‘All is Calm’ and Ten Stars Shine Bright at Greater Boston Stage Company

December 13, 2023December 13, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘All is Calm’ at Greater Boston Stage Company

‘All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914.’ – Written by Peter Rothstein with vocal arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach. Directed by Arthur Gomez. Music Direction by Lea Peterson. Original direction and choreography by Ilyse Robbins. Scenic Design by Erik Diaz. Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg. Costume Design by Bethany Mullins. Sound Design by David Remedios. Properties Design by Sarajane Mullins. At GBSC, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through December 23, 2023.

When GBSC announced their 2023-24 season earlier this year, with All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 – winner of the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical – returning to fill the holiday slot, I had mixed emotions. Having absolutely adored last year’s Little Women the Musical, which was also directed and choreographed by Ilyse Robbins (and which garnered Norton nominations for Liza Giangrande as Jo March, and Amy Barker as Marmee, for Outstanding Leading and Featured Performances in a Musical, respectively), I was hoping the Company would be mounting another new musical that was familiar, family-friendly, and full of big feels. Yet being all-too-aware of the economics of producing musical theater (high ticket prices/attendance/revenue that exceeds high costs), a risky business that has become even more risky in these highly uncertain ‘post’-pandemic times – I was relieved they were making a sensible choice. And having missed seeing the highly-touted production two years ago, I was especially excited for the chance to see it.

Singing, Dancing, And Acting Are ‘Supreme’ in Goodspeed’s ‘Dreamgirls’

December 5, 2023December 5, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Shantel Cribbs, Montria Walker, Melanie Loren and Aalon Smith in Goodspeed’s Dreamgirls.
Photos by Diane Sobolewski

‘Dreamgirls’ – Book and lyrics by Tom Eyen. Music by Henry Krieger. Directed by Lili-Anne Brown. Choreography by Breon Arzell. Music Direction by Christie Chiles Twillie. Scenic design by Arnel Sancianco. Costume design by Samantha C. Jones. Co-Lighting design by Adam Honoré and Jason Lynch. Sound design by Jay Hilton. At The Goodspeed, 6 Main Street, East Haddam, CT, through December 30, 2023.

by Linda Chin

The question of whether the plot of the 1981 Tony Award-winning Dreamgirls, which follows the story of an all-girl Motown trio called the Dreams, is based on the real-life stories of the legendary group The Supremes is still the stuff of controversy but there should be little debate about whether Goodspeed Musicals’ production is the stuff dreams are made of. With the dream trio Lili-Anne Brown (director), Breon Arzell (choreographer) and Christie Chiles Twillie (music director) working in collaboration with a tremendously talented cast, this show not only features the dazzling dancing and sensational singing typical of most musical theater works (and yes, every member of this company has impressive technical and performance skills) but supreme and authentic acting, critical for a story that depicts the disappointments and drama that ensue when pursuing big dreams.

Huntington’s ‘The Heart Sellers’ Will Steal Your Heart

December 3, 2023December 3, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Judy Song, Jenna Agbayani in *‘The Heart Sellers’* at The Huntington
Photo by T Charles Erickson

‘The Heart Sellers’ – Written by Lloyd Suh. Directed by May Adrales. Scenic and Costume Design by Junghyun Georgia Lee. Lighting Design by Kat C. Zhou. Sound Design and Original Music by Fabian Obispo. Hair and Makeup Design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt. At Boston Center for the Arts Calderwood Pavilion/Wimberly Theatre, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through December 23, 2023.

by Linda Chin

In this season of gratitude, I am grateful to be seeing more stories about Asians on American stages, and for playwrights, like Lloyd Suh, who create these possibilities. Three of the award-winning American playwright’s plays have been produced on professional stages in metro Boston in the last eight years, and I’ve had the good fortune to see all three. The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go!, brought to ArtsEmerson by Ma-Yi Theater Company in 2016, is the fantastical tale of imaginary modern-day teens Bruce and Violet Wong, who use their newly discovered powers for intergalactic teleportation. The play’s blend of engaging live actors, clever dialogue, puppetry, and an underscore (!) changed people’s perceptions – that theater for young audiences could have broad appeal and that superheroes could be young, extraordinary, and Asian.

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

December 3, 2023December 3, 2023 michaelhobanLeave 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, 2023December 26, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a 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, 2023December 12, 2023 michaelhobanLeave 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, 2023November 21, 2023 michaelhobanLeave 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, 2023November 20, 2023 michaelhobanLeave 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, 2023December 26, 2023 michaelhobanLeave 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.

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

November 18, 2023November 18, 2023 michaelhobanLeave 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.