Muppet Gone Wild – Hijinx Theatre’s ‘Meet Fred’ is a Darkly Comic Gem

September 29, 2018September 29, 2018 michaelhoban1 Comment

‘Meet Fred’ – Performance by Hijinx Theatre; Presented by Puppet Showplace Theater at the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA), Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St., Boston.

It really makes no difference whether you’re a fan of puppetry or not. Hijinx Theatre’s wonderfully absurd Meet Fred is bound to be one of the funniest and most original productions you’ll see this year. Meet Fred tells the story of Fred, a puppet in search of his humanity. Operated by three puppeteers (one for the head and voice, one for legs, the other for arms) he embarks on a journey that takes him through life’s essentials – work, love, regrets and revelations – all in a tidy 80 minutes. Along the way we’re treated to laugh-out-loud comedy that is definitely not for the kiddies.

NSMT’s JEKYLL & HYDE a Musical Masterpiece

September 28, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre’s latest show is the blockbuster musical “Jekyll and Hyde which is adapted from the 1886 novella “The Strange Case of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. The original stage conception was by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn with music by Wildhorn and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The musical ran on Broadway for 1,543 performances from April 28, 1997 to January 7, 2001. It tells the story of Dr. Henry Jekyll, a brilliant young doctor who is distraught over his father’s mental illness. He tries to find a cure by using himself as a test subject but the experiment backfires and gives life to his evil alter ego, Edward Hyde, a vile murderer who brings a killing spree to the city of London in the late nineteenth century. This epic musical’s not done very often but NSMT brings the original star of the musical Robert Cuccioli in to direct this phenomenal production with a multitalented 22 member cast. This production also boosts expert musical direction by Milton Granger and stunning, energetic choreography by Kelli Barclay to induce the 1500 seat theatre to erupt into a spontaneous standing ovation at the curtain call. Their combined expertise makes “Jekyll and Hyde” the must see musical of this autumn season.

Abolition and Women’s Suffrage Leaders Fight for Rights in ‘The Agitators’ at Gloucester

September 28, 2018October 8, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: Two-act, two-hour, two-person play, written by Mat Smart, directed by renowned playwright-actress-director Jacqui Parker, making its New England premiere through Oct. 7: Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; matinees, Saturday, Sunday, 2 p.m., 267 East Main St., Gloucester. $35-$45, discount tickets for senior citizens,18-year-olds and younger, and Cape Ann residents. 978-281-4433, gloucesterstage.com.

“I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.” – Susan B. Anthony

“I didn’t know I was a slave until I found out I couldn’t do the things I wanted.”

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons or property will be safe.” – Frederick Douglass

GBSC’s ‘BEING EARNEST’ Adds 60’s Twist to Wilde Classic

September 28, 2018September 28, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: Two-act, two-hour musical comedic interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” by Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska, appearing through Oct. 7, at 395 Main St., Stoneham: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (sold out) ; Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.$50-$60; seniors, $45-$55; students with valid ID, $20. stoneham.greaterbostonstage.org, 781-279-2200.

Oscar Wilde’s social satiric comedy, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” takes a modernized, musical twist in Paul Gordon and Jay Gruska’s two-act, two-hour play, “Being Earnest, appearing through Sunday, at Greater Boston Stage Company.

Everyone Could Use a Pops to Protect Their Rent-Controlled Apartment, Legacy and Identity

September 27, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Linda Chin Workman

‘Between Riverside and Crazy’ – Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis; Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene; Set Design: Erik D. Diaz; Costume Design: A.W. Nadine Grant; Lighting Design: Daisy Long; Sound Design: Nathan Leigh. Presented by Speakeasy Stage Company at the BCA Roberts’ Theater, 527 Tremont St., Boston through October 13

Between a riveting script and crazy talented actors, Speakeasy Stage Company’s production of Between Riverside and Crazy is a surefire hit. Upon entering the BCA’s Roberts’ Theater, you are transported to a spacious pre-war railroad flat on Manhattan’s west side with high ceilings and wood trim, furnishings that show generations of wear, and the clutter of daily urban life – handsomely and meticulously designed by Erik D. Diaz. This apartment is indeed full of character – and is inhabited by a cast of colorful characters – insightfully and delightfully directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene.

Political Comedy No Longer an Oxymoron with MRT’s ‘Native Gardens’

September 25, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

‘Native Gardens’ – Written by Karen Zacarías; Directed by Giovanna Sardelli; Scenic Design by Alexis Distler; Costume Design by Miranda Kau Giurleo; Lighting Design by Karen Perlow; Original Music & Sound Design by Ursula Kwong-Brown and Daniel Erdberg. Produced by the Merrimack Repertory Theater, 50 East Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA, through October 7.

Political comedy may be the most difficult of all of the genres to get right, even more so in these deeply divided times. Since many of us have lost the ability to even entertain the possibility that other points of view might have some validity, when politically charged issues are presented on stage, all too often good comic writing takes a back seat to caricature or cheap preaching-to-the-choir grandstanding.

ArtsEmerson Delivers a Compelling, Layered “Hamnet”

September 24, 2018September 25, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Photos by Gianmarco Bresadola

by Michele Markarian

“Hamnet” (Dead Centre) – Written and directed by Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd. Presented by ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage at The Emerson Paramount, 559 Washington Street, Boston through October 7.

“Look, there you are,” I said to my husband, pointing at a projection onstage, as he entered our row at the theater. This isn’t a play about audience reaction – you are only dimly aware of the audience projected when the lights go down – but the duality and point of view of two worlds, two perspectives, in this extraordinary production of grief, fatherhood, and the shadow of those we love and miss. It’s an imagining of the relationship that did – or didn’t – exist between Shakespeare and his son, Hamnet. Of his three children, only Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, died in childhood.

LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS (ARCTIC PLAYHOUSE)

September 22, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed By Sue Nedar

For the uninitiated, “Red Hot” is a Neil Simon comedy, written with all the comedic potential we’ve come to expect from Neil Simon. Here’s the thing though; in this script, much of the comedy is subtle. It’s there… but it requires a sharp director and good comedic actors to make it obvious. Thankfully, Tony Annicone is a sharp director, and the Arctic cast are good comedic actors.

A.R.T.’s ‘Borrowed Cash’ – ‘Spinal Tap’ Meets ‘Austin City Limits’

September 17, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

Borrowed Cash: Busted! The Reunion Tour – Written and Performed by Daniel Jenkins and Melissa van der Schyff. Featuring the songs of Randy Newman and Lucinda Williams. Directed by Gina Rattan. Presented by A.R.T. Breakout Series at Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Cambridge through September 23.

As is the case every September, there are a multitude of theatrical productions onstage throughout Greater Boston, but you’d be hard pressed to find any that will rival the unadulterated fun of Borrowed Cash: Busted! The Reunion Tour, now in a limited run at the A.R.T.s Oberon stage. Part “re-union” concert, part multi-media show, it combines edgy comedy with a killer score (courtesy of Randy Newman and Lucinda Williams) to tell the story of Borrowed Cash, a fictional country group.

Huntington’s ‘The Niceties’ Educates and Transforms

September 17, 2018September 17, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Linda Chin Workman

‘The Niceties’ – Written by Eleanor Burgess; Directed by Kimberly Senior; Scenic Design, Cameron Anderson; Costume Design, Kara Harmon; Lighting Design, D.M. Wood; Original Music & Sound Design, Elisheba Ittoop; Fight Consultant, Angie Jepson. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through October 6

Days after seeing The Niceties, the opening production of Huntington Theater’s 2018-19 season, my head is still spinning. Brookline-born playwright Eleanor Burgess has crafted an intense, intellectual tennis match between two brilliant, liberal female scholars – Zoe, a black student (Jordan Boatman) and Janine, a white historian (Lisa Banes) – at an elite college. They meet during office hours to discuss Zoe’s history paper on the role of slavery in the American Revolution. Over the course of two acts and two hours, the pair volley dialogue across the stage at a rapid-fire pace. The niceties they start off with deteriorate into not-very-nice words and pressure tactics. Janine and Zoe initially get entangled in a series of smaller struggles about missing commas and primary sources before engaging the audience in larger questions about who is entitled to write and teach history.