Author Archives: Kitty Drexel

Nov 06

Let the Sun and Light Come Streaming: “The Rocky Horror Show”

Posted on by

The Rocky Horror Show at CST! First Rehearsal! from Central Square Theater on Vimeo.

Presented by Central Square Theater 
Book, Music, & Lyrics by Richard O’Brien
Directed by Jo Michael Rezes & Lee Mikeska Gardner
Music Direction by Jack Cline
Choreography by Ilyse Robbins
Gender Consulting and Intimacy Direction by Shira Helena Gitlin
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Consulting by Kira Troilo

October 26 – November 26, 2023
Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Avenue 
Cambridge, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — I have a lot of personal feelings about The Rocky Horror Show. It is my favorite, and I had to shake off my preconceived notions of what a production should be to give a fair critique. 

Preferences aside, a critic asks and answers two questions when critiquing: What did the artist attempt to do? Did they do it? The rest of the article is opinionated fluff and dramaturgy. 

  1. What did Central Square Theater attempt? The company produced Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show for CST’s beloved audience of MIT nerds and nerd allies. 
  2. Did CST do it? Yes. 

A potential third question is “Did they do it well?” This question is subjective. Multiple perspectives can be true at the same time.  Continue reading →

Nov 04

Epic Theatre Adventure in Boston: “The Blue Man Group”

Posted on by

Photo via Blue Man Group Boston

Presented by Blue Man Productions
Created, written and directed by Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, Chris Wink
Blue Men: Mike Brown, Adam Erdossy, Bryce Flint-Somerville, Kean Haunt, Dan Keilbach, Jason McLin, Eric DeLima Rubb 
Musicians: Ryan Ainsworth, Kevin Asmus, Jonathan Dusoe, Kyle Harris, Oliver Hofer, Tony Irons, Alexander McGillivray, Victor McSurely, James Murphy, Darren Ray, Robb Simring, Randall Wooten

Performances are ongoing
The Charles Playhouse
74 Warrenton St
Boston, MA 02116

Duration: approximately 90 minutes. 

Review by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, Mass. — Blue Man Group has performed in Boston at the Charles Playhouse for over 25 years. In October, the show added new sketches, new music, and new videos from the creative agency Pretty Damn Sweet. The show has even updated its grand finale to appeal to new audiences.  

Blue Man Group invited us to the new show on Nov. 2. Our press tickets gave us VIP access. The VIP package for ticketholders includes a bag of Blue Man goodies such as a branded water bottle, sunglasses, and lip balm. It got us a fun lanyard and ensured we could take photos with the Blue Men after the show at a meet-and-greet.  Continue reading →

Nov 03

If We Were Inferior, They Wouldn’t Need Racist Laws to Hold Us Back: “Phillis in Boston” at the Old South Meeting House

Posted on by

Presented by Revolutionary Spaces
Written by Ade Solanke 
Directed by Regge Life
Featuring: Bobby Cius, Adreyanua Jean-Louis, Priscilla Manning, Joshua Olumide, Serenity S’rae 

November 3 – December 3, 2023
Old South Meeting House
310 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02108

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“On Being Brought from Africa to America”
By Phillis Wheatley 
“’Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,
Taught my benighted soul to understand
That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
“Their colour is a diabolic die.”
Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refin’d, and join th’ angelic train.”

BOSTON, Mass. — Revolutionary Spaces presents Phillis in Boston by Ade Solanke at the Old South Meeting House in Boston. Directed by Regge Life. Performances run approximately 90 minutes. There is no intermission. 

Phillis in Boston is an historical play about Phillis Wheatley, an African woman born in Gambia, who was kidnapped by slave traders around 1753 and sold into enslavement to the Wheatley family in Boston. Educated to read and write by the Wheatley family, she began to write poetry around the age of 14. Wheatley was admitted to Old South Meeting House’s segregated congregation when she was about 18 years old.  Continue reading →

Oct 16

Mischief and Devil’s Work: “Sweeney Todd” at Arrow Street Arts

Posted on by

Davron Monroe and Joy Clark. Photo Credit: chelcymariephotography

Presented by Moonbox Productions
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
From an Adaptation by Christopher Bond
Originally Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Directed by Ryan Mardesich
Choreography by Joy Clark
Music Directed by Dan Ryan
Fight choreography by Margaret Clark
Dramaturgy by Courtney Elkin Mohler

Oct. 13 – Nov. 5, 2023
Arrow Street Arts
2 Arrow Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Audio Described Performances:
Sunday, October 29 at 3:00 pm &
Saturday, November 4 at 8:00 pm
Post-Show Talkbacks:
Sunday, October 22 with Director Ryan Mardesich and Music Director Dan Ryan

Content Advisory: Murder, Cannibalism, Sexual Assault, Gunshots, Violence.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Moonbox Productions welcomes audiences back to 2 Arrow Street with its inaugural production of Sondheim and Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Performances run now through Nov. 5 in Cambridge.

Arrow Street Arts resides in the renovated space of what was once the A.R.T.’s Club Oberon (RIP). Moonbox stripped the location of its dark aesthetic and replaced it with bright, white paint The better to showcase cast information, and Moonbox’s production partner, the New England Innocence Project.  Continue reading →

Oct 03

Lyric Stage Company Shares Death of Spiro Veloudos, Producing Artistic Director Emeritus

Posted on by

Spiro Veloudos. (Courtesy Lyric Stage Company)

BOSTON, Mass. — The Boston theatre community mourns today. 

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston announced the death of Spiro Veloudos, the long-time producing artistic director of Lyric Stage Company of Boston and avid supporter of small and mid-sized theatres, on October 3, 2023. He was 71. 

His death was confirmed on Monday night, October 2, by his sister, Shelia Demetriadis of Richmond, VA.

An accessible-to-all, loving Boston Globe announcement and obituary by Don Aucoin for Spiro Veloudos is available on the Lyric Stage website. 

The Lyric Stage Company sent a note of remembrance, penned by current Producing Artistic Director Courtney O’Connor to its email list at 10:50 AM today. It links to the Aucoin article. 

Spiro Veloudos was the producing director at Lyric Stage Company through 2019. He directed more than 65 productions at the Lyric: Nicholas Nickleby, Avenue Q, Assassins, Souvenir, Death of A Salesman, Noises Off, Superior Donuts, and Into the Woods. He directed ten Sondheim shows over twenty seasons through his Sondheim initiative. 

Veloudos earned the Best Director IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards multiple times. He received the 2006 Elliott Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence, the Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from Salem State College, and the StageSource Theatre Hero Award (2003). He was named Best Artistic Director by Boston Magazine in 1999.

A more personal obituary for Veloudos is on Honoring Memory. 

Mr. Veloudos, you were a force of good in Boston. You are missed. 

May Mr. Veloudos’ legacy be a blessing to our theatre community.

Boston, MA – 02/23/17 – Spiro Veloudos on the Lyric Stage (Lane Turner/Globe Staff) Reporter: (Don Aucoin) 

Sep 30

“We Are the Land” Presented by the Wampanoag Nation with ArtsEmerson

Posted on by

Presented by ArtsEmerson
Written, created, and performed by members of the Wampanoag Nation 
Featuring: Aiden Andrews, Nelson Andrews Jr., Siobahn Brown, Melvin Coombs, Troy Currence, Hartman Deetz, Jasmine Goodspeed, Audreyana Sterling Harding, Kitty Hendricks, Stephen Hendricks, Vanessa Mendes, Asa Peters, Jim Peters, Paula Peters, Michelle St John, Carol Wynne

Originally produced by the Wampanoag Nation for performance at Theatre Royal Plymouth, UK

September 29 & 30, 2023
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre
219 Tremont Street Boston
Boston, MA 02116
Running time: 1 hour 15 min approx

Statement by Kitty Drexel
Review by Noelani Kamelamela

BOSTON, Mass. — ArtsEmerson presents We Are the Land. It is an historical account of colonization by the Wampanoag Nation for all audiences on September 29 and 30 at the Emerson Culter Magestic Theatre in Boston. 

It is my great privilege to serve the New England theatre community as a critic. Sometimes, as is the case of We Are the Land, it is my duty to serve as a historian and then step aside to make room for other voices. In a moment, I will cede space to Noelani.  Continue reading →

Sep 29

Big Guts, Good Choices: The Huntington and The Porch present “Fat Ham”

Posted on by


Presented by The Huntington in association with Alliance Theatre and Front Porch Arts Collective
Written by James Ijames
Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb
Choreography by PJ Johnnie Jr.
Fight Direction and Intimacy Coaching by Jesse Hinson
Dialect Coaching by Adi Cabral
Voice Lessons by David Freeman Coleman

September 22 – October 29, 2023
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA 
527 Tremont St
Boston, MA 

Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission

Review by Kitty Drexel

“Haam”
Slang: Hard as a motherfucker. One can go haam for anything: Sports, homework, smoking, sex, drinking, driving, etc. From UrbanDictionary.com

Or, 

“HAM”
Slang: A Ham is a burger with no bread. A loser, a peasant, a bum with no motion and no desire or solution to make some money. Whatever you do stay away from Hams they are contagious and NEED a vaccine. From UrbanDictionary.com

BOSTON, Mass. — 2023 Pulitzer-prize winning play Fat Ham is at the BCA’s Calderwood Pavilion now thru October 29. Stevie Walker-Webb brings James Ijames’ hilarious opus to Boston thanks to the collaboration of Front Porch Arts Collective, the Huntington, and Alliance Theatre. 

Many modern Shakespeare productions claim to be for a new audience. Some of these productions are merely Shakespeare set in an urban environment or slightly updated to correct historical sexism, racism, or homophobia. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining this tradition.

Fewer Shakespeare productions are truly for a modern audience: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) summarizes the Bard’s works; Shit-Faced Shakespeare performs for improv-loving, alcohol-fueled audiences of frat-bros and frat-bro allies. Fat Ham truly goes where no modern production has gone before.  

Fat Ham transcends a retelling of Hamlet. It doesn’t merely transpose the story of a young man bent on parricide/patricide because the ghost of his father visits him after his uncle marries his mother. It goes harder.  Continue reading →

Sep 21

You Can Lie Down or Get Up and Play: An Interview with Taylor Mac on judy’s “24-Decade History of Popular Music: Film Screening & Discussion with Taylor Mac” event at Boston’s 2023 Raising Voices Festival

Posted on by

Taylor Mac (Photo courtesy HBO Max)

Event: 24-Decade History of Popular Music: Film Screening & Discussion with Taylor Mac
Presented as part of the Raising Voices Festival: A Celebration of Music, Art, and the Power of Protest
Saturday, September 23, 2023 @ 7:30pm EDT
Old South Meeting House
Boston, MA

More about the Raising Voices Festival 
Presented by Revolutionary Spaces
September 23 & 24, 2023
Downtown Boston: Various Locations
Performance Schedule & Map 
Admission is free. 
Registration is highly encouraged.

About the documentary film Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music
Filmed on Saturday, October 8th, 2016 
@ St. Ann’s Warehouse
Brooklyn, NY 11202
Written and created by Taylor Mac 
Music direction by Matt Ray
Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman 
Costume designs by Machine Dazzle 
Makeup artistry by Anastasia Durasova
Produced by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Joel Stillerman, Linda Brumbach, Alisa Regas, Taylor Mac, and Mari Rivera
HBO Documentary Films in association with Content Superba, a Telling Pictures and Pomegranate Arts Production in association with Fifth Season and Nature’s Darlings
Streamed on HBO Max

Interview by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, Mass. — Taylor Mac graciously met the New England Theatre Geek’s Queen Kitty for an interview on Wednesday afternoon to discuss judy’s HBO documentary Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music and the Raising Voices event 24-Decade History of Popular Music: Documentary & Discussion with Taylor Mac on Saturday, Sep 23, 2023, 7:30pm EDT. 

Mac regularly contributes to the Boston theatre-ecology. Mac’s stage play, Joy and Pandemic played at the Huntington in April of this year.  Mac’s 2012 essay “A Culture of Trust” was published in the 2022 publication of HowlRound Anthology: Essays and Conversations from the First Ten Years. Judy’s Hir was produced by Apollinaire Theatre in February 2020. (One of the last, lucky productions before the lockdown). And, of course, The Lily’s Revenge at Club Oberon (RIP) in 2012.

We thank Taylor Mac for their time and judy’s team for setting up the interview.

Mac was full of laughter. It was truly a pleasure to meet with judy. 

(The below interview is edited for grammar and clarity.)

//

Queen Kitty: Your Decade History of Popular Music History, you’ve described it as a radical fairy realness ritual.

Taylor Mac: Yes.

QK: It spans 24 decades with a 24-piece orchestra for 24 hours, singing 246 songs. What was your dramaturgical research process like? It’s just so much. It must have been so intense for you.

TM: It was a constant reminder that I’m not a historian. I’m not trying to be a historian, and I don’t want to be a historian. Part of the dramaturgy was to make sure that was clear to the audience. In all of the stage shows, in one form or another, that this was expressed to the audience. Continue reading →

Sep 19

Why Isn’t She President?: “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”

Posted on by

From left: Laura Latreille, Monique Ward Lonergan, Lisa Yuen, Catia, and Crystin Gilmore. Photo by Nile Scott.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
By Selina Fillinger
Directed by Paula Plum
Fighting and intimacy choreography by Angie Jepson
Featuring Marianna Bassham, Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda, Catia, Crystin Gilmore, Laura Latreille, Monique Ward Lonergan, Lisa Yuen

Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, 2023
Audio Description: Friday, October 6, 2023 at 8pm; Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 2pm
Open Captioning: Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 8pm; Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 3pm
BCA Roberts Studio Theatre
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, Mass. — POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is hardcore intersectional feminism! It is raunchy*, it is absurd, and it is the funniest 110 minutes you’ll spend in the theatre this fall.

Paula Plum directs a cast of brilliant, multi-hyphenate actors in SpeakEasy’s production of POTUS at the Roberts Studio Theatre. Playbill summarizes POTUS thusly: “It’s just another (omg, wtf, LMFAO) day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When a White House PR nightmare spins into a legit sh*tshow, seven brilliant and beleaguered women must risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble. POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is a bawdy and irreverent look at sex, politics, and the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world…” Continue reading →

Sep 18

No Perfect Options: “Break, Break”

Posted on by

The cast of “Break, Break.” Photograph by Paul Fox.

Presented by the Legion Theatre Project with Artists’ Theatre of Boston
By Erin Lerch
Directed by Josh Glenn-Kayden
Dramaturgy by Alison Yueming Qu
Intimacy consulting by Alex M. Jacobs
Featuring: Melissa DeJesus, Jordan Palmer, Steve Auger, Michael J Blunt, Chris Everett

September 15-23, 2023
BCA Black Box Theatre 
539 Tremont St
Boston, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Attendees of Break, Break are asked to remain masked to protect the actors and each other. Masks are generously provided to attendees who forget to bring one. 

BOSTON, Mass. — The Legion Theatre Project and the Artists’ Theatre of Boston present Break, Break playing at the Boston Center for the Arts through Sept. 23. Break, Break is a continuation of the Legion Cycle by Erin Lerch. 

Recent performances within the science fiction realities of the “unapologetically queer, stubbornly hopeful” The Legion Cycle include Flat Earth Theatre’s reading of Pinch Point in March 2023 and Shrike by Fresh Ink Theatre in January 2022 and 2020. Podcast fans may listen to the Legion Tapes (one of the best projects to come out of the COVID lockdown tragedy. Lemons into Lemonade.) at https://www.thelegiontapes.com/. 

Aliens! The time is about now in a place close to here. The Legion have descended upon Earth. As humanity prepares for world peace or world catastrophe, the staff of Western Pennsylvania radio station, WCRP, 103.7, do their best to spread any available news about the invasion.  Continue reading →