(New York, NY/Somerville, MA) On occasion, the New England Theatre Geek will review newly published plays. Below are reviews for Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau, Let Me Down Easy by Anna Deavere Smith, and Cost of Living by Martyna Majok. All books are available via the TCG website. Continue reading
Jeghetto Interview – Just Another Lynching from Puppet Showplace Theater on Vimeo.
Presented by Puppet Showplace Theater
Created by Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins
Musical score by Shana Tucker
Eulogy written and narrated by Tommy Noonan
Puppeteers: John Reagan, Elbert Joseph, Scotty Swan, Brenda Ray, Roxanna Myhrum, Tarish Pipkins
Tech by Brad Shur
Nov. 8 & 9, 2018
Puppet Showplace Theater
Brookline, MA
PST on Facebook
Critique by Kitty Drexel
Trigger warnings: gunshots, graphic images of violence, wypipo fuckery
(Brookline, MA) The United States has an historic problem of white violence against people of color that stretches to today. Anyone looking for proof need only search today’s newspaper. Just Another Lynching: An American Horror Story reminds us with shocking clarity just how little things have changed for People of Color in the US. Continue reading
With Lindsay Eagle, Robert Benton Orzalli, Michael John Ciszewski, Lauren Elias, Joey Cletis Pelletier, Molly Kimmerling, Claire Koenig and Bob Mussett. Picture by Tim Gurczak.
Review by Diana Lu
(Boston, MA) Peter and the Starcatcher is a reimagined origin story for Peter Pan. Before he was the boy who wouldn’t grow up, Peter was an orphan with no name, no friends, and no home. Robbed of their childhoods, Peter and his fellow lost boys are sold to the treacherous, orphan-hating captain of The Neverland, Bill Slank. Slank has stolen Queen Victoria’s treasure trunk and left a decoy in its place on HMS The Wasp. Also aboard The Neverland is Molly Aster, daughter of The Wasp’s captain, righteous and patriotic Lord Leonard Aster. The Asters are revealed to be more than imperial apologists when a band of pirates capture The Wasp and sail for Neverland’s stolen treasure. The adventure lands everyone on Mollusk Island, inhabited by a tribe of English-hating Italian chefs, allowing Peter to discover who he truly is and where he belongs.
Continue reading
PLEASE NOTE: Not every actor in this photo was part of the show on October 26th. No updated press photos were available.
Produced by Right Angle Entertainment
Lowell Auditorium
Book and Lyrics – Bob & Tobly McSmith
Music & Music Arrangements – Assaf Gleizner
Director – Tim Drucker
Choreographer – Billy Griffin
Music Director – Tegan Miller
Geneneral Management – Jim Lanahan, Right Angle Entertainment
Viewed on October 26th, 2018
Review by Craig Idlebrook
(Lowell, MA) Look, I could write a couple of paragraphs to discuss the many shortcomings and few bright points about this musical parody of an insanely popular 90’s sitcom, but none of that matters. The production I saw of this play should be condemned for allowing one of the most racist moments I’ve seen on stage in decades.
Early in the play, the character of Ross is on a paleontology trip to China. To illustrate this with a minimal set change, they have him wear an Asian conical hat. We next see some kind of an assistant behind Ross also wearing an Asian conical hat. That assistant smiles broadly, folds his hands into his sleeves, and walks backwards in a quick shuffle, all while bowing slightly. It is a perfect example of a racist depiction of an Asian underling, the kind of grotesque caricature you expect from a mid-20th century Bugs Bunny cartoon, not a 21st century theatrical production.
I walked out at intermission. Maybe the play got better in the second act, but it certainly couldn’t have done anything to redeem itself.
Queen’s Note: The New England Theatre Geek supports Mr. Idlebrook’s decision to leave during the intermission of Friends: The Musical Parody. It is 2018. A majority white cast and creative crew should know and do better than to spread casual messages of hate and racism through yellowface. The New England Theatre Geek has pledged to promote tolerance and to shun hate. By walking out of this performance, Mr. Idlebrook was participating in this pledge.
Presented by Boston Circus Guild
Directed by Joseph C. Walsh
October 19 – October 31, 2017
The Oberon
2 Arrow Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Cirque of the Dead on Facebook
Review by Gillian Daniels
(Cambridge, MA) A possessed contortionist, a painting that springs to life to ensnare its painter, a clan of vampires, and a burlesque zombie who strangely (and seductively?) tears off and eats their own skin during their aerial act. Yes, it is Halloween for the Boston Circus Guild. This year, they successfully walk the line between disturbing and beguiling. The show is fragmented into circus acts, yes, but the pieces cohere into a complete (if possessed) picture. Continue reading
Presented by The Boston Foundation
Book and Lyrics by Jabari Asim and Liana Asim
Music by Allyssa Jones
Music Director Damien Sneed
October 25, 2018
Emerson Paramount Center
Robert J. Orange Stage
559 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111
Brother Nat on Facebook
Critique by Diana Lu
(Boston, MA) American history is black history, is slave history. It is a history that demonstrates the deepest stoicism and power of humanity. Beaten and chained, stripped of everything, Black American slaves formed communities tighter than blood, turned lifetimes of suffering into exquisite song, and used song to rise above, revolt against injustice, and redeem all humanity. Nat Turner’s Rebellion was a point of inflection in our nation’s story, which swung the course of history toward freedom and salvation. A grand opera is needed to deliver this epic. No other medium could do justice. Continue reading
Your voice is important! Learn about early voting in Massachusetts here: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/earlyvotingweb/earlyvotingsearch.aspx
For our friends outside of MA, here are other resources:
– Here is a USA.gov website that defines the elections but is otherwise unhelpful: https://www.usa.gov/midterm-state-and-local-elections#item-213832
– Here is a website that will lead you to your state elections website: https://www.usa.gov/election-office
Can’t vote early? Here is a link that will take you through the steps of discovering your options: https://www.usa.gov/election-office
Provisional ballots ensure that New England voters are not excluded from the voting process due to an administrative error. They provide a fail-safe mechanism for voters who arrive at the polls on Election Day and whose eligibility to vote is uncertain. You have the right to a provisional ballot! (except in New Hampshire where they don’t have them.)
While I have your attention!
Do you need govt. assisted healthcare through the American Healthcare Act? Open enrollment is Thursday, November 1, 2018, to Saturday, December 15, 2018. The current administration is attempting to undermine your right to healthcare under current law. Thwart them by sharing this information and the following website. https://www.healthcare.gov/get-coverage/
Queen’s Note: When you hit the polls on November 6, please take into account that Charlie Baker vetoed the arts budget in July 2018. It was the fourth time he’d done so. If you consider the arts one of your causes, additionally consider Baker’s cowardly actions when you vote.
Source Samples are here:
http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/news/FY19_budget_final.asp
https://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/11/gov_charlie_baker_vetoes_perce.html
http://www.wbur.org/artery/2016/07/22/governor-baker-arts-funding-cuts
https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/01/24/gov-baker-to-file-budget-blueprint-on-heels-of-annual-address
Presented by ArtsEmerson
Produced by National Black Theater & Hi-ARTS
Created and Performed by Liza Jessie Peterson
Directed by Talvin Wilks
October 17-28, 2018
Emerson Paramount Center
Boston, MA
ArtsEmerson on Facebook
Review by Noelani Kamelamela
(Boston, MA) For relatively local folks who missed the remount of The Peculiar Patriot at the National Black Theatre in Manhattan this summer, grab tickets and head over to the Paramount Center. If you can’t catch The Peculiar Patriot over the rest of it’s Boston run, but if you know a theatre and a community who needs this show, bug the heck out of them to pay these artists and get this to as many audiences as possible. Continue reading
L to R – Conor Proft and Sarah Oakes Muirhead; Photo by Andy Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures.
Presented by New Repertory Theatre
By David Meyers
Directed by Jim Petosa
October 13—November 4, 2018
The Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts
321 Arsenal St
Watertown, MA 02472
New Rep on Facebook
Review by Diana Lu
(Watertown, MA) We Will Not Be Silent revisits the true story of Sophie (Sarah Oakes Muirhead) and Hans (Conor Proft) Scholl, German student dissidents in Nazi Germany executed for attempting to mount a nonviolent resistance movement in 1942. Post-WWII, Germany vindicated the Scholl siblings and lionized their sacrifice as a symbol of great stoicism and bravery. Continue reading
Danielle Palmer, Amanda Figueroa, Stephanie Castillo (foreground, clockwise from left), Tatiana Chavez (background). Photograph By Kalman Zabarsky
Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
By Kira Rockwell
Directed by Leila Ghaemi
Oct. 11 – 21, 2018
BPT
949 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA
BPT on Facebook
Critique by Kitty Drexel
(Boston, MA) Any social worker can tell you that the foster system is broken. Wards of the State are just as vulnerable as foster kids, but at the very least they get to socialize with each other in a relatively consistent environment. The Tragic Ecstasy of Girlhood takes a look at family dynamics within State government enforced boundaries and the impossible odds girls face as they grow into womanhood. It’s a miracle any of us come into adulthood with our sanity intact. Continue reading