ASP’s ‘Macbeth’ Is a Muddled Mashup of Time, Place and Tone

October 23, 2025October 23, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Omar Robinson, Brooke Hardman in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s ‘Macbeth’
Photos by Benjamin Rose Photography.

‘Macbeth’ — Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Christopher V. Edwards. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown through October 26.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Ten minutes into ASP’s production of Macbeth, my friend leaned over and whispered, “I thought we were seeing Macbeth.”

He wasn’t being a smart aleck; he was astutely stating the obvious. While it seems au courant (at least in Boston) to catapult timeless Shakespeare into other eras with disco, hip hop, and gratuitous references to current headlines, Actors Shakespeare Project, under the direction of Christopher V. Edwards, proves definitively that it is possible to overreach and completely miss your mark.

ASP’s ‘Macbeth’ is Imaginative, Disquieting

October 7, 2025October 8, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s ‘Macbeth’ Photos by Benjamin Rose Photography.

‘Macbeth’– Written by William Shakespeare; Directed by Christopher V. Edwards; Featuring Brooke Hardman, Jade Guerra, Jesse Hinson, Jennie Israel, Brian Demar Jones, Claire Mitchell, Vince Nguyen, Amanda Esmie Reynolds, Omar Robinson, Chingwe Padraig Sullivan, Dennis Trainor Jr.; Scenic Design Danielle Ibrahim; Sound Design by Julian Crocamo; Lighting Design Elmera Martinez; Costume Design Marissa Wolf; Sound Design Mackenzie Adamick; Production Design Sue Rees; Audio Engineer Irene Wang; Fight Director Naomi Kim. Presented by Actors Shakespeare Project, Boston, MA, through October 26.

By C.J. Williams

Macbeth, as you know, is one of those plays that takes sanity and hope and puts them through a meat grinder. Once you’ve seen Macbeth, you’ve seen not only that blood will out, but that blood will douse, drench, and seep through skin into the deepest crevices of your heart, mind, and conscience. But what if you want to make it more disquieting? Perhaps this is what Director Christopher V. Edwards and the Actors’ Shakespeare Project team asked themselves as they planned this year’s production of the iconic play. How about staging the political and relational shenanigans during the Cold War?

ASP’s Rowdy ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Flips the Bard’s Gem on its Breakdancing Head

April 16, 2025April 17, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

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 )

Everyone Wants Some in ASP’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

April 16, 2025April 17, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

“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.

ASP’s ‘The Piano Lesson’ is a Supernatural Theatrical Experience

January 30, 2025January 30, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Jade Guerra, “ranney”, Jonathan Kitt and Omar Robinson in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s *The Piano Lesson*. Photos by Nile Scott Studios.

‘The Piano Lesson’ – Play by August Wilson. Directed by Christopher V. Edwards. Scenic Design by Jon Savage; Costume Design by Nia Safarr Banks; Lighting Design by Isaak Olson; Sound Design by James Cannon. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project in partnership with Hibernian Hall. At Hibernian Hall, Boston, through Feb. 23.

By Mike Hoban

As the cold January winds send a chill through the streets of Boston and the change in the nation’s political climate sends shivers through the hearts of our most vulnerable, Actors Shakespeare Project has delivered a masterpiece of a production – just when we need it most. For the third straight year, ASP has staged a selection from August Wilson’s 10-play American Century Cycle about the Black experience in 20^th Century America, and while the previous offerings (Seven Guitars in 2023 and King Hedley II last year) were both on my (and most reviewers) annual ‘Best Of’ lists, ASPs The Piano Lesson catapults Wilson’s work into the stratosphere.

ASP’s ‘Emma’ Is Deliciously Incisive, Ingenious and Impudent

November 26, 2024November 26, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Lorraine Victoria Kanyike, Fady Demian, Josephine Elwood, and Liza Giangrande in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of ‘Emma’. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

‘Emma’ — Written by Kate Hamill. Based on the novel by Jane Austen. Directed by Regine Vital. Scenic Design by Saskia Martinez; Costume Design by Nia Safarr Banks; Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan; Sound Design by Anna Drummond. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge through December 15^th.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Jane Austen’s 1815 novel “Emma,” like all her other novels, explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England. Her Emma Woodhouse is a bright, wealthy, and confident young woman who basically has it all — education, intelligence, beauty, and money. She also has a surplus of self-confidence, pride and time. She is as spoiled, meddlesome, and self-deluded as she is witty, charming, and pithy.

Not Your Parents’ ‘Romeo & Juliet’ by Actors Shakespeare Project

May 19, 2024May 25, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Evan Taylor and Chloe McFarlane in Actors Shakespeare Project’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’

Actors Shakespeare Project presents ROMEO & JULIET. Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Marianna Bassham. Movement Choreography by Ilya Vidrin. Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan. Costume Design by Lisa Coleman. Props Design by Grey Rung. Scenic Design by Saskia Martínez. Sound Design by Jesse Hinson. At the Roberts Studio Theater, Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through June 2, 2024.

By Linda Chin

The works and words of William Shakespeare can be difficult to appreciate – and some may say, stay awake for – but after seeing their accessible production of Romeo and Juliet, I felt grateful that Actors Shakespeare Project chose to present this story this season (they last staged it a decade ago), and is part of the Boston arts and culture ecosystem in general. As seen in last year’s As You Like It, ASP intentionally blends stage (and Shakespearean) veterans with younger actors from local conservatories and communities, an ensemble of diverse storytellers playing diverse human characters – as I like it.

ASP’s Impressive ‘King Hedley II’ Is a Requiem to a Dream

March 20, 2024March 20, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

James Ricardo Milord and Omar Robinson in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s *King Hedley II*. Photo by Maggie Hall Photography.

‘King Hedley II’ – Written by August Wilson; Directed by Summer L. Williams; Scenic Designer: Jon Savage; Costume Designer: Becca Jewett; Lighting Designer: Anshuman Bhatia; Sound Designer: Caroline Eng. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St, Roxbury, through April 7, 2024

By Shelley A. Sackett

August Wilson’s King Hedley II, the Pulitzer Prize nominated play, is set in 1985 in the same Pittsburgh Hill District backyard where Wilson set his previous work, Seven Guitars (which received a knock out production in 2023 by Actor’s Shakespeare Project). Jon Savage’s same terrific set (and Anshuman Bhatia’s spot-on lighting) adds continuity and interest.

It’s now 40 years and several generations later, and the upbeat, soulful guitar blues arias soundtrack of Seven Guitars has been replaced by a thrumming funeral march set in a minor key.

ASP’s ‘King Hedley II’ Brilliantly Examines the Bleak Underbelly of the American Dream

March 14, 2024March 20, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

James Ricardo Milord, Naheem Garcia, and Omar Robinson in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s *King Hedley II*. Photo by Maggie Hall Photography.

‘King Hedley II’ – Written by August Wilson; Directed by Summer L. Williams; Scenic Designer: Jon Savage; Costume Designer: Becca Jewett; Lighting Designer: Anshuman Bhatia; Sound Designer:Caroline Eng. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St, Roxbury, through April 7, 2024

by Mike Hoban

There’s a folksy adage in recovery circles that goes, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” The implication is that if you don’t fundamentally change your behavior, you’re not going to be able to overcome what is keeping you from being your best self – whether it involves booze, drugs, food, sex, shopping, or any behavior that dominates your life.

ASP’s Not-to-Be-Missed “How I Learned to Drive” Explores Abuse and Memory in a Tour de Force Production

November 9, 2023November 18, 2023 Theater Mirror2 Comments

Dennis Trainor, Jr. and Jennifer Rohn in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s *‘How I Learned to Drive’*
(Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios)

‘How I Learned to Drive’ — Written by Paula Vogel. Directed by Elaine Vaan Hogue. Scenic Design by Baron E. Pugh; Lighting Design by Marcella Barbeau; Costume Design by Marissa Wolf; Sound Design by Mackenzie Adamick. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont St., Boston through November 25.

By Shelley A. Sackett

“You and Driver Education — Safety First,” a voice announces as the lights dim. A middle-aged woman steps onto a bare set, composing herself. She turns to face the audience, addressing them as though mid-conversation.

“Sometimes, to tell a secret, you first have to teach a lesson,” she says. “We’re going to start our lesson tonight on an early, warm summer evening.”

So begins Paula Vogel’s brilliant Pulitzer Prize Award-winning play, “How I Learned to Drive,” in which she examines the complicated ways in which we process the trauma, shame, and blame associated with pedophilia and family complicity. If the topic sounds heart-wrenching and heavy, that’s because it is.