‘Moulin Rouge!’, ‘Man in the Ring’ Earn Top Honors at 23rd Annual IRNE Awards

April 9, 2019April 16, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Moonbox Productions’ ‘Cabaret’ Took Home 5 Awards at the 23rd Annual IRNE Awards last night.

‘Boston, MA, April 9^th, 2019 – Global Creatures’ Broadway-bound Moulin Rouge and the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Man in the Ring were the big winners at the 23^rd Annual IRNE Awards, as the two productions garnered a dozen awards between them. Moulin Rouge took home seven awards, including Best Musical and New Musical in the Large Stage category, and Man in the Ring was honored with five, including the Best Play, Director, and Actor awards. Moonbox Productions’ Cabaret earned a half-dozen awards, including Best Musical, and Best Director and Choreography awards for its director, Rachel Bertone.

May The Joy Luck Family Tree Forever Bloom

April 8, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Linda Chin

In Dragon Mama, the second part of a three-generation family trilogy that enjoyed its world premiere at the ART’s Oberon, the brilliant Filipinx American multi-hyphenate artist Sara Porkalob does it again. Sharing the small stage with no one/nothing else but a single chair, Porkalob shares the story of her mother Maria Porkalob, Jr. by portraying 20+ characters of different ages, ethnicities, genders. The chair too transforms multiple times – into the saddle of the neighborhood bully’s cycle, hospital bed for pregnant Maria, airplane seat en route to Alaska, a seat at the gay club where she meets 27-year-old African American R&B singer Tina. Slim pickings in Anchorage, Alaska in 1993, but when her boss Greg (the astute and well-read 40-ish white foreman of a fishing cannery) learns that she and Tina are planning a movie date, he recommends that instead of Forrest Gump, they see the new film playing at the indie theater on the outskirts of downtown. It’s an adaptation of the best-selling novel by San Francisco author Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club. The story is about Chinese American daughters and their immigrant Chinese mothers, and Maria just might relate.

AKA Theatre Doesn’t Play it Safe with ‘Extermities’

April 4, 2019April 4, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Alissa Cordeiro in AKA Theatre’s “Extremities’

Review by James Wilkinson

‘Extremities’ – Written by William Mastrosimone. Directed by Alexandra Smith. Scenic/Properties Designer: Erin McCarthy. Costume Designer: Heather Oshinsky. Fight Choreographer: Jessica Scout Malone. Presented by AKA Theatre at First Church Cambridge through April 13

You’d be forgiven for thinking that we’d entered Sam Shepard country. The playing space for Extremities, AKA Theatre’s new production, just feels a bit off in the way that recalls the plays of the late American master. The furniture looks dated and is sparsely placed around the stage. There’s very little in the way of color or a sense of life. The one houseplant visible has lost most of its leaves and is barely hanging on to what’s left. An ashtray, half-full with cigarette butts, sits on the coffee table. There’s a kitchen set-up off to the side with a gas burner stove that looks like it has seen better days. You just can’t quite put your finger on what’s causing the sense of foreboding in the air (eventually we’ll learn that the play takes place in the early 1980’s….Take that however you want…). When the characters eventually come onstage, even they seem to have walked right out of a Shepard play. There’s a fast-talking farmhand (complete with cowboy belt buckle) with a grin a mile wide that just makes your skin crawl. Something dangerous is on its way.

Sleeping Weazel Lets the Women Speak

April 3, 2019April 6, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Veronica Anastasio Wiseman, Graciela Femenia Tully, Judith Nelson Dilday, Raijene Murchison, Alex Casillas, Luz Lopez, Louise Hamill Sleeping Weazel’s ‘The Audacity: Women Speak – Photo:David Marshall)

by James Wilkinson

‘The Audacity: Women Speak’ – Conceived and arranged by Charlotte Meehan. Directed by Tara Brooke Watkins. Video Design by Elliott Mazzola. Scenic Design: Rita Roy. Lighting Design: Bridget K. Doyle. Costume Design: Mirta Tocci. Presented by Sleeping Weazel in Nicholas Martin Hall at the Boston Center for the Arts through April 6.

There are two elements to The Audacity: Women Speak, Sleep Weazel’s new multimedia production, that I think rather perfectly sum up its goals for the audience. The first is a visual motif created by lighting designer Bridget K. Doyle. A patch of light will come up on an empty spot on the stage, one of the seven women who comprise the cast will enter said space and then they begin to speak. Although it may seem like an incidental detail, the order of that sequence is vital to what they’re doing. The second element comes about halfway through the show during a barrage of video clips featuring the current Commander in Chief making sexist remarks as far back as the eighties and as recent as his presidency. As the clips play, the woman on stage begin to groan. First in frustration, then it rises to anger before finally, they’re filling the space with their screams. Something is being released.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre Presents a ‘Haunted Life’

April 2, 2019April 3, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Tina Fabrique, Caroline Neff, Raviv Ullman, Vichet Chum, Joel Colodner in MRT’s “The Haunted Life” – Photo by Meghan Moore)

by James Wilkinson

‘The Haunted Life’ – Written by Sean Daniels. Based on the book by Jack Kerouac. Directed by Sean Daniels and christopher oscar pena. Scenic design: James J. Fenton. Costume Design: Sarita Fellows. Lighting design: Brian J. Lilienthal. Sound Design: David Remedios. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre at 50 East Merrimack Street, Lowell through April 14

The crime novelist Elmore Leonard once published his ten rules for writing fiction, which he said could be summed up with the sentiment, “If it sounds like writing, rewrite it.” The decree worked fine for Mr. Leonard, whose sparse action-driven style gave his novels a pop of energy, but I’d argue that sometimes the power of a novel can hinge on when the writer indulges in the bits that sound like writing. Case in point, Jack Kerouac. If you’ve never had the joy of making your way through his best-remembered book, On the Road, I’d encourage you to go ahead and take the plunge. It took me a few attempts before I was able to properly sync up with Kerouac’s wavelength, but when I finally managed to crack that nut, it paid dividends. Kerouac’s prose vibrates with a poetic energy seemingly driven by an obsessive need to capture something that constantly eludes his grasp. It’s the thrill of being alive. Of being in the moment. Just as it seems like he’s nailed it, the image slips away. The language works itself up into a frenzy before finally bursting forth with some of the most achingly beautiful prose you’ve ever heard, at once hypnotic and intoxicating. Or at least, it is for the reader of the novels.

AKA Theater’s ‘Extremities’ is Tough, Terrifying and Thrilling

April 2, 2019April 3, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Padraig Sullivan as Joe and Alissa Cordeiro as Marjorie in “Extremities” – Photo credit:Ashley Yung )

by Nicholas Whittaker

‘Extremities’ – Written by William Mastrosimone; Directed by Alexandra Smith; Produced by Kelly Smith. Stage Manager: Karlie Fitzgerald. Fight Choreographer: Jessica Scout Malone. Props Designer: Erin McCarthy. Costume Designer: Heather Oshinsky. Lighting Consultation: Hunker McKee, Ben Moll. Fireplace Construction: Ben Lieberson. Presented by Also Known As Theater at Margaret Jewett Hall in First Church, 11 Garden St. Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 through April 13

“Cinematic” is a suspect way to describe a stage play, seemingly forgetting the clear distinctions between the two mediums. And yet, Also Known As Theater’s production of Extremities is nothing short of cinematic, in the best possible way. Extremities manages to rethink the possibility of live theater, capturing the crackling energy and painful brutality seemingly possible only on the screen while remaining true to the fundamentals of stage performance. That such an exercise is backed by a wildly clever (if slightly politically outdated) script, a willingness to dig deep into the complexities of sexual assault, female trauma, and masculine violence – bolstered by an extraordinary cast – makes Extremities required viewing.

THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO

April 2, 2019April 27, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The year is 1939 and the audience is transported back to Atlanta and the biggest thing at that time in United States was the premiere of “Gone With the Wind” but not to some of the folks there. The most important thing was the top social event for elitist German Jews called Ballyhoo which surpassed the startling news of Hitler’s invasion of Poland that sparked World War II. This is the basic premise for “The Last Night of Ballyhoo” which is the second show of Renaissance City Theatre Inc.’s 19th season at the Granite Theatre. It also points out how people should accept their shared heritage and not hold wealth or social position above everything else. Director David Jepson casts this show with 7 strong performers who display the acting prowess necessary to carry off this well written roles.

Clothes Encounter

April 1, 2019April 28, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Sue Nedar

Spring has sprung at The Newport Playhouse, and the current offering (which runs through May 25th) is Clothes Encounter, by Roger Karshner. A frolicking, madcap farce, replete with risque double entendres, mistaken identities, and sexual innuendo.

As the story goes, Mr. and Mrs. Masters are realtors who are somehow separately showing a house to Mr. and Mrs. Parker. Mr. Masters’ client is Mrs. Parker, and Mrs. Masters’ client is Mr. Parker. Are you with me so far? Do you see where this is going?

The sellers, of course, are away; and the house is in the care of Heinz, the Eastern European handyman, who has a love of very large tomatoes, and a knack for eviscerating the English language. Soon, shenanigans ensues. Because, well … Mrs Parker is attractive but sex-starved, since Mr. Parker is more interested in watching National Geographic in bed, than he is watching his wife. And because Mrs. Parker is notoriously jealous of her oh-so-faithful and uptight husband.

Anyway, once all the parties arrive, the laughs are non-stop!

Under the direction of W. Richard Johnson, the gags are plentiful, the timing is perfect, and the laughs are well deserved.

Alan Masters is played by Newport Playhouse veteran Rick Bagley. Bagley is the quintessential straight man to both Sandi Nicastro who plays his jealous wife, Kathy Masters, and Pamela Gill who plays the sexpot Betty Parker. Bagley has sweating being seduced down to a tee!

Meanwhile, Gill gives Betty Parker everything the author wrote, and more. She’s appropriately inappropriate at all the right times, and she speaks volumes with her facial expressions.

Sandi Nicastro, another well known Newport Playhouse veteran also doesn’t disappoint. You come to expect that iconic Lucille Ball type comedy from Sandi, and as always, she delivers in spades.

Mr. Parker, the National Geographic super fan, is played by yet another Playhouse veteran; Tony Annicone. Annicone proves once again that he is the master of long and difficult monologues. He delivers the very dry and dead pan comedy flawlessly. And what would an American farce be without someone onstage in their underwear?! Wait for it! Tony will make you laugh out loud!

The cast is rounded out by Matthew Johnson who plays the big oaf handyman Heinz. This was my first time seeing Johnson onstage, and I was absolutely impressed with his fabulous Eastern European accent, which he never lost, even for a second, onstage. This young man Matthew Johnson has fabulously innate comedic talent, and is an absolute hoot in this role!

Some comedies are funnier than others. This one is funnier than most. It’s a funny script, directed by a skillful director, acted by a terrific cast.

If you’re looking for a night of belly laughs, preceded by a delicious all you can eat buffet, run… do not walk… to The Newport Playhouse and see Clothes Encounters. You won’t be sorry!

Clothes Encounters plays April 4 through May 25, 2019
Newport Playhouse: 401-848-7529 or visit them at: www.newportplayhouse.com

Theater Mirror Interviews Sara Porkalob, Creator/Performer of ‘Dragon Cycle’

April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 michaelhoban1 Comment

by Deanna Dement Myers

On a snowy Sunday morning, I sat down with Sara Porkalob, storyteller and creator of the Dragon Cycle, being presented at the American Repertory Theater Oberon Theater until April 7. We had an inspirational and rambling chat where we talked about importance of a loving family, our shared Filipino-American heritage, the process of writing, and about creating the type of theater that reflects your values. She may have also given me tips on where to find the perfect lip color. 🙂

Tension and Healing in “Cardboard Piano”

March 28, 2019March 28, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*(Rachel Cognata, Marge Dunn, Michael Ofori and Marc Pierre in New Rep’s ‘Cardboard Piano’ – Photos by Andrew Brilliant, Brilliant Photography)*

by Michele Markarian

‘Cardboard Piano’ – Written by Hansol Jung. Directed by Benny Sato-Ambush. Presented by New Repertory Theatre, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown through April 14.

Adiel (Rachel Cognata) and Chris (Marge Dunn) are young lovers – Chris is sixteen – who have planned a makeshift wedding ceremony for themselves on New Year’s Day, 2000, in the church in Uganda where Chris’s missionary dad is pastor. The young woman are very different – Adiel is comfortable with her sexuality, Chris is not (“Fuck around in my house of worship and I’ll throw a bolt at your head,” Chris says in God’s voice, when thunder and lightning abound outside). Chris’s parents have found out about her and Adiel and are very upset, to the point where Chris has drugged them and stolen their car keys so that she and Adiel can escape. After saying their vows into a tape recorder, Chris and Adiel are interrupted by a young man of thirteen, Pika (Marc Pierre), who brandishes a gun and threatens to kill Chris. Pika is wounded, and Adiel insists on taking care of him before they leave. After dressing Pika’s wound, Adiel goes to her aunt’s house to say goodbye and grab a suitcase. Pika, an abducted child soldier, tells Chris that he has committed sins too atrocious for even God to forgive (“I’m a terrible soul and so He has forgotten about me”). Chris insists that God will forgive, and on the same tape recorder used to record her “marriage”, creates a healing for Pika that absolves him of his sin. But Pika is wanted, and a young soldier (Michael Ofori) comes to the Church looking for him. Instead he finds Adiel, returning with a suitcase. A scuffle ensues, Pika commits one more atrocity, and then, when he discovers the true nature of Adiel’s and Chris’s relationship, commits another.