Theatre Uncorked’s “Ruthless” a Wonderfully Demented Sendup of Theatre

November 27, 2019December 8, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Rene Bergeron (center) and cast of Theatre Uncorked’s “Ruthless: The Musical” – Photo Credits: Kai Chao*

By Mike Hoban

‘Ruthless! The Musical’ – Book and Lyrics by Joel Paley. Music by Marvin Laird; Directed by Russell R. Greene; Musical Direction, Gina Naggar; Choreographer, Kai Chao; Costume Design, Anna Silva/Shana Dirik; Set Design/Dressing, Shana Dirik; Lighting Design, Michael Clark Wonson; Sound Design, CRT. Presented by Theater UnCorkedat theCalderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through November 24

For those of us who find the humor in most musical comedies to be a little too tame for our deviant tastes, Ruthless! The Musical is the perfect antidote. This darkly comic sendup of Broadway musicals delivers rapid-fire laughs from material that one would expect more from a pre-Hairspray John Waters production than a musical comedy. Produced by Theatre Uncorked in a four-day run last weekend at the BCA, the all-female cast of Ruthless hits its comic marks with such frequency that the musical numbers (a handful of which are actually quite good, musically speaking) almost seem to serve solely as vehicles for Joel Paley’s wickedly acerbic lyrics.

YOU GOT OLDER (Wilbury Theatre Group)

November 26, 2019December 3, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Cast of Wilbury Group’s “You Got Older”)

by Tony Annicone

The New England Premiere of “You Got Older”, winner of the 2015 Obie Award for playwriting is the second Clare Barron play presented at the Wilbury Theatre Group. Told in a series of vignettes, Barron blends reality with the fantasies of the main character, Mae, who has returned home to care for her father who has just been diagnosed with cancer. Mae is recovering from a broken relationship, the loss of her job, a strange rash that won’t go away, and a recurring fantasy about a sexy blond Cowboy. Mae has two sisters and a brother who come visit their dad in the hospital. There’s also Mac, a male friend of her sister, Hannah. It seem like she has much in common with Mac, but in times of stress or anxiousness she escapes into a fantasy world of the handsome cowboy who takes her mind off the troubles that she is currently facing about the seriousness of her father’s illness. Mae and her siblings discuss trivial matters with each other in front of their sick father, and even some sex talk that is hilarious. The scenes with Mac and the cowboy bring some levity to the proceedings. Director Wendy Overly molds her seven member cast into these characters marvelously and makes us confront a dramatic part of our lives when dealing with a parent’s final illness. She brings out the best in each of her cast members.

ArtsEmerson’s One-of-A-Kind ‘An Iliad’ Is Not to Be Missed

November 21, 2019 michaelhoban1 Comment

Denis O’Hare in ArtsEmerson’s ‘An Iliad’ – Photo by Joan Marcus

By Shelley A. Sackett

‘An Iliad’ – Written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare; Directed by Lisa Peterson; Scenic Design by Rachel Hauck; Costume Design by Marina Draghici; Lighting Design by Scott Zeilinski; Composer/Sound Design by Mark Bennett; Produced by Arts Emerson and Homer’s Coat in association with Octopus Theatricals at Emerson Paramount Center through November 24.

“An Iliad,” the brilliant play by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare in a lamentably short run at Emerson Paramount Center, is one phenomenal piece of theater. In a mere 100 minutes, on a simple stage with no props or costume changes, the virtuoso Denis O’Hare (with the help of bassist Eleonore Oppenheim) magically creates the story behind Homer’s epic poem about the tragic Trojan War. This is no ordinary dramatic experience. It is a magic carpet ride into the deepest power and charm that theater can offer. No wonder the painted muses above the magnificently renovated stage are all smiles. They know this audience is in for a one-of-a kind experience that will resonate long after their thunderous standing ovation finally fades.

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre Introduces You to ‘the smuggler’

November 21, 2019November 21, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

( Billy Meleady in ‘the smuggler’ at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre – Photos by Stratton McCrady)

Review by James Wilkinson

‘the smuggler’ – Written and directed by Ronan Noone. Scenic Design: Adam Hawkins. Lighting Design: Amanda Fallon. Sound Design: Stephanie Lynn Yackovetsky. Costume Design: Emily Keebler. Properties Design: Cayenne Douglass. Dramaturg: Caity-Shea Violette. Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre at 949 Commonwealth Ave., Boston through November 24

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s production of the smuggler comes at you from across the room with a mischievous wink, the kind that says “Don’t worry folks. I know it all looks dark and gloomy in here, but we’re going to have a good time.” You might be a little apprehensive when it makes a move on you from the other end of the bar, but after it cracks a few jokes and flashes that smile, down goes your guard. Having sensed an opening, the smuggler snags the next bar stool over while offering to buy you a drink and you think, “Well…what the hell?” I’m not sure the mischief the original wink promises ever quite materializes, but damned if I didn’t have that good time while slinging back a few in its company. The production is too damn smooth to turn down.

Burbage Theatre’s ‘Hand to God’ a Thought-Provoking, Uproarious Comedy

November 15, 2019November 26, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Burbage Theatre Company’s second show of their ninth season is “Hand to God” by Robert Askins. It’s the Rhode Island premiere of a dark comedy that not only leaves you laughing but contains strong dramatic moments blended together splendidly by director Kate Kataja. The show also contains perfect and spectacular technical effects. Set in a Lutheran church basement in Texas, “Hand to God” centers on a shy boy, Jason, who lost his father six months ago, and his relationship to his mother, a teacher; the church’s pastor, and two other students, the girl next door and the bully. They are involved with a “puppet” ministry when Jason’s puppet takes on its own persona, a darker side of the boy who speaks some of the thoughts he is keeping bottled up inside him. Askins uses the name Tyrone (based on the Tyrone Family in “A Long Day’s Journey into Night”) for this evil puppet. The main point is the lack of communication between mother and son on the loss of his father which he blames on his mother overfeeding him. These feelings fester into huge misunderstandings between them which leads to things being hammered out after some very dark and troubling occurrences of violence. The brilliance of this five member cast pours out to the audience all night long which wins them many laughs and a spontaneous standing ovation at the close of the show.

BLO’s ‘Fellow Travelers – An Opera For Today

November 15, 2019November 15, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Timothy Laughlin (played by Jesse Darden) and Hawkins Fuller (Jesse Blumberg) in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of “Fellow Travelers,” playing Nov. 13-17 at the Emerson Paramount Center

By Julie-Anne Whitney

‘Fellow Travellers’ – Opera by Gregory Spears; Libretto by Greg Pierce; Based on the 2007 novel “Fellow Travelers” by Thomas Mallon; Conducted by Emily Senturia; Directed by Peter Rothstein; Set Design by Sara Brown; Costume Design by Trevor Bowen; Lighting Design by Mary Shabatura; Surtitles by Greg Pierce; Sung in English with English surtitles; Produced by Boston Lyric Opera at the Emerson Paramount Center Robert J. Orchard Stage through November 17, 2019.

Gregory Spears’ opera Fellow Travelers chronicles the doomed love affair between two men, State Department employee Hawkins Fuller and writer/reporter Timothy Laughlin, set during the height of McCarthyism in 1953 Washington D.C. The story sheds light on Senator McCarthy’s ruthless hunt for “sexual deviants” working for the federal government, otherwise known as The Lavender Scare.

The Creepy and Compelling Landscape of ‘The Moors’

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

‘The Moors’ – Written by Jen Silverman. Directed by Joe Juknievich. Lighting Design by Luke Lewkowicz; Costume Design by Daisy Walker.Presented by Entropy Theatre at the Plaza Black Box Theatre at the BCA, 539 Tremont Street, Boston through November 17.

“We don’t even hear our emotions half the time. We’re just filled with the sound of things getting lost,’ says Mastiff (Ryan Lemay) alone on the moors, where all of the action of Jen Silverman’s play takes place. Mastiff shares a manor, with an environment as inhospitable as the landscape that it sits on, with three other people – sisters Agatha (Kris Kim) and Huldey (Kayleigh Kane), and their servant, Marjory (Robin Abrahams) who is sometimes called Mallory, depending on the room she’s serving in. A governess, Emilie (Debbie Aboaba) has arrived at the house, at the epistolary request of the sisters’ brother, Bramwell, in order to take care of a small child. Emilie has fallen in love with the sensitive and sweet Bramwell through his letters, which, it turns out, he didn’t write – she was catfished by Agatha. Emilie transfers her devotion to Agatha, who has Bramwell – she’s not so nice, apparently – kept near death in the attic. Agatha would like Bramwell to impregnate Emilie, so that they might have a child.

Arlekin Players’ ‘The Seagull’ is Extraordinary

November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

L to R – Anne Gottlieb (Irina Arkadina), Darya Denisova (Masha), Eric Andrews (Semyon Medvedenko) in Arlekin Players Theatre new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s ‘The Seagull’ – Photos by Irina Danilova

by Julie-Anne Whitney

‘The Seagull’ – Written by Anton Chekhov; Conceived and directed by Igor Golyak; Script translation by Ryan McKittrick, Julia Smeliansky, and Laurence Senelick; Scenic Design by Nikolay Simonov; Costume Design by Nastya Bugaeva; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Original Music by Jakov Jakoulov; Produced by the Arlekin Players Theatre at Studio 368 in Needham, MA through December 8, 2019.

As you walk up the stairs into Studio 368, the home of the Arlekin Players, and into the intimate black box theater, you feel a sense of uncertainty: the space is separated into three sections with two seating areas to choose from – one on the left and one on the right – with the performance space placed directly in the center of the room. There is a wooden arch with two black doors on either side and a large circle of sand in the middle of the floor. The space feels ominous- the only light emanating from the floor and from a few naked bulbs on the wall. You take a seat and you wait.

‘The Magic Flute’ at ArtsEmerson Defies Tradition

November 8, 2019November 13, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of ‘The Magic Flute’ at ArtsEmerson

by Michael Cox

“The Magic Flute” – Adapted and directed by Mark Dornford-May. Performed by Isango Ensemble. Presented by ArtsEmerson, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston through November 10.

It all begins with the marimbas, tables of long wooden bars mounted above resonators, instruments that look similar to xylophones, but the sound is so much different. It’s a joyous sound – the sound of a warm and faraway place where the atmosphere is festive. And the rhythm that throbs under the music just makes you want to dance.

ArtsEmerson Delivers Energizing and Creative Retelling of ‘The Magic Flute’

November 7, 2019November 7, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

The 21 or so performers of Isango Ensemble, a troupe made up of black South Africans, are unassuming and relaxed as they warm up onstage before the show begins. They could be neighbors you pass on the street, or strangers you see on the T, or colleagues in your workplace until their conductor, taut and precise, steps onstage and raises his arms. Isango Ensemble are immediately transformed into performers, filling the space with energy, musicianship and joy. This transformation, not something that audience members usually get to bear witness to, lasts throughout the next two hours during this magical retelling of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”. Truly an ensemble, the performers are so in tune with one another and the score that they are able to play without the benefit of sheet music. Their instruments consist of marimbas, drums, feet, hands, and in one cleverly executed instance, a trumpet.