SpeakEasy’s “Pru Payne” Is A Must See for Fans of Fabulous Theater

October 25, 2024October 25, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

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

“Pru Payne”— Written by Steven Drukman. Directed by Paul Daugneault. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage at Boston Center for the Arts, Calderwood Pavillion, 539 Tremont St., Boston, through Nov. 16.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Karen MacDonald, recently introduced as “the empress of Boston,” adds another gem to her tiara with her portrayal of Prudence Payne, a Dorothy Parker-esque reviewer whose sharp wit, acid tongue and encyclopedic familiarity with minutiae of all things cultural have earned her many awards. We are introduced to her as she and her son, Thomas (De’Lon Grant) sit in the Brook Hollow clinic anteroom, awaiting a consultation with a doctor. The television is blaring pablum. Pru regally grabs the remote, waves it like a magic wand. She tries to turn the television set off, but can’t. She retakes her seat, slumping in confused defeat. Thomas reminds her that there are other people in the room who may want to continue watching. “Re. Member,” Pru says, enunciating each letter as if it were a syllable unto itself.

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.

Azúcar! Comedia y intensidad abound at Speakeasy Stage’s Laughs in Spanish

September 18, 2024September 18, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Cast of *‘Laughs in Spanish’* at Speakeasy Stage. Photos by Nile Scott Studios

‘Laughs in Spanish’ – Written by Alexis Scheer. Directed by Mariela López-Ponce. Scenic design by Erik D. Diaz. Costume design by Rebecca Glick. Lighting Design by Amanda E. Fallon. Sound Design by Anna Drummond. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company at 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA, 02116, from September 13^th to October 12^th.

By Helen Ganley

Bright orange chairs sit below bare white walls bearing blank name cards for conspicuously missing paintings. Henry Fiol’s “Ahora me da Pena” (“Now I Feel Sorry”) wafts through the room as the part-telenovela, part-whodunit begins to unfold onstage. Written by Alexis Scheer, Laughs in Spanish is a contemporary play that explores the intersection of culture, identity, and family dynamics through humor. Scheer, a playwright and actress, debuted this work in 2019 at the Boston Playwright’s Theatre. Speakeasy Stage’s rendering is a high-energy and campy production that speaks to family, relationships, and the importance of connection.

A Spectacular & Spellbinding ‘A Strange Loop’ by SpeakEasy & Front Porch

May 5, 2024May 20, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Kai Clifton (center) and cast of ‘*A Strange Loop’* in Speakeasy/Front Porch production

SpeakEasy Stage Company & Front Porch Arts Collective present ‘A Strange Loop’. Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson. Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Music Direction by David Freeman Coleman. Choreographed by Taavon Gamble. Intimacy Direction by Greg Geffrard. Scenic Design by Jon Savage. Costume Design by Becca Jewett. Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal. Sound Design by David Remedios. At the Wimberly Theater at the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, through May 25th.

By Linda Chin

As if the powerfully personal storytelling and rapturous standing ovation weren’t emotionally overwhelming enough, being part of the moment when director Maurice Emmanuel Parent shared the news that a special guest was in the house – and A Strange Loop’s creator Michael R. Jackson strolled onstage – made my head spin. Watching the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright praise the production and being so genuinely gracious to the cast, creatives, co-producers, crew, everyone – including the opening night crowds who supported the show’s Boston premiere – gave me goosebumps.

The Wheels Go ‘Round and ‘Round and ‘Round in SpeakEasy Stage/Front Porch’s ‘A Strange Loop.’

April 29, 2024May 10, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Kai Clifton (center) and the company of A STRANGE LOOP at Speakeasy Stage. From left: De’Lon Grant, Davron S. Monroe, Jonathan Melo, Aaron Michael Ray (background), Grant Evan, and Zion Middleton (kneeling). photos by Maggie Hall Photography.

‘A Strange Loop’ — Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson. Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent. Music Direction by David Freeman Coleman. Choreographed by Taavon Gamble. Co-produced by SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective at the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, through May 25.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Playwright Michael R. Jackson, a heavy-set Black queer man, has brought the concept of sharing to a new level in his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, “A Strange Loop.” The compulsively introspective show, which runs at 100 intermission-less minutes, spelunks into the deepest crevices of the anguished mind of its hero, Usher, a fat, Black, queer man writing a musical called “A Strange Loop” about a fat, Black queer man who’s writing a musical about a fat Black queer man.

No One Gets a Free Ride in Speakeasy’s Rich ‘Cost of Living’

March 23, 2024May 10, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Stephanie Gould and Lewis D. Wheeler in “Cost of Living” at Speakeasy Stage
Photos: Nile Scott Studios

Cost of Living – Written by Martyna Majok; Directed By Alex Lonati; Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Amanda E. Fallon; Sound Design by Anna Drummond. Presented by Speakeasy Stage Company at 527 Tremont St, Boston through March 30th, 2024.

By Shelley A. Sackett

At its heart, ‘Cost of Living,’ is about relationships: how two people meet; how and whether they connect, separate, and reconnect; and how they handle caring and being cared for.

In playwright Martyna Majok’s magic hands, the fact that one person in each relationship has a disability is secondary (though hardly unimportant). Rather, she focuses on the universal vicissitudes of life — emotional, financial, good luck and bad, good health and illness — and how we handle them. The delicacy and craftsmanship of that artistic feat won her the 2018 Pulitzer-Prize award for Drama.

Speakeasy’s ‘Cost of Living’ Teaches the Value of Connection

March 13, 2024March 13, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Gina Fonseca, Sean Leviashvill in Speakeasy’s ‘Cost of Living’

By Helen Ganley

White-washed windows frame silhouetted figures diffused by foggy panes of light-filled glass. Behind these panes are flocks of New Jerseyans – each with their routines, stories, and connections. In Cost of Living, Speakeasy Stage Company delves into the narratives behind these casements and the forces that draw their residents together.

A Crisis of Human Loneliness in SpeakEasy’s ‘A Case for the Existence of God’

February 5, 2024February 5, 2024 michaelhobanLeave a comment

Jesse Hinson and De’Lon Grant in Speakeasy Stage’s *“A Case for the Existence of God”.*
Photos: Nile Scott Studios

‘A Case for the Existence of God’ written by Samuel D. Hunter. Directed by Melinda Lopez. Scenic Design by Cristina Todesco. Costume Design by KJ Gilmer. Lighting Design by Elmer Martinez. Sound Design by Audrey Dube. Performing at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through February 17, 2024.

By Linda Chin

Playwright Samuel D. Hunter’s A Case for the Existence of God is set in Twin Falls, Idaho (population 51,807 and racial makeup 88.5% White, 0.7% African American), in the present or recent past. The municipal seal includes an illustration of the pair of waterfalls that gave the city its name, and with acres of natural beauty in abundance, Twin Falls and this area of south-central Idaho is often referred to as “God’s Country” – full of spirituality and soul, presumably where dreams are fulfilled, and hearts uplifted. The city’s motto, People Serving People, is borne out by institutions and businesses sizable and small, including a yogurt factory and supermarkets, banks and a mortgage company, schools, and a daycare center. But like most Americans in the present or recent past, many Twin Falls residents are suffering from a crisis of human loneliness.

Tone-Perfect ‘A Case for the Existence of God’ Finds the Sacred in the Profane

January 31, 2024January 31, 2024 michaelhoban1 Comment

“A Case for the Existence of God” — Written by Samuel D. Hunter. Directed by Melinda Lopez. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company at the Calderwood Pavilion, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, through February 17.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Once upon a time, there were two men who seemed to have little in common except their geographic histories in Twin Falls, Idaho, and the fact that their toddler daughters attend the same daycare.

Keith, a Black, gay mortgage broker, grew up living in a “nice house” in an intact family. His father, a lawyer, shared his love of travel with his children, exposing them to exotic places like Estonia at a young age. Keith is clearly in Twin Falls by choice. He even went away to college, earning a dual degree in Early Music and English, and returned. To Twin Falls. To be a mortgage broker.

Huntington, SpeakEasy’s Co-Production “The Band’s Visit” Serves Up A Sublime Slice of Life

November 20, 2023November 20, 2023 michaelhobanLeave a comment

The cast of “The Band’s Visit” at the Huntington. Photo by T Charles Erickson

“The Band’s Visit” — Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek. Book by Itamar Moses. Based on the Screenplay by Eran Kolirin. Directed by Paul Daigneault; Choreography by Daniel Pelzig. Music Direction by José Delgado. Scenic Design by Wilson Chin and Jimmy Stubbs. Costume Design by Miranda Kau Giurleo. Lighting Design by Aja M. Jackson. Sound Design by Joshua Millican. Produced by Huntington Theatre in collaboration with SpeakEasy Stage at 264 Huntington Ave. Boston through December 17.

By Shelley A. Sackett

The delightful musical “The Band’s Visit” is a welcome breath of air in the current asphyxiating climate surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas. Its focus is a single night in Bet Hatikva, a tiny Israeli town that feels more like a pit stop on the way to someplace more important than a destination.

“You probably didn’t hear about it,” says Dina (played by a magnificent Jennifer Apple in a star-making performance), the proprietor of Bet Hatikva’s only café and its resident narrator and cynic. “It wasn’t very important.”