Trinity Rep’s ‘Sueno’ a Superb Dramedy

Cast of ‘Sueno’ at Trinity Rep (Photos by Mark Turek)

by Tony Annicone

Welcome to yesteryear with Trinity Rep’s fourth show of their 58th season. The show is Sueno, which is based on Life is a Dream, an old Spanish Golden age classic play. It contains all the elements of an adventure show, including many laughs mixed with love, betrayal, revenge, dreams and forgiveness. At Trinity Rep, the show is presented as a Telenovela. It’s hilarious, but with some serious ideas to ponder as well. After the birth of his son, King Basilio (who believes in astrology) banishes his newborn son, Segismundo, to be imprisoned in a tower for life because he caused the death of his mother. He perceives this as an omen that his son will destroy his kingdom. Translated, ‘Sueno’ means ‘great desire’ – which is felt by relatives when the show fast forwards to 25 years later. Estrella and Astolfo appear on the scene to take over the kingdom but eventually learn that Segismundo is to be released from prison. Basilio tests his son twice with dismal results as the imprisoned son fights with a soldier and falls immediately in love with a servant girl. Segismundo ends up back in the tower where he ruminates about his plight. Things turn on a dime with some astonishing sword fights while the audience is surprised at the sudden turn of events and lessons about nature and nurture. Director Tatanya-Marie Carlo casts this show splendidly and elicits marvelous performances from her nine-member cast. The flamenco music also adds to the flavor of this play. A word of praise to Patrick Lynch for his astounding turntable set of the palace and a tower prison, to Shahrzad Mazaheri for beautiful and intricate costumes and especially to Mark A. Rose for his energetic and brilliant fight choreography which makes these segments mesmerize you.

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Park is Over the Rainbow in Wheelock’s ‘The Wizard of Oz’

Cast of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Wheelock Family Theatre

by Mike Hoban

‘The Wizard of Oz’ – By L. Frank Baum. Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Background Music by Herbert Stothart. Based on the Classic Motion Picture owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and distributed in all media by Warner Bros. Directed by Nick Vargas; Choreographed by Tiffany Lau; Music Direction by Todd Gordon. Presented by the Wheelock Family Theatre at 180 Riverway, Boston through May 1.

The Wheelock Family Theatre returned to the stage this past weekend after a 765-day hiatus with a stripped down production of The Wizard of Oz, with nine actors playing all of the roles – from leading characters to the ensemble players. The family favorite is buoyed by a terrific performance by Lily Park as Dorothy, the young girl who is swept away in a tornado and transported to the magical world of Oz to find out that “there’s no place like home”.

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Seacoast Rep’s La Cage aux Folles is Spectacular

By Linda Chin

I didn’t get to see La Cage aux Folles until late in its nearly sold-out run, but several days later I am still singing the songs, laughing at some of the show’s many funny lines and campy bits, and feeling the feels of this incredibly heartwarming production. Seacoast Repertory Theatre’s production of La Cage demonstrates how musical theatre is a truly collaborative art form, how it can entertain and educate, how a production that first opened 40 years ago is still relevant, and how unbelievably good it feels to be back at live theatre again.

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‘Freestyle Love Supreme’ at Colonial a High Energy Comic Blast

Chris Sullivan, Wayne Brady, Anthony Veneziale, Aneesa Folds in Freestyle Love Supreme at the Emerson Colonial Theater. Photos by Joan Marcus. (Brady is not part of the cast for the Boston dates).

“Freestyle Love Supreme” – Conceived by Anthony Veneziale. Created by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Veneziale. Directed by Thomas Kail. Presented by the Ambassador Theatre Group at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston through April 2.

by Mike Hoban

What do you get when you cross improvisational comedy with hip-hop? Freestyle Love Supreme is what, and it’s a musical comedy blast. Boston is the second leg of the national tour of this unique entertainment experience, following a four-month return engagement to the Booth Theater on Broadway after the show won a special Tony Award last September. The concept of the show itself isn’t entirely new, as improvisational comedy groups have long incorporated long-form musicals into their shows, but the added degree of difficulty – fitting the improvised songs into a rhyming scheme in harmony with a beatbox – is nothing short of amazing.

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Trinity Rep’s “Gem of the Ocean” Teaches Us to Do the Right Thing

Liz Morgan, Rose Weaver, Mauro Hantman & Christopher Lindsay in Trinity Rep’s “Gem of the Ocean” Photos by Mark Turek

by Tony Annicone

Trinity Rep takes us back to Pittsburgh in 1904 with their third show of the season, “Gem of the Ocean” by August Wilson. It’s the first of his 10 Play Cycle, each covering a decade of the 20th Century. Each story is set in the working-class neighborhood known as the Hill District, where Wilson himself was born. These plays take African Americans out of the reconstruction era of the Civil War South and into the modern era of early twentieth century. Mystical, mysterious (and very old) Aunt Ester discusses the newly found freedom from slavery and the “city of bones” that describes the brutal history of the slave trade. Ester also emphasizes the importance of honor and doing what is right, and wants to know what they are willing to die for now that they are free. An original song by Broken Chord, “Remember Me”, opens the show, and when the song is over, we hear a young man pounding on the door. It is Citizen Barlow, who has come to visit Aunt Ester. He wants to be forgiven for something in his past and needs and wants redemption. After receiving advice from Aunt Ester, Solly Two Kings (a former runner for the Underground Railroad, who is courting Ester,) and Eli, (a traveling salesman who is Ester’s care giver and confidant) they take him on a mystical trip to the City of Bones. Barlow wants to pursue a relationship with Black Mary but her brother, Caesar, a hard-headed cop, stands in the way of their relationship.

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Central Square’s ‘Nerds’ Makes Strong Case for Why Representation Matters

James Ricardo Milord, Daniel Rios, Jr., Alison Yueming Qu, Kortney Adams, Lindsey McWhorter, and Karina Beleno Carney. Photos: Nile Scott Studios. 

Young Nerds of Color’ – Arranged by Melinda Lopez; Directed by Dawn M. Simmons; Original Music Composed by Nona Hendryx; Set Design by Shelley Barish; Costume Design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt; Lighting Design by Andrea Sofia Sala; Presented by the Underground Railway Theatre at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge through March 20.

by Mike Hoban

As a young boy growing up in the sixties, my only exposure to scientists was through Saturday afternoon science fiction movies on “Creature Double Feature”, which showed mostly cheesy black-and-white films like The Deadly Mantis and It Came From Outer Space. The scientists were – nearly without exception – older white men, except when the offering was Destroy All Monsters or some other campy romp from Japan. As I grew older and my tastes matured somewhat, depictions of scientists on film and TV were still mostly old white guys, although white women scientists began to appear occasionally onscreen. What audiences didn’t see were scientists that were people of color. 

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SpeakEasy’s ‘Once on This Island’ Is A Magical Tour of A Mystical Place

Peli Naomi Woods, Kenny Lee, and the cast of SpeakEasy Stage’s Once on This Island (2022). Photos by Nile Scott Studios.

Once On This Island.” Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Directed by Pascale Forestal. Music Direction by David Freeman Coleman; Choreography by Jazelynn Goudy; Scenic Design by Erik D. Diaz; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Aja M. Jackson; Sound Design by Andrew Duncan Will. Presented by Speakeasy Stage, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA through April 16.

by Shelley A. Sackett

‘Once On This Island’ is such a happy, toe-tapping, brightly colored musical, it’s easy to forget that its overarching tragic themes are Caribbean colonialism, racism, and slavery. Part ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (which didn’t end well for those star-crossed lovers, either), part Little Mermaid and part multi-cultural folk fable, the show explains the history of the Island Hispaniola and its eventual split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

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An Exuberant, Optimistic “Once on This Island” at Speakeasy

Peli Naomi Woods, Kenny Lee (both center), and the cast of SpeakEasy Stage’s Once on This Island (2022). Photos by Nile Scott Studios

by Michele Markarian

Once On This Island”.  Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Music by Stephen Flaherty.  Directed by Pascale Forestal.  Presented by Speakeasy Stage, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA through April 16.

Once on This Island” isn’t exactly a light show. Class barriers, racial prejudice, and unrequited love are three of its main themes. Throw in the capriciousness of the gods, whose conflicting forces can’t always be controlled, and you can be sure that tragedy will counter good fortune. But what follows the rollicking first number, “We Dance”, is an hour and a half of engaging storytelling and musical entertainment. 

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Lyric Stage’s Superb ‘The Book of Will’ Takes Us Back to the Time of the Bard

Cast of ‘The Book of Will’ at Lyric Stage

“The Book of Will.” Written by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland; Costume Design by Elisabetta Polito; Lighting Design by Christopher Brushberg; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill. Produced by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 140 Clarendon St., Boston through March 27.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Ever wonder about the immediate aftermath of Shakespeare’s death, how his plays were preserved in an era when plays were not considered to be important works of literature, plots were largely constructed by the actors and written out in a ‘fair copy’ for their records by the company scribes, and new plays were churned out at an incredibly fast rate to provide the companies with enough material to keep performing new shows all the time?

Well, wonder no more.

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GBSC’s ‘Incident’ Is a Pleasant Trip Down Memory Lane

Cast of ‘Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help’ at Greater Boston Stage

“Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help.” Written by Katie Forgette. Directed by Weylin Symes. Set Design by Shelley Barish; Lighting Design by Chris Fournier; Costume Design by Deirdre Gerrard; Sound Design by Dewey Dellay. Produced by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main St, Stoneham, MA through March 20.

By Shelley A. Sackett

‘Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help’ will strike a particular chord among those of us whose wallets now hold Medicare and AARP cards. Written by Seattle-based playwright, Katie Forgette, it is a loving trip down her personal memory lane. She was raised Catholic and attended parochial school for 12 years. Her father was a hard working cab driver; her mother had many jobs, in addition to birthing ten children and caring for her own disabled mother. The family wasn’t poor, but only because her parents sacrificed personal goals and worked as hard as they could to be financially comfortable.

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