Cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’. Photos: Mark S. Howard Thomika Marie Bridwell, Madison Margaret Clark, and Dominic Carter
‘Crumbs from The Table Of Joy.’ Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Tasia A. Jones. Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Costume Design by Mikayla Reid. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco. Lighting Design by Eduardo Ramirez. Produced by Lyric Stage at 140 Clarendon Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, through February 2nd.
By Shelley A. Sackett
Luck
Sometimes a crumb falls From the tables of joy, Sometimes a bone Is flung.
To some people Love is given, To others Only heaven.
— Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes, best known for his Harlem Renaissance Jazz Poetry, wrote “Luck” in 1947. The poem can be interpreted as a commentary on unfairness, deprivation, and the pursuit of love. It could also be read as a reminder of the injustices faced by Black Americans and other “have-nots’ who must bear witness to the overflowing bounty of the “haves” and hope they are in the right place at the right time to scoop up the discarded scraps.
Cast of SpeakEasy/Front Porch’s ‘Ain’t No Mo’ Photos: Nile Scott Studios MaConnia Chesser, Kiera Prusmack, De’Lon Grant, Schanaya Barrows, and Dru Sky Berrian.
‘Ain’t No Mo’.’ Written by Jordan E. Cooper. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Co-produced by SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective at the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, through February 8.
By Shelley A. Sackett
Jordan E. Cooper’s Ain’t No Mo is a complicated, uneven, scathing, audacious, and hilarious rollercoaster ride of a play. It covers a lot of ground, and Cooper dips his pen into the inkwell of every genre known to playwrights: from satire, allegory, fiction, and parody to tragedy and Shakespeare-worthy soliloquy.
Cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’. Photos: Mark S. Howard
‘Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’. Written by Lynn Nottage. Directed by Tasia A. Jones. Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. Costume Design by Mikayla Reid. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco. Lighting Design by Eduardo Ramirez. Produced by Lyric Stage at 140 Clarendon Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02116 runs from January 10th – February 2nd.
By Charlotte Snow
“It smooths my pain, and that’s all I want right now,” earnestly pleads Godfrey Crump (Dominic Carter), during a verbal altercation with his late wife’s sister. That aspiration of finding hope can be found in all five of the characters who populate Crumbs From The Table Of Joy, now playing at the Lyric Stage.
Cristhian Mancinas-Garcia and Parker Jennings in ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at Apollinaire. Photos by Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Every Brilliant Thing’. Written by Duncan Macmillan with Johnny Donahoe. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Scenic and Sound Design by Joseph Lark-Riley. Lighting Design by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Produced by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA through January 19th.
By Shelley A. Sackett
A one-person show about suicide and depression that threatens random audience participation, runs for approximately 75 intermission-less minutes, and pledges to be funny and uplifting has a pretty high bar to clear. Yet, Apollinaire Theatre Company does just that with room to spare in its brilliant production of Every Brilliant Thing.
‘Dracula’ – Based on the novel by Bram Stroker. Adapted by Steven Dietz. Directed by Melissa Bernstein. Presented by Newton Theatre Company at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, 96 Otis Street, Newton, MA, through February 8
Review by Shayne F. Gilbert
The Newton Theater Company’s latest offering is the classic gothic story Dracula, featuring a gender-bending twist: Dracula is portrayed by female actor Linda Goetz, who masterfully handles the role in this first-rate interpretation of the Gothic classic.
The audience is ushered into a large room, and a heavy table made up like a bed dominates the opening scene. The audience sits around the edges of the intimate room in two rows, as if they were not observers but part of the performance (although I did have to pull in my feet at times to prevent the actors from tripping over them). The room dims to an ominous grey as the show begins.
Many may be familiar with Dracula as the centuries-old tale of an immortal vampire who survives on the blood of his victims. Steven Dietz’s 1996 adaptation opens with two young women chattering like schoolgirls on a sleepover as they express their love for their young men. Mina Murray (Dani Johnson) is betrothed to solicitor Jonathan Harker (Matthew Alexander Goldstein). Lucy Westenra (Jessibel Falcon) is in love with John Seward (Rafael Silva), who runs the local asylum for the insane. Things soon take a darker turn as the letters that Murray receives from Harker, who is heading to Transylvania to visit his client, Count Dracula, become more disturbing.
The play moves back and forth between London and Transylvania. Harker, overwhelmed by his experience in Transylvania, returns to London, haunted by what he has seen. Dracula, meanwhile, has used information that Harker has provided to execute a plan to go to London in a quest to feed his insatiable appetite. When Westenra falls prey to the Count, who drains her of her lifeblood, Sewards calls upon Abraham Van Helsing (Karin Trachtenberg), an expert in vampires, to find a cure for Westenra. Tragically, the beautiful innocent is too far along, and her only respite is found in death.
Renfield (Elena Toppo), another victim of the Count, is living a deranged life in Seward’s asylum. Throughout the show, Renfield serves as an interpreter of the actions of the evil vampire. It is Toppo as Renfield who truly shines in her role as the insane link between the traditional world of London and the fantastical world of Dracula. Are those really flies that he snatches and scarfs down in a desperate quest for immortality? The audience can only feel pity for the small bird that Renfield initially befriends, only to find a telltale feather peeking out from his mouth a short time later. I looked forward to each scene-stealing moment of Toppo’s enchanting portrayal of Renfield.
The ensemble delivers an engaging interpretation of the gothic story, alternately delivering gasps of terror and laughter. Although the sets are sparse, clever lighting and background music, reminiscent of the classic organ accompaniments of silent films (composed by Alex Taylor), create a mood of foreboding and doom.
As noted on their website, the mission of Newton Theatre Company is “to create high-quality theater with a focus on women’s voices.” In this production, three of the main, traditionally male characters are portrayed by female actors. Linda Goetz, as Count Dracula, brings an aloof sense of revenge to the blood-lusting character. She seems to literally fly around the stage in her role as the vampire. As Abraham Van Helsing, Trachtenberg is a diminutive figure with a commanding voice.
This interpretation of the Gothic classic delivers enough unnerving elements of horror to be most suitable for mature audiences who will relish the thrill of a blood-curdling evening. Performances of Dracula at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Newton continue on Friday and Saturday evenings with some matinees through February 8th. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.newtontheatrecompany.com/
Alison Jones and Ashley Aldarondo in Trinity Rep’s ‘Someone Will Remember Us’. Photos by Mark Turik.
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The world premiere of “Someone Will Remember Us” continues the true story of “Boots on The Ground,” which played at Trinity Repertory Company back in 2006 and told of Rhode Islanders deployed in the Iraq War. It examines how the legacy lives on almost twenty years later. This show combines the testimonies of U.S. military veterans, a Gold Star Family, Iraqi civilians, and refugees living in Rhode Island. It examines how the war affected these people then and how they still deal with it all these years later. We see the emotional toll these events had back then and how conflicts in other parts of the globe still concern us today. “Someone Will Remember Us” is the fourth show of Trinity Rep’s 61st season and is well-directed by Christopher Windom. He has his cast members deliver multilayered performances as the residents of this state who were profoundly affected by the Iraqi War. Each of the different groups of people convey their stories and interact with each other in this powerful one-act play written by Deborah Salem Smith and Charlie Thurston. Dr. Michelle Cruz and the two authors create an informative, emotion-packed show that resonates with the audience in a profound manner, especially with the uncertain times that this country is currently facing with the rest of the world, and hopefully will help them and us heal from these traumatic events. This powerhouse production receives a spontaneous standing ovation at the close of the show.
Cristhian Mancinas-García and Parker Jennings in Apollinaire Theatre’s ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ Photos: Danielle Fauteux Jacques
‘Every Brilliant Thing’. Written by Duncan Macmillan with Johnny Donahoe. Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Scenic and Sound Design by Joseph Lark-Riley. Lighting Design by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Produced by Apollinaire Theatre Company at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA through January 19th.
By Charlotte Snow
Can times really be that ‘unprecedented’ when more and more different kinds of ‘unprecedented’ actions and events appear time and time again? It’s a question that I have been asking myself repeatedly with the turning of the new year (and admittedly with the overturning of the old administration). It’s been far too easy for all of the negative thoughts about the world and one’s place in it to form a snowball of anxiety that grows in speed and size as it hurtles downward.
Donnla Hughes in Gamm Theatre’s Girls and Boys. Photos: Cat Laine
Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The third play of GAMM Theatre’s 40th Anniversary season is “Boys and Girls” by Dennis Kelly. It’s a 2016 one-woman British show that narrates a story of love, marriage, and, eventually, violence. She meets the man of her dreams, and the romance seems destined for greatness. Before long, the couple settles down and buys a house. Their life is filled with passion, success, and the joys of parenthood. They juggle careers; after having two children, Leanne and Danny, they seem to become an ordinary family. But as ambitions grow, things begin to unravel, and matters take an unexpected turn as her career takes an upspring by forming her own film company with Liam, and he goes in the opposite direction by not adapting from selling antique wardrobes to more contemporary ones.
Ayodele Casel (center) and the cast of A.R.T.s ‘Diary of a Tap Dancer.’ Photos: Nile Scott Studios and Maggie Hall
‘Diary of a Tap Dancer’ – Written and Choreographed by Ayodele Casel. Directed by Torya Beard. Musical Direction by Nick Wilders; Scenic Design by Tatiana Kahvegian; Costume Design by Camilla Dely; Lighting Design by Brandon Stirling Baker; Sound Design by Sharath Patel; Projection Design by Katherine Freer; Compositions, Orchestrations, and Arrangements by Carlos Cippelletti, Ethan D. Packchar. Presented by American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, through January 4, 2025.
By Shelley A. Sackett
Ayodele Casel’s ‘Diary of a Tap Dancer’ defies pigeonholing. First, it is a crackerjack tap dance concert, choreographed and performed by a jubilant devotée of the genre whose sensitivity to its rhythmic musicality keeps the action moving and the audience’s toes tapping along.
Second, it is a narrative documentary that “shines a light on women hoofers,” especially the unknown and forgotten black tap dancers of the 1920s through the ‘50s who blazed a trail for others, like Casel, to follow. Projection Designer Katherine Freer has curated a six-screen still and moving visual accompaniment that introduces us to all the dancers who might have been written out of history — women like Juanita Pitts, Jeni Le Gon, Cora LaRedd, Louise Madison and Marion Coles — but for her efforts to draw attention to them.
Laurenco “Pelé” Fernandes, José Luís Spencer, and Candida Rose Baptista in Midwinter Revel’s ‘The Selkie Girl And The Seal Woman’ Photos by Paul Buckley.
‘The Selkie Girl And The Seal Woman’. Directed by Deborah Wise. Music Directed by Elijah Botkin, Dramaturgy by Nicole Gallahad, Choreography by Neusa Barros Aravjo & Jackie O’Reilly, Tradition Bearing by Candida Rose Baptista & Almina Pilgrim, Costume Design by Heidi Hermiller, Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg, and Scenic Design by Jeremy Barnett. Produced by Revels, ‘The Selkie Girl And The Seal’ runs from December 13th – 28th at The Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA 02138. A virtual encore, a recorded live performance, will stream from December 28th – January 12th
By Charlotte Snow
I am, unfortunately, and for a variety of reasons, one of those sad individuals for whom Christmastime is the worst time. So I never really seek out events, or much of anything, that remind me of the season. So you can imagine my surprise (and partially abject terror) when I was invited to review the 54th Annual Midwinter Revels production, “The Selkie Girl And The Seal Woman.” Thankfully, I was not met with holiday hostility. Instead, I was warmly welcomed by the majesty of The Sanders Theatre alongside a heartwarming theatrical and cultural celebration.
