“ASSASSINS” MMAS, (Mansfield, MA)

October 1, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

The second show of MMAS’s season is “Assassins” by Stephen Sondheim which won five Tony Awards in 2004 including Best Revival. “Assassins” lays bare the lives of the nine individuals who assassinated or attempted to assassinate the President of the United States in an historical “revuiscal” that explores the dark side of the American experience while using the premise of a murderous carnival game. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Sondheim and John Weidman bend the rules of time and space, taking us on a nightmarish roller coaster ride in which assassins and would be assassins from different time periods meet, interact and in an intense final scene inspire each other to a harrowing act on their way to the American Dream. The score contains pastiches of American music through the ages from folk to rock to 1970’s soft rock. Director Adam Joy assembles 24 talented cast members to fill these roles while musical director Eli Bigelow taught them this intricate score and Adam who is also the choreographer, supplies them with inventive dance moves, winning them a thunderous standing ovation at the close of this thought provoking musical.

THE BOYS NEXT DOOR (MMAS, Black Box Theatre, Mansfield)

January 10, 2018December 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Mass Music and Arts Society’s opening show of their summer season is “The Boys Next Door” by Rhode Island native, Tom Griffin who recently passed away. It is a funny and touching play about four mentally handicapped men living in a communal residence under the guidance and watchful eye of a caring but burnt out social worker. The story is told by a series of vignettes and scenes, with some of the performers speaking directly to the audience. Director Kelly Crawford picks splendid and talented performers to fill these well written roles. She mixes the comic and dramatic moments together marvelously to a very appreciative audience who gives them a resounding standing ovation at the curtain call.

GHOSTS OF APPOMATTOX, MMAS, Mansfield

October 6, 2017October 6, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

MMAS’s latest show is an original script about the Civil War called “Ghosts of Appomattox” written by local residents and playwrights Tom Souza and Alex Salachi. A modern day college professor challenges her students to explore the relationships between key figures of the American Civil War and its aftermath. In doing so, the professor hopes that the students will be able to find connections between the lessons of the past and our present political environment. Alex was a classmate of mine at Assumption College in Worcester. Director Steve Dooner takes this well written script and brings these historical figures of U.S Grant and Robert E. Lee to life so we can look at history from a perspective and of that time period to learn that two attributes that stand out are of character and perseverance that are very sorely lacking from this current U.S. government.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (MMAS Black Box Theater, Mansfield, MA)

July 27, 2017July 27, 2018 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Welcome back to the 1920’s and to MMAS Black Box Theater’s current show which is “The Drowsy Chaperone”, a five-time Tony Award winning musical. The show first opened on Broadway on May 1, 2006 and starred Georgia Engel as Mrs. Tottendale. It won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score. The hilarious show-within-a-show begins when a die-hard musical fan decides to play his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called The Drowsy Chaperone and the show magically bursts to life right in his very own apartment. It is a send up of a Jazz Age musical featuring one show stopping number after another. When the house lights dim, a man in a chair appears onstage and plays his favorite recording of this fictitious 1928 musical. The recording comes to life and “The Drowsy Chaperone” begins. Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and an intoxicated chaperone and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight. Director Vincent Ratsavong picks the best 16 performers for these wild and madcap roles, winning his cast a thunderous ovation at the close of the show.