Central Square Theatre’s “Silent Sky” Shines – with Occasional Flickers.

October 11, 2025October 11, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Lee Mikeska Gardner, Jenny S. Lee, Erica Cruz Hernández in Central Square’s ‘Silent Sky’
Photos by Nile Scott Studios

‘Silent Sky’ – Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Sarah Shin. Stage Management from Fanni Horváth. Lighting Design by Eduardo M. Rameriz. Costume Design by Leslie Held. Sound Design by Kai Bohlman. Props Design by Julia Wonkka. Central Square Theatre’s ‘Silent Sky’ ran from September 11th – October 5th.

By Charlotte Snow

(Editor’s Note: Charlotte Snow designed the costumes for their 2025 production of SPACE at Central Square Theater)

Lauren Gunderson, who has penned such hits as I and You, The Book of Will, and Émilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, has been the nation’s most produced playwright for several years now. To me, her writing is the antithesis of David Mamet’s (which is her second greatest accomplishment). I have long harbored a love-hate relationship with her writing style. While love that she often focuses on intelligent, independent, and resourceful female heroines who strive to break into the sciences and/or other male-dominated fields, I frequently groan and cringe at her over-reliance on humor and sickeningly sweet faux sincerity. Central Square Theatre’s production of Silent Sky only furthers this love-hate relationship, even though the production is quite well done.

CST’s ‘Silent Sky’ Aims for The Stars But Falls Short

September 22, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

‘Silent Sky.’ Written by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Sarah Shin. Scenic Design by Qingan Zhang; Costume Design by Leslie Held; Lighting Design by Eduardo M. Ramirez; Sound Design and Composition by Kai Bohlman. A Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production. Presented by Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge through October 5.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Lauren Gunderson’s career as a playwright (she is also a screenwriter and short story author) has largely focused on stories about iconoclastic women in history, science and literature. She is one of the top 20 most produced playwrights in the country, with over twenty plays produced. (Lyric Stage Boston’s 2022 production of her The Book of Will was a knockout).

With Silent Sky, a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production presented by Central Square Theater through October 5, she turns her attention to the story of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, a young astronomer whose scientific brilliance and curiosity led to her discovery of the relationship between luminosity and the period of Cepheid variables (a star that pulsates).

Central Square Theater Presents A Winning “Mrs. Warren’s Profession”

June 3, 2025June 3, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Melinda Lopez, Luz Lopez in Warren’s Profession’ at Central Square. Photos by: Nile Scott Studios

“Mrs. Warren’s Profession”, by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Eric Tucker, Bedlam. Presented by Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, through June 29.

By Michele Markarian

A conference room table with leather chairs and a light fixture suspended above, bearing a ticker and dominating the traverse stage of Central Square Theater wasn’t what I expected when I walked in to see Central Square’s production of Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Yet it aptly set the tone for this timeless play about conventionality, morality, and a woman’s right to earn a living.

Central Square’s ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ Works Wonders

June 1, 2025June 3, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

The cast of ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ at Central Square. Photos by: Nile Scott Studios

‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ – George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Eric Tucker. Stage Management by Fanni Horváth. Scenic Design by David Gammons. Sound Design by Nate Tucker. Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg. Costume Design by Leslie Held. Video Design by Maxwell Mandell. Intimacy Coordination by Jesse Hinson. A collaboration between Bedlam and Central Square Theater, ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ runs from May 29th to June 22nd at 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139.

By Charlotte Snow

As much as I love a period piece, I’ve found my fondness for them tainted due to the current administration’s efforts to place Victorian-style restrictions upon inalienable human rights. So, I was fully dreading a night full of corsets and bell skirts. To my relief, I walked into the theater and found the stage set with a faux rustic conference table, tricked out with rolling chairs, and above, a floating screen flashing disparate numbers. I sighed a deep breath of relief reminiscent of the first vape hit at the start of the play. I remained curious as to how the meaning of the playwright’s words would be changed when placed out of the context he originally intended.

Central Square Theater’s ‘SPACE’ Explores A New Frontier Of History

February 10, 2025February 10, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Catharine K. Slusar, Kaili Y. Turner, Hui Ying Wen, MK Tuomanen in ‘Space’ at Central Square
Photo by: Nile Scott Studios

‘SPACE’ — Written by LM Feldman. Directed by Larissa Lury. Scenic Design by Qingan Zhang. Costume Design by Charlotte Snow. Lighting Design by John R. Malinowski. Properties Design by Julia Wonkka. Sound Design by Nate Tucker, Movement direction and intimacy coordination by Lindsay Torrey. Presented by Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139 through February 23^rd.

by Helen Ganley

In an interview dated October 22, 2022, NASA historian Jennifer Ross-Nazzal asked Dr. Sally Ride what the agency needed to add to the flight kit, considering that women would be in space for the first time. Dr. Ride recalled, “I remember the engineers trying to decide how many tampons should fly on a one-week flight; they asked, ‘Is 100 the right number?’”

A Fascinating and Frustrating “Galileo’s Daughter”

November 22, 2024November 22, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Diego Arciniegas and Sandra Seoane-Serí in Central Square’s ‘Galileo’s Daughter’
Photos: Maggie Hall.

By Michele Markarian

“Galileo’s Daughter” – Written by Jessica Dickey. Directed by Reena Dutt. Presented by Central Square Theater and WAM Theatre, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, through December 8.

“A play is a very good way to learn something”, says Maria Celeste to her father, Galileo. We learn that Galileo, in addition to being a scientist, has fathered three illegitimate children; his alleged favorite, Maria Celeste, was the one (at least in the play) most interested in his work. One hundred and twenty-four letters survived between father and daughter, and in the year 2015, a writer (Caroline Kinsolving) has traveled to Italy, to the Museo Galileo, to research them for a play she is writing. In her backpack are also divorce papers that she seems unwilling to sign.

Central Square Theater‘s ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ Starts Off the Season with a Bang!

September 19, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Sarah Morin, Jenny S. Lee and Aimee Doherty in CST‘s ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’

Central Square Theater presents THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tale. Written by Steven Canny and John Nicholson. Directed by Lee Mikeska Gardner. Scenic & Properties Design by Julia Wonkka. Costume Design by Leslie Held. Lighting Design by John R. Malinowski. Sound Design by David Bryan Jackson. At Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, through October 6, 2024.

Starting and ending at Baker Street, London, and largely set in Devonshire, England circa 1889, this spoof of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic The Hound of the Baskervilles tells the following tale: Super-sleuth Sherlock Holmes and trusty sidekick Dr. James Watson are summoned to investigate the unusual and unnatural death of Sir Charles Baskerville, whose corpse was discovered on the ground surrounded by giant paw prints. The actors and audience members journey together to the mansion and moors to answer the following three questions and unlock the mystery: What frightened Sir Charles Baskerville to death? Is the family the target of a robbery or an ancient curse? Is Charles’ young heir Henry being stalked by a human murderer or a supernatural hound?

Central Square Theater & Front Porch Arts Collective Questions Societal Standards in “Next to Normal”

June 17, 2024June 17, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Anthony Pires, Jr., Sherée Marcelle, Diego Cintrón in Central Square’s ‘Next to Normal’.
Photos by Maggie Hall

“Next to Normal.” – Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey. Music by Tom Kitt. Directed and choreographed by Pascale Florestal. Voice and music directed by Katie Bickford. Scenic design by Erik D. Diaz. Costume design by Kiara Escalera. Lighting design by Michael Clark Wanson. Sound design by James Cannon. Stage Managed by Deirdre Benson. Presented by Central Square Theater & the Front Porch Arts Collective at Central Square Theater, 484 Mass. Ave through through June 30^th, 2024

By Helen Ganley

Father rushes off to work, and mother is in the kitchen preparing lunches while daughter and son get ready for school. Peering into this world, one might see an archetypal family busy with the ups and downs of suburban life. Looks, however, can be deceiving. Central Square Theater & Front Porch Arts Collective’s production of “Next to Normal” illuminates the hidden depths of a seemingly perfect life.

‘Beyond Words’ at Central Square Theater Opens Our Ears and Hearts

March 25, 2024December 28, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Stephanie Clayman, Jon Vellante in ‘Beyond Words’ at Central Square Theater.
Photos by Maggie Hall

‘Beyond Words’ – Written by Laura Maria Censabella; Directed by Cassie Chapados; Scenic Design by Qingan Zhang; Costume Design by Sandra Zhihan Jia; Lighting Design by Amanda Fallon; Sound Design by Anna Drummond. Presented by Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Productions at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA, through April 14, 2024

By Helen Ganley

In the eye of a tornado of falling feathers, a scientist lies in a heap. Surrounded by a fluorescent-lit lab cheekily bedecked with “Birds at Work” signage and decals of African Grey parrots, the tornado emanates from Dr. Irene Pepperberg as she sweeps us back to the beginning of her story. Central Square Theater’s production of Beyond Words invokes a central question of humanity: How intelligent is the rest of the animal kingdom?

Central Square’s “Machine Learning” Weaves Humanity and AI

February 7, 2024February 7, 2024 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Xavier Rosario, Jorge Alberto Rubio in Central Square’s “Machine Learning”
Photos by Nile Scott Studios

“Machine Learning”, by Francisco Mendoza. Directed by Gabriel Vega Weissman. Presented by Central Square Theater in partnership with Teatro Chelsea, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, through February 25.

by Michele Markarian

Arnold is a nursing application created by a young brainiac, Jorge (Armando Rivera), to keep an eye on his alcoholic and cancer-ridden father, Gabriel (the excellent Jorge Alberto Rubio). Named for Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom Jorge had seen as a young boy in “The Terminator,” Arnold’s job is to care for, with the cure being the end goal, Gabriel. But Gabriel is a bit of a problem, as he likes alcohol and doesn’t seem to fear death. For Jorge, whose relationship with Gabriel is fraught with tension, keeping Gabriel alive is key to resolving the issues that rumble between them. Through a series of flashbacks between Gabriel and young Jorge (Xavier Rosario), we learn about Gabriel’s macho expectations for his son, his cruelty, his irresponsibility, and his fondness for alcohol, with the occasional moments of protectiveness thrown in.