A.R.T.s ‘Ocean Filibuster’ Drowns in Good Intentions

March 4, 2022March 6, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Photos by Maggie HallJennifer Kidwell in A.R.T.s ‘Ocean Filibuster’. Photos by Maggie Hall

by Mike Hoban

Created by PearlDamour; Text by Lisa D’Amour; Music by Sxip Shirey; Directed by Katie Pearl; Scenic Design by Jian Jung; Music Direction by Sxip Shirey; Costume Design by Olivera Gajic; Lighting Design by Thomas Dunn; Sound Design by Germán Martínez; Projection Design by Tal Yarden. Presented by the American Repertory Theater and commissioned and developed through a collaboration with the Harvard University Center for the Environment. Through March 13 at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St. Cambridge, with a digital version available to stream March 9 – 27

Climate change is clearly the greatest threat to the continued existence of the planet as we know it – potentially impending nuclear war with Russia notwithstanding – but as we saw at the latest United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow this past fall, the folks in charge don’t seem all that willing to do anything about it. Despite the grandstanding from heads of state to phase-out coal power and subsidies for fossil fuels, nothing was codified, so it looks like we’ll just burn for another decade or two, until the megastorms and rising seas finally do us in.

MRT’s ‘Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End’ a Delightful Breath of Fresh Air

March 3, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Karen MacDonald as Erma Bombeck in MRT’s ‘Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End’

“Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End.” Written by Allison Engel and Margaret Engel. Directed by Terry Berliner; Scenic Design by Daniel Zimmerman; Costume Design by Teresa Snider; Lighting Design by Joel Shier; Sound Design by Scott Stauffer; Original Music Composed by Brett Marcias. Produced by Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 50 East Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA through March 13.

by Shelley A. Sackett

Karen MacDonald is nothing short of spectacular in the one-woman show, ‘Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End,’ now playing at Merrimack Repertory Theatre through March 13. For 80 intermission-less minutes, she doesn’t just play Erma Bombeck; she IS Erma Bombeck, from her impeccable timing to the subtlest gesture and most delicate modulation. Don’t let this one slip away without seeing it. It is a balm of enormous power during these dark tundra days.

Seacoast Rep’s The Music Man is Terrific With a Capital T

February 26, 2022March 20, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Direction by Ben Hart & Brandon James. Music Direction by J. Kathleen Castellanos. Choreography by Alyssa Dumas and Jason Faria. Lighting Design by Kelly Gibson. Sound Design by Andrew Cameron. Costume and Set Design by Ben Hart & Brandon James. Properties Design by Elise Marshall. Scenic Artist Kate Dugas. Presented by Seacoast Rep (Closed February 26).

by Linda Chin

While hightailing it up I-95N to Portsmouth, NH last weekend, I got a text from a friend that excitedly read: I’m seeing MM on Broadway in 10 minutes!!! – to which I rather flatly replied “Say hi to Hugh for me. And Sutton.” We, too, were headed to see The Music Man, the six-time Tony Award-winning musical by Meredith Wilson at Seacoast Rep. And although I adore Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster and admit to having a twinge of envy, my two theatre dates and I knew that with the Seacoast Theatre’s track record with musicals, we would have an entertaining evening.

ArtsEmerson Brings a Sensational “Dreaming Zenzile” to Boston

February 25, 2022February 25, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘Dreaming Zenzile’ (Somi Kakoma in foreground)

by Michele Markarian

“Dreaming Zenzile” Devised by Somi Kakoma. Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. Produced by Arts Emerson, in partnership with Octopus Theatricals, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, New York Theatre Workshop, National Black Theatre, and McCarter Theatre Center, Emerson Paramount Theatre, 555 Washington Street, Boston through February 27.

“Zenzile – you have done it to yourself”. This is the name singer Miriam Makeba was given at birth, based on her mother’s difficult labor and recovery; the Xhosa word for a woman whose life moved forward on the wings of saying “yes” could not be more fitting. Based on the life of Zenzile Miriam Makeba, “Dreaming Zenzile” is a narrative concert that tells the incredible story of Miriam Makeba’s musical journey from South Africa to worldwide stage, both as musician and activist.

The Huntington’s Terrific ‘What The Constitution Means to Me’ Is A Timely Romp Through Murky Waters

February 24, 2022March 9, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cassie Beck in the Huntington’s ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre. Photos: Joan Marcus

by Shelley A. Sackett

‘What the Constitution Means To Me’ — Written by Heidi Schreck. Directed by Oliver Butler; Scenic Design by Rachel Hauck; Costume Design by Michael Krass; Lighting Design by Jen Schriever; Sound Design by Sinan Refik Zafar. Presented by Huntington Theater Company at Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre through March 20.

What The Constitution Means to Me asks us to think about and get personal with the US Constitution, and that request couldn’t come at a more timely moment. It seems that hallowed document is front and center in our daily lives, whether we invite it or not. We read the news and, while we were aware Trump was shredding the Constitution with the hope it could never be pieced back together again, we now have to wonder — did he also flush it down the toilet?

FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS

February 18, 2022March 18, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS (10 March to 3 April)

Burbage Theatre Company, Wendy Overly Studio Theatre, 59 Blackstone Avenue, Pawtucket, RI

1(401)484-0355 or www.burbagetheatre.org

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Burbage Theatre Company’s opening live show of 2022 is the Rhode Island premiere of “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” written by Alan Ball in 1993. Ball as a screenwriter wrote American Beauty, True Blood and Six Feet Under. In this hilarious comedy, the audience finds five very different bridesmaids trapped together in a room, all trying to avoid joining in the wedding reception because the only thing they have in common, is not wanting to be there at all. Each one of the women has a special relationship with the bride, Tracy. The show is set in Knoxville, TN at a wealthy family’s home. It has a lot of humorous lines and situations but also has heart with a serious part of the second act that hits home for the audience. Director Allison Crews casts these six roles splendidly, making each of her actresses into five unique and well-defined characters. Her expert direction wins the whole cast a standing ovation at the close of the show.

SpeakEasy’s ‘People. Places & Things’ Takes Us Into the Belly of Addiction

February 17, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Marianna Bassham and the cast of *People, Places & Things.* Photos by Nile Scott Studios.

‘People, Places & Things’ — Written by Duncan Macmillan. Directed by David R. Gammon;, Scenic Design by Jeffrey Peterson; Costume Design by Gail Astrid Buckley; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Sound Design by David Wilson, Video Design by Adam Stone. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company at Boston Center for the Arts through March 5.

by Shelley A. Sackett

Like Jonah’s whale, addiction can swallow us whole. Unlike Jonah, however, who was freed after a mere three days of praying and repenting, those stuck in the belly of the addiction beast have a much tougher, longer and shakier road to hoe.

Some are up to the challenge and some crumble under the beast’s daunting weight. Some make it and some fake it. Some don’t know the difference and some could care less. And some will circle their self-destructive drain as long as they can, all the while ferociously denying they’re about to drown.

Huntington Theatre’s ‘The Bluest Eye’ Is A Triumph

February 7, 2022February 7, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of The Huntington Theatre’s production of *The Bluest Eye* by Lydia R. Diamond

by Shelley A. Sackett

‘The Bluest Eye’ – Based on the book by Toni Morrison, adapted for stage by Lydia R. Diamond, Dramaturgy by Sandy Alexandre. Directed by Awoye Timpo; Set Design by Jason Ardizzone-West; Costume Design by Dede Ayite and Rodrigo Muñoz; Lighting Design by Adam Honoré; Sound Design by Aubrey Dube; Original Music by Justin Ellington; Choreography by Kurt Douglas; Music Direction by David Freeman Coleman. Presented by Huntington Theatre Company at Boston Center for the Arts through March 26. Digital recordings available Feb. 14 through April 9.

Brimming with sparkling ensemble acting, inspired staging and soulful song and dance, Huntington Theatre’s The Bluest Eye packs a wallop. Thanks to Lydia R. Diamond’s faithful yet nuanced adaptation, Toni Morrison’s groundbreaking début novel about two poor Black families in 1940s Lorain, Ohio is brought to the stage with all its poetry, pathos and humor intact. You can almost feel Morrison’s presence in the audience, beaming pride and approval.

Trinity Rep’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ Demonstrates the Power of Theater to Connect, Heal

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Cast of Trinity Rep’s ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’*

by Linda Chin

Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed, adapted for stage by Nia Vardalos, co-conceived by Marshall Heyman, Thomas Kail, and Nia Vardalos. Directed by Curt Columbus; Set Design by Baron E. Pugh; Costume Design by Amanda Downing Carney; Lighting Design by Dawn Chiang; Sound Design by Peter Sasha Hurowitz; Music Direction by Gunnar Manchester. Presented by Trinity Repertory Theater, 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI through February 13th

For some of us theater-loving empaths who’ve been feeling isolated, helpless and theater-deprived these past two years, doing puzzles has been a popular pastime, providing some semblance of calm and control in these socially distanced and socially divided times. My newest addiction is the Wordle puzzle that has taken the internet by storm (Wordle, for the uninitiated, is a daily challenge to correctly guess a five-letter word in six tries, charts your progress, and offers the option to post your results – eg. 5/6 – on social media). Sharing the latter, with friends and/or publicly, sparks virtual “water cooler” conversations and stokes our human desire for connection. So you can imagine my excitement about attending a live performance of the play Tiny Beautiful Things at Trinity Rep, in the company of other living, breathing, and yes, flawed humans.

In Lyric’s ‘Mr. Parent’, Actor Takes on Most Important Role

January 25, 2022January 28, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Maurice Emmanuel in Lyric’ Stage’s ‘Mr. Parent’

by Mike Hoban

“Mr. Parent” Written by Melinda Lopez with Maurice Emmanual Parent. Conceived with and Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Sound Design/Composer, Arshan Gailus; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow; Costume Design by Yao Chen. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon St. through Feb. 6

For most anyone working in the arts – save for the top echelon of folks that are able to actually earn a living doing what they love – the thrill of being in the spotlight is all too often offset by the rigors of a day job. For some that means working in occupations that are solely about earning a paycheck, and for others it means their career clearly trumps the artistic endeavor. For Boston actor Maurice Emmanuel Parent, what started out as a way to earn a living and pay down his massive student loans eventually became much more than just a job, as he took on his most important role – that of a schoolteacher in the Boston Public School system.