“Stereophonic” A Grueling Celebration of Making Art

March 12, 2026March 12, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of “Stereophonic” at the Emerson Colonial. Photos: Julieta Cervantes

“Stereophonic”. Written by David Adjami. Original Songs by Will Butler. Directed by Daniel Aukin. Presented at Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston Street, Boston, through March 15.

By Michele Markarian

When I first saw “Stereophonic” a few years ago in New York, I was surprised at how familiar I was with some of the dialogue. “It’s the book!” I whispered to my husband, who had no idea what I was talking about. The book, “Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album” by Ken Caillat with Steven Stiefel, had been given to me as a birthday present by a friend ten years before. Caillat had been the co-producer of “Rumours” and wrote a book describing the exhilarating and often harrowing process, a journey Mick Fleetwood corroborates in his book “My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac”. The playwright eventually settled out of court with Caillat. In fairness to Adjami, while the book is good, the play, which depicts the arduous recording sessions of a seminal album by a band loosely based on Fleetwood Mac, is better.

SpeakEasy’s ‘The Antiquities’ Warns of Future Dangers of A.I.

March 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of SpeakEasy’s The Antiquities. Photos: Benjamin Rose Photography

The Antiquities (New England premiere) by Jordan Harrison. Directed by Alex Lonati; Scenic Design by Christoper & Justin Swader; Lighting Design by Amanda E. Fallon; Costume Design by Lila B. West; Sound Design by Anna Drummond; Props Coordination by Julia Wonkka; Intimacy Choreography by Shira Helena Gitlin; Fight Choreography by Margaret Clark; Dialect Coaching by Rebecca Schneebaum; Stage Managed by Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company at the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA in Boston, MA, through March 28, 2026.

By Julie-Anne Whitney

Imagine a world where humans have created electronic beings that mimic our thoughts and behavior. In the not-so-distant future, these artificial beings will be so good at doing what we’ve programmed them to do that they’ll do it better, faster, and more efficiently than we can. This “artificial intelligence” will be used to ravage the planet of its natural resources. It will be used as a weapon of war and will cause mass destruction.

Not so hard to imagine, is it?

Wakka Wakka’s “Dead As A Dodo” Resurrects Hope And Wonder

March 8, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

ArtsEmerson’s‘Dead As a Dodo’. Photo credits: David Zadig

‘Dead As A Dodo’ − Written, directed, and set design by Gwendolyn Warnock and Kirjan Waage. Original Music and Sound Design by Thor Gunnar Thorvaldsson. Puppet Design and Construction by Kirjan Waage. Touring Lighting Design by Scott Monnin. Presented by ArtsEmerson, from March 5th to March 8th at Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116.

By Charlotte Snow

Puppetry has been a staple of theatricality for centuries, but it often gets a bad rap as being trite and hokey. But in recent years, many theatre companies have been pushing back against this narrative, creating innovative and thought-provoking puppet plays for kids and adults alike. Gloriously, the Wakka Wakka theatre company practically demands that Dead As A Dodo joins, if not leads, the fold of exceptional puppet shows. 

MRT’s ‘Kween’ Finds Light in a Dark World

March 4, 2026 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Brittani J. McBride, Ray K. Soeun and Pichanny Som in MRT’s ‘Kween’

‘Kween’ (world premiere), by Vichet Chum; Direction by Pirronne Yousefzadeh; Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Costume Design by Yao Chen; Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal; Sound Design by David Remedios; Projection Design by Camilla Tassi; Stage Managed by Brian M. Robillard; Produced by Merrimack Repertory Theater in Lowell, MA. Runs through March 15.

By Liana Chow

Kween is a gorgeous new one-act play by Vichet Chum, written for Merrimack Repertory Theater and harmoniously directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh. Set in the present day and focusing on Cambodian American characters in Lowell, “Kween” reflects back to its audience the beauty that can be found in their community. Commissioned a few years ago during a surge of I.C.E. detentions and deportations, the play is premiering during another terrifying moment for immigrants and refugees that mirrors America’s apparent determination to repeat its long history of deportation and detention. Kween is a salve for despair because it makes a case for the everyday strength and wisdom of the younger generations, the millennial and Gen-Z children of diasporas.

“Zabel in Exile” An Emotional Journey of Oppression, Resistance and Faith

March 4, 2026 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Sarah Corey in Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s “Zabel in Exile”
Photos by Scornavacca Photography

Zabel in Exile. By R.N. Sandberg. Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian. Sponsored by Judith Saryan and Victor Zarougian. Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, through March 8.

By Michele Markarian

For this audience member of Armenian heritage, Zabel in Exile is a cultural expedition into the Armenian psyche. The favoritism and privilege of boys and men. The devastation and tragedy of the death marches. The mystical visions of Death, dressed in garments of scarlet and black. My great-grandfather saw such a vision riding towards him on horseback and told his family it was coming for him. He was right; he died the next day along with his wife and three of his children. My thirteen-year-old grandmother escaped. Zabel is a memory play based on the life of Armenian writer Zabel Yessayan. She’s a very compelling character, and her life, though hard and full of peril, embodies the bravery and compassion of the Armenian spirit.

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Is A Welcome Addition to Umbrella Theatre’s Season

March 3, 2026 Theater Mirror1 Comment

The Cast of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ at The Umbrella Arts Center
Photos by Jim Sabitus

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ — Dramatized by Christopher Sergel. Based on the Book by Harper Lee. Directed by Scott Edmiston. Scenic Design by Janie Howland; Lighting Design by SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal; Costumes by Rachel Padula-Shufelt; Sound Design by Chris Brousseau; Original Music on Cello by Valerie Thompson. Presented by The Umbrella Stage Company, 40 Stow St., Concord, MA, through March 22.

By Shelley A. Sackett

To Kill a Mockingbird, the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel written by Harper Lee and dramatized in 1970 by Christopher Sergel, tells the story of events that take place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression (1932 to 1935). The plot and characters are based on Lee’s observations of her family, neighbors and an actual event that took place in 1936 near her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama.

Apollinaire’s Impassioned ‘A View from the Bridge’ Reveals Troubled Waters Below

March 2, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Apollinaire’s ‘A View from the Bridge’
Photos by Darlene DeVita

‘A View from the Bridge’ — Written by Arthur Miller. Directed by David R. Gammons. Scenic and Sound by Joseph Lark-Riley; Costumes by Elizabeth Rocha; Lighting by Kevin Fulton. Presented by Apollinaire Theatre, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea, through March 22.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Arthur Miller, a prominent 20^th century American playwright best known for the classics Death of a Salesman (1949) and The Crucible (1953), penned the two-act A View from the Bridge in 1956 to tackle themes of working-class masculinity; conflicts between natural and bureaucratic law; family dynamics; feminism, and the struggles faced by immigrants (especially when illegal and confronted by anti-immigrant backlash).

Hub Theatre Company’s “The Bald Soprano” and “The Lesson” Hit the High Notes

February 23, 2026March 2, 2026 Theater Mirror2 Comments

Cast of Hub Theatre’s “The Bald Soprano”

‘The Bald Soprano’ and ‘The Lesson’ by Eugène Ionesco. Directed by Bryn Boice. Stage Management from Nona Ferney. Scenic Design by Justin Lahue. Sound Design by Mackenzie Adamick. Lighting Design by Narissa “Nars” Kelliher. Costume Design by Marissa Wolf. The Hub Theatre Company’s ‘The Bald Soprano’ and ‘The Lesson’ runs from February 20th – March 8th at the at 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116.

By Charlotte Snow

Absurdism simultaneously describes and stretches the bounds of impossibility. It’s no surprise the genre is facing a resurgence, given how the world has become increasingly complicated over the past few years. As a response to the wild and ever-changing times we find ourselves in, Hub Theatre Company’s latest theatrical offering is a double feature, The Bald Soprano and The Lesson by Eugène Ionesco.

It’s a Topsy-Turvy Planet in The Huntington’s ‘We Had A World’

February 23, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Amy Resnick, Will Conard in Huntington’s ‘We Had A World’. Photos by Annielly Camargo

‘We Had A World’ — Written by Joshua Harmon. Directed by Keira Fromm. Scenic Design by Courtney O’Neill; Costume Design by Izumi Inaba; Lighting Design by Tyler Micoleau; Sound Design and Original Music by Melanie Chen Cole, Presented by The Huntington at Wimberly Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont St., Boston through March 15.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Joshua Harmon covers a lot of ground in the arresting We Had A World. On its surface, the 100-minute one-act play is a deeply personal disinterment and examination of the complicated dyad relationships among his grandmother (Nana/Renee), his mother (Ellen), and Josh, Harmon’s autobiographical self. Equal parts loving requiem and vicious vendetta, the playwright fleshes out these complicated characters, channeling the emotional messiness and magnificence of a family where acrimony, blame, selfishness, and self-destruction share the stage with humor, love, gratitude, generosity, self-sacrifice and honesty. Spanning 1988-2018, the story is told in a nonlinear fashion, a patchwork quilt of episodes where each square is one person’s version of the same event. As the colors and patterns shift, so do our impressions of the three characters.

“Penelope” Plays an Emotional Waiting Game

February 10, 2026February 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Marissa Licata, Dan-Rodriguez, Aimee Doherty and Kett-Lee in Lyric Stage’s ‘Penelope’

“Penelope”. Music, lyrics and arrangements by Alex Bechtel. Book by Alex Bechtel, Grace McLean, Eva Steinmetz. Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Music Direction by Dan Rodriguez. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through March 1.

By Michele Markarian

Odysseus is a popular figure these days. In 2018, he appeared in Madeline Miller’s novel “Circe” as a virile and manipulative broken warrior. There was Kate Hamill’s “Odyssey” that premiered at A.R.T. last year. There’s an upcoming film version, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Matt Damon, scheduled for release this July. “Penelope”, written by Alex Bechtel, is a one-woman cabaret depicting a waiting, sometimes patiently, sometimes not, wife of Odysseus, whose loyalty and love is played adoringly by Aimee Doherty.