Hub Theater’s ‘46 Plays for America’s First Ladies’ a Darkly Comic History Lesson

July 31, 2024July 31, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of the Hub Theater Company’s “46 Plays for America’s First Ladies.” Photo: Andrew Keefe

‘46 Plays for America’s First Ladies‘ – Written by Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Sharon Greene, Chloe Johnston, Bilal Dardai, and Andy Bayiates; Directed by Ilyse Robbins; Set Design by Justin Lahue; Lighting Design by Emily Bearce;Sound Design by Gage Baker; and Costumes by E. Rosser. Presented by Hub Theatre Company at Club Cafe, 209 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA.

By Mike Hoban

If you’re going to Hub Theater’s 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies expecting a fawning third-grade history treatment of the women who “stood behind their men,” you’re in for a surprise. That premise is obliterated in the opening vignette when Martha Washington tells the audience, “I loved slavery” and describes her time as First Lady as akin to being a “state prisoner” – which is an actual quote from the wife of the “Father of Our Country.” Wow.

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.

Dresses Galore in “Love, Loss and What I Wore”

July 25, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of *“Love, Loss and What I Wore”* at Club Cafe

By Michele Markarian

“Love, Loss and What I Wore” – Written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron. Based on the book by Ilene Beckerman. Directed by Paula Plum. Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston, Club Café, 209 Columbus Avenue, Boston, through August 5.

“Love, Loss and What I Wore” opens with a woman (June Kfoury) cataloging her life by drawing dresses – dresses that she’d had and loved as a girl, dresses she remembers her mother, grandmother, and aunt wearing – as a means of recording her memories. She lost her mother early in life – a theme of a few of the show’s monologues – and is turned over to her grandmother and aunt, thus losing her father as well. Somehow, she takes comfort in remembering her loved ones through their outfits.

Hub Theatre Company Serves Up Hearty Comic Fare with ‘Slow Food’

July 26, 2022 michaelhobanLeave a comment

*Jyoti Daniere, Victor Shopov and Steve Auger in Hub Theatre Company’s ‘Slow Food’*

by Mike Hoban

Slow Food – Written by Wendy MacLeod; Directed by Daniel Bourque. Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston at Club Café, 209 Columbus Ave. in Boston through July 30.

As anyone who has had to endure what seems like an interminably long time for wait staff to bring food and drink knows, that feeling of utter helplessness can be truly maddening – especially if you’re already famished. That’s the basic setup for Slow Food, the first live offering from The Hub Theatre Company since the pandemic, but playwright Wendy MacLeod puts the all-too-familiar scenario on steroids to great comic effect. Fittingly presented in the air-conditioned comfort of the cabaret space at Club Café in Boston (complete with dining tables and food service), the play serves up a banquet of laughs out of the identifiable situation.

Hub Theatre Goes Red, White and Blue with “The Taming”

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Review by James Wilkinson

‘The Taming’ – Written by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Juliet Bowler. Presented by Hub Theatre Company. Assistant Director/Dramaturg: Jess Viator. Set Designer: Ben Lieberson. Scenic Artist: Megan Kinneen. Lighting Designer: Mike Wonson. Costume Designer: Erica Desautels. Sound Designer: Kyle Lampe. Props Designer: Cesara Walters. Pageant Consultant: Jamie-Shannon Ferguson. At the Club Cafe, 209 Columbus Ave., Boston through July 28

Politics.

…Yep. Simply stating the word will probably cause about half of the readers of this review to put their back up. In our contemporary twenty-four hour news cycle culture it’s become a dirty, even ugly word, conjuring up a host of unpleasant connotations including family arguments, fake news and an avalanche of think pieces detailing what new thing you should be outraged about this week and why. It’s exhausting and frustrating experience trying to be an informed American citizen these days, especially as both ends of the political spectrum circle their wagons and create their own echo chambers. Isn’t art, then, supposed to be the one place we can go to escape all of that noise? The one refuge we have from the suffocating media landscape?