‘Conjurors’ Parlor Tricks Deliver Astonishment

March 17, 2021March 30, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Ran’d Shine of “The Conjuror’s Club” now online at the A.R.T.

By Mike Hoban

“The Conjurors Club” – Created by Vinny DePonto and Geoff Kanick. Presented online by American Repertory Theater through May16.

I can’t say I ever been a big fan of magic, probably because I could never separate the high profile practitioners from the actual craft. When I was growing up, there was the ostentatious and oft-parodied Siegfried & Roy with their white tigers; the cheesy made-for-TV illusions of David Copperfield (he made the Statue of Liberty disappear and floated over the Grand Canyon); and the cuddly hippie Doug Henning, none of which held any kind of appeal for me. What I missed, however, was that magic was never about spectacle, but rather about the joy of astonishment. It’s something that the A.R.T.’s The Conjurors Club delivers in spades – as well as hearts, clubs and diamonds – with their bewildering card tricks and sleights of hand.

‘A BRIMFUL OF ASHA’ OVERFLOWS WITH HOPE

March 16, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Ravi Jain and Asha Jain in ArtsEmerson’s ‘A Brimful of Asha’*

By Linda Chin

A BRIMFUL OF ASHA – Written and Performed by Ravi Jain and Asha Jain; Directed by Ravi Jain; Set Design by Julie Fox; Lighting and Video Design by Beth Kates (Playground Studios).

A year from the day that many theatres went dark, I managed to persuade my twenty-something daughter and son that we should take a break from binge-watching tv series and watch a play together instead. These days it’s been especially difficult to find theater offerings that appeal to both generations, align with our values (including diverse stories and storytellers) and have high production values (successfully translating from stage to screen) and lift our spirits. ArtsEmerson was hosting a digital production of Why Not Theatre’s A Brimful of Asha, and from the show’s description (cultural and generational clash, real-life mother and son, some Indian matchmaking, a comedy!) and cast bios (real-life mother and son) I was hopeful this play might be their/our cup of tea.With great anticipation, some trepidation, and a leap of faith, we pressed the streaming link.

“A Brimful of Asha” a Family Love Story

March 13, 2021 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

“A Brimful of Asha” – Written and performed by Ravi Jain and Asha Jain. Directed by Ravi Jain. A Why Not Theatre Production presented by ArtsEmerson, livestreamed through March 22.

It is obvious from the adoring and humorous way that Ravi Jain and his mother, Asha Jain, interact with each other that the “cultural dispute” they ask us to help them resolve at the beginning of this hour and twenty minute long play hasn’t broken their bond. As Asha describes their relationship, they are “Two sides of the same coin. Your happiness is my happiness, my happiness is yours…” Despite the sanguine sentiment, Ravi and Asha have two very different opinions about a very important topic: marriage. Specifically, Ravi’s marriage, one that has yet to spring into existence. For Ravi’s parents wish to arrange a marriage for him to any nice Indian woman with a compatible horoscope, compatible family (read: finances) and compatible religion. The fact that Ravi is not really on board doesn’t matter.

Candle House Collective’s “Next Time” Provokes, Tickles and Engages

February 8, 2021February 8, 2021 Henry HarveyLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

“Next Time” – Created by Evan Neiden. Directed by John Ertman. Presented by Candle House Collective, through February 28.

I like to tell my friends who live in places other than New England that New Englanders invented masks and social distancing, as it suits our standoffish natures. It’s a funny line, as all of us are feeling pushed to the edge with our limited interactions. We’ve all had plenty of time to navel gaze and soul search, and are craving interaction, so when the opportunity came to participate in a one-on-one theatrical exchange, “Next Time”, I jumped on it. And while interactive, as well as smart and funny, it brought to the surface self-revelatory answers to questions I didn’t even know I had.

Christmas Revels (Virtually) Celebrates 50th Anniversary with New Faces, Classic Clips

December 21, 2020December 24, 2020 Henry Harvey1 Comment

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs the peace round Dona Nobis Pacem with members of the Revels Virtual Audience during ‘The Christmas Revels: A 50th Anniversary (Virtual) Celebration’

‘The Christmas Revels: A 50^th Anniversary (Virtual) Celebration’ – Written & Directed by Patrick Swanson; Musical Direction by George Emlen; Set Design by Andy Barnett; Sound Design by Kem Stewart; Costume Design by Heidi A. Hermiller; Video Production by Michael Kolowich; Virtual Chorus Effects by Sid Levin. Presented virtually by Revels through December 31st.

by Mike Hoban

In any other year, the setting would have been perfect. The snow fell (and stopped) just in time for the Revels, adorning the grounds of the Sanders Theater with a pristine blanket of white. Any other of the previous 49 years, audiences would stream in, maybe stomp the snow from their boots in the magnificent Memorial Transept that serves as a vestibule for the theater, and possibly order a hot chocolate or glass of wine to prepare for their journey to another culture for a celebration of the Winter Solstice. But this is the Year of COVID, and human interaction with those outside our immediate circles is now largely hidden behind masks or reserved for the internet, where the intimacy and energy of live theater lives only in our memories. And the Revels – in addition to being an antidote to traditional holiday fare – has always been a deeply felt communal experience, with the audience playing as large a role as any individual performer.

So how does the Revels fare as it transitions to a virtual experience?

“This Is Who I Am” Delivers Reconciliation and Healing

December 16, 2020December 16, 2020 Henry HarveyLeave a comment

*Ramsey Faragallah (left) and Yousof Sultani (right) in ‘This Is Who I Am’. Photo: PlayCo/Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company*

by Michele Markarian

“This Is Who I Am”, by Amir Nizar Zuabi. Directed by Evren Odcikin. Presented by PlayCo and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, in association with American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, the Guthrie Theater, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival through January 3.

The kitchens that Dad (Ramsay Faragallah) and Son (Yousof Sultani) inhabit in their respective homes on Zoom (Dad’s in Palestine, Son’s in Manhattan) could not be more different. Dad’s is old fashioned cabinetry and clutter, Son’s is modern white and clean lines. They have come before one another to recreate a recipe that the woman who was Dad’s wife/Son’s mother used to make. It is obvious from the start that she is the glue that held their family together, and without her, Dad and Son are struggling to make sense of their relationship.

‘Bar Mitzvah Boy’ Wrestles with Keeping the (Jewish) Faith When Bad Things Happen to Good People

November 11, 2020November 11, 2020 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Shelley A. Sackett

‘Bar Mitzvah Boy’ — Written by Mark Leiren-Young; Directed by Saul Elkin; Produced by David Bunis; Managing Director- Jordana Halpern; Stage Manager- Keelin Higgins; Set Design by David Dwyer; Costume Design by Ann Emo; Sound Design by Nicholas Quin. Presented by Jewish Repertory Theatre. ‘Bar Mitzvah Boy’ is available for digital download from November 5-25. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit jccns.org/event/bar-mitzvah-boy/

Right out of the gate, playwright Mark Leiren-Young challenges his audience to leave their assumptions in the (virtual) lobby. ‘Bar Mitzvah Boy,’ his prize-winning 90-minute two-hander, opens as a young woman wearing jogging gear, baseball cap and rock-blasting ear buds pauses by a bench, then continues on the wooded trail, straight up the front steps of a stately mid-20^th century synagogue.

Inside the rabbi’s office, a 60ish man, dressed in full rabbinic regalia — gray suit, tallis (prayer shawl), kippah and tefilln (phylacteries) — pulls a book from the book shelf. He sits at his desk, poring over it somberly, as a woman’s nasal voice bleats over a tinny loudspeaker, “Rabbi. You’ve got a visitor.”

‘Manifest Destiny’s Child’ – or True Confessions of a Regretful 2016 Jill Stein Supporter

October 24, 2020 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Dennis Trainor Jr in “Manifest Destiny’s Child*“

‘Manifest Destiny’s Child’ — Written and performed by Dennis Trainor, Jr.; Directed by Jeff Wise and Dennis Trainor; Presented by Acronym TV. Tickets are “pay what you will” with a $5 minimum, and can be purchasedhere: https://acronymtv.simpletix.com/e/60194. Manifest Destiny’s Child will stream on-demand October 24st — November 8th, 2020 here: https://acronymtv.org/mdc

by Shelley A. Sackett

‘Manifest Destiny’s Child’ is a dramatization of Dennis Trainor, Jr.’s true story about his personal involvement in all things social justice, from protesting at Standing Rock and Occupy Wall Street to his hosting and writing the nationally syndicated news and politics show Acronym TV to, ultimately, becoming Communications Director of Dr. Jill Stein’s ill-fated third party run for President in 2016.

Created as a memoir at Boston’s creative writing space, Grub Street, Trainor decided to morph the piece into a one-man show. While he and director Jeff Wise wisely interspliced actual footage from the protests and Stein’s campaigns, that footage spotlights Trainor, either as participant or interviewer. Coupled with the remainder of the 63-minutes that focuses on Trainor as a talking head either in emotive full face or — annoyingly — in static profile, that’s a LOT of on-screen Trainor, his Robert Downey, Jr./Matthew Perry appeal notwithstanding.

Gloucester Stage Company Serves Up Full-Bodied Blues in ‘Paradise Blue’

October 9, 2020 Henry HarveyLeave a comment

‘Paradise Blue’ — Written by Dominique Morisseau; Directed by Jackie Davis; Produced by Gloucester Stage Company at Oneline/Virtual Space, as part of its 2020 Never Dark Series. Streaming online October 1-4 at https://gloucesterstage.com/battle-not-begun/

By Shelley A. Sackett

There’s a raw poetic cadence to the dazzling dialogue of playwright Dominique Morisseau’s final play in her trilogy set in Detroit across decades. It’s 1949, and the downtown Blackbottom entertainment district is home to many black-owned jazz clubs, including the Paradise Club. Director Jackie Davis sets the tone immediately. Against an opening montage of black and white period photos and a pained, bone-melting trumpet solo, we hear a single gunshot. This film noir trope is a perfect entrance into ‘Paradise Blue’ and an introduction to the complicated passions that drive its five characters.

THT Rep Takes On COVID with (Live) ‘Edgar Allan Poe Double Header’

October 2, 2020October 2, 2020 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

‘Edgar Allan Poe Double Header’ – Written by Edgar Alan Poe. Directed by Olivia D’Ambrosio Scanlon. Presented by The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts at the BrickBox Theater in the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin St., Worcester 01608 through October 25.

“You fancy me mad.”

That phrase is taken from “The Telltale Heart”, the chilling short story which makes up the first half of The Hanover Theatre Repertory’s (THT Rep) much-appreciated Edgar Allan Poe Double Header, serving as the de facto opening line of the show’s first preview. But it could just have easily have been spoken by attendees of the performance to friends and family who may have questioned the sanity of those who dared to go back to live theater.