BLO Serves Up a Darkly Comic View of Life in 50’s Suburbia with Bernstein’s “Trouble in Tahiti”

May 14, 2018May 14, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

Trouble in Tahiti and Arias & Barcarolles – Music & Libretto by Leonard Bernstein; Directed by David Schweizer; Scenic Design by Paul Tate dePoo III; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Costumes by Nancy Leary; Movement Director Melinda Sullivan. Presented by Boston Lyric Opera at DCR Steriti Memorial Rink, 561 Commercial Street on the North End Waterfront through May 20

The Boston Lyric Opera presents its second offering of the spring season geared towards the non-opera going crowd with an appealing mash-up of a pair of Leonard Bernstein works at the unlikeliest of venues – the DCR Steriti Memorial Skating Rink. There isn’t a Zamboni in sight, however, as the Steriti Rink has been beautifully transformed into an El Morocco-inspired 1950s-style nightclub by scenic designer Paul Tate DePoo II, whose previous work includes his stunning design of Showboat with the Fiddlehead Theatre Company, which earned him an IRNE Award for Scenic Design in 2017.

“Allegiance” a Piece of America’s Dark History

May 13, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

‘Allegiance’ – Book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, and Lorenzo Thione, Music and Lyrics by Jay Kuo. Directed by Paul Daigneault. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company, Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, through June 2.

“Every Pearl Harbor Day, they trot me out to prove that I’m still alive”, says the elderly Sam Kimura (Gary Thomas Ng), a decorated World War II war hero. If Sam sounds bitter, it is because the bombing of Pearl Harbor produced a declaration of war against Japan that adversely affected loyal Japanese Americans, including Sam and his family. It was just a few months afterwards that the US government forcibly rounded up 110,000 Japanese American from California, Washington, Arizona and Oregon. Families, just by virtue of looking like the enemy, had to sell their homes, businesses and items for a pittance of what they were worth to take up residence in camps, interned behind barbed wire.

Hilarity and Faith Abound in “Two Jews Walk Into a War”

May 9, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

“Two Jews Walk Into a War”, by Seth Rozin. Directed by Will LeBow. Presented by New Repertory Theatre, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown through May 20.

What do you do if you are the last two Jews in Afghanistan, and you don’t get along? Such is the hilarious, conflict-ridden, deeply-layered premise of Seth Rozin’s two-hander, “Two Jews Walk Into a War”.

“Still, now” Effectively Combines Movement, Drama

May 9, 2018May 9, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

Still, now – Written by Katie Bender; Directed by Amy Meyer; Scenic Designer, Rebecca Lehrhoff; Costume Designer, Sophia Giordano; Lighting Designer, Sophia Giordano; Sound Designer, Amy Meyer. Presented by Heart & Dagger Productions at Martin Hall at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street, Boston through May 13

Long before spiritual posers like Oprah and Anthony Robbins began extolling the virtues of “failure” to the masses, there was 19th-century Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma, who once imparted, “There is no failure. It’s only unfinished success.” So what we often view as failure in the traditional sense can actually be valuable lessons learned that we can pull out of our consciousness when we are truly ready to apply them. That would appear to be the one of central themes of playwright Katie Bender’s moving and insightful new play, Still, now, currently being given its world premiere for an all-too-short run (it closes this weekend) at Martin Hall at the Boston Center for the Arts.

The Underlings Close Strong with a Crackling ‘Tour’

May 8, 2018May 12, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Review by James Wilkinson

The Tour – Written by Alice Abracen. Directed by Lelaina Vogel. Scenic Design: Duncan Kennedy. Lighting Design: Kat Zhou. Fight Choreography: Matt Dray. Costume Design: Evelyn Quinn. Sound Design: Brittany Lawrence. Dialect Coaching: Daniel Thomas Blackwell. The Tour is presented by The Underlings’ Theatre Co. at Chelsea Theater Works May 4-12, 2018

The conventional wisdom that good things come in small packages was created for situations like this. The Underlings’ Theatre Co.’s production of Alice Abracen’s The Tour clocks in at a brief seventy minute run time, but it manages to pack a hell of a punch. The show closes out the young theater company’s first season and to my mind is the strongest of the three shows that they’ve offered. There’s an admirable sense of ambition to the work as it tries (and I think mostly succeeds) to speak to the present political moment in the world. That it manages to makes its points without grandstanding or lecturing the audience is nothing short of incredible (I cannot count the number of other plays that fall victim to that particular trap). Instead it presents its audience members with a beautiful little knot of problem for them to figure out for themselves after they’ve left the theater.

Boch Center’s Sound of Music Charms Audiences – While Providing a Cautionary Tale

May 7, 2018May 12, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

The Sound of Music – Music by Richard Rodgers; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; Book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse; Suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp. Staged by Networks Presentations at the Boch Center, Wang Theatre, 270 Tremont St., Boston, MA, through May 13.

One of the most beloved movie musicals is making its return to the stage at the Boch Center, with a marvelous production that warms the heart while chilling the bone. The Sound of Music, best known for its litany of iconic songs – “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “Edelweiss” and the title song – is a masterclass in songwriting for the theater by the team of Rodgers & Hammerstein. But it is the dark undercurrent of the rise of the Nazis that lifts this classic from inspiring love story into something much weightier, and it is particularly resonant given the current political climate.

The Fabulous, Furious World of “Wig Out”

May 7, 2018May 7, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

Wig Out – Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Directed by Summer L. Williams. Presented by Company One Theatre, in collaboration with American Repertory Theater as part of the Oberon Presents Series, at Oberon, 2 Arrow St. Cambridge, MA through May 13.

There’s nothing worse than the feeling of world-weary, convinced that life at large has no more worlds to offer up, after the first flush of youth. For those convinced they’ve seen and done it all, and even for those who haven’t, “Wig Out” is an electrifying and eye-opening glimpse into the world of queer color and drag that as a cysgender white female, I knew little about. Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, co-writer of the Oscar-winning film “Moonlight” and superbly directed by Summer L. Williams, “Wig Out” is not only a theatrical event, but an experience.

LUCKY STIFF (Walpole Footlighters)

May 6, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Walpole Footlighters last show of their 94th season is “Lucky Stiff” by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty which is based on “The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo” by Michael Butterworth. This musical is a zany, offbeat and funny, murder mystery farce about an unassuming English shoe salesman who is forced to take the corpse of his recently murdered Atlantic City gambler uncle on a week long cruise to Monte Carlo. Should he succeed Harry Witherspoon stands to inherit six million dollars. If he doesn’t succeed the money would go to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. The proceedings are sheer lunacy as Harry comes up against his uncle’s insanely jealous and legally blind mistress, her much put-upon optometrist brother and Annabel Glick, an overly zealous representative from the Universal Dog Home determined to see Harry’s money “go to the dogs.” The show is directed by Dan Delaporta who infuses his cast with high energy with marvelous musical direction by Dan Moore and some inventive and fun choreography by Lisa Kelliher. Their combined efforts leave you rolling in the aisles with laughter.

SpeakEasy Stage’s ‘ALLEGIANCE’ A Musical Look at WWII Japanese Internment

May 3, 2018June 3, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

During World War II, inhumanities and atrocities weren’t limited to Nazi Germany. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the US created its own black mark in history by rounding up more than 120,000 loyal Japanese-American citizens and placing them in internment camps.

Merrimack Rep Brings a Literal Supermom to Life

May 3, 2018May 3, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Review by James Wilkinson

The Villains’ Supper Club – Written by Lila Rose Kaplan. Directed by Sean Daniels. Scenic Design: Apollo Mark Weaver. Costume Design: Arthur Oliver. Lighting Design: Brian J. Lilienthal. Sound Design: David Remedios. Projection Design: Elizabeth Dombek. Illustrator: Chad Cunningham. Fight Director: Angie Jepson. Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 50 East Merrimack Street, Lowell through Mat 20^th

The fact that Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s production of Lila Rose Kaplan’s The Villains’ Supper Club is opening on the same weekend Avengers: Infinity War is being released is either a wonderful bit of serendipity or a brilliant marketing ploy. Either way, it’s a win for us. I have to confess that superhero stories are not exactly my forte. I think I’ve seen about three of the movies in the Marvel cinematic universe and I’ve leafed through only maybe a handful of comic books in my life. So when I went to this production, I went without any real attachment to the genre. I can therefore report back that if you can’t quite keep who Doctor Strange and Iron Man are straight in your head, you shouldn’t let that deter you from seeing this fiercely intelligent production. Playwright Kaplan and director Sean Daniels have concocted a wonderfully fun evening of theater that also manages to inject some topical issues on representation and motherhood into the proceedings.