Tag: Review

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

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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.

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Speakeasy’s ‘Cost of Living’ Teaches the Value of Connection

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Gina Fonseca, Sean Leviashvill in Speakeasy’s ‘Cost of Living’

Cost of Living – Written by Martyna Majok; Directed By Alex Lonati; Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Amanda E. Fallon; Sound Design by Anna Drummond. Presented by Speakeasy Stage Company at 527 Tremont St, Boston  through March 30th, 2024,

By Helen Ganley

White-washed windows frame silhouetted figures diffused by foggy panes of light-filled glass. Behind these panes are flocks of New Jerseyans – each with their routines, stories, and connections. In Cost of Living, Speakeasy Stage Company delves into the narratives behind these casements and the forces that draw their residents together.

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Starboard, Overboard, Never Bored in GBSC’s ‘Titanish’

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‘Titanish’ – Written by Jeff Shell & Ryan Dobosh. Music by Mark Siano. Directed by Tyler Rosati. Music Direction by Avery Bargar. Scenic Design by Rachel Rose Burke. Lighting Design by John Holmes. Costume Design by Bethany Mullins. Sound Design by Andrew Duncan Will. Properties Design by Emily Allinson. At Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, MA, through March 17, 2024

by Linda Chin

Making its East Coast premiere at Greater Boston Stage Company, the play Titanish, by Jeff Shell and Ryan Dobos, is a parody – not of the tragic event of 1912 that killed nearly 1500 people, nor the Broadway production of 1977 that won five Tony Awards, including “Best Musical,” but of the Oscar-winning “Best Picture” of 1998 that was the first to gross $1 billion worldwide. I don’t associate the movie ‘Titanic’ – nor its characters Jack and Rose (the roles that thrust Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into stardom overnight) with comedy. In fact, the only time I recall laughing with the Titanic as the subject matter is the old joke with the punchline, “Iceberg, Goldberg, what’s the difference?”

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“The Minutes” a Tragicomic Glimpse into the Nature of People and Power

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Scot Colford and cast of ‘The Minutes’ at Umbrella Stage Company. Photos by Jim Sabitus

By Michele Markarian

“The Minutes” – Written by Tracy Letts. Directed by Scott Edmiston. Sound Design by James Cannon. Lighting Design by SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal. Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland. Costume Design by Bethany Mullins. Presented by The Umbrella Stage Company, 40 Stow Street, Concord, through March 24.

“Democracy’s messy,” says Mayor Superba (Steve Barkhimer) to his newest town council member, the young and eager to assimilate Mr. Peel (Ryan MacPherson). Mr. Peel is new to Big Cherry, having moved there for his wife, who grew up there. He is a “joiner,” signing up for various activities to gain a foothold in the community. His mother recently passed, causing him to miss the last council meeting for her funeral. When he returns, he discovers that Mr. Carp (Jeremiah Kissel), a man he’d been working with on a project, has disappeared, and none of the other council members will tell him what happened. Oddly enough, the minutes for the meeting have disappeared as well. Over the course of the ninety-minute play, we learn not only what happened to Mr. Carp but also the truth behind the town’s infamous battle of Mattie Creek and the hero’s journey that has been drilled into each citizen through the teachings of the church and school. 

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‘Dishwasher Dreams’ at Merrimack Rep is a Home Run

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Alaudin Ullah in Dishwasher Dreams at MRT

By Linda Chin

The spectacular autobiographical solo performance piece Dishwasher Dreams, now running at Merrimack Rep through March 24, blends its writer and star Alaudin Ullah’s Bangladeshi, Muslim, and comedic roots.  For years, the one-time stand-up comic, popular on the NYC and LA comedy circuits in the ‘90s (and who appeared nationally on Comedy Central, HBO, and MTV), used the name Aladdin, changing his name by one letter (‘u’ to ‘d’) to make it “easier for show business and white people.” In reclaiming his birthname, reportedly after a return visit to Bangladesh after his mother’s death, Ullah demonstrates that he is proud to be his father’s – a dishwasher’s son, appreciates and accepts his mother’s advice that success is “not about money…[but] having the courage to do something most would not…just never forget where you are from” and, is “over the Disney sh*t.”  

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Umbrella’s ‘The Minutes’ Is Sheer Perfection

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Cast of ‘The Minutes’ at Umbrella Stage Company

The Umbrella Stage Company presents ‘The Minutes’ by Tracy Letts. Directed by Scott Edmiston. Produced by Brian Boruta. Sound Design by James Cannon. Lighting Design by SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal. Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland. Costume Design by Bethany Mullins. Through March 24 at Umbrella Arts Center, Concord.

By Linda Chin

Part dark comedy, part political satire, part Hitchcockian mystery, every minute of Tracy Letts’ well-crafted ninety-minute play The Minutes is chock-full of intrigue, clever banter, and, until the final few minutes of the final scene – laugh-out-loud humor. Set in the small town of Big Cherry, USA, in the present day, audience members are flies on the walls of the architecturally majestic council chamber room lined with portraits of great white male mayors (scenic design by Janie E. Howland).

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Gamm Theatre’s “Twelfth Night” a Laugh Riot

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Jeff Church, Kelby Akin, and Nora Eschenheimer in Gamm Theatre’s “Twelfth Night”.
Photos: Cat Laine

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Welcome to Illyria, the setting of and the fourth show of Gamm Theatre’s 39th Season. The audience members are invited guests to a Shakespearean celebration. First, we come upon a shipwreck where twins Viola and Sebastian are separated and forced to survive on their own in a strange land. The first, Viola, falls in love with Count Orsino, who, in turn, falls in love with Olivia. However, Olivia falls for Viola, who is disguised as Cesario. Still, Olivia is also pursued by her pompous steward, Malvolio, who is viewed as such because he condemns drunken revelry by her uncle Toby Belch and Sir Andrew, another one of her suitors. Later on, Sebastian appears on the scene, throwing the situation into further disarray because he is the spitting image of his twin sister. Mistaken identities, gender-bending antics, revelries, and wild mayhem abound in this madcap Shakespearean tale written in 1601 or 1602. Directors Tony Estrella and Rachel Walshe take their talented performers and mold them into the characters of yesteryear, winning them the accolades they richly deserve.

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August Wilson’s ‘Fences’ Hits Home Run at Trinity Rep

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Kevin Roston Jr. and Jackie Davis in ‘Fences’ at Trinity Rep. Photos by Marisa Lenardson

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Trinity Rep’s 2nd show of 2024 continues the celebration of their 60th anniversary season with “Fences,” one of August Wilson’s most famous plays. This show won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987. In segregated Pittsburgh back in 1957, former Negro baseball player Troy Maxon is barely making ends meet as a sanitation worker. He was once a famous and prodigious ball player and was impressive in his community, but now only seems to control his wife and two sons. The show takes place in front of Troy’s house, which has an incomplete fence. Troy’s yearning to protect his family from outside oppression becomes warped with his stubbornness and pride. Wilson’s play shows the devastating results of Troy’s deteriorating relationship with his family members in an emotional roller coaster of emotions and feelings that captures the audience’s attention from start to finish. It examines the tensions between Troy and his wife, brother, and sons. The show’s title refers to the fence that Troy is building around his property and the barriers he puts up to protect himself from other people’s supposed offenses. It keeps others out but also keeps him shut inside. Director Christopher Windom casts this show wonderfully and elicits strong performances from all of them. The second act’s dramatic power and punch are outstanding. August Wilson’s character of Troy Maxon is reminiscent of Willy Loman, with his tragic flaws ruining his relationships with other people, including his family members.

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A Sure Thing at the Emerson Colonial: Pretty Woman the Musical

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Crossroads Live presents PRETTY WOMAN The Musical. Book by Garry Marshall & J.F. Lawton. Music and Lyrics by Bryan Adams & Jim Vallance. Based on the Touchtone Pictures motion picture written by J.F. Lawton. Original Broadway Production Directed and Choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Choreography Recreated by Rusty Mowery. Direction Recreated by DB Bonds. Music Supervision, Arrangements, and Orchestrations by Will Van Dyke. At the Emerson Colonial Theatre, Boylston Street, Boston, through March 3, 2024.

By Linda Chin

Once upon a time in Hollywood, sometime in the 1980s, a handsome corporate raider named Edward Lewis, in town to close a business deal, meets a very pretty woman named Vivian Ward at her “office” on Hollywood Boulevard. Vivian and Edward (Ellie Baker and Chase Wolfe play the now iconic roles made famous by Julia Roberts and Richard Gere) are from very different walks of life. Edward’s upbringing included prep school, polo matches, classical music, and opera, and he is wealthy, a billionaire, in fact. She doesn’t have a steady job, can barely make ends meet, and never finished high school, but is street smart – more adept at driving a stick shift than Edward, who admits that his first car was a limousine – and making small talk with people in the 99% than Edward, who has much less exposure and EQ.

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‘Pretty Woman the Musical’ Will Make You Forget There Ever Was a Movie Version

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Cast of ‘Pretty Woman’ at Emerson Colonial

“Pretty Woman the Musical” — Written by Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton. Music and Lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. Based on the Touchstone picture written by J.F. Lawton. Direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell, recreated by DB Bonds and Rusty Mowery; Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestration by Will Van Dyke; Scenic Design by Christine Peters; Costume Design by Gregg Barnes; Lighting Design by Kenneth Posner and Philip S. Rosenberg; Sound Design by John Shivers. Presented by Crossroads Live at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston, through March 3.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Pretty Woman the Musical is much more than a theatrical remake of the 1990 rom-com film that launched the career of then-21-year-old Julia Roberts and her trademark mile-wide smile. The big-budget Broadway show stands on its own as a supremely enjoyable night of big pageantry, from the live orchestra, fabulous set, choreography, and humor to the terrific cast, who sing and dance their hearts out for two and a half hours (one intermission).

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