Playwright Najee A. Brown on his play “Stokely & Martin”

January 14, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Najee A. Brown’s Stokely & Martin imagines a pivotal dinner conversation between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) — Stokely Carmichael, Cleveland “Cleve” Sellers, and Willie Ricks — in 1966, at a moment when the civil rights movement was fracturing over questions of tactics, philosophy, and the meaning of Black Power.

Brown, the Artistic Director of the Multicultural Arts Center, wrote and now directs the production. The script comes with an imprimatur of authenticity: The dinner table conversation (a “strategy room” session, Brown explained during our interview) is informed by interviews Brown did with Willie Ricks, who attended just such gatherings. “They knew strategically what they had to do,” Brown notes, “and they did more planning than they did marching. Now I feel like we do more marching and maybe some planning that I don’t know about, or no planning at all.”

Theater Mirror Reviewers ‘Best Of’ Lists for 2025

January 1, 2026April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Speakeasy’s ‘A Man of No Importance’. Photos by Nile Scott Studios

As we close the door on what has been an enormously challenging year for most Americans, it was comforting to know that even in a world gone mad, Greater Boston theater companies were there to provide much-needed refuge for theatergoers, if only for a few hours at a time.

This may have been the strongest overall year for theater since COVID first hit, with a mix of pure-entertainment musicals like A.R.T.’s Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York (A.R.T.) and Lyric Stage’s Hello Dolly! balanced with plays (and musicals) with much weightier material, like Arlekin Players’ Our Class, and the national tour of Parade at Emerson Colonial. There were also a number of older plays that spoke to the issues bedeviling America today, including attacks on the LGBTQ+, Jewish, and immigrant communities.

Adam Theater co-founders Ran Bechor and Karin Sharav Zalkind on “Library Lion”

December 28, 2025April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of Adam Theater’s ‘Library Lion’ at BCA Calderwood Pavilion January 10-25
Photos by Nile Scott Studios

By Kilian Melloy

For the second January in a row, Adam Theater will be putting the “lion” in the Calderwood Pavilion with a production of Library Lion, a musical that celebrates the importance both of reading and of celebrating people for who they are.

The story is sweet and compelling. When a lion wanders into a library, his appearance stirs panic in some. Others, however, find his presence to be perfectly fine, so long as he follows the usual rules: No running, no shouting, no eating or drinking. The lion becomes a regular at the library (and its popular story hour) at the same time as two children are learning how to use the library as a resource, and to understand that books can fuel the imagination. But suspicion and fear linger, and when a misunderstanding happens, the lion’s place in the library’s community is put into question. It’s the kind of story that, ironically, can get a book challenged, or even banned, these days.

CSC’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Stirs Christmas Spirit with Victorian Song

December 14, 2025April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Kathryn McKellar, Will Lyman in CSC’s ;*Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol*‘.
Photos by Nile Scott Studios

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol − Adaptation by Steve Wargo with Musical Arrangements by Dianne Adams McDowell; Directed by Steven Maler; Musical Direction by Dan Rodriguez; Scenic Design by Scott Bradley; Choreography by John Lam; Lighting Design by Jessica Elliot and Eric Southern III; Sound Design by David Remedios; Costumes by Fabian Fidel Aguilar. Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company at Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Tremont St., Boston, through December 23.

By Mike Hoban

I’ve been a huge fan of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol ever since I was a young boy, although I must confess that my deep appreciation didn’t come from reading the novella. Instead, it was the delightful cartoon musical Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol that first captured my heart and imagination. Featuring a musical score by legendary Broadway composer Jule Styne (Gypsy, Funny Girl, and dozens more), the animated production entertainingly conveyed the story’s central message of redemption and learning to care for others in a way that even an eight-year-old could understand. From there, I graduated to the iconic 1951 Alastair Sim film, and each holiday season try to incorporate one or both into my holiday-themed viewing to rekindle some of that nostalgic Christmas spirit.

Keeping the Faith: Voncille Ross on 55 Years of Boston’s “Black Nativity”

December 12, 2025April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By Killian Melloy

For 55 years, the National Center of Afro-American Artists’ (NCAAA) production of Langston Hughes’ “Black Nativity” has been a holiday tradition, a community gathering, and what some have called “Boston’s Black community’s holiday card to the world.” At the helm of this enduring celebration is Voncille Ross, Executive Producer and Director of NCAAA Black Nativity, whose connection to the production has endured nearly as long as the show itself.

Boston Favorite Will Lyman on Playing Scrooge in Commonwealth Shakespeare’s “A Christmas Carol”

December 8, 2025April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Will Lyman as Scrooge in CSC’s “A Christmas Carol”

Ebenezer Scrooge is the ultimate Christmas villain. Indeed, his name has become synonymous with unthinking greed paired with the sort of flinty hard-heartedness that denies joy to oneself as well as to others. His trademark exclamation of “Bah! Humbug!” has become a universal shorthand for dismissal of all things joyful and celebratory.

Strong Performances Lift Theatre Uncorked’s ‘Blood Brothers’

November 18, 2025April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Zach Fuller, Michael Mazzone, and Laurel Casey in Theatre Uncorked’s ‘Blood Brothers’

‘Blood Brothers’ − Book, Lyrics, and Music by Willy Russell. Directed by Audrey Seraphin; Music Direction by Gina Naggar; Set Design by Leonard Chasse; Sound Design by Tim Rose; Lighting Design by Erik Fox and Amber Kovacs; Costume Design by Richard Itczak; Presented by Theatre Uncorked at the BCA Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St, Boston, through November 23rd.

By Mike Hoban

At a time when the gap between the haves and have-nots is again approaching levels not seen since the Gilded Age, Theatre Uncorked’s powerful production of Blood Brothers could not be more well-timed. The stark difference between those who are “comfortable” and those who will struggle daily to meet their basic needs was driven home during the recent governmental shutdown. Food banks were overwhelmed, and the harsh reality of a paycheck-to-paycheck existence exposed the class divide in the world’s wealthiest nation. Blood Brothers may be set in 1960s and 1970s Liverpool, England, but it could easily be any city in post-industrial Western civilization.

Creator Irina Kruzhilina Says Channeling Ideas Through Children is the Power Behind ‘SpaceBridge’

November 17, 2025April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Irina Kruzhilina. Photo by Olga Scorobogach

“I was born in Russia,” New York-based theater maker Irina Kruzhilina explains as our interview commences. “My mom was born in Ukraine. My father’s a Georgian Jew, which makes the situation right now, as you can imagine, very difficult. But I think that most people who are in Russia, or those who escape, do have this background, whether it’s Russian-Ukrainian or Russian-something else.”

Raised in Moscow during the days of the Soviet Union, Kruzhilina witnessed the transformation of Russia first-hand… and then witnessed its reversion. “I moved here the year Putin became the president,” she recalls. “I immediately moved to the States, where I got my second master’s in theater and started working. I have training in theater design, and I got additional training in directing.” That training stood Kruzhilina in good stead last year when she did the scenic design for Arlekin Players’ The Gaaga — work that earned her an Elliot Norton Award.

Director Logan Ellis on Bringing “Fun Home” to the Huntington

November 8, 2025April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Logan Ellis. Director of *Fun Home.* Photo by Annabel Clark

Rising theater director Logan Ellis has become a director who bridges worlds — between classical music and theater, between scrappy DIY companies and regional powerhouses, and between personal vulnerability and political urgency. Fresh out of school, he and some friends founded Theatre Battery in Kent, Washington, turning vacant mall storefronts into free community art spaces in one of the state’s most culturally diverse areas. Fifteen years later, Ellis has earned his MFA from Yale School of Drama, become Associate Producer at Skylight Theatre Company in Los Feliz (a neighborhood in Los Angeles), continued as Producing Artistic Director and Co-Founder at Theatre Battery, and pivoted into film.

Manual Cinema Continues to Enchant with ‘The 4th Witch’ at ArtsEmerson

November 3, 2025April 10, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Manual Cinema’s ‘The 4th Witch” at ArtsEmerson. Photos: Katie Doyle

The 4^th Witch − Concept and direction by Drew Dir; Devised by Dir, Sarah Forance and Julia Miller; Original score and sound design by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter; Mask Design by Julia Miller; Lighting Design by David Goodman‑Edberg; Costume / Wig Design by Sully Ratke. Presented by Manual Cinema at the Robert J. Orchard Stage, Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington St., Boston, through November 9.

By Mike Hoban

Manual Cinema has once again returned to the ArtsEmerson stages with their unfathomably unique brand of theatrical storytelling with The 4th Witch, a mind-bending work “inspired by” Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Told via shadow puppetry using live actors blended with silhouette cutouts beamed onto a movie screen by overhead projectors, the action is augmented by a haunting score played by a live ensemble with vocals. As the action is being projected onto the screen, the audience can simultaneously watch the actors and technicians dart around the stage to produce the images, while the three-piece ensemble (cello, violin, and keyboards), placed at the front of the stage, plays and sings.