Tag: Lyric Stage Company

‘Art’ Becomes More Than What Meets The Eye in Lyric Stage’s Splendid Production

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John Kuntz and Michael Kaye in Lyric Stage’s ‘Art’. Photo Credit: Mark S. Howard

‘Art’ by Yasmina Reza. Translated by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Scenic Design by Shelley Barish. Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl, Lighting Design by Elmer Martinez. Sound Design by Adam Howarth. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through March 16.

By Shelley A. Sackett

The French playwright, actress, novelist, and screenwriter Yasmina Reza has a special talent for creating dialogue and characters that simultaneously focus inward on the complexities of interpersonal relationships and outward on the demands and mores of contemporary middle-class society. ‘Art,’ now enjoying a magnificent run at Lyric Stage Company, premiered in Paris in 1994 and took both London’s West End and New York’s Broadway by storm. It won Olivier, Tony, Molière, and every other major theatre award and has been packing in audiences worldwide in 30 languages ever since.

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A Taut, Fraught and Entertaining “Art” at the Lyric

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Michael Kaye, John Kuntz and Remo Airaldi in Lyric Stage’s ‘Art’. Photo Credit: Mark S. Howard

‘Art’ by Yasmina Reza. Translated by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Scenic Design by Shelley Barish. Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl, Lighting Design by Elmer Martinez.  Sound Design by Adam Howarth. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through March 16.

By Michele Markarian

Longstanding friendships are based on commonalities – like income bracket, hobbies, artistic sensibilities, mutual support, and admiration. With Art,  playwright Yasmin Reza turns her observational lens on male friendship and the emotional chaos that happens when one man goes rogue and throws the rest of the group off-kilter.

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Lyric Stage’s ‘Crumbs from the Table of Joy’ Has A Tale to Tell       

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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.

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Lyric Stage’s ‘Crumbs From The Table Of Joy’ is a Feast Full of Hope

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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.

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Lyric’s “Urinetown” Delivers a Steady Stream of Satire and Fun

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Cast of Lyric Stage’s ‘Urinetown. Photos by Nile Hawver

“Urinetown” –  Music and Lyrics by Mark Hollmann.  Book and Lyrics by Greg Kotis. Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through October 20.

By Michele Markarian

If I were to be perfectly honest – and somewhat lazy – this review would consist of only three words: See this show. But that wouldn’t be fair to the truly talented director, cast, and crew, so bear with me while I tell you why. It’s a hilarious script with a catchy score and pointed undertones that’s performed flawlessly in moments both tongue-in-cheek and sincere. 

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“Yellow Face” Raises Difficult Issues About Race at the Lyric Stage Company

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Cast of “Yellow Face” at Lyric Stage. Photos by Mark S. Howard

“Yellow Face.” Written by David Henry Hwang. Directed by Ted Hewlett. Scenic Design by Szu-Feng Chen; Projections Design by Megan Reilly; Lighting Design by Baron E. Pugh; Costume Design by Mikayla Reid; Sound Design by Arshan Gailus. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Clarendon St., Boston. Run has ended.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Some plays are just good for you. Like drinking a peanut butter, kale, bone meal, and flax seed smoothie, the benefits outweigh the temporary discomfort. With the smoothie, its promise of increased vigor and decreased ailments offset its taste and texture. With “Yellow Face,” David Henry Hwang’s Obie award-winning play presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, its thought-provoking and post-theater-conversation-inducing messages outweigh the lackluster nature of its two-hour theatrical experience.

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“The Drowsy Chaperone” is Fabulous Fun

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Joy Clark and the cast of “The Drowsy Chaperone” at Lyric Stage

“The Drowsy Chaperone” – Music and Lyrics by Lisa Lampert and Greg Morrison. Book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. Directed and Choreographed by Larry Sousa. Musical Direction by Matthew Stern. Presented by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, through May 12.

By Michele Markarian

From the moment the Man in Chair (an engaging Paul Melendy) puts on a record of his favorite musical from the 1920s to shake himself out of a gloomy mood, we know we are in for a fun ride. Melendy’s sincerity, wry delivery, and easy charm set the tone for the rest of the show, where the acting is impeccable, the vocals are terrific, the songs are catchy, and the script is funny.

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Dreams Deferred in Lyric’s ‘Trouble in Mind’

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Cast of ‘Trouble in Mind’ at Lyric Stage

Trouble In Mind by Playwright Alice Childress. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Scenic Design by Shelley Barish. Costume Design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt. Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan. Sound Design by Aubrey Dube. At the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Clarendon Steet, through February 4.

By Linda Chin

In his 1951 poem “Harlem” Langston Hughes poses an important question: What happens to a dream deferred? It continues with additional questions:

      Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
      Or fester like a sore – And then run?
      Does it stink like rotten meat?
      Or crust and sugar over—like a syrupy sweet?

      Maybe it just sags, like a heavy load.

      Or does it explode?

In her 1955 play “Trouble in Mind,” Alice Childress (Hughes’ contemporary) tells the story of a group of Black and white actors rehearsing a play for Broadway. The play (within-the-play), “Chaos in Belleville” is an anti-lynching drama written by a white playwright, directed by white male director Al Manners (Barlow Adamson), and stars a Black actress, Wiletta (Patrice Jean-Baptiste), a seasoned actor who will be making her Broadway debut – a long-awaited dream.

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Lyric Stage’s ‘The Game’s Afoot’ Delivers the Gift of Laughter

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Maureen Keiller, Kelby T. Akin, Dan Garcia, Gabrielle McCauley, Remo Airaldi, Pamela Lambert and Sarah Sinclair in “The Game’s Afoot” at Lyric Stage Photo: Mark S, Howard

‘The Game’s Afoot: Holmes for the Holidays’ by Ken Ludwig. Fred Sullivan Jr., Director. Janie E. Howland, Scenic Designer. John Malinowski, Lighting Designer. Chelsea Kerl, Costume Designer. Andrew Duncan Will, Sound Designer. Jennifer Butler, Props Artisan. At Lyric Stage, Clarendon Street, Boston through December 17.

by Linda Chin

Lyric Stage’s long-term Producing Artistic Director, the larger-than-life Spiro Veloudos – now a giant in the sky – knew his audiences well, especially the subscribers who filled the matinees. He invited them to his Clarendon Street “castle” to see a play or musical, have a good time, and to come back again.

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Lyric Stage’s ‘Assassins’ Hits the Mark      

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Cast of “Assassins” at Lyric Stage Company. Photos by Mark S. Howard

‘Assassins’ – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by John Weidman. Courtney O’Connor (Director). Dan Rodriguez (Music Director). Ilyse Robbins (Select Choreography). Baron E. Pugh (Scenic and Lighting Design). Rachel Paula-Shufelt (Costume Design). Alex Berg (Sound Design). At Lyric Stage, Clarendon Street, Boston, through October 15, 2023.

by Linda Chin

Like the late composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, Lyric Stage has not shied away from exploring challenging themes or dark material. But opening a theatre season in the angry aftermath of a post-Trump America with one of Sondheim’s less familiar works – about violent attacks on U.S. presidents, no less – is a risky proposition. Assassins takes us into the minds of nine men and women who gained notoriety through our nation’s history because they killed (or failed to, but gave it a good shot) former Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, Roosevelt, McKinley, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Kennedy). Not exactly uplifting fare, but in the capable hands of director Courtney O’Connor, music director/conductor Dan Rodriguez and his four-piece orchestra, and 15 outstanding actors, audiences can expect a thoroughly engrossing and entertaining theater experience.

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