Lyric Stage Invites ‘Round ‘The Little Foxes’

February 22, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

“Little Foxes” (Photos by Mark S. Howard)

Review by James Wilkinson

The Little Foxes – Written by Lillian Hellman. Directed by Scott Edmiston. Assistant Director: Kate Franklin. Scenic Design: Janie E. Howland. Costume Design: Gail Astrid Buckley. Lighting Design: Karen Perlow. Sound Design/Original Music: Dewey Dellay. Fight Director: Jesse Hinson. Presented by Lyric Stage Company at 140 Clarendon St. Boston through March 17

At the first intermission of Lyric Stage Company’s production of The Little Foxes the woman next to me bumped into my leg as she got up from her seat. “I’m so sorry” she said, looking a little unsteady on her feet. “It’s just that it’s so visceral.” I smiled and nodded because I’m the kind of person who likes to play my cards very close to the chest. I also try to reserve judgement until I’ve taken the whole thing in, but I knew what the woman meant. So much of Lyric’s production aims to overpower you and I think that on a technical level, there’s no question that it achieves that goal. It’s a solid piece of work, put together in a way that makes you want to stand back and admire the craft at work. The play is Lillian Hellman’s best-known and has (I think) rightfully earned its place not just as a classic but as a uniquely American classic. It’s the play’s American spirit that I think the Lyric’s production is trying to tap into.

LYRIC’S ‘THE WOLVES’ A TITLE IX WINNER

January 20, 2019January 20, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Linda Chin

THE WOLVES – Written by Sarah DeLappe. Directed by A. Nora Long; Scenic Design by Shelley Barish; Costume Design by Amanda Mujica; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow. Cast: Lydia Barnett-Mulligan, Sarah Elizabeth Bedard, Simone Black, Olivia Z. Cote, Chelsea Evered, Grace Experience, Laura Latreille, Julia Lennon, Valerie Terranova, Jarielle Whitney. Presented by Lyric Stage Company ay 40 Clarendon St., Boston through February 3

2017 Pulitzer finalist Sarah DeLappe titled her impressive debut play The Wolves after the story’s subject, a soccer team of sixteen and seventeen-year old young women. Nine actors play the team members, identified to the audience and each other during the five weeks the action takes place by their jersey numbers. Not until the last scene do we hear a series of girls’ names, and connect that player #7 is Alex and #14 is Megan. Out of earshot of adults, the Wolves freely discuss a range of mature topics – abortion, pads vs. tampons, eating disorders, Mexican children locked in cages, and various adult figures – parents, coaches, and Cambodian genocide leader Pol Pot with a familiar vernacular (#11: “but it’s like he’s old”; #25: “he murdered thousands of people”). Not until close to the end of the play does the tenth and only adult cast member (Soccer mom) appear, and not surprisingly the group dynamic and flow of the conversation changes with her presence.

Lyric’s ‘Roadshow’ Showcases Lesser Known Sondheim Work

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by John Weidman; Co-Directed by Spiro Veloudos and Ilyse Robbins; Music Direction by Jonathan Goldberg; Choreography by Ilyse Robbins; Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Lighting Design by John R. Malinowski; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill; Costume Design by Amanda Mujica. Presented by The Lyric stage Company of Boston, 40 Clarendon St., Boston through February 11

Watching Steven Sondheim’s Roadshow is a lot like listening to Magical Mystery Tour or Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. You know it’s not in the same league as say, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Abbey Road, but there’s certainly enough good material there to warrant a listen. Such is the case with Roadshow, now being presented by the Lyric Stage Company. It’s no Into the Woods or A Little Night Music, but much like the lesser Beatles works, there are the flashes of brilliance that one would expect from any Sondheim musical.