
Oliver! at the Mosesian Center for the Arts powerfully demonstrates that the arts can build community and that live theater can bring people – of different ages, backgrounds, classes and cultures, denominations, educational levels and generations – together in a shared human experience. Michael J, Bobbitt does triple duty as not only the New Rep’s new artistic director, but the production’s director and choreographer, and leads a diverse and talented cast. Broadway, film and TV veteran Austin Pendleton plays Fagin and 11-year old Ben Choi-Harris (whose resume includes a national tour, a string of regional professional credits and two IRNE Award nominations) plays the title role. The cast of 11 adult and five child actors is first-rate, with Pendleton’s “Reviewing the Situation”, Choi-Harris’ “Where is Love”, and Daisy Layman’s (Nancy) “As Long As He Needs Me”, wonderful renditions of classics and beautiful examples of storytelling through song. The production numbers were nicely staged and energetically executed, with special shout outs to Jackson Jirard (Noah Claypole), Sydney Johnston (Artful Dodger), and Youth Ensemble members Ian Freedson Falck, Jane Jakubowski, and Mark Johnson.
Read more “New Rep’s ‘Oliver!’ Offers Hope on the Horizon”
by Michael Cox
‘Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express’ – Adapted by Ken Ludwig. Directed by Spiro Veloudos. Scenic Design, Brynna Bloomfield; Costume Design, Gail Astrid Buckley; Lighting Design, Scott Clyve; Sound Design and Original Music, Dewey Dellay; Projection Design, Seaghan McKay. Presented by the Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA, through December 22.
In 1934, when “Murder on the Orient Express” was first published as a novel, this country was looking for a way out – a way out of the joblessness, poverty and the endless ache of day-to-day existence. The economic agony that the United States felt quickly spread to Europe and around the world. And it certainly hit Great Britain, where Agatha Christie’s prolific career as a mystery writer was well underway. Christie had an astounding career. According to her estate, she is the world’s most published English novelist, and only those who have read Shakespeare and the Holy Bible (King James) outnumber her readership. A key ingredient to Christie’s success is the escapism she provides. So it should come as no surprise that the era of “The Great Depression” is one of Christie’s most critically successful periods. This is interesting because although the characters in the “Murder on the Orient Express” are plagued by a variety of dramatic problems – kidnapping, extortion, death threats, suicide, and of course, murder – there is one thing that never troubles them. Money.
Read more “Lyric’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ Mashes Up Agatha Christie, ‘The Maltese Falcon’ and the Marx Brothers”
By Mike Hoban
Written by Octavio Solis, Directed by KJ Sanchez; Scenic Design, Takeshi Kata; Costume Design, Rachel Anne Healy; Lighting Design, Brian J. Lilienthal; Composer & Sound Design, David R Molina; Co-Composer, Eduardo Robledo; Music Director, Jesse Sanchez. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston through December 8
Quixote Nuevo, playwright Octavio Solis’ clever re-imagining of the Cervantes’ classic Don Quixote, now being staged at the Huntington Theatre, might well be described as giving a contemporary twist to a traditional “estofado” (stew). Taking many of the main ingredients from the original, Solis adds dashes of subject matter that give the story a more modern flavor, beefs up the comedy quotient, and in the process produces a palatable new offering, but one that may not be to every theatergoer’s taste. Equal parts comedy, love story, and social commentary, Quixote Nuevo is often wildly imaginative, but the items in the new recipe may not complement each other well enough to conjure up a classic new dish.
Read more “Huntington’s ‘Quixote Nuevo’ an Uneven Updating of Cervantes Classic”
Reviewed by Shelley A. Sackett
‘A Christmas Carol’ – by Charles Dickens. Original Music by Richard Cumming; Directed by Kate Bergstrom; Music Direction by Michael Rice; Choreography by Taavon Gamble; Set Design by Patrick Lynch; Costume Design by Olivera Gajic; Lighting Design by Barbara Samuels; Sound Design by Broken Chord. Presented by Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St., Providence through December 29.
Trinity Repertory Company’s 2019 musical version of A Christmas Carol starts out promisingly. Produced in the Elizabeth and Malcolm Chace Theater, Director Kate Bergstrom makes use of that venue’s intimate theater-in-the-round configuration by staging pockets of singing performers above every seat section. The pageantry of a live orchestra, quality-voiced actors in Dickensian-era costumes, and an excellent sound system is enough to enrapture a toe-tapping audience. Unfortunately, uneven performances and an overreliance on gimmicky, ostentatious staging trickery will soon burst that magical bubble.
Read more “Trinity Rep’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ More Theatrics Than Theater”
By Mike Hoban
‘Ruthless! The Musical’ – Book and Lyrics by Joel Paley. Music by Marvin Laird; Directed by Russell R. Greene; Musical Direction, Gina Naggar; Choreographer, Kai Chao; Costume Design, Anna Silva/Shana Dirik; Set Design/Dressing, Shana Dirik; Lighting Design, Michael Clark Wonson; Sound Design, CRT. Presented by Theater UnCorkedat theCalderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through November 24
For those of us who find the humor in most musical comedies to be a little too tame for our deviant tastes, Ruthless! The Musical is the perfect antidote. This darkly comic sendup of Broadway musicals delivers rapid-fire laughs from material that one would expect more from a pre-Hairspray John Waters production than a musical comedy. Produced by Theatre Uncorked in a four-day run last weekend at the BCA, the all-female cast of Ruthless hits its comic marks with such frequency that the musical numbers (a handful of which are actually quite good, musically speaking) almost seem to serve solely as vehicles for Joel Paley’s wickedly acerbic lyrics.
Read more “Theatre Uncorked’s “Ruthless” a Wonderfully Demented Sendup of Theatre”
by Tony Annicone
The New England Premiere of “You Got Older”, winner of the 2015 Obie Award for playwriting is the second Clare Barron play presented at the Wilbury Theatre Group. Told in a series of vignettes, Barron blends reality with the fantasies of the main character, Mae, who has returned home to care for her father who has just been diagnosed with cancer. Mae is recovering from a broken relationship, the loss of her job, a strange rash that won’t go away, and a recurring fantasy about a sexy blond Cowboy. Mae has two sisters and a brother who come visit their dad in the hospital. There’s also Mac, a male friend of her sister, Hannah. It seem like she has much in common with Mac, but in times of stress or anxiousness she escapes into a fantasy world of the handsome cowboy who takes her mind off the troubles that she is currently facing about the seriousness of her father’s illness. Mae and her siblings discuss trivial matters with each other in front of their sick father, and even some sex talk that is hilarious. The scenes with Mac and the cowboy bring some levity to the proceedings. Director Wendy Overly molds her seven member cast into these characters marvelously and makes us confront a dramatic part of our lives when dealing with a parent’s final illness. She brings out the best in each of her cast members.
Read more “YOU GOT OLDER (Wilbury Theatre Group)”
By Shelley A. Sackett
‘An Iliad’ – Written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare; Directed by Lisa Peterson; Scenic Design by Rachel Hauck; Costume Design by Marina Draghici; Lighting Design by Scott Zeilinski; Composer/Sound Design by Mark Bennett; Produced by Arts Emerson and Homer’s Coat in association with Octopus Theatricals at Emerson Paramount Center through November 24.
“An Iliad,” the brilliant play by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare in a lamentably short run at Emerson Paramount Center, is one phenomenal piece of theater. In a mere 100 minutes, on a simple stage with no props or costume changes, the virtuoso Denis O’Hare (with the help of bassist Eleonore Oppenheim) magically creates the story behind Homer’s epic poem about the tragic Trojan War. This is no ordinary dramatic experience. It is a magic carpet ride into the deepest power and charm that theater can offer. No wonder the painted muses above the magnificently renovated stage are all smiles. They know this audience is in for a one-of-a kind experience that will resonate long after their thunderous standing ovation finally fades.
Read more “ArtsEmerson’s One-of-A-Kind ‘An Iliad’ Is Not to Be Missed”
Review by James Wilkinson
‘the smuggler’ – Written and directed by Ronan Noone. Scenic Design: Adam Hawkins. Lighting Design: Amanda Fallon. Sound Design: Stephanie Lynn Yackovetsky. Costume Design: Emily Keebler. Properties Design: Cayenne Douglass. Dramaturg: Caity-Shea Violette. Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre at 949 Commonwealth Ave., Boston through November 24
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s production of the smuggler comes at you from across the room with a mischievous wink, the kind that says “Don’t worry folks. I know it all looks dark and gloomy in here, but we’re going to have a good time.” You might be a little apprehensive when it makes a move on you from the other end of the bar, but after it cracks a few jokes and flashes that smile, down goes your guard. Having sensed an opening, the smuggler snags the next bar stool over while offering to buy you a drink and you think, “Well…what the hell?” I’m not sure the mischief the original wink promises ever quite materializes, but damned if I didn’t have that good time while slinging back a few in its company. The production is too damn smooth to turn down.
Read more “Boston Playwrights’ Theatre Introduces You to ‘the smuggler’”
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Burbage Theatre Company’s second show of their ninth season is “Hand to God” by Robert Askins. It’s the Rhode Island premiere of a dark comedy that not only leaves you laughing but contains strong dramatic moments blended together splendidly by director Kate Kataja. The show also contains perfect and spectacular technical effects. Set in a Lutheran church basement in Texas, “Hand to God” centers on a shy boy, Jason, who lost his father six months ago, and his relationship to his mother, a teacher; the church’s pastor, and two other students, the girl next door and the bully. They are involved with a “puppet” ministry when Jason’s puppet takes on its own persona, a darker side of the boy who speaks some of the thoughts he is keeping bottled up inside him. Askins uses the name Tyrone (based on the Tyrone Family in “A Long Day’s Journey into Night”) for this evil puppet. The main point is the lack of communication between mother and son on the loss of his father which he blames on his mother overfeeding him. These feelings fester into huge misunderstandings between them which leads to things being hammered out after some very dark and troubling occurrences of violence. The brilliance of this five member cast pours out to the audience all night long which wins them many laughs and a spontaneous standing ovation at the close of the show.
Read more “Burbage Theatre’s ‘Hand to God’ a Thought-Provoking, Uproarious Comedy”