Theater Mirror Talks with Emmy Award-winning Actor Gordon Clapp, on returning to Boston for Speakeasy Stage’s ‘Pru Payne’

October 22, 2024October 22, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Karen MacDonald and Gordon Clapp in the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of *Pru Payne*. Photo: Nile Scott Studios

Gordon Clapp, best known for his Emmy-winning role of Detective Greg Medavoy in the long-running TV series NYPD Blue, returns to the Boston stage for the second time this year, following up his acclaimed portrayal of poet Robert Frost (Robert Frost: This Verse Business) last spring. This time around, Clapp appears in Pru Payne, an unlikely love story set in a memory care unit by Pulitzer Prize nominee and Newton native Steven Drukman (“Another Fine Mess”). Clapp plays a retired custodian who falls in love with the title character, a contemporary Dorothy Parker type whose memory is failing. The cast includes Boston theater stalwarts Karen MacDonald, Marianna Bassham, Greg Maraio, and De’Lon Grant, and runs through November 16th at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts.

Theater Mirror spoke with Clapp during the rehearsal process.

Not Your Parents’ ‘Romeo & Juliet’ by Actors Shakespeare Project

May 19, 2024May 25, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Evan Taylor and Chloe McFarlane in Actors Shakespeare Project’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’

Actors Shakespeare Project presents ROMEO & JULIET. Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Marianna Bassham. Movement Choreography by Ilya Vidrin. Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan. Costume Design by Lisa Coleman. Props Design by Grey Rung. Scenic Design by Saskia Martínez. Sound Design by Jesse Hinson. At the Roberts Studio Theater, Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through June 2, 2024.

By Linda Chin

The works and words of William Shakespeare can be difficult to appreciate – and some may say, stay awake for – but after seeing their accessible production of Romeo and Juliet, I felt grateful that Actors Shakespeare Project chose to present this story this season (they last staged it a decade ago), and is part of the Boston arts and culture ecosystem in general. As seen in last year’s As You Like It, ASP intentionally blends stage (and Shakespearean) veterans with younger actors from local conservatories and communities, an ensemble of diverse storytellers playing diverse human characters – as I like it.

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.

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.

Theater Mirror interviews Boston Theater Company’s Joey Frangieh in anticipation of the first annual QUEER VOICES FESTIVAL

March 7, 2024March 7, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

This weekend, the Boston Theater Company will launch its first annual QUEER VOICES FESTIVAL, with performances from March 8-10, 2024, at the Plaza Theatre of the Boston Center for the Arts. The submission-based showcase, produced by Joey Frangieh and Lisa Rafferty, will showcase seven diverse ten-minute plays written by LGBTQ+ playwrights.

By Mike Hoban

Theater Mirror: Can you give us a little history ofthe Boston Theater Company?

Campy ‘Evil Dead the Musical’ Delivers Comic Gore, Laughs

February 3, 2024February 3, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Evil Dead the Musical: The HD Tour – Book and Lyrics by George Reinblatt;Music by Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond, Melissa Morris & George Reinblatt; Additional Lyrics by Christopher Bond; Additional Music by Rob Daleman; Based on characters created by Sam Raimi. Presented Roshi Entertainment in a special arrangement with Renaissance Pictures LTD & StudioCanal at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St., Boston, through February 25

by Mike Hoban

Broadway has a history of turning pretty good movies into bad musicals. Think Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (ironically based on the 2002 Spider-Man movie by Sam Raimi, who also wrote and directed the Evil Dead movies on which Evil Dead the Musical is based) and too many others to count. But Off-Broadway had huge success turning a bad/campy horror movie into a stage success with Little Shop of Horrors. And while Evil Dead the Musical doesn’t quite reach those heights of artistic excellence, it’s a whacked-out good time – especially for fans of the cult classic movies.

‘Liv at Sea’ Navigates Emotional Tsunamis in a Pitch Perfect Production

January 27, 2024January 29, 2024 michaelhoban4 Comments

“Liv at Sea” — Written and directed by Robert Kropf. Presented by Harbor Stage Company at Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., Boston, through January 28.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Who among us has never wondered about what our lives might have been like if, like Robert Frost’s famous protagonist, we had chosen the road less traveled when our path diverged into two? Did we choose wisely? Given the chance to relive that pivotal moment, would we again choose the security and comfort of the path we know or risk all on the thrill of the other, the unknown?

Addiction Recovery-Centered Theater Group 2nd Act Premieres New Work, ‘I’ll Be There For You’

May 20, 2023June 2, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

2nd Act is a collective of artists in recovery that uses theatre, film, and drama therapy to address the impact of substance use by empowering diverse and inclusive communities to promote understanding in the face of stigma. Founded in 1984 by Lynn Bratley as the Improbable Players, the troupe performed “prevention plays” in middle and high schools for the first quarter century of their existence, with titles like “I’ll Never Do That!”, a four-person play about a family affected by alcohol and drug use, and “Stages,” a two-person play about how alcohol and other drugs affect us at every stage of our lives. The group merged with Rhode-Island based COAAST (Creating Outreach About Addiction Support Together) in 2021 and expanded its programming to include a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Theatre program and a Drama Therapy program.

The organizations have performed for well over a million audience members during their “extended run.” 2nd Act will hold its annual spring fundraiser on Tuesday, May 23rd at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion in Boston from 6:00-8:00 pm. The evening will kick off with a VIP reception, including mocktails and light fare, followed by a premiere staged reading of our newest prevention play; I’ll Be There For You. This new show will be performed by actors in recovery and is based on interviews with Queer and BIPOC youth in recovery from Substance Use Disorder, and will highlight their voices as under-served members of our community. This premiere is intended to raise funds for I’ll Be There For You to tour middle and high schools in New England in the coming school year.