The Otherworldliness and Exquisite Beauty of MRT’s “A Khmer Swan Lake”

April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

“A Khmer Swan Lake”. Created by Angkor Dance Troupe, Inc. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Liberty Hall, 50 E. Merrimack Street, Lowell, through April 26.

By Michele Markarian

Every so often, one sees a performance that’s so breathtakingly artful that it’s hard to describe. A Khmer Swan Lake, created by the Angkor Dance Troupe, is one of them, presenting a gorgeous rendition of the 19th-century ballet, first scored by Tchaikovsky (which Angkor gives a periodic nod to by inserting snippets of his score at key moments). Swan Lake writer and music composer Sot Somaly has created a sometimes lilting, often dramatic and melodic recorded score of traditional Cambodian music comprised of four singers and five musicians that capture the natural world, the world of the court, and the spiritual realm accordingly.

Bridget Kathleen O’Leary on the 5th Annual New Works Festival: “It is essential that we uplift the voices of Queer communities.”

April 9, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Moonbox Productions originated the Boston New Works Festival in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Bridget Kathleen O’Leary, Director of New Play Development and Literary Engagement for Moonbox, recalled that the company “was trying to figure out, how do they uplift artists in the midst of this pandemic, when art isn’t being created. How do we keep people creatively engaged? Sharman Altshuler, who’s the artistic director of Moonbox, is really about how can she facilitate artists’ processes? How does she take things that people are excited about and help make them happen?”

Dramaturg Lois Roach on Continuing the Ufot Family Cycle with “Lifted”

March 24, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Initiated by the Huntington Theatre, the Ufot Family Cycle is a massive undertaking by the Boston theater community. Across nine plays and three generations, Mfoniso Udofia’s series examines both the intimate life of one family and the expansive reach of the African diaspora. The artistically and logistically complex effort began last season and is slated to conclude this season. This citywide collaborative undertaking will have given five of the nine plays their premieres by the time the theatrical epic reaches its conclusion.

Music Director Reuben M. Reynolds III says Boston Gay Men’s Chorus Is About Community and Social Change

March 22, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Rueben M. Reynolds. III Photo Credit: Michael Willer

The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus has been making music and making change through music for the better part of a half-century. In that time, our community has seen victories and setbacks, from the depths of the AIDS crisis to growing representation and acceptance in popular culture, to judicial and political attacks, to the advent of marriage equality, and the current moment’s dismantling of access and protections for marginalized Americans of every sort.

Barmakian, Melendy Light Up GBSC’s Thrilling ‘Wait Until Dark’

March 18, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of GBSC’s ‘Wait Until Dark’. Photos by Nile Scott Studio

‘Wait Until Dark’ – Written by Frederick Knott and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher.Directed by Weylin Symes; Scenic Design by Katy Monthei; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Costume Design by Deirdre Gerrard; Sound Design by Caroline Eng; and Fight Choreography by Naomi Kim. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company at 395 Main St, Stoneham, MA, through March 22^nd.

By Mike Hoban

Greater Boston Stage has once again mined the suspense genre and struck theatrical gold with an exhilarating production of the white-knuckle thriller, Wait Until Dark. Featuring a stellar cast that blends GBSC regulars with a handful of talented relative newcomers, they adroitly deliver on the twists and turns of playwright Frederick Knott’s serpentine narrative with precision and heart.

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

March 4, 2026April 10, 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.

Liars and Believers’ “The End is Nigh” Uses Humor to Cut Through Hatred and Despair

February 23, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Glen Moore in Liars and Believers’ upcoming, ‘The End is Nigh’
Photos by Ollie Kamens

By Kilian Melloy

Liars and Believers devises its shows using a collaborative process. Its shows are lively and inspired, combining various theatrical traditions in works like Yellow Bird Chase, a favorite that tours to enthusiastic audiences. But the company doesn’t create fun fluff; behind the clowning, bright design work, and physical comedy are artistic director Jason Slavick’s creative and philosophical concerns. “I have political and social goals,” Slavick admits. “Actually, everything I do has some deep intention, even Yellow Bird.”

Strange Turns and True Stories: Ahamefule J. Oluo on Their New Show, ‘The Things Around Us’

February 17, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Ahamefule J. Oluo in ‘The Things Around Us’, coming to the Emerson Paramount Center
Photo Credits: Alex Dugan

By Kilian Melloy

Jazz musician, stand-up comic, playwright, screenwriter… Ahamefule J. Oluo is all of that and more. The author of two previous shows blending storytelling and music drawn from their own life and those of their parents, 2014’s Now I’m Fine, and 2019’s Susan, Oluo brings their latest, a solo show titled The Things Around Us, to The Emerson Paramount Center’s Robert J. Orchard Stage from February 20 – 22. The Things Around Us constitutes the third part of what’s become a trilogy, but, unlike the previous two shows, it’s a solo piece: Oluo will create the show’s music using loops rather than an orchestra. With a stand-up’s instincts for engaging with the room and a musician’s ear for the language of sound, the artist will present audiences with a unique experience that he tells us is hard to describe — but not to understand, not once you’ve had it.

Oluo took some time to chat with Theater Mirror about the show, how it grew out of past projects, and the loneliness of being backstage with no one but themself.

MRT’s ‘Kevin Kling: Unraveled’ Lifts the Spirit

February 4, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Kevin Kling in MRT’s ‘Kevin Kling: Unraveled’

‘Kevin Kling: Unraveled’ − Written and performed by Kevin Kling; Music by Robertson Witmer; Directed by Steven Dietz; Scenic Design by David M. Barber; Costume Design by Peggy McKowen. Produced by Merrimack Repertory Theatre in partnership with the Contemporary American Theater Festival at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre in Liberty Hall at 50 E. Merrimack St. in Lowell through February 8^th

By Mike Hoban

On its surface, Kevin Kling: Unraveled is a one-person show centered on how one man deals not only with his own physical disabilities but also with the perceptions of others. But Kling − and his show − are not defined by his disability. He is first and foremost a gifted storyteller whose performance is more likely to remind one of Jean Shepherd (the narrator of the holiday classic A Christmas Story) than comic Josh Blue (whose cerebral palsy serves as a launching pad for his jokes).

Director Keira Fromm on the Huntington’s “We Had a World”

January 26, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Chicago-based director Keira Fromm is no stranger to the work of playwright Joshua Harmon, author of Bad Jews, Significant Other, Admissions, and Prayer for the French Republic. Fromm is also a no stranger to premiering memorable work, having directed everything from Tanya Barfields’ lesbian romance Bright Half Life for About Face Theatre and David Auburn’s The Columnist at American Blues Theater to Halley Feiffer’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City for Route 66 Theatre Company, all in their Chicago premieres, not to mention the U.S. premiere of British playwright Debbie Tucker Green’s harrowing hang for Chicago’s Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.