Gloucester Stage’s ‘Ben Butler’ Combines Witty Repartee, Zaniness in Historical Comedy

August 7, 2019August 7, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Shepard Mallory (Shane Taylor), Lieutenant Kelly (Doug Bowen-Flynn), and Major General Benjamin Butler (Ames Adamson) in Gloucester Stage’s production of ‘Ben Butler’. Photos by Jason Grow

By Mike Hoban

Ben Butler – Written by Richard Strand. Directed by Joseph Discher. Scenic Design by Gregory Trochil; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Russ Swift. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester through August 25

In the opening scene of Ben Butler, the first thing we learn is that Virginia has just seceded from the Union. While this news hardly seems remarkable – given that play is set during the Civil War in the Fort Monroe office of Butler, a Union Army General – what we don’t realize is how important that detail will be to the string of events that will change the course of American history. If you’re thinking that Ben Butler sounds like an educational historical drama, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, this Gloucester Stage production is an often laugh out loud funny re-imagining of a historic meeting between two very different but remarkably similar individuals – one a General, the other a slave.

Hitchcock Comes to Life with Gloucester Stage’s ‘39 Steps’

July 12, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Amanda Collins, Lewis D. Wheeler in Gloucester Stage’s ’39 Steps’

Review by James Wilkinson

The 39 Steps – Written by Patrick Barlow. Directed by Robert Walsh. Assist. Director: Madison Cook-Hines. Scenic Design: Jenna McFarlen Lord. Lighting Design: Russ Swift. Costume Design: Miranda Kau Giurleo. Sound Design: David Wilson. Props Design: Emme Shaw. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company, 267 E. Main St. Gloucester through July 28

I have an unabashed love for the films of Alfred Hitchcock. It runs so deep that sitting five feet from where I’m typing this review is a pile of DVDs of just about every film he ever made. I won’t go into all of the reasons why (we’ll be here all day if I do), but I’d like to think that my passionate fandom makes me the ideal audience member for Gloucester Stage Company’s production of The 39 Steps. The play by Patrick Barlow is a stage adaptation of the classic 1935 film and also holds the distinction of being one of only two or three Hitchcock pictures that I’ve never seen. That strikes me as remarkable considering the high regard that film buffs hold the movie in. How exactly has this one slipped past me for all these years? I considered watching the film as research before going to Gloucester Stage’s production, then held off. The movie’s the movie (and I’ll get to it one of these days), right now I’m more concerned with what’s happening on stage.

Gloucester Stage Has Us Running ‘Barefoot in the Park’

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*(Richard Snee, Paula Plum, and Joe Short in Gloucester Stage’s ‘Barefoot in the Park’)*

Review by James Wilkinson

‘Barefoot in the Park’ – Written by Neil Simon. Directed by Shana Gozansky; Set Design: Jeffrey Petersen. Lighting Design: Marcella Barbeau; Costume Design: Rachel Padula-Shufelt; Sound Design: David Remedios; Props Design: Lauren Corcuera. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company, 267 E Main St, Gloucester through June 30

Neil Simon is the theatrical equivalent of a cozy sweater. The kind you don’t wash for fear that the spin cycle will somehow upset the delicate balance of softness and warmth. At least, that’s the case for me. To admit my biases upfront, I’ll say that the man has earned (or perhaps the better word is ‘claimed’) a special spot in my theatrical-going heart because the first play I ever worked on back in high school was his 1981 play, Fools (not one of his better works, but for nostalgic reasons, it’s got its own room in that theater heart of mine). So, when I went to Gloucester Stage Company’s production of Barefoot in the Park (which I think is one of his better works), I went expecting a charming and enjoyable evening at the theater. And that’s exactly what I got. Gloucester Stage’s production is an incredibly charming and enjoyable one that goes down like a glass of warm milk.

Gloucester Stage Closes Season with Poignant, Powerful “Mockingbird”

October 12, 2017October 12, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Mike Hoban

“To Kill A Mockingbird” – From the novel by Harper Lee; Stage adaptation by Christopher Sergel; Directed by Judy Braha; Set Design by Jon Savage; Lighting Design by John Malinowski; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Sound Design by David Wilson. Presented by the Gloucester Stage Company at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, through October 28.

During a pre-trial scene in To Kill A Mockingbird, the stage version of Harper Lee’s semi-autobiographical novel about racial injustice and the loss of innocence, there’s this defining exchange between defense attorney Atticus Finch and Scout, his 10-year old daughter.

“Atticus, are we going to win it?”

“No, honey.”

“Then why –”

“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” says Atticus.

“Babes” Shine in Horovitz’s Latest at GSC

August 17, 2017August 20, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

(Debra Wise, Paula Plum, and Sarah Hickler in GSC’s Out of the Mouths of Babes)

by Mike Hoban

Out of the Mouths of Babes – Written & Directed by Israel Horovitz; Set Design by Jenna McFarland Lord; Costume Design by Jane Alois Stein; Lighting Design by Russ Swift; Sound Design by David Remedios. Presented by the Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester through September 2

Can four women, each of whom was the live-in lover of the same recently deceased man for prolonged periods of time, co-exist under the same roof – even if it’s to attend his funeral?

That’s the premise of Israel Horovitz’s latest work, “Out of the Mouths of Babes,” an airy but laugh-filled comedy now making its New England premiere at Gloucester Stage after a sold-out Off-Broadway run last summer. Complicating matters is the fact that the deceased had cheated on and left all of the assembled women (except possibly the final wife) for other women now sharing the same apartment – the one in which they had all lived in with him. So if all that tension sounds like a springboard for a comedic jousting match, you’re correct, and Horovitz (who also directed) assembles some of Boston’s top female talent to deliver the goods.

In Gloucester Stage’s “The Effect”, Love is the Drug

June 22, 2017June 23, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

‘The Effect’ – Written by Lucy Prebble; Directed by Sam Weisman; Set & Projection Design by J. Michael Griggs; Costume Design by Miranda Kau Giurleo; Lighting Design by Russ Swift; Sound Design by David Remedios; Composer, Claudio Ragazzi; Choreography by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Presented by the Gloucester Stage Company through July 8

Oh Oh, catch that buzz
Love is the drug I’m thinking of
Oh Oh, can’t you see
Love is the drug for me

“Love is the Drug” – 1975 single by Roxy Music

Is true love something that can be prescribed?

The Effect, now making its New England premiere at Gloucester Stage, asks that question, as Big Pharma guy Dr. Toby Sealey of Rauschen Pharmaceuticals hopes to create “a Viagra for the heart” as clinical trials for the experimental antidepressant with the unsexy name of RLU37 get underway. But as we soon find out, results are not always predictable whenever there’s a human element in the experiment, even in a sterile clinical setting.

GSC’s ‘Bank Job’ – Robbery Goes Wrong, Comedy Goes (Mostly) Right

May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Mike Hoban

Bank Job – Written by John Kolvenbach; Directed by Robert Walsh; Set Design by Jon Savage; Lighting Design by Russ Swift; Costume Design by Linda Ross; Sound Design by David Wilson. Presented by Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester through June 10.

If you were of television-watching age during the late sixties and you’ve ever wondered what would happen if the Smothers Brothers downed a few cans of Red Bull and then robbed a bank – now’s your chance to find out. Gloucester Stage Company is presenting the New England premiere of John Kolvenbach’s somewhat uneven but very funny Bank Job, which takes us on a lightning-paced ride which slows down only when the bank robbing brothers take time out to relive their Smothers Brothers-esque unresolved childhood squabbles.