‘Truth Values’ Returns to the Central Square Theater

September 17, 2018September 17, 2018 Theater Mirror2 Comments

by Deanna Dement Myers

‘Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp through M.I.T.’s Male Math Maze’ – Written and acted by Gioia De Cari: Directed by Joey Brenneman. Scenic Designer, Brian Freeland; Costume Designer, Heather Carey; Lighting Designer, Kate August; Sound Design, Andy Evan Cohen. Presented September 12-23, 2018 at the Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, (617) 576-9278.

What is truth?

This is the first question actor and playwright Gioia De Cari grapples with in her award-winning autobiographical play Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp through M.I.T.’s Male Math Maze. Returning to the Central Square Theater to be a part of this venue’s 10^th anniversary, Truth Values fills the stage with over 30 characters that tell the story of one woman’s time in the world of elite mathematics as she pursues a doctoral degree. De Cari uses humor to reveal the gender inequality of MIT and mathematics in general, something that resonates today as it did in the late 80s when she was a student.

Friendship and Politics Rumble in “Guards at the Taj”

March 7, 2018March 8, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

“Guards at the Taj” – Written by Rajiv Joseph; Directed by Gabriel Vega Weissman. Presented by Underground Railway Theater at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge through April 1.

A few years ago I drove to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Words can’t begin to describe how magnificent it was – I wanted to live in its shimmering beauty and sleep in its shadow. Hard to imagine how brilliant the Taj must have looked at its unveiling in 1648, but luckily, we don’t have to – we can see it reflected on the faces of Humayun (Jacob Athyal) and Babur (Harsh J. Gagoomal) in Underground Railway’s fantastic, funny, and tragic production of Rajiv Joseph’s “Guards at the Taj”.

Hell – It Ain’t Paradise, but “Paradise” May Show the Way Out

April 14, 2017April 14, 2017 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By CJ Williams

‘Paradise’ – Written by Laura Maria Censabella; Directed by Shana Gozansky; Scenic Design by Jenna McFarland Lord; Costume Design by Gail Astrid Buckley; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow. Presented by Central Square Theater, 450 Mass Ave. Cambridge, MA -2139 through May 7

Hell is other people, goes the famous saying. But perhaps the proverb is just plain wrong. In “Paradise”, we get a glimpse of another possibility: maybe, just maybe, Paradise – and freedom from prejudice, loneliness, and lovelessness, can only be found by bridging the judgment gap between you and me.