At the Cape Playhouse, the Sounds of Rock ‘n’ Roll, ‘Buddy’ and Crickets Mark the Start of Summer

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

The cast of ‘Buddy’ at The Cape Cod Playhouse. Photos by Nile Scott Studios.

The Cape Playhouse presents ‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story’. Written by Alan Janes. Direction by Meredith McDonough. Music Direction by Matt Cusack. Choreography by Felicity Stiverson. Sets by Lex Liang. Costumes by Kathleen Geldard. Lights by Kat C. Zhou. Sound by Jeff Sherwood. At the Cape Playhouse, 820 Main Street, Route 6A, Dennis, MA, through June 21.

By Linda Chin

Each summer, thousands of theatergoers who flock to the Cape Playhouse, a converted 1790 meeting house in Dennis, MA, set on twenty-six peaceful and pristine acres off Route 6A, are transported to a simpler time and treated to a professional production amidst a beautiful backdrop of history and nature. With the musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story as the Playhouse’s 2025 season opener, patrons should anticipate being transported to the years 1956 to 1959 and educated about aspects of musical legend Buddy Holly’s life and career, bearing witness to rock ‘n’ roll history in the making and treated to the sounds of “chirping” Crickets performing over 20 of Holly’s hits.

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

June 11, 2025April 8, 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.

Trinity Rep’s ‘Blues For an Alabama Sky’ Could Use Some More Sky, but Its Blues Are Full Of Heart

June 9, 2025April 8, 2026 CJ WilliamsLeave a comment

Cast of Trinity Rep’s ‘Blues For an Alabama Sky’. Photos by Mark Turek

Blues for an Alabama Sky – Written by Pearl Cleage; Directed by Jackie Davis; Scenic Designer Michael McGarty; Costume Designer Amber Volmer; Lighting Designer Erica Maholmes; Sound Designer Larry D. Fowler, Jr; Fight Choreographer Mark Rose; Vocal Coach Rebecca Gibel; Stage Manager Kelsey Emry; and Megan Dilworth as Delia; Taavon Gamnbe as Guy; Cloteal L. Horne as Angel; Dereks Thomas as Sam; Quinn West as Leland (“Alabama”) . Presented by Trinity Repertory Theatre, Providence, RI through

By C.J. Williams

What type of world is it in which a storm can blow through and leave nothing changed? You might say magical realism, Alice-in-Wonderland, or someone’s dreamscape – but Blues for an Alabama Sky is set in hard-as-nails Harlem during Prohibition, and while the storm of the plot in a well-structured play ought to leave the characters comedically or tragically changed, it doesn’t. Thankfully, the audience still gets to experience a few high points: humor and horror.

Short Take: CST Presents A Winning “Mrs. Warren’s Profession”

June 3, 2025April 8, 2026 Michele MarkarianLeave a comment

Melinda Lopez, Luz Lopez in Warren’s Profession’ at Central Square. Photos by: Nile Scott Studios

“Mrs. Warren’s Profession”, by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Eric Tucker, Bedlam. Presented by Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, through June 29.

By Michele Markarian

A conference room table with leather chairs and a light fixture suspended above, bearing a ticker and dominating the traverse stage of Central Square Theater wasn’t what I expected when I walked in to see Central Square’s production of Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Yet it aptly set the tone for this timeless play about conventionality, morality, and a woman’s right to earn a living.

Central Square’s ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ Works Wonders

June 1, 2025April 8, 2026 Charlotte SnowLeave a comment

The cast of ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ at Central Square. Photos by: Nile Scott Studios

‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ – George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Eric Tucker. Stage Management by Fanni Horváth. Scenic Design by David Gammons. Sound Design by Nate Tucker. Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg. Costume Design by Leslie Held. Video Design by Maxwell Mandell. Intimacy Coordination by Jesse Hinson. A collaboration between Bedlam and Central Square Theater, ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ runs from May 29th to June 22nd at 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139.

By Charlotte Snow

As much as I love a period piece, I’ve found my fondness for them tainted due to the current administration’s efforts to place Victorian-style restrictions upon inalienable human rights. So, I was fully dreading a night full of corsets and bell skirts. To my relief, I walked into the theater and found the stage set with a faux rustic conference table, tricked out with rolling chairs, and above, a floating screen flashing disparate numbers. I sighed a deep breath of relief reminiscent of the first vape hit at the start of the play. I remained curious as to how the meaning of the playwright’s words would be changed when placed out of the context he originally intended.

Speakeasy’s ‘Jaja’ Combines Comedy and Harsh Reality

May 14, 2025April 8, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

MaConnia Chesser (center) and the cast of *Jaja’s African Hair Braiding* at SpeakEasy.
Photos by Nile Scott Studios

‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’ – Written by Jocelyn Bioh; Directed by Summer L. Williams; Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland; Costume Design by Danielle Domingue Sumi; Lighting Design by Christopher Brusberg; Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. Through May 31.

By Mike Hoban

On its surface, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, now being presented by the Speakeasy Stage Company, is a bubbly slice of life comedy. Set in a women’s hair salon in Harlem that specializes in African hair braiding, the play offers a glimpse into the lives of a half-dozen West African women who work at the salon and their American customers. But bubbling just under the surface is a much weightier concern, one that has become increasingly relevant since the play debuted on Broadway in 2023 and has dominated recent headlines.

At Merrimack Repertory Theatre, A Stirring ‘What You Are Now’ Resonates Deeply

May 8, 2025April 8, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Sonnie Brown, Pisay Pao in MRT’s ‘What You Are Now’

‘What You Are Now’ by Sam Chanse. Directed by Steve Cosson. Scenic Design by Neil Patel. Costume Design by Yao Chen. Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal. Sound Design by David Remedios. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 50 E. Merrimack St., Lowell, MA, through May 11, 2025.

By Linda Chin

With a stirring production of What You Are Now closing a stellar seven-show season, Merrimack Repertory Theatre demonstrates its commitment to cultivating new works and community. Sam Chanse’s powerful play had its world premiere in NYC three years ago, but its current run (and New England premiere) at MRT carries special significance: this story about a young neuroscientist whose interest in traumatic memories stemming from her family’s history is actually set in Lowell, Massachusetts, and is bound to resonate deeply with diverse audiences.

Short Take: History Unveils Itself in “Founding F%!#ers”

May 7, 2025April 8, 2026 Michele MarkarianLeave a comment

Cast of “Founding F%!#ers” at Greater Boston Stage

“Founding F%!#ers” by Conor Casey. Directed by Weylin Symes. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Co., 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through May 18.

by Michele Markarian

According to Napoleon, “History is a set of lies agreed upon.” But who decides what makes history? While history agrees that Ethan Allen was a hero and Benedict Arnold a traitor, Conor Casey’s play paints a comic version of the character of each man and the contentious rivalry that they had with one another during a tumultuous time in America’s history.

Creative, Tragicomic and Complex, Apollinaire’s ‘The Squirrels’ Should Not Be Missed!

April 22, 2025April 8, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Cast of Apollinaire Theater Co.’s ‘The Squirrels’. Photos by Danielle Fauteux Jacques

‘The Squirrels.’ Written by Robert Askins. Directed by Brooks Reeves. Movement Choreography by Audrey Johnson; Fight Choreography by Matt Dray; Scenic and Sound Design by Joseph Lark-Riley; Costume Design by Susan Paino. Presented by Apollinaire Theater Co. at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea through May 18^th.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Playwright Robert Askins is known for fusing razor-edged socio-political insights and wacky, ingenious extended metaphors. In the irreverent comedy, Hand to God, he uses puppetry, including a possessed Christian ministry puppet, to explore themes of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us. In The Squirrels, he taps the squirrel world as a conceit through which to expose and study our own instinctual compulsion towards tribalism and ultimate self-destruction.

A.R.T.’s ‘Night Side Songs’ Is Magical, Boundary-Breaking Theater

April 18, 2025April 8, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Jonathan Raviv and Brooke Ishibashi in A.R.T.’s ‘Night Side Songs’. Photo: Nile Scott Studios

‘Night Side Songs.’ Words and Music by the Daniel and Patrick Lazour. Directed by Taibi Magar. Scenic Design by Matt Saunders; Costume Design by Jason A. Goodwin; Lighting Design by Amith Chandrashaker; Sound Design by Justin Stasiw. Music Direction and Piano Arrangements by Alex Bechtel. Presented by American Repertory Theater in association with Philadelphia Theatre Company at Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St., Boston through April 20.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Night Side Songs, the remarkable production by A.R.T. now at Hibernian Hall, bills itself as “communal music-theater experience performed for—and with—an intimate audience that gives voice to doctors, patients, researchers, and caregivers to celebrate the resilience of the human spirit.” This description barely scratches the surface of the uncharted grounds this play explores, and the transfixing heights it reaches.