A.R.T.’s ‘The Odyssey’ Catapults Homer’s Ancient Epic Poem into the 21st Century

February 20, 2025April 8, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Members of the cast in A.R.T.’s world-premiere production of *The Odyssey*.
Photo Credits: Nile Scott Studios and Maggie Hall.

‘The Odyssey’ – Written by Kate Hamill. Based on the epic poem by Homer. Scenic Design by Sibyl Wickersheimer; Costume Design by An-Lin Dauber; Lighting Design and Projection Design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew; Sound Design and Music Composition by Paul James Prendergast. Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA, through March 16.

By Shelley A. Sackett

“If you’ve gone through something traumatic, can you ever go back to who you were? Can you ever go back home?” is the essential question American Repertory Theater’s Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus asks audience members to consider as they experience the world premiere of Kate Hamill’s A.R.T.-commissioned newest work, ‘The Odyssey.’ This spectacularly produced reimagination of Homer’s 8^th/7^th century B.C. epic poem is the latest retelling of a classic tale by Hamill, who, once again, displays her special talent for penning plays that magically remain true to the original while interweaving parallel contemporary issues, culture and language.

Psych Drama’s ‘Stage Kiss’ is Funny – and Surprisingly Touching

February 17, 2025April 8, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Kenny Kelleher and Wendy Lippe in Psych Drama’s ‘Stage Kiss’

‘Stage Kiss’ – Written by Sarah Ruhl. Directed by Rani O’Brien. Artistic Direction by Wendy Lippe. Set Design by Rani O’Brien. Costume Design by Sarah Lima. Lighting Design by Larry Segel. Presented by the Psych Drama Company at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Black Box Theatre, 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116 through February 23, 2025.

By Judy Katzman

The concept of immersion for Stage Kiss – the Psych Drama Company’s production that employs a play-within-a-play – is cleverly achieved as soon as your ticket is ripped and you walk downstairs to the waiting area. Outside the closed doors of the theater sits a table with information about a casting call for a production of ‘The Last Kiss,’ the title of the play within the Stage Kiss play. While waiting for the theatre doors to open, patrons can read a summary of ‘The Last Kiss’ as well as a description of each character. Meanwhile, Stage Kiss actor Kevin (David Kleinman) enthusiastically walks through the waiting crowd collecting names of volunteers who would like to “read” for a part. When everyone is seated in the theatre, the auditions for ‘The Last Kiss’ begin, starting with the audience member volunteers and then transitioning to the actual cast of Stage Kiss.

Merrimack Rep’s ‘Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill’ is a Testament to the Power of Music and Resilience

February 12, 2025April 8, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Jenece Upton in Merrimack Rep’s ‘Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill’

‘Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill’ by Lanie Robertson. Directed by Candice Handy. Music Direction by David Freeman Coleman. Scenic Design by Tony Hardin. Costume Design by Yao Chen. Lighting Design by Brian Lillienthal. Sound Design by David Remedios. At Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Lowell, Massachusetts, through February 23, 2025.

By Linda Chin

Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s mesmerizing revival of Lady Day (last produced in 1998 and “one of MRT audiences’ favorite plays of all time”) transports us back to 1959 to the fictional club in South Philly, where jazz legend Billie Holiday gave one of her last concerts about four months before her passing at 44 years young. Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill serves up slices of American music history peppered with pieces of Holiday’s personal history and blends in some lesser-known facts (e.g. the origin of the nickname “Lady Day” is attributed to prominent saxophonist Lester Young from Count Basie’s Orchestra). Audience members, young or old, and familiar with her music and life story (or not) will find this production (ninety minutes without intermission) entertaining, educational, and engaging.

Central Square Theater’s ‘SPACE’ Explores A New Frontier Of History

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

Catharine K. Slusar, Kaili Y. Turner, Hui Ying Wen, MK Tuomanen in ‘Space’ at Central Square
Photo by: Nile Scott Studios

‘SPACE’ — Written by LM Feldman. Directed by Larissa Lury. Scenic Design by Qingan Zhang. Costume Design by Charlotte Snow. Lighting Design by John R. Malinowski. Properties Design by Julia Wonkka. Sound Design by Nate Tucker, Movement direction and intimacy coordination by Lindsay Torrey. Presented by Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139 through February 23^rd.

by Helen Ganley

In an interview dated October 22, 2022, NASA historian Jennifer Ross-Nazzal asked Dr. Sally Ride what the agency needed to add to the flight kit, considering that women would be in space for the first time. Dr. Ride recalled, “I remember the engineers trying to decide how many tampons should fly on a one-week flight; they asked, ‘Is 100 the right number?’”

In BTC & WTCs Co-Production of ‘hang”, Expect to Hang on Every Word

January 30, 2025April 9, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Margaret Melozzi, MJ Daly, and Aaron Morris in Burbage Theatre Cos. ‘hang’

Burbage Theatre Co., in partnership with WomensWork Theatre Collaborative, present the Rhode Island premiere of ‘hang’ by debbie tucker green. Lynne Collinson, Director. Trevor Elliott, Set Design. Riley Nedder, Costume Design. At the Wendy Overly Studio Theatre, 59 Blackstone Avenue, Pawtucket, RI, through February 16, 2025.

By Linda Chin

It wasn’t long after I took my seat in the cozy and intimate Overly Studio Theatre that I began to suspect that an intriguing experience was in store.

ASP’s ‘The Piano Lesson’ is a Supernatural Theatrical Experience

January 30, 2025April 9, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Jade Guerra, “ranney”, Jonathan Kitt and Omar Robinson in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s *The Piano Lesson*. Photos by Nile Scott Studios.

‘The Piano Lesson’ – Play by August Wilson. Directed by Christopher V. Edwards. Scenic Design by Jon Savage; Costume Design by Nia Safarr Banks; Lighting Design by Isaak Olson; Sound Design by James Cannon. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project in partnership with Hibernian Hall. At Hibernian Hall, Boston, through Feb. 23.

By Mike Hoban

As the cold January winds send a chill through the streets of Boston and the change in the nation’s political climate sends shivers through the hearts of our most vulnerable, Actors Shakespeare Project has delivered a masterpiece of a production – just when we need it most. For the third straight year, ASP has staged a selection from August Wilson’s 10-play American Century Cycle about the Black experience in 20^th Century America, and while the previous offerings (Seven Guitars in 2023 and King Hedley II last year) were both on my (and most reviewers) annual ‘Best Of’ lists, ASPs The Piano Lesson catapults Wilson’s work into the stratosphere.

Lyric Stage’s ‘Crumbs from the Table of Joy’ Has A Tale to Tell

January 19, 2025April 9, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘*Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’.* Photos: Mark S. Howard
Thomika Marie Bridwell, Madison Margaret Clark, and Dominic Carter

‘Crumbs from The Table Of Joy.’ Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Tasia A. Jones. Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Costume Design by Mikayla Reid. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco. Lighting Design by Eduardo Ramirez. Produced by Lyric Stage at 140 Clarendon Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, through February 2nd.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Luck

Sometimes a crumb falls
From the tables of joy,
Sometimes a bone
Is flung.

To some people
Love is given,
To others
Only heaven.

— Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes, best known for his Harlem Renaissance Jazz Poetry, wrote “Luck” in 1947. The poem can be interpreted as a commentary on unfairness, deprivation, and the pursuit of love. It could also be read as a reminder of the injustices faced by Black Americans and other “have-nots’ who must bear witness to the overflowing bounty of the “haves” and hope they are in the right place at the right time to scoop up the discarded scraps.

Flight 1619 Finally Lifts Off in SpeakEasy/Front Porch’s Ambitious ‘Ain’t No Mo’

January 17, 2025April 9, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Cast of SpeakEasy/Front Porch’s ‘Ain’t No Mo’ Photos: Nile Scott Studios
MaConnia Chesser, Kiera Prusmack, De’Lon Grant, Schanaya Barrows, and Dru Sky Berrian.

‘Ain’t No Mo’.’ Written by Jordan E. Cooper. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Co-produced by SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective at the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, through February 8.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Jordan E. Cooper’s Ain’t No Mo is a complicated, uneven, scathing, audacious, and hilarious rollercoaster ride of a play. It covers a lot of ground, and Cooper dips his pen into the inkwell of every genre known to playwrights: from satire, allegory, fiction, and parody to tragedy and Shakespeare-worthy soliloquy.

Lyric Stage’s ‘Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’ is a Feast Full of Hope

January 14, 2025April 9, 2026 Charlotte SnowLeave a comment

Cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘*Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’.* Photos: Mark S. Howard

‘Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’. Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Tasia A. Jones. Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Costume Design by Mikayla Reid. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco. Lighting Design by Eduardo Ramirez. Produced by Lyric Stage at 140 Clarendon Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02116 runs from January 10th – February 2nd.

By Charlotte Snow

“It smooths my pain, and that’s all I want right now,” earnestly pleads Godfrey Crump (Dominic Carter), during a verbal altercation with his late wife’s sister. That aspiration of finding hope can be found in all five of the characters who populate Crumbs From The Table Of Joy, now playing at the Lyric Stage.

‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at Apollinaire Theatre Co. Delivers On Its Promise

January 12, 2025April 9, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Cristhian Mancinas-Garcia and Parker Jennings in ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at Apollinaire.
Photos by Danielle Fauteux Jacques

Every Brilliant Thing’. Written by Duncan Macmillan with Johnny Donahoe. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Scenic and Sound Design by Joseph Lark-Riley. Lighting Design by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Produced by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA through January 19th.

By Shelley A. Sackett

A one-person show about suicide and depression that threatens random audience participation, runs for approximately 75 intermission-less minutes, and pledges to be funny and uplifting has a pretty high bar to clear. Yet, Apollinaire Theatre Company does just that with room to spare in its brilliant production of Every Brilliant Thing.