Ogunquit’s ‘Sound Of Music’ Brings Joy (and a Cautionary Tale) to Portsmouth

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

Emilie Kouatchou and the cast of *‘The Sound Of Music’* at the Portsmouth Music Hall.
Photos by Gary Ng.

‘The Sound Of Music’ – Music By Richard Rodgers; Lyrics By Oscar Hammerstein; Book By Howard Lindsay And Russel Crouse; Suggested By “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp; Directed & Choreographed by Anthony C. Daniel. Presented by Ogunquit Playhouse at the The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, NH, through December 17

by Mike Hoban

Ogunquit Playhouse closes out its 2023 season with one of musical theater’s most iconic musicals, The Sound of Music, presented in downtown Portsmouth’s historic Music Hall. The stage musical, which opened on Broadway in 1959, won five Tony Awards and was adapted into the much beloved Academy-Award-winning film in 1964, but underneath its heartwarming story of how love and music can heal a soul, its dark undercurrent resonates even more loudly in today’s increasingly grim political climate.

“A CHRISTMAS CAROL” at Hanover Theatre

December 1, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater Mirror1 Comment

“A CHRISTMAS CAROL” at Hanover Theatre

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The Hanover Theatre’s holiday presentation this year is the sixteenth annual production of “A Christmas Carol” adapted and directed by Troy Siebels. The historic Hanover Theatre is a jewel of a theatre hidden away in Worcester and is breathtakingly gorgeous and splendiferous. It first opened in 1904 as a burlesque theatre, in 1926 as a movie theatre and in 2008 as a gorgeous show place that needs to be discovered by one and by all. The Theatre seats 2300 people and the theatre once again filled almost all the seats this year. Troy once again has a huge cast of 28. The underlying themes of charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence found in “A Christmas Carol” are universal and are relevant to people of all religions and backgrounds. In his version, Troy uses a grown-up Tim Cratchit as the narrator of this familiar tale of miserly, curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge. It is the classic tale of this stingy, miser on the road to his redemption. Originally written in the winter of 1843, this show still resonates with audiences, one hundred and eighty years later. Scrooge is visited by his dead partner, Jacob Marley who has been dead for seven years on Christmas Eve as well as the ghosts of the Past, Present and Future. who hope to change his destiny and save his soul. This marvelous musical adaptation is full of many special effects, timeless music, colorful sets and gorgeous costumes. This musical treat follows Scrooge on his strange and magical journey, where he finally discovers the true Christmas spirit at last. The combination of Troy’s, music director, Timothy Evans and choreographer Ilyse Robbins hard work, creates a stunning retelling of this classic story. A standing ovation is their reward on a job extremely well done.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, A RADIO PLAY at GAMM

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

Fred Sullivan, Jr., Lynsey Ford, Tony Estrella, Jim O’Brien, Andrew Iacovelli, Background L to R: Helena Tafuri, Milly Massey in GAMM Theatre’s production of ‘It’s A Wonderful Life, A Radio Play’. Photos by Nile Scott Studios

Review by Tony Annicone

This year, GAMM Theatre’s holiday production is “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live A Radio Play,” adapted by Joe Landry. It’s their fifth presentation of this show. Seven performers plus a sound effects man deliver all the lines of all the characters in the Frank Capra movie. This beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live radio broadcast in Warwick, RI. It is staged as an old-fashioned 1940s radio show. The audience is transported back in time as a radio audience watching an ensemble of performers bringing dozens of characters to life on stage. The “broadcast” is interspersed with live commercials about Greenwood Credit Union and Gamm Theatre. Before the show, there is a sing-a-long with cast members doing “Jingle Bells” and “12 Days of Christmas,” with the Foley Artist doing sound effects for each day while doing them faster and faster each time. Relive the story of the idealistic George Bailey as he considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. This is a fully realized version of the story initially brought to life by Frank Capra in the movie that starred Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Directed previously by Damon Kiely and remounted this year as well as last year by Tony Estrella, who molds these eight talented performers (including himself) into these iconic characters from the movie perfectly, obtains incredible performances from them, and blends the comedy and pathos to get them many laughs and tears on their journey. Tony plays George once again and also appeared in that role in the past three versions of this show. A spontaneous standing ovation is their well-deserved reward at the end of the performance.

Huntington and SpeakEasy’s co-production of ‘The Band’s Visit’ Makes the World Go Round

November 21, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Jennifer Apple, Brian Thomas Abraham in the “The Band’s Visit” at the Huntington.
Photos by T Charles Erickson

“The Band’s Visit” — Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek. Book by Itamar Moses. Based on the Screenplay by Eran Kolirin. Directed by Paul Daigneault; Choreography by Daniel Pelzig. Music Direction by José Delgado. Scenic Design by Wilson Chin and Jimmy Stubbs. Costume Design by Miranda Kau Giurleo. Lighting Design by Aja M. Jackson. Sound Design by Joshua Millican. Produced by Huntington Theatre in collaboration with SpeakEasy Stage at 264 Huntington Ave. Boston through December 17.

By Linda Chin

As the house lights go down and the overture (conducted by music director extraordinaire José Delgado) begins, a message is projected on a large-screen: “Once, not long ago, a group of musicians came to Israel from Egypt. You probably didn’t hear about it. It wasn’t very important.” Bookending the production, this message is reiterated at the show’s conclusion by Dina (a dazzling Jennifer Apple), the owner of a café in Bet Hatikvah (a fictional town), Israel, 1996, where an Egyptian police band led by Tewfiq (solidly portrayed by Brian Thomas Abraham) has mistakenly arrived. The next bus doesn’t depart until the next day, and the band is hungry, tired, and stranded.

Huntington, SpeakEasy’s Co-Production “The Band’s Visit” Serves Up A Sublime Slice of Life

November 20, 2023April 11, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

The cast of “The Band’s Visit” at the Huntington. Photo by T Charles Erickson

By Shelley A. Sackett

The delightful musical “The Band’s Visit” is a welcome breath of air in the current asphyxiating climate surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas. Its focus is a single night in Bet Hatikva, a tiny Israeli town that feels more like a pit stop on the way to someplace more important than a destination.

“You probably didn’t hear about it,” says Dina (played by a magnificent Jennifer Apple in a star-making performance), the proprietor of Bet Hatikva’s only café and its resident narrator and cynic. “It wasn’t very important.”

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical Lands in Boston on Friday

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

Cast of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical at the Boch Centre Shubert Nov. 24-26

On Black Friday, the touring company of the iconic Christmas TV classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer will land at the Boch Center Shubert Theatre for a seven-show weekend run. The musical faithfully adapts the holiday classic and runs from November 24^th until November 26. Theater Mirror caught up with Talia Gloster, the performer who plays Rudolph, during rehearsals for the show before the tour.

TM: How have rehearsals been so far?

Talia: It’s been an incredibly smooth process. We have a bunch of performers who have done the tour in the past and are returning this year, and the new people are picking things up so quickly, which means we’re going to have a lot of time to fine-tune things and make sure everything is as sharp as it can be before we head out on the road.

Short Take: Lyric Stage’s ‘The Game’s Afoot’ Delivers the Gift of Laughter

November 18, 2023April 11, 2026 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

Maureen Keiller, Kelby T. Akin, Dan Garcia, Gabrielle McCauley, Remo Airaldi, Pamela Lambert and Sarah Sinclair in “The Game’s Afoot” at Lyric Stage Photo: Mark S, Howard

‘The Game’s Afoot: Holmes for the Holidays’ by Ken Ludwig. Fred Sullivan Jr., Director. Janie E. Howland, Scenic Designer. John Malinowski, Lighting Designer. Chelsea Kerl, Costume Designer. Andrew Duncan Will, Sound Designer. Jennifer Butler, Props Artisan. At Lyric Stage, Clarendon Street, Boston through December 17.

by Linda Chin

Lyric Stage’s long-term Producing Artistic Director, the larger-than-life Spiro Veloudos – now a giant in the sky – knew his audiences well, especially the subscribers who filled the matinees. He invited them to his Clarendon Street “castle” to see a play or musical, have a good time, and to come back again.

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.

Short Take: A Gritty, Rollicking, ‘Rocky Horror’ at Central Square

November 12, 2023April 11, 2026 Michele MarkarianLeave a comment

Nico Ochoa, Emma Na-yun Downs, Michael J. Mahoney, and Matti Steriti in “The Rocky Horror Show” at Central Square Theatre Photo by: Nile Scott Studios

By Michele Markarian

“The Rocky Horror Show” by Richard O’Brien. Directed by Lee Mikesha Gardner and Jo Michael Rezes. Music Director, Sandy Sahar Gooen; Choreographer, Ilyse Robbins. Presented by Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, through November 26.

Most people are introduced to “The Rocky Horror Show” by its film version, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which dominated the Exeter Street Theater with frequent midnight showings back when I was in college. The film celebrated sexuality, gay, straight, whatever, which was probably why it was such a big hit with college students. Tim Curry was charming, abusive, and on the prowl. I loved him.

ASP’s Not-to-Be-Missed “How I Learned to Drive” Explores Abuse and Memory in a Tour de Force Production

November 9, 2023April 11, 2026 Shelley Sackett2 Comments

Dennis Trainor, Jr. and Jennifer Rohn in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s *‘How I Learned to Drive’*
(Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios)

‘How I Learned to Drive’ — Written by Paula Vogel. Directed by Elaine Vaan Hogue. Scenic Design by Baron E. Pugh; Lighting Design by Marcella Barbeau; Costume Design by Marissa Wolf; Sound Design by Mackenzie Adamick. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont St., Boston through November 25.

By Shelley A. Sackett

“You and Driver Education — Safety First,” a voice announces as the lights dim. A middle-aged woman steps onto a bare set, composing herself. She turns to face the audience, addressing them as though mid-conversation.

“Sometimes, to tell a secret, you first have to teach a lesson,” she says. “We’re going to start our lesson tonight on an early, warm summer evening.”

So begins Paula Vogel’s brilliant Pulitzer Prize Award-winning play, “How I Learned to Drive,” in which she examines the complicated ways in which we process the trauma, shame, and blame associated with pedophilia and family complicity. If the topic sounds heart-wrenching and heavy, that’s because it is.