Author Archives: Kitty Drexel

Jun 26

Absurdly Cool, Athletic, Glorious: KAIROS Dance Theater and Renaissance Men present: “Folktales, Fables & Feasts”

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Gorgeous poster art for the event.

Presented by KAIROS Dance Theater and Renaissance Men
Performed with Sound Icon Ensemble
Artistic Director/choreographer: DeAnna Pellecchia
Music director/conductor: Eric Christopher Perry
Rehearsal director: Kristin Wagner
Master of Ceremonies: Hieu Nguyen
Videographer: Christian de Rezendes, Breaking Branches Pictures
Film/video designer: Lindsay Caddle Lapointe
Dramaturgy by D. MacMillan

June 24 & 25, 2023
BU Tsai Performance Center
685 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA

BOSTON, Mass. — KAIROS Dance Theater with the Renaissance Men with the minty fresh instrumentals of Sound Icon Ensemble presented Folktales, Fables & Feasts, a playful cabaret-style music and dance concert on June 24 and 25 at the BU Tsai Center.  The dance was modern and the vocals were operatic, but the concert was satisfyingly new and jaunty.  Continue reading →

Jun 23

Knife’s Edge of Infinite Possibility: Boston New Works Festival and “SWAN”

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Presented by Moonbox Productions as part of the Boston New Works Festival 2023
SWAN is written by Sophie Kim
Directed by Kai Chao

June 22 – June 25, 2023
The Boston Center For The Arts
Stanford Calderwood Pavilion
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA

2 hours with 1 intermission

Review by Kitty Drexel

UPDATE: A previous edit of this review had misspelled  Vivian Liu-Somers’ name. It has been corrected.

BOSTON, Mass. — It is never too late to become who you are. This grammatically incorrect* but philosophically accurate statement rings true for the protagonists of SWAN currently playing as part of Moonbox’s second annual Boston New Works Festival at the BCA. Age, gender, dayjob, etc. should be incidental factors in one’s ongoing search for identity.  Continue reading →

Jun 13

Who? Where? With What? Hilarity is Afoot: “Clue”

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The cast. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by the Greater Boston Stage Company
Written by Sandy Rustin
Adapted from the Paramount Pictures film written by Jonathan Lynn and the board game from Hasbro, Inc
Additional materials by Hunter Foster and Eric Price
Directed by Weylin Symes
Fight choreography by Alexander Platt
Movement Consultant: Ceit Zweil 
EDI consultant: Kira Troilo

June 2 – 25, 2023
395 Main Street
Stoneham, MA 02180

Critique by Kitty Drexel

STONEHAM, Mass. — Clue is a game, a film, a musical, a play, and soon a movie remake by Ryan Reynolds. The stage play is performing now at the Greater Boston Stage Company. If you enjoy a farcical whodunit and a murder mystery spoof with gags aplenty, get your butts to Stoneham! 

Now a disclaimer: GBSC’s Clue may not be for you if you can’t imagine a stage performance being better than the movie. It’s not for you if you’re ready to pick apart what is and isn’t the same as the classic. 

Clue is for you if you can make room for new interpretations of old favorites. Clue is meant to be fun; it’s a funny show, movie, and musical. This production is for anyone willing to appreciate slapstick humor, silly puns, and great physical comedy despite and because of its renowned story.  Continue reading →

Jun 01

“The Color Purple” Critique Removed from NETG: We Humbly Apologize.

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The New England Theatre Geek removed its review of the Umbrella Stage Company’s The Color Purple by Kitty Drexel on June 1, 2023. It was brought to our attention that it caused great harm to the Umbrella Stage’s community. We sincerely apologize for our harmful words.

The review prioritized white oppression over the experiences of Black people. Doing so was an act of white supremacy. We humbly ask for your forgiveness. We promise to do better.

We thank the Umbrella Stage Company, BW Gonzalez, the cast and crew of The Color Purple and producer Brian Boruta for telling us we caused harm.

We acknowledge that it is not anyone’s job to do so and that all involved took risks to inform us. Thank you for trusting us with your feedback.

We thank you for the opportunity to make amends. We will atone for our mistakes.

We wish you exuberant joy and great triumph in your closing weekend of The Color Purple.

With humility, respect and love,

Kitty Drexel

May 20

Hail Mcduff, You Little Bitch: Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s® “Macbeth”

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Presented by Shit-FacedShakespeare®
Producing Direction by Brett Milanowski 
Directed by Rev. Lewis Ironside
Featuring: Olivia Dumaine, Turner Frankosky, Elizabeth Hartford, Alex Leondedis, Brett Milanowski, Sarah Morin, Tyler Rosati

April 27 – June 24
The Rockwell
Davis Square
Somerville, MA
Run Time: 70 with no intermission 

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Somerville, Mass. — Attend the tale of Mary the Evil! Mary, an incognito patron of Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s Macbeth who volunteered her spontaneous assassin services, bravely took to the stage on Thursday night at The Rockwell to competently stab with a foam sword and ninja-crawl her way across the stage and into our hearts. Mary may not have been the most formidable of hit-persons, but she was the most affable. 

Audience participation is a regular component of any Shit-Faced Shakespeare. Select attendees are charged with ringing a cowbell or banging a gong to signal that the evening’s drunk actor should imbibe another alcoholic beverage. On Thursday, there were even rhythmic shouts of “Chug!” and, my new favorite, “Twerk!”  Continue reading →

Apr 17

I Want to Heal the World Through Dance: “Dance Nation”

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Schanaya Barrows as Ashlee (front), Alison Butts as Sofia, Paola Ferrer as Vanessa, Erik P. Kraft as Luke. Photo: Danielle Fauteux Jacques

Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company & the Chelsea Theatre Works
Written by Clare Barron 
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques 
Choreographed by Audrey Johnson
Dialect coaching by Christopher Sherwood Davis 

April 14-May 14, 2023
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet St
Chelsea, MA 02150

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CHELSEA, Mass. — Being a girl isn’t for the faint of heart.  In Dance Nation, a troupe of girls prepare for a competition and young adulthood by pushing their bodies and personalities to the brink. Amina (Audrey Johnson), Ashlee (Schanaya Barrows), Connie (Srin Chakravorty), Maeve (Ann Carpenter), Sofie (Alison Butts), Zuzu (Katie Pickett), and Luke (Erik P Kraft) learn choreography and how to navigate society through the skills they learn in dance class.

They could take it all the way to Tampa – the ultimate competition for the ultimate trophy! Dance Teacher Pat (Dev Luthra) is their guiding light and their worst enemy. Paola Ferrera plays an assortment of dance moms and Vanessa, a dancer who should’ve known better.  Continue reading →

Mar 30

Preach the Gospel of Good Eating: “Clyde’s” at The Huntington

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Left to right: Harold Surratt and April Nixon; Photo credit: Kevin Berne

Presented by The Huntington in co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Taylor Reynolds
Intimacy and fight consultant: Yo-El Cassell

March 24 – April 23, 2023
The Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave. 
Boston, MA 02115
Digital Playbill

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, Mass. — The Huntington reopens its doors to the public after a long hiatus for renovations with Clyde’s. It is written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Taylor Reynolds. Performances run through April 23.

The facade of the Huntington Ave theater remains largely the same. It is as pristine and classic as Symphony Hall across the street, but there are some changes: the new front door is to the right of the old one. It is accessible to wheelchair users! A glowing sign lights the way to the new front door.  Continue reading →

Mar 27

Choose Flying: “Wild Goose Dreams”

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Jeffrey Song and Eunji Lim; Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
Written by Hansol Jung
Directed by Seonjae Kim
Intimacy choreography by Yo-El Cassell 
Original compositions by Jeffrey Song
Featuring: Amanda Centeno, Ciaran D’Hondt, Fady Demian, John D. Haggerty, Elaine Hom, Eunji Lim, Ryan Mardesich, Jeffrey Song.

March 17 – April 8, 2023
Roberts Studio Theatre 
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA

Run time is estimated to be 1:40 without intermission.  

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, Mass. — Wild Goose Dreams is a play with music by Hansol Jung and directed by Seonjae Kim. It is presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company and currently running at the Boston Center for the Arts. Audiences will encounter themes of loneliness, internet dependence, and censorship. 

Boston began its relationship with Wild Goose Dreams in May 2020 on Facebook Live during the Lockdown. Central Square Theater hosted a reading of Jung’s play with Underground Railway as part of its “Art is our Activism” series. Debra Wise directed a different cast (also led by Jeffrey Song!) that featured actor Michael Tow. Geek writer Diana Lu interviewed Tow after the reading for the blog. 

Shortly before the Lockdown, Company One performed Jung’s Wolf Play through February 2020 – just before lockdown began. Boston’s artists and audiences were ready for Jung’s work! History had other plans. 

At long last, SpeakEasy Stage Co brings Wild Goose Dreams, a play with musical vignettes, to Boston! (I bet it had some steep competition.) Wild Goose Dreams gets the New England premiere it deserves. We don’t have to wait any longer to see this play in person.  Continue reading →

Mar 23

Time to shut the door. Just- no more.: “Into the Woods” at Emerson Colonial Theatre

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(L to R) Stephanie J. Block and Sebastian Arcelus
Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Presented by Emerson Colonial Theatre
A New York City Center Encores Production
Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Directed by Lear deBessonet
Music directed by John Bell
Choreographed by Lorin Latarro
Music Supervisor: Rob Berman
Puppet design by James Ortiz

March 21 – April 2, 2023
Emerson Colonial Theatre
106 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
Playbill

Review by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, Mass. — The Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony-winning musical Into the Woods is on tour and is now performing at the Emerson Colonial Theatre through April 2. Broadway stars reprising their roles are Montego Glover as The Witch, Stephanie J. Block as The Baker’s Wife, Sebastian Arcelus as The Baker and Gavin Creel as Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf. Lear deBessonet directs this New York City Center Encores Production. John Bell music directs; Lorin Latarro choreographs; the puppet design is by James Ortiz. 

Boston audiences saw Into the Woods grace the regional stage via the Lyric Stage Company’s 2014 production. It was directed by our own Spiro Veloudos and music directed by Catherine Stornetta. It coincided with the release of the Disney movie in movie theatres that year. The 2023 touring production has the same magic and pizzaz but on a much larger scale.  Continue reading →

Mar 17

I Didn’t Make the World, I Just Live Here: Front Porch Arts Collective and The Huntington present “K-I-S-S-I-N-G”

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Sharmarke Yusuf and Regan Sims; Photo: T Charles Erickson.

Presented by the Front Porch Arts Collective and The Huntington
Written by Lenelle Moïse
Directed by Dawn M. Simmons
Dramaturgy by Charles Haugland 
Choreography by Misha Shields
Intimacy consultant: Gregory Geffrard
Voice coaching by Christine Hamel, Rebecca Schneebaum
Cultural consultant: New England Aces

March 3, 2023 – April 2, 2023
The Calderwood Pavilion/BCA
Boston, MA 02116
2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission
Digital access to the filmed performance is available until April 16, 2023. 

Spoiler Alert: New England Theatre Geek discusses a central theme of K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Knowing this information shouldn’t ruin the play’s other surprises, character arcs, or ending. Your reaction to this plot point, how the characters react to it, and the audience’s reaction may teach you about your own inherent biases.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, MA —  The Huntington and The Porch must please update their summary for K-I-S-S-I-N-G. It no longer accurately describes the show. I thought there was going to be a lot more David Bowie and at least one quote from bell hooks. There are no pizza box art projects or fireworks displays. The co-production is/was highly anticipated. That part can stay.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G is a quasi-Cinderella story about the emotional and sexual awakening of Lala (Regan Sims), a young woman living on the edge of poverty who craves art, poetry, and the feel of warm, supportive arms around her. She lives with her emotionally stunted mother Dot (the ethereal Patrese D McClain who dominated the stage with her presence) and her little brother Max. Lala’s father Jack (James Milord) loves Lala like the sun loves the sparkle on the ocean’s waves, but he can only visit once a week. Continue reading →