“Beehive: The ‘60s Musical” Swarms with Talent and Fun

April 16, 2023April 17, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

“Beehive: The 60s Musical”, created by Larry Gallagher. Directed/Choreographed by Ilyse Robbins. Musical Direction by J. Kathleen Catellanos. Substitute Musical Direction by Jim Rice. Presented by Greater Boston State Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through May 7.

“Beehive: The 60s Musical” is not so much a musical, but a terrific revue starring six extremely talented women singing the music of various female artists from the 1960s. While there is no narrative arc other than the social and political struggles of the decade itself as a backdrop, the music and the feelings it conveys are more than enough to carry this entertaining show forward.

Sassy, Somber and Sensual — Paul Taylor Dance Company Covers All the Bases

April 15, 2023April 16, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Full cast of Paul Taylor Dance Company at Boch Center — Shubert Theatre. Photos by Ron Thiele

Paul Taylor Dance Company – Artistic Director Michael Novak; Founding Artistic Director – Paul Taylor; Resident Choreography – Lauren Lovette; Lighting Designer – Jennifer Tipton; Costume Design – Donald Martiny; Costume Design – Mark Eric and Santo Loquasto. Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston at Boch Center — Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont St., Boston, through April 16.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Paul Taylor, whose imagination, emotional breadth and sheer physical ability helped shape and define the purely American art form known as modern dance, never fails to amaze and enchant. The thunderous opening night applause from the standing audience shows that, if anything, the company has only increased its seductive power over its Boston fans.

Alex Edelman’s Poignant Laugh Riot ‘Just for Us’ is for Everyone

April 14, 2023April 14, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

‘Just for Us’ – Written and performed by Alex Edelman. Directed by Adam Brace. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. Through April 23

by Mike Hoban

You would think that a man with the name ‘Alex Edelman’ would be the least likely candidate to attend a meeting of White nationalists, even less so if you knew his full name was David Yosef Shimon ben Elazar Reuven Alex Halevi Edelman – of the Brookline Edelmans. But for the comedian bearing that name, that real-life meeting with the 21st-century version of Klan-lite is the centerpiece of his riotous one-person show ‘Just for Us.’ The solo show, his third, has been running in NYC, Washington DC, and London since December of 2021 and is now receiving its two-week hometown run before it hits Broadway in June.

GAMM Theatre’s ‘THE CHILDREN’

April 12, 2023May 4, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Tony Annicone

GAMM Theatre’s closing show of their season is “The Children” by Lucy Kirkwood. It’s a thought-provoking play that is 90 minutes long with no intermission and takes place in a remote English cottage by the sea. This is where retired scientists Robin and Hazel are determined to grow old together while the world around them crumbles. The couple tries to live normally after a disaster at the local power station where they used to work. It has devastated the area, and the threat of radiation pollution hangs over their heads. Robin and Hazel try to continue their daily routines of practicing yoga, tending to their cows, and rationing their electricity. However, their tranquil world is rattled by the arrival of their friend and former colleague, Rose. After working in America for 38 years, she shows up with a life-altering request that reveals uncovered secrets. The three of them were instrumental in constructing the power plant so close to populated areas many years ago and must face the consequences of their actions. Inspired by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear explosion, these include being concerned about future generations.

Nuns Just Want to Have Fun in Lyric’s ‘Sister Act’

April 12, 2023April 13, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Music by Alan Menken. Lyrics by Glenn Slater. Book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner. Additional material by Douglas Carter Beane. Direction by Leigh Barrett. Music direction by David F. Coleman. Choreography by Dan Sullivan. Scenic Design by Jenna McFarland Lord. Lighting Design by Christopher Brusberg. Costume Design by Kelly Baker. Sound Design by Alex Berg. Presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston, through May 14

by Linda Chin

With composer Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors) behind this musical, I was surprised to leave the Lyric without a song stuck in my head. Have faith, however – with its star – (and sequined) studded cast divinely directed by Leigh Barrett, spirited choreography by Dan Sullivan, and a funk-R&B-gospel-disco score soulfully conducted by David F. Coleman, Sister Act lives up to its billing as a “feel good” musical comedy. Regardless of what church you belong to, after seeing this show “you will go out in joy (Isiah 55:12).”

An Absorbing and Inspiring ‘Middleton Heights’

April 10, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of Middleton Heights at the Umbrella Arts Center. Photos: Gillian Mariner Gordon

Written by Hortense Gerardo. Produced by Brian Boruta. Directed by Michelle Aguillon. Scenic Design by Al Forgione. Lighting and Projection Design by SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal. Costume Design by Maureen Festa. Sound Design by James Cannon. Presented by Umbrella Stage Company, Concord, MA, through April 23^rd.

by Linda Chin

Named after a fictitious suburb of Cleveland where a dual-doctor couple from Manila has been recruited to work as medical residents, Middleton Heights is a new play that ambitiously spans five decades and three generations of an Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) family’s immigrant experience. Infused with Tagalog and Ilocano words and references and filled with vivid vignettes that are culturally specific and universally relatable, the script is informed by Hortense Gerardo’s twin professional vantage points as an anthropologist and playwright. And though Gerardo contends that this is not an autobiographical play, it does reflect her own lived experience – including being the daughter of two physicians, growing up in a Cleveland suburb, and having roots in the Philippines.

Speakeasy’s ‘Wild Goose Dreams’ an Online Odyssey of Longing and Loneliness

April 3, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Ciaran D’Hondt, Fady Demian, Elaine Hom, Ryan Mardesich, Amanda Centeno, and
John D. Haggerty in Speakeasy’s ‘Wild Goose Dreams’. Photos by Nile Scott Studios

‘Wild Goose Dreams’ – Written by Hansol Jung. Directed by Seonjae Kim; Scenic Design by Crystal Tiala; Costume Design by Machel Ross; Lighting Design by Kathleen Zhou; Sound Design by George Cooke. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage at The Calderwood Pavillion, Boston through April 8.

By Sophie Kim

Speakeasy Stage’s production of “Wild Goose Dreams,” a play written by Hansol Jung and directed by Seonjae Kim, is a fast-paced, unpredictable, and deliciously fantastical exploration of what it’s like to live your life online, the difficulty of being vulnerable, and the internet as a double-edged sword of loneliness and connection.

At Clyde’s Roadside Café, the Sandwich Rules the Roost

April 3, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Louis Reyes McWilliams, Harold Surratt, April Nixon in ‘Clyde’s’ at The Huntington. Photo Credits: Kevin Berne

‘Clyde’s’ – Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Taylor Reynolds; Scenic Designer – Wilson Chin; Costume Designer – Karen Perry; Lighting Designer – Amith Chandrashaker; Sound Designer – Aubrey Dube; Hair, Wig and Makeup Designer – Megan Ellis. Presented by The Huntington in co-production with Berkley Repertory Theatre at The Huntington, 264 Huntington Ave., Boston through April 23.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage has elevated that plebian lunch item — the sandwich — to A-list, Michelin star status in her Tony Award-nominated comedy, ‘Clyde’s,’ now in production at the Huntington through April 23.

Through her skilled script, imaginary recipes combining exotic and surprising ingredients will have the audience trying to remember them after the curtain falls. Glowing in its exalted status as metaphor for salvation, redemption and even tikkun olam (a Jewish concept defined by acts of kindness performed to perfect or repair the world), we will never think of the sandwich as “mere” again.

‘Shadows Cast’ Is A Thrilling Production That Will Leave You Speechless

March 31, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

‘Shadows Cast’ at the Emerson Paramount Center

Direction and Choreography by Raphaëlle Boitel. Artistic Collaboration, Lighting and Set Design by Tristan Baudoin; Original Music by Arthur Bison; Machinery, Rigging, Apparatus, Safety by Nicolas Lourdelle; Sound Design and Sound Management by Nicolas Gardel. Presented by Arts Emerson, Emerson Paramount Center, Boston through April 2nd.

by Shelley A. Sackett

I was not among those in the audience when Raphaëlle Boitel brought her production, ‘When Angels Fall,’ to Boston in February 2019. After viewing her latest, ‘Shadows Cast,’ at the packed house opening night performance on Thursday, I have mixed feelings about having missed it. On the one hand, I would add it to my long list of regrets. On the other hand, having no idea what to expect, I was utterly blown away in that yearned-for way that is so rare and so delicious.

Seacoast Rep’s ‘PARADE’ Taps Into the Human Need to Belong

March 30, 2023April 2, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Book by Alfred Uhry. Directors Ben Hart and Brandon James. Music Director William Asher. Choreographers Jason Faria and Alyssa Dumas. Lighting Designer Zachary Ahmad-Kahloon. Sound Designer Andrew Cameron. Properties Designers Gretchen Gray and Elise Marshall. Costume Designer DW. Set Designers Ben Hart and Brandon James. Presented by the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, Portsmouth, NH through April 9th.

by Linda Chin

The notorious 1913 case of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from the north framed by anti-Semites in Georgia for the murder of his factory employee 13-year-old Mary Phagan, is chillingly dramatized in the musical Parade. With hate crimes intensifying in the US – and a recently released ADL (Anti-Defamation League) report showing that incidents of antisemitic activity in New England surged to historic levels in 2022 – this story is tragically timely and relevant.