Liars & Believers ‘IRRESISTIBLE’ Applies Woke Spin to Vaudevillian Concept

January 30, 2018January 30, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

IRRESISTIBLE – Directed by Jason Slavick; Written by the LAB Ensemble. Presented by Liars & Beleivers. Performed at Sonia at the Middle East, 10 Brookline Street in Cambridge, MA. One night only, January 24, 2018.

You shoulda been there.

That’s all I can say, because if you weren’t able to attend Liars & Believers’ (LAB) sold out performance of IRRESISTIBLE last week, you’re not going to be able to catch a later performance of this compelling and enormously fun music/dance/theater composite. LAB presents their coLABs for one night only (this is the first since 2015’s Talk To Strangers), which is a shame since it’s so much fun to watch these artists create pieces outside their more traditional performance vehicles.

Nora Theatre’s “Proof’ Delivers Perceptive Family Drama

January 25, 2018January 25, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

“Proof” – Written by David Auburn. Directed by Michelle M. Aguillon. Set Design by Janie E. Howland. Sound Design by Grant Furgiuele. Presented by The Nora Theatre Company, Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge through February 18.

Nothing grows well under the shade of a big tree, as any relative or friend of a largely accomplished person will tell you. Robert (Michael Tow), a recently deceased mathematician and single father of two grown daughters, is that tree. Robert is a star at the University of Chicago, revered by the community there for formulas he discovered in his early twenties. Mental illness has incapacitated him in the years before he died, forcing his younger daughter, Catherine (Lisa Nguyen) to drop out of Northwestern and care for him. Older daughter Claire (Cheryl Daro), living in New York, has given financial support to the family but little else. As Claire returns to Chicago for the funeral, she and Catherine have very different ideas of the direction Catherine’s life needs to take. In the meantime, a former student of Robert’s, Hal (Avery Bargar) has offered to carefully comb through an extensive series of notebooks Robert has left behind, scribblings he composed while Catherine was taking care of him.

Merrimack Rep’s “Knyum” Goes Looking for the Self

January 23, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Review by James Wilkinson

Knyum is written and performed by Vichet Chum. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Directed by KJ Sanchez. Scenic Design by Dan Conway. Costume Design by Szu-Feng Chen. Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal. Sound Design by David Remedios. Projection Design by Jon Haas. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 50 East Merrimack Street, Lowell, through February 4

I find myself in an odd position, advocating for listening as a political action. Surely, some may argue, you’re not doing anything if you’re listening. However, as the #MeToo movement has proven in the last few months, there can be much to be gained by simply stopping what you are doing and letting someone else have their say. There’s a moment in Vichet Chum’s new play, Knyum, that keeps replaying in my mind now, two days after I have seen the show. The play’s lead (and only) character, Guy, describes a day when his Cambodian mother visits a supermarket in their Texas hometown. Both of his parents immigrated to the States following the Cambodian genocide. English is not his mother’s first language and not noticing the sign, checks out in the twelve items or fewer line with more than twelve items (oh the horror…). In the parking lot, another customer attempts to make a scene and shame Guy’s mother for such a heinous crime and at that point Guy realizes, “my mother did not survive a genocide to put up with this bullshit.”

But I am getting ahead of myself….

Lyric’s ‘Roadshow’ Showcases Lesser Known Sondheim Work

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by John Weidman; Co-Directed by Spiro Veloudos and Ilyse Robbins; Music Direction by Jonathan Goldberg; Choreography by Ilyse Robbins; Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco; Lighting Design by John R. Malinowski; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill; Costume Design by Amanda Mujica. Presented by The Lyric stage Company of Boston, 40 Clarendon St., Boston through February 11

Watching Steven Sondheim’s Roadshow is a lot like listening to Magical Mystery Tour or Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. You know it’s not in the same league as say, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Abbey Road, but there’s certainly enough good material there to warrant a listen. Such is the case with Roadshow, now being presented by the Lyric Stage Company. It’s no Into the Woods or A Little Night Music, but much like the lesser Beatles works, there are the flashes of brilliance that one would expect from any Sondheim musical.

THE BOYS NEXT DOOR (MMAS, Black Box Theatre, Mansfield)

January 10, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Mass Music and Arts Society’s opening show of their summer season is “The Boys Next Door” by Rhode Island native, Tom Griffin who recently passed away. It is a funny and touching play about four mentally handicapped men living in a communal residence under the guidance and watchful eye of a caring but burnt out social worker. The story is told by a series of vignettes and scenes, with some of the performers speaking directly to the audience. Director Kelly Crawford picks splendid and talented performers to fill these well written roles. She mixes the comic and dramatic moments together marvelously to a very appreciative audience who gives them a resounding standing ovation at the curtain call.

THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH (Wilbury Theatre Group, Providence, RI)

January 2, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Tony Annicone

Wilbury Theatre Group’s current production is the 1943 Pulitzer Prize winning play “The Skin of Our Teeth” by Thornton Wilder. It opened on Broadway on November 18, 1942 and ran for 355 performances. The show also written in 1942 is an allegory on the history of mankind, told through the story of one family. It is a mixture of contemporary and biblical events and employs a farcical style seen in Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” as well as the presentational style seen in his “Our Town.” The phrase used as the title comes from the King James Bible, Job 19:20 “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” We meet the Antrobus family and their maid, Sabina who come from New Jersey. We barely escaped the depression by the skin of our teeth exclaims Sabina as Wilder works the title of the show into the dialogue. We also meet a woolly mammoth and a dinosaur in their home which helps give the show a theatrical mixture of farce, absurdism, satire and burlesque.

CABARET @ The Hanover Theatre

December 29, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The National Tour of “Cabaret” is the latest musical to grace the stage at the historic Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA. This Kander and Ebb Tony Award winning musical is set in the tumultuous city of Berlin right before Hitler’s rise to power. “Cabaret” won it’s first Tony for best show in 1967, the second Tony for best revival in 1998 and is based on Christopher Isherwood’s “Berlin Stories” and John Van Druten’s “I Am a Camera.” This version was inspired by the 1993 production at the Donmar Warehouse in London. The action takes place in the Kit Kat Klub where the show begins with the jazz number “Wilkommen” as well as in Fraulein Schneider’s boarding house and Herr Schultz’s fruit shop. Cliff Bradshaw, a young American novelist arrives on the train to Berlin where Ernst, a German businessman, places his briefcase among Cliff’s luggage at the German border and uses it as an opportunity to make Cliff’s acquaintance.

Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility at A.R.T. is “Uncommonly Good”

December 18, 2017January 11, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Mike Hoban

Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility – By Kate Hamill; Based on the novel by Jane Austen; Directed by Eric Tucker; Choreography by Alexandra Beller; Scenic Design by John McDermott; Lighting Design by Les Dickert; Costume design by Angela Huff; and Sound Design by Alex Neumann. Presented by Bedlam at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge through January 14

Fans of New York-based Bedlam have been eagerly awaiting the theater troupe’s return to Cambridge, and as we saw once again on opening night, with ample reason. Anyone who had seen their insanely clever productions of St. Joan and Twelfth Night/What You Will (both of which won Eliot Norton and IRNE Awards for Best Visiting Productions in 2015 and 2017 respectively) at the Central Square Theatre in recent years must surely have had the performance dates circled on their calendars. And Bedlam, true to form, did not disappoint.

A Timeless “CHRISTMAS CAROL” at Hanover Theatre

December 16, 2017December 21, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The Hanover Theatre’s holiday show this year is the 10th Anniversary production of “A Christmas Carol” which is an annual favorite. This musical version of this well known holiday tale was adapted and directed by Troy Siebels. “A Christmas Carol” is a timeless story that still resonates with people of all ages and carries a message that is as genuine and poignant now as it was when it was first written back in 1843. This splendid musical version captures the true spirit and meaning of the holiday season for everyone.

Old World Music, Comedy from Renaissance Era Lights Up Christmas Revels – A Venetian Celebration

December 13, 2017December 13, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Mike Hoban

Christmas Revels – A Venetian Celebration of the Winter Solstice. Directed by Patrick Swanson; Musical Direction by Megan Henderson; Set Design by Jeremy Barnett; Sound Engineer, Bill Winn; Costume Design by Heidi A. Hermiller; Choreography by Kelli Edwards. Presented by Revels at The Sanders Theater at Harvard University, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, through December 27th.

It seemed appropriate that snow was still lightly falling last Saturday evening, just in time for opening night of the Christmas Revels – A Venetian Celebration at the Sanders Theater in Harvard Square. Not that it snows much in Venice, Italy – the setting for the 47^th Christmas Revels – nor do the performances of the Revels necessarily bear any resemblance to any traditional New England Christmas celebration. But there is something (okay, the old world music and comedy that are trademarks of any Revels show) about this Cambridge Yuletide tradition that bring that same warm feeling as any of the traditional holiday shows, and the gentle snowfall just completed the experience.