by Sheila Barth
There’s no other way to say it.
Ogunquit Playhouse’s opening season,90-minute, one-act, super songfest, “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” based on the music of multi-award winners Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, is sensational, spectacular, stupendous, and superlative in every way.
Read more “Ogunquit’s “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” is a Spectacular Songfest”
by Mike Hoban
Jagged Little Pill – Music by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard; Lyrics by Alanis Morissette; Book by Diablo Cody; Additional Music by Michael Farrell and Guy Sigsworth; Directed by Diane Paulus; Scenic Design, Riccardo Hernandez; Costume Design, Emily Rebholz; Lighting Design, Justin Townsend; Sound Design, Jonathan Deans; Video Design, Finn Ross; Music Director, Bryan Perri; Music Supervision, Orchestrations and Arrangements, Tom Kitt; Choreography, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Presented by the American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge through July 15
When I first heard Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” on my car radio when it was released in 1995, it nearly blew a hole in my speakers. It was the kind of raw, unhinged fury that I mostly heard in late 70’s punk clubs or on college stations, but here it was on commercial radio, sung by one very pissed off, very young woman (19 years old) no less. It was a revelation then and it inarguably still stands as the single most magnificently rageful song in popular music. When a string of hit singles from the album were released, we got to experience a more thoughtful, almost spiritual side of Morissette. The album became not only one of the best-selling albums of all time – selling 33 million copies – but also something that spoke to a generation of young women while appealing to a broader audience.
Read more “A.R.T. Transforms ‘Jagged Little Pill’ Into a Musical for Our Times”
Sweeney Todd in Concert – A Pop-Up Musical. Directed by Allison Olivia Choat. Music Direction by Gina Naggar. One night only on June 2nd at First Church in Cambridge (11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138) at 7:30 pm.
After 40 years in Boston area theater – with the first 31 spent in community theater – three-time IRNE winner Shana Dirik has assumed the position of Producing Artistic Director with her own company, Theater Uncorked. The company’s first project will be a one night event, “Sweeney Todd in Concert – A Pop-Up Musical”, and will be directed by 2018 Elliott Norton Award Winner Allison Olivia Choat. Dirik (Mrs. Lovett), Ben DiScipio (Sweeney Todd) and Paul Farwell (Judge Turpin) will reprise their roles from the 2009 Metro Stage Company production, which earned Dirik and DiScipio IRNE Awards. Theater Mirror spoke with Dirik about the new company as she prepared for the June 2nd performance.
Read more “Theater Uncorked Debuts With One-Night Only Performance of ‘Sweeney Todd’”
By Michele Markarian
The Last Act. Written by Joshua Sobol. Directed by Guy Ben-Aharon. Presented by Israeli Stage Company, Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through June 1.
The Last Act, a world premiere by reknowned Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol, couldn’t get produced in Israel’s government-sponsored theaters for fear of losing funding (reader, I must confess, as someone who is a little disenchanted with US politics right now, I felt a certain amount of schadenfreude upon learning this). Israel’s loss is our gain; this excellent, tautly constructed play is a statement, not just about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but what happens when we let currents of the zeitgeist influence our better instincts. One can certainly relate the events of The Last Act to what is happening with the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as anti-Muslim, anti-Mexican, anti-Semitism, anti-other sentiments in America today. The added element of Big Brother makes The Last Act a very, very timely and universal piece.
Read more “Israeli Stage’s ‘The Last Act’ is a Timely, Tightly Coiled Drama”
By Michele Markarian
The Wiz. Book by William F. Brown. Music and Lyrics by Charlie Smalls, from the story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Musical Director Allyssa Jones. Presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA, through July 1.
Long before Hamilton came into existence – okay, the 1970s – there were musicals that we theater geeks revered, their music and lyrics working their way into our vernacular. A Chorus Line was one. The Wiz was another, making a pop star of its Dorothy, the young, talented Stephanie Mills.
“Who does this show?” I practically shouted at my husband, upon learning of the Lyric Stage’s production of The Wiz, grateful that for once, I wouldn’t have to twist his arm to go see something.
Madame Defarge – Inspired by Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”; Book, Music and Lyrics by Wendy Kesselman; Directed by Ellie Heyman. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester through June 2
The Gloucester Stage Company is opening its season in ambitious fashion, with the world premiere of Madame Defarge, an absorbing and well-staged new musical based on the character from Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”. Powered by a fiery performance by Jennifer Ellis and committed work by a deep and talented supporting cast, the production overcomes a complex storyline (that may be confusing to those unfamiliar with the Dickens tale) to deliver a satisfying theatrical experience in the cozy confines of Gloucester Stage.
Read more “Strong Performances Lift Gloucester Stage’s “Madame Defarge””
By Sheila Barth
BOX INFO: Two-act, two-hour new musical, book, music and lyrics by Wendy Kesselman, inspired by Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” making its world premiere, with a Boston all-star cast, appearing at Gloucester Stage Company, now through June 2: Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday,Sunday, 2 p.m. 267 E. Main St., Gloucester. $35-$45, senior, 18-under years old, and other discounts. 978-281-4433, gloucesterstage.com.
For two hours, theatergoers sat hushed, in reverential silence. A woman in the audience wept, her tears heart-rending, in the final scenes of Gloucester Stage Company’s spectacular production of Wendy Kesselman’s new musical, “Madame DeFarge”. The deeply moving play is inspired by Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”.
Read more “A Spectacular New Musical, ‘MADAME DeFARGE’ Ignites Gloucester Stage”
Review by James Wilkinson
‘Heritage Hill Naturals’ – Written by Francisca Da Silveira. Directed by Phaedra Michelle Scott. Dramaturg: Sarah Schnebly. Assistant Director: G Cadogan. Scenic Design: Abby Shenker. Lighting Design: Emily Bearce. Costume Design: Stephanie K. Brownell. Prop Design: Cesara Walters. Sound Design: Lee Schuna. Presented by Fresh Ink Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, Deane Hall, Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont St., Boston, through May 26, 2018
A millennial is an odd creature, or at least that’s what we’re told. I happen to be one (born in 1988, which puts me in the middle of the pack), but the way the generation is described in media, I sometimes get the feeling that we’re seen as a separate species rather than an age group. We’re growing up, though, and like the Boomers, the Yuppies, and the Gen Xer’s before us, we’re encountering a world with a very specific set of problems. And like those other generations, the artists among us will start to tell stories of what it was like to come of age at the time we did. Fresh Ink Theatre’s new show, Heritage Hill Naturals by Francisca Da Silveira, now playing at the Boston Center for the Arts, could be seen as one such entry into that canon, though it may first need a little more work.
Read more “Fresh Ink Theatre Sees Green with Heritage Hills”
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The closing Broadway series musical of Hanover Theatre’s ninth season is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s, “The King & I”, one of the duos best work. This version won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 2015. They based this musical on the true story of English school teacher, Anna Leonowens and the seven years she spent in Siam. This story is as fresh and meaningful as it was in her autobiography called “Anna and the King of Siam” which was turned into a movie under the same title. Set in 1860’s Bangkok, the modernistic King sends for the schoolteacher to tutor his many children and wives in the chauvinistic culture of the Eastern world. Two worlds collide in this exquisite and breathtaking musical and is told against the backdrop of the Orient. It also makes a strong statement about a woman’s place in the male dominated society of the 1860’s and by using the example of star crossed lovers, it shows the evilness of slavery. College of Holy Cross graduate Bartlet Sher returns in triumph to Worcester with the musical hit that he directed on Broadway to entrance audiences at the historic Hanover Theatre. He brings this meaningful musical masterpiece to life winning it and his multitalented cast a resounding and well deserved standing ovation as its reward.
by Mike Hoban
‘The Plague, after La Peste’ – Written by Albert Camus; Adapted by Neil Bartlett; Directed by Daniel Boudreau; Lighting Design by Read Davidson; Sound Design by Jay Mobley; Costumes by Sarah Josselyn. Presented by Praxis Stage at the Dorchester Art Project at 1486 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester through May 20; and Boston Playwrights Theatre at 949 Commonwealth Ave Boston, May 23-27
One of the great things about live theater is that, unlike a movie, you can pack a powerful punch without the aid of a lot of window dressing. The barest of black box spaces, a table and five chairs, a couple of props that could be purchased at a CVS and voila! you’ve got a set. Of course it helps to have a great script, committed and talented actors and a sharp director – all of which Praxis Stage supplies in its chillingly stripped-down version of Albert Camus apocalyptic 1947 novel – The Plague (or its original French title, La Peste).
Read more “Praxis Delivers Powerful, Stripped Down Version of Camus’ “The Plague””
