CSC’s ‘As You Like It’ Breathes Fresh Air into the Bard’s Timeless Tale

August 5, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Cast of CSC’s ‘As You Like It’. Photos by Nile Scott Studios

‘As You Like It’ — Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Steven Maler. Scenic Design by Riw Rakkulchon; Costume Design by Miranda Giurleo; Lighting Design by Eric Southern; Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Production on Boston Common through August 10.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Boston is a garden of many earthly delights, but none more eagerly awaited and appreciated than Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Free Shakespeare on the Common that, for 29 years, has invited people to lay down a blanket, bring a picnic dinner, and enjoy top-notch theater on Boston Common under a starry crescent-mooned sky.

A Peek Behind The Backstage Curtain in Hub Theatre Co.’s Funny, Poignant ‘The Understudy’

July 21, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Kevin Paquette, Lauren Elias, and Cristhian Mancias-Garcia in Hub Theatre’s ‘*The Understudy’*

‘The Understudy’ — written by Theresa Rebeck. Directed by Paula Plum. Scenic Design by Peyton Tavares; Projections Design by Justin Lahue; Sound Design by Gage Baker; Lighting Design by Emily Bearce. Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston at Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave., Boston, through August 2.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Playwright Theresa Rebeck’s smart, funny, snarky The Understudy takes us straight into the belly of the beast known as “Broadway Theater.” (Rebeck also penned the smash TV series, “Smash.”) Set backstage during an understudy rehearsal for The Castle, a fictitious long-lost play by Franz Kafka, the three-hander starts with a five-screen surround projection of close-ups of a Clint Eastwood-esque guy’s stubbled face. He mugs and does a macho muscled vamp, screaming “Get in the truck!” menacingly. Eventually, the film’s title (“Trucknado”) blazes across the screen as a booming voice warns, “Stay low or drive high.”

NSMT’s ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Couldn’t Be More Enjoyable

July 10, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Ethan Carlson, Sean Bell, Bridget Delaney, and E. Mani Cadet in “The Wizard of Oz” at North Shore Music Theatre thru July 20, 2025. Photos by Paul Lyden

‘The Wizard of Oz’ — Written by L. Frank Baum. Directed by Robert W. Schneider. Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg; Background Music by Herbert Stothart. Presented by North Shore Music Theatre, 54 Dunham Road, Beverly through July 20.

By Shelley A. Sackett

North Shore Music Theatre continues its streak of winners with The Wizard of Oz, a spectacular extravaganza of a show that has everything going for it — top-notch talent, a stunning set, spot-on direction, clear and understandable sound, clever costumes and lighting, marvelous choreography, and a bang-up live orchestra.

Two Unlikely Buddies Talk Trash in Gloucester Stage’s Clever Comedy, ‘The Garbologists’

July 10, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Paul Melendy and Thomika Marie Bridwell in Gloucester Stage Company’s “The Garbologists.”
Photos by Shawn G. Henry

‘The Garbologists’ — Written by Lindsay Joelle. Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company at 267 East Main St., Gloucester, through July 26.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Rebecca Bradshaw, Producing Artistic Director of Gloucester Stage Company and director of its first-rate The Garbologists, couldn’t have timed it better. With Republic Services sanitation workers in the second week of their strike, garbage is on everyone’s mind as bags pile up on the North Shore and throughout Greater Boston.

‘Our Class’ Confronts And Challenges Revisionist History

June 19, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Cast of Arlekin Players’ ‘Our Class’. Photos by Irina Danilova

‘Our Class’ – Written by Tadeusz Słobodzianek. Adapted by Norman Allen. Directed by Igor Golyak. Staged by Arlekin at the Calderwood Pavilion at Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, through June 22.

By Shelley A. Sackett

No one can take his audience on an emotional and artistic roller coaster like Igor Golyak, founder and artistic director of Arlekin Players Theatre & Zero Gravity (Zero-G) Theater Lab. With “Our Class,” in production through June 23 at the Calderwood Pavilion, he introduces us to characters we initially relate to and bond with, spins an artistically ingenious cocoon, and then tells a tale that rips our heart to shreds and leaves us too overwhelmed to even speak.

‘Bull in a China Shop’ Brings A Powerhouse Feminist to Life

June 15, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Cast of Treehouse Collective’s ‘Bull in a China Shop’. Photos: Brian Higgins

‘Bull in a China Shop.’ Written by Bryna Turner. Directed by Lisa Tierney. Stage Manager – Nicole O’Keefe; Lighting Designer – Dan Clawson; Set Designer – Britt Ambruson; Sound Designer/Sound and Light Op – Dannie Smith. Presented by The Tree House Collective at Abbott Memorial Theatre at Hovey Players, 9 Spring St., Waltham through June 29.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Mary Emma Woolley may be the least-known important historical figure you’ve never heard of. A radical feminist, education reformer and suffragette, she served as president of Mount Holyoke College from 1900 to 1937. She also lived a fairly openly lesbian life and shared a life-long partnership with Jeannette Marks, her former student and a firebrand academic revolutionary and writer.

Gloucester Stage Breathes Fresh Life into A Beloved Classic, ‘The Glass Menagerie’

June 11, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Liza Giangrande, Patrick O’Konis in Gloucester Stage company’s ‘The Glass Menagerie’
Photos by: Shawn Henry

‘The Glass Menagerie.’ Written by Tennessee Williams. Directed by Doug Lockwood. Scenic Design by Jenna McFarland Lord; Costume Design by Nia Safarr Banks; Lighting Design by Amanda Fallon; Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Presented by Gloucester Stage at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, through June 28.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Tennessee Williams’ classic autobiographical story of a struggling family, The Glass Menagerie, is no stranger to Broadway and community theater stages. It premiered in Chicago in 1944, where it was championed by several Midwest critics, and moved to Broadway in 1945. Subsequent Broadway productions were mounted in 1965, 1975, 1983, 1994, and 2005, with the likes of Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris, and Jessica Lange playing matriarch Amanda Wingfield. The 2013 revival transferred to Broadway from the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA. Known as a staple in college and community theaters’ repertoire since its 1944 début, the play and its straightforward staging is a reliable crowd pleaser and audience draw.

Quirky, Funny and Flaky — NSMT’s ‘Waitress’ Is Feel-Good Summer Fare

June 9, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Christine Dwyer (Jenna) and Brandi Chavonne Massey (Becky) in WAITRESS at North Shore Music Photo©Paul Lyden

‘Waitress.’ Written by Jessie Nelson. Music and Lyrics by Sara Bareilles. Based on the motion picture written by Adrienne Shelly. Directed by Kevin P. Hill. Music Direction by Milton Granger; Choreography by Ashley Chasteen; Scenic and Lighting Design by Jack Mehler; Costume Design by Rebecca Glick; Sound Design by Alex Berg. Presented by North Shore Music Theatre, 54 Dunham Rd, Beverly, MA through June 15.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Who doesn’t love a thick slice of pie, especially in the summer when fresh fillings are ripe and especially sweet? “Sugar, butter, flour” is the mantra chanted like a lullaby throughout Waitress, the wonderfully staged musical now playing at North Shore Music Theatre. Although pie takes center stage throughout the almost two-and-a-half-hour performance (with one intermission), Waitress is no simple, indulgent, or sentimental high. Meaty themes like domestic abuse, infidelity, empowerment, motherhood, and self-fulfillment are the secret ingredients that keep the show rolling and the audience from lapsing into a sugar coma.

Charming, Engaging, and Clever — A.R.T.’s Musical ‘Two Strangers’ Has It All!

June 2, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts in A.R.T.’s ‘Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)’.
Photos: Joel Zayac

‘Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).’ Written by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan. Directed and Choreographed by Tim Jackson. Scenic and Costume Design by Soutra Gilmour; Lighting Design by Jack Knowles; Sound Design by Tony Gayle and Cody Spencer; Orchestrations by Lux Pyramid; Music Direction by Jeffrey Campos. Presented by A.R.T.’s Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge through June 29.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), in its American debut at the American Repertory Theatre,is the perfect antidote to our bleak, cold spring. This sunny, upbeat two-hander musical romantic comedy is as beguiling as it is impeccably acted, directed and produced. In short, it is a full-blown fabulous evening of musical theater at its finest.

‘Kimberly Akimbo’ Is Musical Theater at Its Absolute Best!

May 10, 2025April 10, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ at the Emerson Colonial Theatre. Photos by Joan Marcus

‘Kimberly Akimbo.’ Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. Music by Jeanine Tesori. Based on the play by David Lindsay-Abaire. Directed by Jessica Stone. Music Supervision by Chris Fenwick. Choreographed by Danny Mefford. Presented by Broadway in Boston at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston, through May 18.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Kimberly Akimbo should not be as enjoyable as it is. The show tells the tragic story of a lonely teenage girl, Kimberly Levaco (Carolee Carmello), who suffers from a condition similar to progeria that causes her to age at a rate that is four and a half times as fast as normal. Only one in 50 million people is so afflicted, and Kimberly has the appearance and bodily breakdown of an elderly woman with a lifespan that rarely exceeds 16 years.