A Pitch-Perfect ‘Porch on Windy Hill’ at Merrimack Rep

April 11, 2024April 11, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of The Porch on Windy Hill at Merrimack Rep

Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents THE PORCH ON WINDY HILL. Written by Sherry Stregack Lutken, Lisa Helmi Johanson, Morgan Morse, and David M. Lutken. Conceived and directed by Sherry Stregack Lutken. Scenic Design by Mara Ishihara Zinky. Costume Design by Gregory Graham. Lighting Design by Dawn Chiang. Sound Design by Sun Hee Kil. Music Direction by David M. Lutke. At Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Lowell, Massachusetts, through April 21, 2024.

By Linda Chin

Merrimack Rep’s production of The Porch on Windy Hill features a diverse and tremendously talented trio of professional actors who have appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional stages – David M. Lutken, Rob Morrison, and EJ Zimmerman. In this ‘new play with old music,’ the actors sing and actually play a diverse mix of instruments, including the banjo, dulcimer, guitar, harmonica, mandolin, violin, and erhu (Chinese fiddle), with a remarkably high level of proficiency. In their poignant performances, they demonstrate that music is indeed ‘the food of love’ – and has the power to heal hearts and nourish souls, connect cultures and cultivate relationships, and to even inspire families in longstanding feuds to communicate with each other and ‘play on.’

Theater Mirror interviews Emmy Award-winning Actor Gordon Clapp, who brings his one-man Robert Frost show to the BCA

April 8, 2024April 8, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Emmy-winning actor Gordon Clapp (NYPD Blue) will bring his acclaimed portrayal of poet Robert Frost to Boston this Spring in the one-man show “Robert Frost: This Verse Business” by local playwright A.M. Dolan.The show portrays the great poet and platform legend whose public “talks” were hot tickets for nearly half a century. Theater Mirror spoke with Clapp as he prepared for the April 23-28 run at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston.

by Mike Hoban

Theater Mirror: I understand that you’ve long had a love affair with Robert Frost’s work. How did you first discover him?

Gordon: It was the Kennedy inauguration (where Frost read “The Gift Outright”) – I’m that old – but I knew of him before that. Later in school, we were assigned “Out, Out,” which is a reference to “Out out brief candle!” (from Macbeth). It’s a very dark poem. In an idyllic setting, this horrific event happens. A boy gets his hand cut off by a buzzsaw in rural New England in the backyard of his home, and it really had an impact on me as a boy of that age in that setting, some fifty years later, and I just got addicted to Frost’s poetry. I would do little readings all through college, and a few years after college, I read his three-volume biography by Lawrence Thompson and said to myself, “I’ve got to bring this guy to the stage.” It took me thirty years to get around to it, but when I turned 60, I thought, “Now I can get away with playing the older Frost.”

Theater Mirror Speaks with Comedian Gabe Mollica, who is bringing his one-man show, “Solo: A Show About Friendship,” to the BCA

April 8, 2024April 9, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Comedian Gabe Mollica brings his Off-Broadway comedy, “Solo: A Show About Friendship,” to the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA from April 16-21^st. He dives deep into what it means to have friends in your 30s, his special relationship with Stephen Sondheim, working at a summer camp for children with chronic illnesses, and what happens when you break up with your best friend. Theater Mirror caught up with Gabe recently as he prepared for his Boston engagement.

Hub Theatre Company Revives Lanford Wilson’s ‘Burn This’

April 7, 2024April 7, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Kiki Samko, Victor Shopov in Hub Theater’s ‘Burn This’

“Burn This” — Written by Lanford Wilson. Directed by Daniel Bourque. Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston at the BCA Plaza Black Box Theatre, 539 Tremont St., through April 21.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Since Burn This arrived on Broadway in 1987, critics have lamented the same thing – at its core, the play itself is not great. Despite luminary-filled casts (including John Malkovich, Adam Driver, and Edward Norton), the play never garnered the kind of accolades awarded to Wilson’s other works, such as Talley’s Folly (Pulitzer Prize), Hot L Baltimore (Obie), and Fifth of July.

The Israeli Dance Company Vertigo Hit It Out of the Park with ‘MAKOM.’

April 7, 2024April 8, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

MAKOM – Vertigo Dance Company. Choreographed by Noa Wertheim and Rina Wertheim-Koren. Music by Ran Bagno; Lighting Design by Dani Fishof-Magenta; Costume Design by Sasson Kedem; Stage Design by Zohar Shoef. Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston at the Boch Center Shubert Theatre. Run has ended.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Renown Jerusalem-based contemporary dance company Vertigo does much more than its modest claim of “exploring the creative process.” Artistic Director and Co-Founder Noa Wertheim’s newest work, MAKOM (Hebrew for “place”), breaks new ground with its exciting blend of storyline, emotion, sound, and movement. The result is an evening-length journey that takes us to a deep place within and without ourselves, where language is more than words and meaning is more than content.

Rapturous Applause for Anthony Rapp’s ‘Without You’

April 7, 2024April 7, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Anthony Rapp in “Without You”. Photos by Russ Rowland

‘Without You,’ – Written and performed by Anthony Rapp. Songs by Jonathan Larson, Anthony Rapp, David Matos, and Joe Pisapia. Directed by Steven Maler. Scenic design and lighting design by Eric Southern. Costume design by Angela Vesco. Sound design by Brian Ronan. Projection design by David Bengali. Musical Director & Orchestrations: Daniel A. Weiss. Presented by Ambassador Theater Group at the BCA’s Wimberly Theater, Tremont Street, Boston, through April 14.

By Linda Chin

Since childhood, Anthony Rapp has loved singing, playing the lead in musicals such as Oliver, and delighting audiences in his hometown of Joliet, Illinois – especially his biggest fan, his mother, Mary Lee. After moving to NYC, Rapp appeared in a host of roles his mother wished were more “normal.” While working at Starbucks to, uh, pay the rent, Rapp got his big break at age 22 when he landed the principal role of Mark Cohen (the filmmaker and narrator) in the off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Jonathan Larson’s ground-breaking musical RENT.

Love and Loss Within “Without You”

April 7, 2024April 7, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

“Without You” by Anthony Rapp. Directed by Steven Maler. Presented by ATG Colonial at the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through April 14.

By Michele Markarian

At twenty-two, Anthony Rapp, hailing from Joliet, Illinois, and living in the East Village with his brother, Adam, was broke. A chance audition, for which he was late, led him to be cast in a workshop production of a new musical called “Rent.” The composer, Jonathan Larson, was a quirky, friendly person who soon became a good friend to Rapp. “Rent,” Rapp told his young cast right before thanking them for being his new friends, was about his friends, most of them dead. He also infuriated one of Rapp’s party guests, who had asked Larson, “What do you do for a living?’ and was told, “I am the future of musical theater.” “Rent” was Larson’s labor of love based on one of his favorite operas, “La Boheme”; tragically, Larson did not live to see the musical mounted on Broadway or off after the success of its studio production. He died suddenly and unexpectedly the night before the show was supposed to have its Off-Broadway premiere.