Exiled Theatre’s ‘Hauntings’ Reveals the Evil Within

November 17, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

“Hauntings I Have Lived Through” – Written and Directed by James Wilkinson. Presented by Exiled Theatre at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, through November 19.

by Mike Hoban

Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean our love of horror has abated. No, we’re not talking about REAL horrors, like the horrific attack on Israel or the war in Gaza that is now raging, or even Donald Trump’s plans for bringing back early 20th-century European fascism to America if re-elected. The horror we speak of resides where it always does – between our ears, and it’s jolted back to life in Exiled Theatre’s compelling Hauntings I Have Lived Through, now playing at the Boston Playwrights Theatre. Written and directed by Exiled’s co-founder James Wilkinson, Hauntings is three monologues delivered by female narrators, weaving tales from the realm of the supernatural.

At NSMT, Elvis Lives!

November 3, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of “Elvis” at the North Shore Music Theatre. Photo © David Costa Photography

Elvis: A Musical Revolution at North Shore Music Theatre. Book by Sean Cercone and David Abbinanti. Based on a concept by Floyd Mutrux. Direction and Choreography by Kevin P. Hill. Co-Music Direction by Milton Granger and Robert L. Ruckinski. Scenic Design by Kyle Dixon. Costume Design by Travis M. Grant. Lighting Design by Jack Mehler. Sound Design by Alex Berg. Wig and Hair Design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt. At the North Shore Music Theatre through November 12

by Linda Chin

Whether, like me, you’ve seen Elvis Presley perform his hip-gyrating hits on archival footage, or like my plus one, saw him perform ‘live’ on the Ed Sullivan Show on black and white TV in 1956, you’re in for a fun time at NSMT. Their current production of Elvis: A Musical Revolution features over 40 of his songs, a terrific 9-piece orchestra, a 29-member company of triple-threats, and a breakout performance by Dan Berry as the King. And unlike watching Elvis on the screen, in this theater-in-the-round – where you’re never more than 15 rows from the stage – you’ll see the actors in full form, live and up close – and not just visible from the waist up.

“A Christmas Carol” Returns to Trinity Rep

November 1, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave 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.

MRT’s Psychological Thriller ‘Gaslight’ a Portrait of Courage in the Face of Evil

November 1, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Jim Hopkins, Kristin Yancy, and Karen MacDonald in MRT’s ‘Gaslight’

‘Gaslight’ – Based on the play by Patrick Hamilton. Adapted for the stage by Steven Dietz. Directed by Courtney Sale; Scenic Design by Samantha Reno; Lighting Design by Laura Glover; Costume Design by Rainy Edwards; Sound Design by Robert Carlton Stimmel. Produced by Merrimack Repertory Theater in partnership with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre at Liberty Hall, 50 E. Merrimack St., Lowell, through November 5.

By Mike Hoban

There could hardly be a more fitting time for a play entitled Gaslight, given that we are now living in a world that asks us to bend reality to suit our own cultural and political beliefs rather than to believe what we see and hear with our own eyes and ears. This engaging production is also a reminder of the courage it takes to fight back against the forces of evil, whether it’s on a personal or global scale, and that fight is vital to our very survival.

Hands Together, Thumbs Up, And Snap Twice For Wheelock’s ‘The Addams Family’

October 20, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of ‘The Addams Family’ at Wheelock Family Theatre

Wheelock Family Theatre at Boston University presents ‘The Addams Family’. Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa. Nick Vargas (Director), David Freeman Coleman (Music Director), Larry Sousa (Choreographer), Jimmy Rotondo (Scenic Designer), Frank Meissner, Jr. (Lighting Designer), Zoë Sundra (Costume Designer), Jenn Butler (Props Designer), Jon King (Sound Designer), Akeem Celestine (Makeup Designer). At WFT@BU, 180 Riverway, Boston, through November 19, 2023.

by Linda Chin

After a warm pre-curtain welcome by Jeri Hammond (Director of Education) and Nick Vargas (Interim Artistic Director) the house lights dim, and the audience is abuzz with anticipation. Yet before the red velvet curtain opens to reveal the world of the show (and its sensational set by Jimmy Rotondo and lighting by Frank Meissner, Jr.) is another surprise. A disembodied hand emerges through the split in the curtain, eliciting some gasps from the crowd (from the younger, middle-aged, or senior patrons – or all three?). But the hand seems more shy, lost, and friendly than scary, lecherous, and frightening and happily finds its place in the spotlight center stage. When the first strains of music from the theme song, the “Buh-buh-buh-bump,” rise from the pit, the hand – right on cue – snaps its fingers twice, then the phrase repeats. The hand is noticeably happier when more of its new friends in the audience join in. Which many of us baby boomers (who grew up with the television show and this opening number on our black-and-white sets) do while giggling and singing along with kooky, ooky, childish glee.

Moonbox Productions’ ‘Sweeney Todd’ Sets The City On Fire

October 19, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Joy Clark and Davron Monroe in Moonbox Productions ‘Sweeney Todd’

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler. Ryan Mardesich, Director/Co-Producer. Dan Ryan, Music Director/Conductor. Joy Clark, Choreographer. Cameron McEachern, Set Design. Kat C. Zhou, Lighting Design. Rebecca Glick, Costume Design. James Cannon, Sound Design. Lauren Corcuera, Properties Design. Margaret Clark, Fight Choreography. At Arrow Street Arts, Cambridge, through November 5.

by Linda Chin

With their intensely powerful Sweeney Todd christening the new black-box theatre at Arrow Street Arts in Cambridge, Moonbox Productions is “setting the city on fire.” Mercifully, not because all hell has broken loose in Harvard Square, with ‘rats in the grass!…or lunatics yelling!…or great black crows screeching!’ like in Sondheim’s London, 1846. But rather because, like when used in rap music or modern slang in 2023, the term ‘set the city on fire’ means a large number of people are excited and interested in what’s happening.

‘HANGMEN’ at the GAMM

October 15, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

The cast of Gamm Theatre’s production of “The Hangmen.” Photo by Cat Laine

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The second show of Gamm Theatre’s 39th season is the New England Premiere of “Hangmen” by Martin McDonagh. This show is a fictional story set in 1965 when the death penalty had just been abolished in the UK. In a small town in Northern England, everyone wants to know what the second-best hangman in the country, Harry Wade, whose profession has just been made illegal, has to say about it. When the news breaks, Harry’s pub is overrun with a gang of misfits and a cub reporter eager to garner a quote from Harry himself. Harry’s guilt-ridden former assistant, Syd, is also in attendance. However, when a constantly smiling, inscrutable visitor, Mooney, appears, everyone becomes inquisitive about this stranger’s mysterious motives. Even though serious topics are discussed, McDonagh keeps the comedy flowing even in the most dire circumstances. Director Tony Estrella casts these 11 roles wonderfully and elicits both comic and dramatic performances from one and all. He is aided in his task by Jessica Hill Kidd, who designed a prison area on the top of a lovely British bar that looks so realistic you’d go up there and order a pint for yourself. The terrific fight choreography is by Normand Beauregard with lighting design by James Horban, terrific sound design by Hunter Spoede with realistic thunder and rain, and the 1960s costumes by Katie Hand. Stage manager Robin Grady keeps things running smoothly all night long.

True Crime Meets Rock n’ Roll in Umbrella’s ‘Lizzie’

October 4, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater Mirror1 Comment

Cast of ‘*Lizzie: The Musical’* at the Umbrella Stage Company. Photos by Jim Sabitus

‘Lizzie: The Musical’ – Music by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt; Lyrics by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Tim Maner; Book by Tim Maner; Additional Music by Tim Maner; Additional Lyrics by Alan Stevens Hewitt; Based on an original concept by Alan Stevens Hewitt; Orchestrations by Alan Stevens Hewitt. Produced by Brian Boruta; Directed and Choreographed by Ilyse Robbins; Music Director Lianne Bunting; Lighting Designer SeifAllah Salotto Cristobal; Sound Designer James Cannon; Scenic Designer Erik D. Diaz; Costume Designer Bethany Mullins. Presented by The Umbrella Stage Company at 40 Stow St., Concord, MA, through November 5^th.

by Mike Hoban

“Lizzie Borden took an axe,

And gave her mother forty whacks,

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty-one.”

That gruesome child’s rhyme from the late 19^th century is both the inspiration and the opening lines from Lizzie: The Musical, Umbrella Stage Company’s early Halloween present to rock musical fans. This punk rock-flavored headbanger of a show shakes up the genre much the way the 1973 musical stage production of The Rocky Horror Show did 50 years earlier. Only instead of being fueled by dark humor and (then) norm-pushing sexcapades, it’s a far more serious feminist revenge story – and just as entertaining.

Short Take: A Sweet Treat at Ogunquit: ‘Tootsie’ Rolls with Laughter

October 2, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Music & Lyrics by David Yazbeck. Book by Robert Horn. Directed by Larry Raben. Choreography by Jennifer Rias. Music Direction by Andrew David Sotomayor. Scenic Design by Christine Peters. Lighting Design by Richard Latta. Costume Design by William Ivery Long. Sound Design by Kevin Heard. Wig Design by Roxanne De Luna. At Ogunquit Playhouse, 10 Main Street, Ogunquit, ME through October 29, 2023.

by Linda Chin

The Tony Award-winning musical comedy Tootsie, now enjoying its regional premiere at the Ogunquit Playhouse, is an adaptation of the now 40-year-old movie starring Dustin Hoffman in a red wig, glasses, and the now iconic gown with red sequins. Tootsie is Michael Dorsey, a talented 40-year-old actor who’s talented and deeply committed to his craft but whose arrogance and know-it-all attitude have alienated producers, directors, and colleagues alike. Desperate to work, Dorsey disguises himself as a woman, adopts a female persona, names himself Dorothy Michaels, and lands a role in a soap opera. The star-studded cast of characters – including Dorsey’s agent George (Sydney Pollack), friend/ex-girlfriend Sandy (Teri Garr), and television co-star Julie Nichols (Jessica Lange) – are not made aware of this charade; the only person he confides in is his deadpanning roommate, Jeff Slater, played in the movie by Bill Murray.

At North Shore Music Theatre, A Rousing Production of ‘The Full Monty’

September 30, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Cast of “The Full Monty” at North Shore Music Theatre. Photo © Paul Lyden

Book by Terrence McNally. Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek. Gerry McIntyre, Director and Choreography, Milton Granger, Music Director. Kyle Dixon, Scenic Design. Kelly Baker, Costume Coordination. Travis McHale, Lighting Design. Alex Berg, Sound Design. Rachel Padula-Shufelt, Wig & Hair Design. At NSMT, Beverly, MA through October 8, 2023.

By Linda Chin

Hats off – literally – to North Shore Music Theatre, for putting on a rousing, crowd-pleasing production of The Full Monty and the sizzling ‘Hot Metal’ steel-workers-turned-strippers and for pulling off the fabulous final scene with total finesse. Donning full police uniforms over sparkly red thongs, the sextet executed energetic choreography (inspired by Michael Jordan’s smooth basketball moves) and did a full Monty, stripping naked from head to toe, their officer caps covering their cajónes. David Yazbek’s (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) rock-pop score bursts with sass and sentimentality, and his lyrics are expository and clever – deserving of extra credit for a rhyming bonus with cajónes. Terrence McNally’s (Ragtime) fleshed-out book and strong character development also make The Full Monty an atypical musical.