Praxis Breathes New Life into a Timeless Gem with ‘for colored girls’

February 20, 2018February 20, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Left to Right):Tonasia Jones, Kerline Desir, Dayenne C. Byron Walters, Ciera-Sadé Wade, Thomika Birdwell, Karimah Williams, Verna Hampton. Photo Credit: Roberto Mighty

by Mike Hoban

‘for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf’ – Written by Ntozake Shange; Directed by Dayenne CB Walters; Music Composition by Patrick Casky; Choreography by W. Lola Remy; Costume Design by Cassandra Cacoq; Lighting Design by Ashley Yung. Presented by Praxis Stage at Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St. in Roxbury through February 25^th.

Given the current state of political affairs, there may not be a better time to revive for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, now being presented by Praxis Stage with an extraordinary production at Hibernian Hall through next weekend. Praxis was formed on November 9^th, 2016, “as a response to the disaster of Trump’s election” according to their mission statement, and there are few theatrical works that better portray the ability of African-American women to persevere and be a force than “for colored girls” – as we saw in December when they were the primary driver behind the defeat of Trump-backed Roy Moore in the special Senate election.

OTP’s ‘An Education in Prudence’ Hits Timely Note

February 19, 2018February 19, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

An Education in Prudence – Written by Stefan Lanfer. Directed by Pascale Florestal. Presented by Open Theatre Project, St. John’s Church, 1 Roanoke Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA, through February 24.

Although “An Education in Prudence” takes place in 1833, and the educational issues it deals with have been resolved, the undertones and attitudes around the issues resonate sharply with today’s divisive America. In witnessing the drama, one can’t help but be reminded of what ensues when closed minds refuse to unfold, not just with racism, but with sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and fear of the other.

Animated Pre-Teen Trans Experience ‘Torrey Pines’ at ArtsEmerson Has Universal Appeal

February 16, 2018February 19, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

‘Torrey Pines’ – Director: Clyde Petersen; Animators: Clyde Petersen & Chris Looney; Production Team: Aidan Baxter-Ferguson, Jack Carroll, Dena Zilber, Terrance Robinson, Merce Lemon, Zach Burba & Leah Gold. Original music recorded in collaboration with Kimya Dawson and Chris Walla. Presented by ArtsEmerson at the Emerson Paramount Center Jackie Liebergott Black Box through February 17.

Admittedly, Torrey Pines, the moving and often hilarious stop-motion animated feature film now making its Boston premiere at the Emerson Paramount Center Jackie Liebergott Black Box, is not your everyday coming of age story. In the director’s notes, Clyde Petersen says his film – which is also accompanied by his live band, Your Heart Breaks, – “is for queer punks, trans youth and people who struggle with mental health issues in their lives”, but it’s also for anyone who enjoys imaginative animation, quirky (and painful) storytelling, and great live music.

A Winning and Entertaining Beauty and the Beast at Wheelock

February 13, 2018February 13, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Music by Alan Mencken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, Book by Linda Woolverton. Directed by Jane Staab. Choreography by Laurel Conrad;
Musical Direction by Steven Bergman. Presented by Wheelock Family Theatre, 200 The Riverway, Boston, MA, through March 4.

Belle (the appealing Justine “Icy” Moral) is the daughter of an eccentric inventor, Maurice (Robert Saoud). Both father and daughter are considered weird in their provincial town, he for his odd creations and she for her love of books. The one thing Belle gets kudos for is her great beauty, so much so that the handsomest man in town, Gaston (Mark Linehan) is hell-bent on marrying her (Gaston is so handsome that I considered pulling Belle aside and saying, “Look, kid, you can always get divorced”). Belle, a deep girl, recognizes that although Gaston is gorgeous, he is not a nice man underneath, and refuses his proposal.

Fresh Ink Theatre Invites You to Meet the Echo Family

February 7, 2018February 7, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Review by James Wilkinson

Nomad Americana – Written by Kira Rockwell. Director: Damon Krometis. Assistant Director: Sloth Levine. Dramaturg: Sara Brookner. Scenic Design: Baron E. Pugh. Lighting Design: Jess Krometis. Costume Design: Chelsea Kerl. Prop Design: Elizabeth Cahill. Dialect Consultant: Elizabeth Milanovich. Fight Choreographer: Margaret Clark; Special Education Consultant: Erin Ronder Neves. Presented by Fresh Ink Theatre at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 949 Commonwealth Ave, Boston through February 18, 2018.

All hail the family unit, that rich treasure box of theatrical possibilities playwrights have been mining material from since the days of Medea and Oedipus Rex. We’re a few thousand years removed from those theatrical mainstays, but playwrights up through Eugene O’Neil, Sam Shepard and Paula Vogel have continually found new ways to break apart and examine familial bonds and their effects. To what extent are we our parents? How do we become our own individuals without shattering our ties to our family? Is that even possible? These are some of the questions playwright Kira Rockwell is contending with in her new play Nomad Americana, now being presented by Fresh Ink Theatre at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. The play is a loving look at a family as one woman begins to wonder what’s next for her.

Huntington’s BAD DATES Delivers Laughs…And More

February 5, 2018February 12, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Bad Dates – Written by Theresa Rebeck; Directed by Jessica Stone; Scenic Design by Alexander Dodge; Costume Design by Sarah Laux; Lighting Design by David J. Weiner; Sound Design by Drew Levy. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company, Huntington Avenue Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave., Boston through March 3rd.

Bad Dates, Theresa Rebeck’s one-woman play now making its return to the Huntington after a smash run in 2004, is billed as a comedy, but it’s actuality it’s much more than that. At the outset it appears to be just another amusing discourse on dating – which is always a rich vein to mine for laughs – but as the plot unfolds it becomes sneakily poignant. And in the hands of the gifted comic actress Haneefah Wood and director Jessica Stone, the piece is transformed into a masterful piece of storytelling.

A CHORUS LINE – Stadium Theatre (Woonsocket, RI)

February 3, 2018March 3, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

A CHORUS LINE

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The current show at the Stadium Theatre is “A Chorus Line”, the 1976 winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Book and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It is a musical based on the lives and experiences of Broadway dancers. Original director/choreographer Michael Bennett wanted to do a show with the spotlight on the class of performers known as the gypsies. The action takes place on a bare stage, where the casting for a new musical is almost complete. For 17 dancers, it is a chance of a lifetime. It is the one opportunity to do what they always dreamed of, not only to be a star, but a chance to get a job and have the chance to dance. Through a series of interviews from funny to heartbreaking, it ushers the audience into the lives of these dancers until the final eight are chosen. The original Broadway show opened on April 15, 1975 and ran 6,137 performances, closing on April 28, 1990. Director William Deschenes, musical director Alex Tirrell and choreographer Jennifer Webb create a stunning, high energy and fabulous version of this musical at the historic Stadium Theatre.

ART’s “Hear Word!” Triumphant and Powerful

February 2, 2018February 2, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True –Written by Ifeoma Fafunwa, Tunde Aladese, Mojisola Abijola, Wole Oguntokun, Princess Olufemi-Kayode, Ijeoma Ogwuegbu. Directed by Ifeoma Fufunwa. Presented by American Repertory Theater, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge through February 11.

After seeing “Hear Word”, I spent the day texting friends, urging them to get tickets to this powerful, life-affirming show. Here’s my text to you –

“Hear Word” is a collection of vignettes written from interviews with Nigerian women and performed by a talented cast of ten women. Grounded in truth and accompanied by three talented drummers (Blessing Idireri, a.k.a. Kacomari, Emeka Anokwuru a.k.a. Make Beat, and Ebisidor Asiyai) the stories are funny and tragic, sometimes both at the same time. Living in a society where men hold all the cards, the women have to constantly fight to protect their bodies, their dignity and their right to be who they are. If that weren’t enough, relationships with their own sex, including mothers and mothers-in-laws, tend to be judgmental and without compassion. Which is why the piece is so powerful – it is compassionate, and compassion, when in short supply, doesn’t come easy.

The Show Must Go On in Trinity Rep’s Hilarious ‘INTO THE BREECHES’

February 2, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The latest show at Trinity Repertory Theatre is “Into the Breeches” by George Brant. This show is set in Providence in 1942 and there is a problem at the Oberon Play House. The director and the leading men are all off to war. Determined to press on, the director’s wife sets out to produce an all female version of Shakespeare’s “Henry V”, assembling an increasingly unexpected team united in desire, if not in actual theatre experience. Together they deliver a delightful celebration of collaboration and persistence when the show must go on. It takes a delightful look at women’s experiences during World War II.

A Sobering “Statements After An Arrest Under the Immortality Act”

January 31, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

‘Statements After An Arrest Under the Immortality Act’ – Written by Athol Fugard. Directed by Jim Petosa. Presented by New Repertory Theatre, co-produced with Boston Center for American Performance. At the Blackbox Theater, Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA through March 3.

All affairs end, and most of them end badly. One or both partners are usually married, so the possibility of happily ever after is slim. In due time, affairs run their course and with any luck, both parties escape moderately unscathed. Unless the affair itself is against the law.