Gloucester Stage Delivers a Tragicomic Gem with ‘True West’

August 31, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

‘True West’ – Written by Sam Shepard; Directed by Joe Short; Scenic Design by Jon Savage; Lighting Design by Marcella Barbeau; Costume Design, Miranda Kau Giurleo; Sound Design, David Reiffel. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company at 267 E. Main St., Gloucester through September 8

Some brothers work out their conflicts in therapy, others in a court of law, and still others bring their unresolved issues to the grave – sometimes courtesy of the hand of the other brother. Austin and Lee, the protagonists of Sam Shepard’s classic “True West”, have their own messy way of working things out, and Gloucester Stage provides us with a front row seat to the process, staging a superb version of the 1980 classic that is alternately comically charged and deeply unsettling.

Sleeping Weazel Journeys to Timbuktu, USA

August 29, 2018August 30, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by James Wilkinson

Timbuktu, USA – Written and Directed by Kenneth Prestininzi. Assistant Director: Teresa Cruz. Scenic Designer: Samantha Butler. Lighting Designer: Aja M. Jackson. Costume Designer: Ashley Elizabeth Meret. Fight Choreographer: Drew Frayre. Presented by Sleeping Weazel at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre August 25-September 2, 2018.

There’s an old theatre lore (and God, do I hope it’s true), that Eugene Ionesco, grandfather of French absurdism, originally wanted his play The Bald Soprano to end with the massacre of the audience by machine gun. I don’t know how seriously he made the suggestion (or for that matter, what he planned to do with all of the corpses), but in a rather perverse sort of way, I understand the logic behind it. You sit in the theatre watching the absurdity before you growing exponentially; by the end all sense of logic is gone, language itself has dissolved, the play’s very structure threatens to implode, and you think to yourself “What next? Where could we possibly go from here?” In the face of true absurdity, death just seems inevitable.

Ogunquit’s ‘GRUMPY OLD MEN’ Delivers Love, Laughs from the Senior Set

August 27, 2018August 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: US premiere of two-act musical comedy written by Dan Remmes, and the late Nick Meglin, with music by Neil Berg, directed by Matt Lenz. Appearing through September 1, Ogunquit Playhouse, 10 Main St., Ogunquit, Maine. Starring Broadway’s Ed Dixon and Marc Jacoby, with Sally Struthers and guest star Hal Linden. Tickets start at $52. ogunquitplayhouse.org, 207-646-5511.

When Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning comedic veteran Sally Struthers and Emmy and Tony Award winner Hal Linden appear at the Ogunquit Playhouse with a stellar Broadway cast, such as they do in Dan Remmes’ new two-act musical comedy, “Grumpy Old Men,” you know you’re in for a slap-happy feast.

Off The Grid’s “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” – Takes Teen Angst to New Levels

August 22, 2018September 15, 2019 michaelhoban1 Comment

by Mike Hoban

Our Dear Dead Drug Lord – Written by Alexis Scheer. Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw. Scenic Design: Kristin Loeffler; Lighting Design: Aja M. Jackson; Costume Design: Rachel Padula; Sound Design: Julian Crocamo. Presented by Off the Grid Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Calderwood Pavilion, Roberts Studio Theatre, 527 Tremont St. Boston, through September 1

It’s 2008, right before the historic presidential election, and four teen girls are convening in the childhood treehouse belonging to Pipe, the apparent ringleader of the group. But they’re not there to play music, smoke cigarettes (or weed) and talk about boys/girls. They’ve clearly got something more important on their minds. So as one of the girls unfurls a poster to hang on the wall – not one of the Jonas Brothers, mind you, but a mugshot of deceased drug kingpin Pablo Escobar – and another exclaims, “Oh my God, I want to turn this poster into a blanket and lose my virginity on it,” you suspect it’s about to get a whole lot weirder than an “Afterschool Special”. And when the girls anoint themselves with the blood of a small, freshly killed creature as part of a ritual to commune with the spirit of Escobar – those suspicions are pretty much confirmed.

Theatre by the Sea Delivers Rollicking ‘CHICAGO’

August 18, 2018August 20, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Welcome to the 1920’s with the final musical at Theatre by the Sea’s 85th season. Director Bob Richard and his wife, Diane Laurenson, the choreographer transports the audience to the prison atmosphere needed for this musical “Chicago.” Kander and Ebb’s 1975 vaudeville type show is based on the 1926 play by Maurine Watkins. The 1997 musical version won six Tony Awards and the 2003 movie version won the Academy Award. In roaring twenties Chicago, married chorine Roxie Hart murders her faithless lover, Fred Casely, and convinces her hapless husband, Amos, to take the rap for her. That is until he finds out he has been duped and turns on her. She and fellow murderess, Velma Kelly, both on death row, vie for the headlines and spotlight, hoping the publicity will launch them to fame, freedom and successful stage careers with the help of slick lawyer, Billy Flynn. The story is a satire on the corruption of criminal justice system and logic of “celebrity criminal” and works perfectly in the current day situation of this country of fake news and reality TV shows. Keep them off balance and they won’t realize what is really going on. It also worked much better in the late 1990’s after the OJ trial travesty which was a lot like the circus like atmosphere of Chicago in the 1920’s. Bob blocks the show beautifully and Diane creates wonderful choreography. Both of them bring out the best in their talented cast members.

Moulin Rouge! a Gritty, Glamorous Spectacle

August 17, 2018September 10, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” – Book by John Logan, based on the 2001 movie written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. Directed by Alex Timbers. Set Design by Derek McLane. Choreography by Sonya Tayeh. Costumes by Catherine Zuber. Lighting by Justin Townsend. Sound Design by Peter Hylenski. Produced by Global Creatures and presented by the Ambassador Theatre Group at the 106 Boylston St., Boston through Aug. 19.

by Susan Daniels

Glamorous and gritty, “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” put the spectacular in this spectacle of a show that wows the very audible fans throughout this sensory adventure. At a reported $30 million budget, the Ambassador Theatre Group hit a cornucopia of visual, visceral, and aural stripes with their pre-Broadway production that also debuted in a gorgeously gilded, renovated, and re-opened Emerson Colonial Theatre . . . perhaps the principal star of the evening.

Bridge Rep Composes a ‘Dark Room’ – and the Women Inside It

August 13, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Review by James Wilkinson

Dark Room – Written by George Brant. Directed by Olivia D’Ambriosio. Associate Director/Dramaturg: Aleander Platt. Scenic Design: Ryan Bates. Costume Design: Chelsea Kerl. Lighting Design: Stephen Petrilli. Sound Design/Composer: Elizabeth Cahill. Properties: Esme Allen. Presented by Bridge Repertory Theatre at the Multicultural Arts Center at 41 Second St, Cambridge through August 16th

While speaking with an audience member after having seen Bridge Repertory Theater’s production of Dark Room, she remarked to me that she found it an interesting piece. “There’s a little something for everyone,” she said. I think she hit the nail on the head. The experience of sitting through Dark Room is most akin to being thrown through a kaleidoscope of shadowy landscapes. By turns sad, funny, disturbing and bizarre, the ground is constantly shifting below your feet. Just as you adjust, we’re off somewhere else. There’s an energy around the piece as though we’re watching it trying to figure out a problem in real time. Try this. Now try this. Here, try this. That didn’t work? Then try this. No? Then how about this? Together we inch along, searching for the answer to a mystery.

NSMT Delivers Fun-Filled Summer Show with “MAMMA MIA!”

August 9, 2018August 9, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

North Shore Music Theatre’s summer show is the blockbuster hit “Mamma Mia” and it’s the third show of their 63rd Season. Owner and producer Bill Hanney spares no expense with costumes and sets in bringing this musical to the historic theatre for his 9th season here.The much loved 1999 jukebox ABBA musical focuses on finding emotional moments of female bonding in this fun filled musical set in Greece. “Mamma Mia” is based on the songs of ABBA, a Swedish pop/dance group active from 1972 to 1982. The show opens with daughter, Sophie singing “I Have a Dream” which lets the audience know what she’s wishing for that she wants her father to walk her down the aisle but she doesn’t know who he is.

Emerson Colonial Roars Back to Life with High-Spirited “Moulin Rouge!”

August 8, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhoban1 Comment

by Mike Hoban

“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” – Book by John Logan, based on the 2001 movie written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce. Directed by Alex Timbers. Set Design by Derek McLane. Choreography by Sonya Tayeh. Costumes by Catherine Zuber. Lighting by Justin Townsend. Sound Design by Peter Hylenski. Produced by Global Creatures and presented by the Ambassador Theatre Group at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston through Aug. 19.

The Emerson Colonial Theatre officially re-opened its doors in explosive fashion this past weekend with the pre-Broadway run of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, an experience that could best be likened to a heart attack patient being jolted back to life with defibrillator paddles. The Colonial’s new operator, Ambassador Theatre Group, has spared no expense in bringing this 2001 movie favorite to the stage, and the results are spectacular. Simply put, Moulin Rouge is an absolute blast. Featuring a set that would make Cecil B. DeMille blush, an extraordinary cast led by Tony Award-winner Karen Olivo, and an ingeniously clever score that mashes up everything from “L’amour Est Oiseau” (from Bizet’s 1875 opera Carmen) to Madonna’s “Material Girl”, Moulin Rouge is a visual and aural feast – particularly for fans of pop music.

“Cato & Dolly: Through the Keyhole” Brings History to Life

August 5, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Marge Dunn and Stephen Sampson)

by Michael Cox

John Hancock. A wealthy politician with a criminal past. A beloved statesman and a Founding Father whose name would resonate through history.

This is the story of the woman and the enslaved person that lived under his roof, people who hovered in the limelight of his passionate democratic ideals and yet had no rights or political voice of their own.

Sounds like a pretty interesting play, doesn’t it? But that’s not what the play Cato & Dolly is actually about. It’s a series of vignettes centered around a door.