A Refreshingly Feminist Take on “Miss Holmes”

April 10, 2018April 10, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

Miss Holmes – Written by Christopher M. Walsh; Based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Directed by Weylin Symes. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through April 22.

Dorothy Watson (Brittany Rolfs) is a doctor who has managed to survive the infamous Surgeon’s Hill Riot in Edinburgh, where women scheduled to take their medical exams were harassed and assaulted by a protesting mob. She now works in a female-run hospital in London. Covered in blood from a surgery, she considers the proposal of her suitor, Dr. Michael Stamford (Patrick Varner), who offers “…a chance to put all of this unpleasantness behind you”. A chance meeting with Wilhelmina “Sherlock” Holmes (Marge Dunn) alters the course of Dr. Watson’s life, even as she resists it. The somewhat Asperger-y Holmes has a penchant for solving crime, much to the agitation of her brother, Mycroft Holmes (Alexander Platt). When a woman, Lizzie Chapman (Monica Giordano) comes to Sherlock with anonymous letters warning her to beware of her husband, law-enforcer Thomas Chapman (Daniel Berger-Jones), Holmes’s curiosity is piqued and the adventure begins.

GBSC Brings Magic with “THE IRISH AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY”

March 22, 2018April 2, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: Greater Boston Stage Company adds a wee bit o’ green and Irish charm in Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt’s play, directed by Dawn Simmons, through March 25: Wednesdays, Sundays,2 p.m.; Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 3,8 p.m. $50-$60; seniors, $45-$55; students with valid ID, $20. 395 Main St., Stoneham. 781-279-2200, greaterbostonstage.org.

’Twas an Irish song and story fest when I saw Mynnelou Productions Inc. and the Bernann Company, LLC’s rollicking production of Frank McCourt’s “The Irish and How They Got That Way,” five years ago, in Somerville.

That production was so successful, it was extended for another week, by popular demand. The upbeat, two-hour, two-act, potpourri of Irish traditional, folk and contemporary songs and music accompanying the ensemble’s re-telling of Ireland and Irish-American history through their energetic comic anecdotes and skits, made Irish and non-Irish eyes smile at Davis Square Theater.

Dark History Lesson Runs Through GBSC’s Lively “The Irish and How They Got That Way””

March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

The Irish and How They Got That Way – Book by Frank McCourt; Directed by Dawn M. Simmons; Music Direction by Kirsten Salpini; Original musical arrangements by Rusty Magee; Additional musical arrangements by Kirsten Salpini; Presented by special arrangement with The Irish Repertory Theatre Company, Inc. by the Greater Boston Stage Company at 395 Main St, Stoneham Through March 25^th

Anyone who utters the phrase “the Luck of the Irish” might want to take a closer look at history and reconsider its usage, as the Greater Boston Stage Company’s production of Frank McCourt’s The Irish and How They Got That Way clearly demonstrates. For all the adorable leprechauns and amusing anecdotes about excessive drinking that are associated with the Emerald Isle, there is also a rich vein of melancholy running through the saga of the Irish over the last few centuries, particularly the period that preceded their journey across the pond to America through the beginning of the twentieth century. Which is not to say that this production is in any way a downer. Quite the contrary, the six person (three men and three women) cast rips through a bevy of Irish tunes both familiar and obscure while generating both smiles and tears.

“Unveiled”: A Glimpse of Five Hearts

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

By Michele Markarian

‘Unveiled’ – Written by Rohina Malik. Co-presented by New Repertory Theatre with Greater Boston Stage Company. Blackbox Theater. Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA through January 28.

Entering the black box theater at the start of “Unveiled”, a one-woman show written and performed by Rohina Malik, is like entering another world. Rich, tapestried Oriental rugs drape from the ceiling and cover the floors. A tea set rests on a tray, tabled next to a chair. An oud plays quietly in the background (the excellent player is uncredited in the program, or I would mention him). Jeffrey Petersen’s set design is elegant, formal, and inviting, much like Maryam, the first of five characters singly portrayed by actress and playwright Rohina Malik.

A Daughter Forsaken in “Alligator Road”

October 16, 2017October 16, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

by Michele Markarian

“Alligator Road” – Written by Camille Kimball. Directed by Weylin Symes. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through October 29.

Recently widowed Kathy (Brianne Beatrice) is stuck with a hardware store she doesn’t want to run. Her feminist daughter, the angry Candace (Sarah Bendell) has just learned that her mother is literally giving away the store to Lavinia (Victoria George), a black woman Kathy perceives to be homeless. This is in order to make what she feels are “reparations”, despite never having slave owners in her family tree. Candace wants the store, Lavinia and her husband Scott (Avery Bargar) want the store, and Kathy just wants to be free from a life and a marriage she was long bored with. The stakes are high all around, which makes for interesting drama.

“DAMES AT SEA” at Greater Boston Stage

September 9, 2017September 10, 2017 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Greater Boston Stage Company, formerly Stoneham Theatre, newest show is “Dames At Sea”, a musical spoof of “42nd Street”, “Anything Goes” and “Singing in the Rain.” It is a musical with books and lyrics by George Haimshon and Robin Miller with music by Jim Wise. It’s a parody of 1930’s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which a chorus girl gets off a bus from Utah to NYC, steps into a role on Broadway and becomes a star.