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

March 1, 2024March 29, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

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.

“A Christmas Carol” Returns to Trinity Rep

November 1, 2023November 17, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of “A Christmas Carol” at Trinity Rep. Photos by Mark Turek.

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Trinity Repertory Company ushers the holiday season in with their presentation of their 47th production of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, adapted by Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming. This is Trinity’s third show of its 60th season. This show’s underlying themes of charity, forbearance, and benevolence are universal. They are equally relevant to people of all religions and backgrounds, especially now with the upcoming 2024 election being upended by the former, four times indicted and arrested, as well as twice impeached ex-president. Also, because of his impending and ongoing trials about the Insurrection of the Capital on January 6th, of the stolen top-secret documents and being found guilty of assault and defamation as well as being found guilty of fraud and the still contentious climate of this country and disorder in the congress about the debt ceiling limit. “A Christmas Carol” is about the curmudgeonly miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghosts of Marley, Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come who hope to change his destiny and save his soul to ultimately discover the true meaning of Christmas.

Trinity Rep’s “The Good John Proctor”

September 3, 2023September 16, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Tony Annicone

Trinity Repertory Company’s opening show of their 60th season is “The Good John Proctor” by Talene Monahan. The show is a prequel to Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” as Monahan imagines the inner lives of the four young girls whose accusations led to the witchcraft trials in Salem, MA, in 1692. The girls were pre-teens, but in this show, they are portrayed by adult actors and told from their viewpoint. All the girls in real life were actually much younger; Abigail Williams was 11 years old; her cousin, Betty Parris, was nine years old; young high-strung Mercy Lewis sought solace in alcohol while Mary Warren was an epileptic orphan. When Abigail started working for 60-year-old farmer John Proctor, their lives started to unravel from playing with poppets and churning butter into something completely unexpected. However, John Proctor doesn’t appear in this play at all. Director Kimberly Senior casts these four roles beautifully and elicits stunning performances from all of them.

SWEENEY TODD

May 22, 2023June 7, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Tony Annicone

Trinity Rep’s closing musical of their 59th season is Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd,” which opened on Broadway on March 1, 1979, and won 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This musical is a macabre tragicomedy based on the legend of a half-mad 19th Century English barber driven to crime when an evil judge takes his wife and daughter from him. Unjustly imprisoned, Todd eventually escapes 15 years later and vows to bring justice to the judge who destroyed his life and all the people of London. He forms a partnership with Mrs. Lovett, an enterprising bar mistress whose previously worst meat pies in London soon become the tastiest, with Todd’s victims as their secret ingredient. This musical also shines with a fabulous turntable set by the late Eugene Lee and Patrick Lynch with terrific costumes by Shahrzad Mazaheri. Director Curt Columbus infuses his cast with the energy and insight to pull off these complex characters. At the same time, music director Andrew Smithson taught the talented cast members the intricate and precise Sondheim music and lyrics in this over three-hundred-page score. The diction is crystal clear. Their combined efforts produce a sensational musical that must not be missed. It is rewarded with a resounding standing ovation at night’s close.

‘The Inferior Sex’ Sets Record Straight at Trinity Rep

March 1, 2023March 24, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘The Inferior Sex’ at Trinity Rep. Photo by Mark Turek

by Tony Annicone

Trinity Rep’s season continues with the new production of “The Inferior Sex” by Jaqueline E. Lawton. The play takes place back in the summer of 1972 and is centered on congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and her decision to run for president. The Equal Rights Amendment is front and center as the fervor to pass it builds throughout the country. A group of women in midtown who support this amendment have created a magazine for feminists who love fashion. Meanwhile, the war in Vietnam rages on and the scandal of Watergate bursts President Nixon’s ruling of the country without consequences from either side of the aisle. The women involved with this magazine have differing opinions about the social and political dealings of the day, and it challenges their friendships and the very unsure future of their beloved magazine. Lawton creates comic and poignant moments with her brand-new play and makes the audience aware of the struggles to attain Equal Rights in a very real and up-close look at the past. Director Tatyana-Marie Carlo casts some powerful actresses to portray these roles as she brings the audience back to 1972. There’s an amazing set by Sara Brown and authentic and breathtaking 1970’s vintage costumes by Amanda Downing Carney. The costumes worn by the character of Shirley Chisholm were handmade by Amanda after looking at the outfits the real congresswoman wore back then. Tatyana and her talented nine-member cast’s reward is the spontaneous standing ovation they receive at the curtain call.

Good Things Come in Threes in Trinity’s ‘By the Queen’

January 23, 2023January 26, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Fiona Marie Maguire as Margaret 1, Paula Plum as Margaret 3 and Rachel Christopher as Margaret 2,. Photos by Mark Turek.

By the Queen – By Whitney White; Adapted from William Shakespeare’s Henry VI plays and Richard III; Directed by Brian McEleney; Set Design by Michael McGarty; Costume Design by Toni Spadafora-Sadler; Lighting Design by Christina Watanabe; Sound Design by Larry D. Fowler, Jr.; Fight and Intimacy Choreography by Angie Jepson; Dramaturgy by Andrew Watring. Photo by Mark Turek. Presented by Trinity Repertory Theatre in the Dowling Theater through February 12, 2023

by Jim Phelan

It is said that good things come in threes. It is no surprise, then, that a company with Trinity in its name should produce such a “good” artistic “thing” as the world premiereof By the Queen. At the core of Trinity Rep’s production is the fundamental technique of portraying one character using three actors – one for each stage of their life. The character is Queen Margaret of Anjou. Not only a significant historical figure, she is also the only character in Shakespeare’s canon to appear in four of his plays (Henry VI – Parts 1, 2, and 3, and Richard III). Director Brian McEleney calls her Shakespeare’s “longest-running, most complicated, and most fleshed-out female character.” By the Queen takes the audience on a tour of Margaret’s life through the Bard’s works, guided by the three Margarets. Along the way, they offer the wisdom that can only come from bearing witness to the ups and downs, the wars and love affairs, the births and murders, which only Shakespeare (and history) can script. The result is a thought-provoking and enjoyable Shakespeare-ish story (whether or not one knows the Bard’s plays) as told through the eyes of a modern-day storyteller with a message that is all her own.

‘The Inheritance Part 1’ Shines at Trinity

September 1, 2022September 13, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘The Inheritance Part 1’at Trinity Rep

by Tony Annicone

Trinity Repertory Company’s opening show of their season is the 2020 Tony Award and 2019 Olivier Award winning play “The Inheritance” by Matthew Lopez. This two part play is about the aftermath of the AIDS crises, and takes place from the summer of 2015 to spring of 2018 and encompasses the gay identity of the 21st Century. Lopez uses EM Forster’s 1910 novel as the framework for his new tale and sets it in current day New York. The two Schlegel sisters from the original novel are transformed into two gay men in this new show. The 30 year old couple are Eric Glass, a political activist and Toby Darling, a writer, who have been partners for seven years. Shortly before they become engaged, they meet two strangers, an older man who lived through the AIDS crisis and a younger man yearning for a brighter future. These three generations deal with many situations and meetings that occur in the course of this three hour show. Toby must deal with success of a play he’s written as well as some self-doubt. This leads him into precarious situations, including a drug induced party and an unfortunate encounter with an escort. On the other hand, Eric seems to be on the right track. This upsets their planned future leaving it in disarray. Joe Wilson Jr. brings out the pathos and the comic moments excellently in this superbly written show. He elicits marvelous performances from his talented cast as they run the gamut of emotions. This splendid masterpiece is given a resounding and very well-deserved standing ovation at the close of the show.

The Inheritance Part 2’ Shines at Trinity

September 1, 2022September 30, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘The Inheritance Part 2’at Trinity Rep

by Tony Annicone

Trinity Repertory Company’s second show of their season is the continuation of their opening show, “The Inheritance” Part 2. When originally presented, the show was performed in seven hours, intended to be seen on the same day. After Part 1, the audience wonders if Eric will ever learn about his inheritance from his friend and benefactor. In Part 2 we continue to learn what someone receives personally from their own family including how they were brought up is also an inheritance. It also discusses what you do with what you have been given and what it can do for you. Can it help you or hinder you? Hopefully, you can fix the problem or let it ruin your life. The first play dealt with what one gets from their ancestors and paying homage to those who came before you. How their struggles in the past influence you now and in the future. Even though part 1 conclusion created a sense of peace and importance, part 2 starts off in a more flippant manner with Henry going back to being more stoic. Part 2 still has its heartbreaking moments and rivets you to your seat in anticipation of what will happen to Eric and to Toby.