Huntington Brings Second City’s Hilarious ‘She the People’ to BCA

February 21, 2020 michaelhobanLeave a comment

‘She the People’ – Written by Carisa Barreca, Alex Bellisle, Marla Caceres, Katie Caussin, Carly Heffernan, Maria Randazzo, Rashawn Nadine Scott, Tien Tran, Kimberly Michelle Vaughn, and Lauren Walker. Resident Director/Choreographer; Carisa Barreca, Original Director/Head Writer; Carley Hefferman, Music by Mary Mahoney; Music Director & Sound Design; Jacob Shuda. Presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through March 8

by Leslie Rosenberg

In the immortal words of Cyndi Lauper, “Girls just want to have fun.” And that’s precisely what the touring company of the Second City delivers with their production, She the People: Girlfriends’ Guide to Sisters Doing It for Themselves, now playing at the BCA through March 8^th. It’s a show I found alternately overwhelming, hysterical, infuriating, and at times, just plain silly. Warnings are given, realities are faced – but the lessons are made easier through the imaginative comedy, song and dance.

Huntington’s ‘Sweat’ – The Dark Side of American Dream

February 8, 2020February 11, 2020 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Cast of the Huntington Theatre Company’s ‘Sweat’ – Photos: T. Charles Erickson*

By Julie-Anne Whitney

Sweat – Written by Lynn Nottage; Directed by Kimberly Senior; Scenic Design by Cameron Anderson; Costume Design by Junghyun Georgia Lee; Lighting Design by D.M. Wood; Original Music and Sound Design by Pornchanok Kanchanabanca; fight choreography by Ted Hewlett; stage managed by Emily F. McMullen. Produced by the Huntington Theatre Company at 264 Huntington Avenue through March 1, 2020.

In 2011, intrigued by the news that Reading, Pennsylvania (population 88,000) was named the poorest city per capita in America, playwright Lynn Nottage went to Berks County in search of a story. Throughout the next two years, she interviewed dozens of factory employees, business owners, social workers, members of law enforcement, and government officials. These interviews inspired Nottage to write her Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Sweat, which offers a transparent, unflinching view of what can happen to communities when powerful corporations prioritize profits over people.

Huntington’s ‘Quixote Nuevo’ an Uneven Updating of Cervantes Classic

November 29, 2019November 30, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*(Emilio Delgado as Don Quixote in the Huntington Theatre Company and Alley Theatre production of ‘Quixote Nuevo’ . Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson)*

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.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Alive and Well at the Huntington Theatre

October 7, 2019October 8, 2019 michaelhoban1 Comment

Will LeBow (Player), Jeremy Webb (Guildenstern), and Alex Hurt (Rosencrantz) in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Photo: T Charles Erickson

By Michele Markarian

“Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead” – Written by Tom Stoppard. Directed by Peter DuBois. Scenic Design by Wilson Chin; Sound Design and Original Music by Obadiah Eaves; Costume Design by Ilona Somogyi; Lighting Design by David Lander; Projection Design by Zachary Borovay. Presented by Huntington Theatre Company, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston through October 20.

“What do you think happens to them?” teased my theater companion at the first intermission of Tom Stoppard’s very funny, very imaginative fill-in-the-blanks back story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet’s university friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. At the risk of sounding obtuse, even though I have seen and read “Hamlet” many times, the writing, acting and direction in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” at the Huntington Theatre are so in the moment that I was, for a moment, not sure.

‘The Purists’ Strikes a Chord at the Huntington

September 14, 2019September 16, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(John Scurti, Morocco Omari, and J. Bernard Calloway in ‘The Purists at the Huntington Theatre. Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson)

by Michele Markarian

“The Purists” – Written by Dan McCabe. Directed by Billy Porter. Presented by Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through October 6.

There are some casts so talented that they manage to salvage a mediocre script. There are some scripts so compelling that they manage to salvage a mediocre cast. A timely play about friendship, division and tolerance, “The Purists” is both exquisitely well-written and exceptionally well cast.

‘The Lightning Thief” at Huntington a Fierce and Funny Entertainment

July 20, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Kristin Stokes, Chris McCarrell, and Izzy Figueroa in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical)

by Michele Markarian

‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ – Book by Joe Tracz. Music and Lyrics by Rob Rokicki. Adapted from the book “The Lightning Thief” by Rick Riordan. Directed by Stephen Brackett. At the Huntington Theatre Company, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, through July 28^th.

When my son was in middle school, every kid was reading the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, beginning with The Lightning Thief. I never read it myself, having little interest in ‘tween literature. My expectations were low coming to see this show; my grown-up companion’s even lower, as he thought I had told him we were seeing a musical about Percy Faith. Much to our surprise and delight, The Lightning Thief is an absolute blast of a ride from beginning to end. In addition to the lively score and clever book, the extremely talented and likeable cast of seven makes this an unforgettable theatrical experience.

Huntington’s ‘Yerma’ an Absorbing Tale of Obsession

June 18, 2019July 1, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Ernie Pruneda (Victor), Nadine Malouf (Yerma) and Christian Barillas (Juan) in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Yerma playing at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. © Photos: T. Charles Erickson

by Mike Hoban

‘Yerma’ – Conceived by Melinda Lopez and Melia Bensussen, Adapted and Translated by Melinda Lopez, based on the play by Federico Garcia Lorca. Directed by Melia Bensussen; Scenic Design by Cameron Anderson; Costume Design by Olivera Gajic; Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal; Sound Design by Brendan F. Doyle & Mark Bennett; Original Music by Mark Bennett; Music Direction by Jesse Sanchez; Choreography by Misha Shields. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through June 30

Right from the outset of Yerma, the absorbing and surrealistic adaptation/translation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s 1934 work by Boston playwright Melinda Lopez, there are subtle hints that, despite appearances, there may be trouble on the horizon for the marriage of the title character and her husband Juan. But that foreshadowing is unlikely to prepare us for the path that this strange and poetic story will take, as it morphs into an unsettling tale of obsession and eventually, madness. The Huntington Theatre Company is presenting this world premiere play with music at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Calderwood Pavilion through June 30th.

Huntington’s ‘Indecent’ Brilliantly Examines the Price of Truth in Art

May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Cast of ‘Indecent’, at the Huntington Theatre. Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson)

By Mike Hoban

Indecent – Written by Paula Vogel; Directed by Rebecca Taichman; Music Supervision by Lisa Gutkin; Scenic Design by Riccardo Hernandez; Choreography by David Dorfman; Sound Design by Matt Hubbs; Lighting Design by Christopher Akerlind; Costume Design by Emily Rebholz; Projection Design by Tal Yarden. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Huntington Avenue Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave., Boston through May 25

“There is a story we want to tell you…about a play that changed my life. Every night we tell this story, but somehow, I can never remember the end.”

So begins Lemml (Lou) the Stage Manager/Narrator of Indecent, at the outset of the Huntington Theatre’s spellbinding production of Paula Vogel’s Tony Award-winning play with music. This often surreal account of the history of the controversial Yiddish play God of Vengeance takes us from its beginnings at a workshop read in 1906, through its final performances by the original cast performing for Polish Jews in an attic in the Warsaw Ghetto. It’s a deeply moving and wildly entertaining theatrical experience featuring traditional Yiddish music and dance as well as snatches of the original play, but the compelling narrative that runs throughout the 100 minute piece is of the political difficulties of presenting truth in art – or in everyday life for that matter.

Huntington Brings Comically-Infused ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Into the 21st Century

March 13, 2019March 17, 2019 michaelhoban1 Comment

George Hampe and Lily Santiago in Huntington’s ‘Romeo & Juliet

By Mike Hoban

Written by William Shakespeare, Directed by Peter DuBois; Scenic Design, Wilson Chin; Costume Design, Ilona Somogyi; Lighting Design, Russell H. Champa; Original Music & Sound Design, Obadiah Eaves; Choreographer, Daniel Pelzig; Fight Direction, Rick Sordelet & Christian Kelly-Sordelet. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company at 264 Huntington Ave., Boston through March 31

Over the years there have been a multitude of theatrical updates of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s tragic tale of doomed teen lovers, with the best of those inarguably being the Bernstein/Laurents/Sondheim masterpiece, West Side Story. The latest take comes from the Huntington Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Peter Dubois, who – with the help of a plethora of Boston’s local stage luminaries – transports the story into the 21^st century while leaving the original text intact. It’s a surprisingly comic and wildly entertaining version of the classic, but it also does an admirable job of driving home the idea that the toxic “blind tribalism” that is threatening to destroy democracy in America today is hardly a new development.

“Spamilton” a Hilarious Love Letter to Broadway

February 16, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Cast of “Spamilton” – Photos by Roger Mastroianni)

By Michele Markarian

“Spamilton” – Created, Written and Directed by Gerard Alessandrini. Presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through April 7.

Where to start with this show? Well, in the Obamas’s bedroom, where Barack puts on the cast recording of “Hamilton” before he and Michelle go to sleep. Lo and behold, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Adrian Lopez) is onstage, in full “Hamilton” garb, and the first number is a spoof on him (“In New York you can be a real ham” sung to the tune of “Alexander Hamilton”). I don’t know where they found Lopez, but onstage he is the spitting image of Miranda, and captures his vocal inflections perfectly. It’s uncanny to watch. Daveed Diggs (Dominic Pecikonis) and Aaron Burr (Datus Puryear) provide their own admonishments, but lest you think you’re in for an entire evening of roasting Lin-Manuel, the show, under the excellent musical direction and accompaniment of Curtis Reynolds, spins into a loving roast of Broadway itself, past and present.