Welcome back to the 1930’s in Renaissance City Theatre Inc.’s opening show of their 19th season, “The Game’s Afoot” by Ken Ludwig. Ludwig sets this show at Christmas time in December 1936. The Broadway star William Gillette is playing Sherlock Holmes and is shot at during a performance. A couple of weeks later he invites his longtime friend, Felix, his wife Madge, newlyweds Simon and Aggie as well as his mother, Martha and an unwelcome guest gossip columnist, Daria. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the merriment begins when Gillette tries to find out who did the crime. Who did it? Are there more then one suspects? When an inspector shows up in Act 2, everyone soon becomes a suspect in the crimes. Vincent Lupino directs this whodunnit comic romp wonderfully with its clever twists and turns in this well written script. He obtains hilarious performances from one and all.
Let’s all head up to Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire at the turn of the 20th Century for the fifth show of Burbage Theatre’s eighth season. The show is “Our Town”, Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize winning play. The show tells about life in Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire from 1901 to 1913. This version is intimate and timely. It features a stage manager who not only explains the action of the characters but also becomes part of the show. Through the use of flashbacks, dialogue, and direct monologues, the other characters reveal themselves to the audience and interact with them. Director Mark Peckham picks the best performers to play these roles and molds them into these town folk splendidly. His cast pantomimes the props and handles the transitions from scene to scene beautifully. Peckham makes the message of live each day to its fullest ring true for contemporary audiences in the 21st Century, too.
The current show at the Edward King House in Newport is
“Love, Loss and What I Wore” by Nora and Delia Ephran. It is based on
the best selling book by Ilene Beckerman. The show consists of a series of
28 monologues with a 5 women cast. They are dressed in black and sit down with
their scripts in front of them on stands. It covers a variety of topics about
women including how mothers influenced their lives and various stages of what
they wore when important events took place. Some of these include
buying prom dresses, bras, boots and shoes and how the color black is
a passion for them. It examines their relationships and is a time
capsule as told through Gingy and four other women’s lives. Director
Sharon Coleman gives each woman their chance to shine in this show including
herself. She blends the comic and dramatic monologues together splendidly
with this show that leaves you laughing and thinking thoughtfully at the same
time.
Before attending SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of the eight Tony Award-winning musical, “Once,” we were advised to arrive 15 minutes early, for a lively pre-show. We weren’t disappointed. The actors and singers who collectively provide the musical accompaniment opened the play, performing lively Czech, klezmer and Irish “kitchen” tunes, typical of a neighborhood Irish “kitchen” jamboree.
(Ireon Roach, Jackie Davis, Adrian Abel Amador – Photograph credit: Kalman Zabarsky)
Review by James Wilkinson
‘Laughs in Spanish’
– Written by Alexis Scheer. Directed by
Sara Katzoff. Scenic Design: Sean Perreira. Lighting Design: Hannah Solomon.
Sound Design: Stephanie Lynn Yackovetsky. Costume Design: Chloe Chafet. Produced
by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 949 Commonwealth
Ave. Boston through March 3
I’ve only visited Florida a handful of times and have never
been to Miami. Each trip was to Orlando and if I had to venture a guess, true
Floridians probably don’t view the world of Walt Disney as “real” Florida. I’ll
have to take it on faith that the Miami invoked in Boston Playwrights’
Theatre’s Laughs in Spanish is true
to the real place, but given that playwright Alexis Scheer calls the city her home,
I’m willing to make that leap. There’s an energy at play in Laughs in Spanish, a kind of beat that
you start bobbing your head to as you enter the theater. You don’t realize how
easily you’ve slipped into the world of the play. It’s a world of rhythm and
color and once you’re on its wavelength, the production hooks you with its many
charms and keeps you in a state of frothy fun.
(George Judy and Miranda Barnett. Photo by Meghan Moore.)
By Deanna Dement Myers
The Heath’ – Written by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Artistic
Director Sean Daniels. Featuring Miranda Barnett and George Judy. The creative
team includes Tanya Orellana, Scenic Designer; Miranda Kau Giurleo, Costume
Designer; Maria Cristina Fusté, Lighting Designer; Danny Erdberg, Sound
Designer; Seaghan McKay, Projection Designer; Maegan Conroy, Production Stage
Manager. Playing at the Merrimack Repertory Theater February 13 to March 10.
“I fear I am not in my perfect mind.”
Guilt is a universal feeling, as is love, conflict, and the realization that some choices are hard to make. Lauren Gunderson’s newest play, The Heath, makes its world premiere at the Merrimack Repertory Theater. The characters are Gunderson herself, played beautifully by Miranda Barnett, and her Paw-Paw, KD, played by the formidable and likeable George Judy. The Lauren in the play is a Southern transplant musician and writer, who wrestles with the realization that her beloved grandfather is falling further and further into Alzheimer’s disease. As he loses more of his most recent memories, Lauren delves deeper into his personal history. She draws on everything from Shakespeare to Bluegrass to understand the man she thought she knew. She seeks to close the gap between what she needs him to be and who he has become.
“Moulin Rouge”, “An American in Paris” Lead Musical
Nominations for Large Stage
Boston,
MA, February 25, 2019 – The Independent Reviewers of New
England (IRNE) today announced the nominees for the 23rd Annual IRNE Awards, which
honor the best of the previous year’s actors, directors, choreographers,
designers and companies across the full spectrum of large, mid-size and fringe
theater companies. Moulin Rouge!, a new musical produced by Global
Creatures, and An American in Paris,
produced by the Ogunquit Playhouse, led with 12 and 11 nominations, respectively,
in the Large Stage Musical Category. The Huntington Theatre led all companies
with 31 nominations across seven productions, including 11 for Man in the Ring, the story
of six-time world champion prizefighter Emile Griffith.
Lunar New Year 2019 brings good fortune to Greater Boston theatergoers hungry for stories about Asian culture, and the growing pool of talented and experienced theater artists of Asian heritage. To those producers/artistic directors creating these opportunities on professional stages, a simple xie xie (thank you, e.g. when someone passes you the salt at dinner) isn’t a big enough expression of gratitude.
‘When Angels Fall’ (Photos by Sophian and Georges Ridel)
By Mike Hoban
‘When Angels Fall’ – Direction
and Choreography: Raphaëlle Boitel; Artistic Collaboration, Set Design, and
Light Design: Tristan Baudoin; Original Soundtrack and Sound Design: Arthur
Bison; Costumes: Lilou Hérin; Rigging, Machinery and Set Design: Nicolas Lourdelle;
Artistic Assistant: Clara Henry. Presented by ArtsEmerson at the Cutler
Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St., Boston through February 24
If you’re a frequent attendee of Boston theater (or
a reviewer), you’ve got to love the break from ‘traditional’ theater that
ArtsEmerson provides with their visiting programs. Whether it’s the aerial and
acrobatic artistry of Montreal’s Seven Fingers, the weird and brilliant live
cinematic shadow puppet shows of Chicago’s Manual Cinema, or the insanely
imaginative building of an entire house onstage (Geoff Sobelle’s Home), ArtsEmerson’s presentations
of contemporary world theatre gives us a much needed respite
from the steady diet of productions of Twelfth
Night and Fiddler on the Roof – even
if, like me, you’re a fan of both.
‘Keeping Faith: Sisters of Story’ –
Written and performed by Rohina Malik, Kim Schultz, and Susan Stone. Music and
vocals by Lucia Thomas. Presented at Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham on February 22-24; New
Repertory Theater in Watertown on February 25-26.
“The greatest thing in the world is to do somebody a favor.”
Three women grace the stage and tell moving stories of compassion,
hope and understanding. These exceptional storytellers from different branches
of the Abrahamic faith traditions, are joined by a wonderful musical artist, to
weave a series of stories that celebrate their separate beliefs while
cultivating the commonalities we all share.
Rohina Malik, a Muslim woman, collaborated
with Kim Schultz, a Christian woman, and Susan Stone, a Jewish woman, to create
an artistic response to the hate and intolerance currently plaguing our
society. Lucia Thomas, a gifted and versatile
musician, uses violin, oud, guitar, and a
newly acquired banjo, to compliment the storytellers with songs that underscore
the themes and emotions in the tales. The performance is enhanced by the layering
of singing, instruments and storytelling. The effect is intimate and serves to
draw the listeners in.
The four strong voices blend together
messages of tolerance and wisdom. Each storyteller approached personal
struggles by reaching deep into their individual religions to find strength,
insight, and solace. While these religions are traditionally patriarchal, we
follow the footsteps of important women in the separate faiths, and learn more
about the singularity of the Divine Source central to them all.
The audience is invited to stay for a
question and answer session after the performance. It is a chance to process
the powerful messages crafted by these talented women, and a brief chance to
add our own piece towards healing the world.
