Sparkly Promsembles Elevate SpeakEasy’s ‘The Prom’

May 16, 2023December 26, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of “The Prom.” (Photos: Nile Scott Studios)

‘The Prom’ – Music and Lyrics by Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin. Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin. Directed by Paul Daigneault. Music Direction by Paul S. Katz. Choreography by Taavon Gamble. Scenic Design by Jenna McFarland Lord. Costume Design by Miranda Kau Giurleo. Lighting Design by Karen Perlow. Sound Design by Andrew Duncan Will. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company at the Calderwood/ Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through June 10, 2023.

by Linda Chin

Though their Broadway show closed on opening night and the critics wrote them off as “aging narcissists,” co-stars Dee Dee Allen (a dee-lightful Mary Callanan), and Barry Glickman (an effervescent Johnny Kuntz) are determined to stay in the limelight. Joined by fellow #wasOnBroadwaynowOff actors Angie Dickinson (a zazzy Lisa Yuen) and Julliard alum Trent Oliver (a hilarious Jared Troilo), the group decides to become “celebrity activists,” who selflessly support a cause, and are “the kind of stars the press adores.” With publicist Sheldon (a charismatic Meagan Lewis Michelson) along for the adventure, the five “liberal democrats from Broadway” head to Indiana to help a teenager whose story is trending on Twitter: “a girl who wanted to take her girlfriend to the high school prom and the PTA went apeshit.”

‘How High The Moon: The Music Of Ella Fitzgerald’ Soars at MRT

May 15, 2023May 18, 2023 michaelhoban5 Comments

Cast of ‘How High The Moon: The Music Of Ella Fitzgerald’ at MRT

‘How High The Moon: The Music Of Ella Fitzgerald’ – Conceived/Directed by Rob Ruggiero; Music Direction/Pianist George Caldwell; Stage Manager Brian Robillard. Starring Tina Fabrique; Ron Haynes, Trumpet; Rodney Harper, Drums; Nolan Nwachukwu, Bass. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 50 E. Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA through May 21

By Nancy Grossman

How High The Moon: The Music Of Ella Fitzgerald is an entertaining theatrical concert that will have you tapping your toes and snapping your fingers as Tina Fabrique and company take you on a sentimental journey through seven decades of the 20th century. Dubbed “The First Lady of Song,” Ella is on the short list of artists with whom the world is on a first-name basis, still widely recognized and adored nearly thirty years after her passing.

A Triumphant “Angels in America” Graces Central Square

May 10, 2023May 10, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Maurice Emmanuel Parent and Zach Fike Hodges in *“Angels in America”* at Central Square

“Angels in America,” Written by Tony Kushner. Directed by Eric Tucker. Presented by Central Square Theater and Bedlam, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, extended through May 28.

by Michele Markarian

It is the year 1985. “Angels in America” opens with a funeral, a rabbi (Debra Wise) presiding over the body of an elderly woman who undertook a perilous journey to America to live “in this melting pot, where nothing melted.” The deceased is the grandmother of Louis Ironson (Zach Fike Hodges), a gay Jewish man who is too uptight to introduce his WASP boyfriend, Prior Walter (Eddie Shields), to his family. Later that evening, Prior reveals to Louis that he has Kaposi sarcoma, a symptom of what was then called the gay cancer, or AIDS. In another part of the city, Mormon couple Harper and Joe Pitt (Kari Buckley and Nael Nacer) are both struggling – Harper with a pill addiction and Joe with his latent homosexuality. Joe’s boss is the nefarious lawyer (and mentor to none other than Donald Trump, a fun fact not mentioned in the play) Roy Cohn (Steven Barkhimer, in this performance). Cohn also has AIDS but wants it to be on the record that it’s liver cancer. Cohn feels gays are effeminate and considers himself merely a man who likes to sleep with other men. As both couples fall apart – Louis can’t handle Prior’s illness, and Harper can’t handle the fact that Joe isn’t attracted to her – new connections are forged through dreams and reality.

Deborah Henson-Conant’s ‘The Golden Cage’ Soars

May 10, 2023May 11, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Maddie Allen and Christopher Isolano
Deborah Henson-Conant’s ‘The Golden Cage’

The Golden Cage – Book, Music, and Lyrics by Deborah Henson-Conant; Directed by R. Lee Kratzer; Music Direction by Nevada Lozano; Scenic Design by Tyler R. Herald; Costume Design by Evan Pritzant; Lighting Design by Michael Cole. Presented by Streaming Musicals online and filmed in front of live audiences at the CreateTheater New Works Festival at NYC’s Theatre Row. It can be seen here StreamingMusicals.com

by Mike Hoban

When I was a teen, there was an episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, the hit-or-miss knockoff of the iconic Twilight Zone TV series entitled “Hell’s Bells.” In it, hippie John Astin (of Addams Family fame) dies in a car crash and lands in Hell. What he finds there is not a lake of fire but an insanely boring place populated by Midwestern white people. Thinking he is in heaven, the hippie complains to the devil that he wants to go to the “other place.” The devil explains to him that “This is the other place. While this is absolute Hell for you, up there (looks skyward), it’s someone else’s idea of heaven.”

The Parallel Universe of “Joy and Pandemic”

May 6, 2023May 8, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Stacy Fischer, Breezy Leigh, and Ryan Winkles in “Joy and Pandemic” at the Huntington.
Photos by T Charles Erickson

“Joy and Pandemic” by Taylor Mac. Directed by Loretta Greco. Scenic Design: Arnulfo Maldonado; Sound Designer and Composer: Fan Zhang; Costume Design: Sarita Fellows; Lighting Design: Jen Schriever. Presented by The Huntington, Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through May 21.

by Michele Markarian

Joy (Stacy Fischer) and her unenthusiastic second husband, Bradford (Ryan Winkles), are running an art school for children in Philadelphia, a venture which Bradford’s mother, Rosemary (the magnificent Marceline Hugot), disapproves of. Joy’s daughter Pilly (Ella Dershowitz) is Joy’s biggest fan. The annoyingly sunny Joy is a Christian Scientist who peppers her conversations with phrases like, “All we need is an invitation to see things differently” and “fear is a lie that we tell ourselves” while insisting that everything and all beings are “perfect.” In a bit of foreshadowing in response to some clanging chimes Joy has over her front door, Rosemary snarls, “Must optimism always be so piercing?” With a visit from Melanie (Breezy Leigh), the staccato-voiced black mother of Marjory, one of Joy’s prized students, Joy is about to find out how imperfect she is.

Alvin Ailey Will Rocka Your Soul

May 6, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Wang. Presented by the Celebrity Series of Boston*

by Linda Chin

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is presented by the Celebrity Series of Boston. Robert Battle, Artistic Director. At the Boch Center Wang Theatre, Boston, through May 7, 2023.

Whether it’s your first-time seeing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (like my adult son), or the umpteenth (like my plus-two, Boston dance legend/educator-extraordinaire Adrienne T. Hawkins), or a dozen or so times like me, you will feel uplifted by the experience. Prepare to be astounded by the impeccably trained company members’ artistry and physicality, to be swept up in the emotions and energy that leaps off the stage. The carefully curated program we saw on opening night (the repertoire and dancers vary at each performance) blends music of a range of genres, new and old works (two world premieres and two pieces choreographed in the sixties), adding to its inter-generational appeal.

Theater Uncorked’s ‘Sideman’ Takes a Darkly Humorous Look at the Jazz World

May 5, 2023May 7, 2023 michaelhoban2 Comments

Theater Uncorked’s ‘Sideman’ Take Darkly Humorous Look at the Jazz World

‘Sideman’ – Written by Warren Leight; Directed by Russell R. Greene. Presented by Theater Uncorked at the Plaza Theater at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St. Boston, through May 7.

by Mike Hoban

As anyone who has attempted to make a living from the arts will tell you, the problem with being a starving artist is that the romance of that notion doesn’t usually measure up to the reality of living it. Performing onstage or creating art in the studio may fill your soul, but it doesn’t always pay the bills. So like an alcoholic or an addict chasing booze and drugs, those consumed by their art often prioritize their passion over everything else, including relationships with those who love and depend on them.

”And So We Walked” is a Transformative and Spiritual Journey

April 28, 2023May 1, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

DeLanna Studi in “And So We Walked.” Photos by Patrick Weishampel/Blankeye

“And So We Walked”, by DeLanna Studi. Directed by Corey Madden. Produced by Octopus Theatricals. Presented by Arts Emerson, Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington Street, Boston through April 30.

by Michele Markarian

“A true story is dangerous. Even if you’re the best storyteller, you can’t run from the truth”. Thus begins DeLanna Studi’s moving and personal take on her and her father’s six-week sojourn on the Trail of Tears, following the footsteps of their Cherokee ancestors, who were forced into relocation during the 1830s. During the course of the two-and-a-half-hour show, many intimate and historical truths are revealed as Studi weaves her personal narrative alongside that of the Cherokee Nation.

We All Walk The Trail of Tears in ‘And So We Walked’

April 27, 2023May 1, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

‘And So We Walked’ — Created and Performed by DeLanna Studi. Directed by Corey Madden; Scenic Design by John Coyne; Costume Design by Andja Budincich; Lighting and Projection Design by Norman Coates; Sound Design and Original Music by Bruno Louchouarn. Co-represented by Octopus Theatricals and Indigenous Performance Productions. Presented by Arts Emerson at the Emerson Paramount Center, 559 Washington St., Boston through April 30, 2023.

By Shelley A. Sackett

When the pre-written announcement acknowledging Indigenous and Enslaved Peoples is read prior to every local theatrical production, it often feels disconnected from the show that follows. Not so with Cherokee actress, artist, and activist DeLanna Studi’s stunning one-woman autobiographical presentation, ‘And So We Walked.”

At Moonbox’s ‘The House of Ramón Iglesia’ Mi Casa Es Su Casa

April 22, 2023April 22, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of Moonbox Productions’ ‘The House of Ramón Iglesia’. Photos by NIkolai Alexander

‘The House of Ramón Iglesia’ – Jose Rivera, Playwright. Arthur Gomez, Director. Cameron McEachern, Set Designer. Finn Bamber, Lighting Designer. Abraham Rebollo, Props Designer. Presented by Moonbox Productions, at The Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown, through May 1, 2023.

by Linda Chin

Unlike a bottle of fine wine, or an oak barrel of Ron del Barrilito, Ramón Iglesia’s house in suburban NYC is not aging well. The septic system and water pump are often on the blink, and the furnace is busted. Ramón and his wife Dolores, who moved from Puerto Rico to the US nineteen years before to make a better life for their family, are also in failing health. Dolores is reclusive (refusing to learn English adds to her isolation) and has frequent fainting spells, and Ramón’s limp is getting more pronounced (excessive drinking aggravates his diabetes), making them appear older than they are and more needy of their three sons’ attention.