Apr 12

Donation Accounts Added to NETG!

       

The New England Theatre Geek has new accounts with Patreon and Ko-Fi! If you’ve enjoyed reading the critiques, reviews and opinion editorials on the site, please donate. Your donations go towards paying our Blog Master Tech Wiz, and towards arts related expenses for the blog.

Our very first patron is Ken Raeburn. On behalf of the New England Theatre Geek staff, thank you Ken!

Best Wishes in Gratitude,
Kitty, Queen Geek

 

Mar 26

Punk, Communist Opera to Burn Your Daddy’s Ears: The Threepenny Opera

The Threepenny Opera from Boston Lyric Opera on Vimeo.

Presented by Boston Lyric Opera
Music by Kurt Weill
Libretto by Bertolt Brecht
English translation by Michael Feingold
Original German text based on Elisabeth Hauptmann’s German Translation of John Gay’s
The Beggar’s Opera
Conducted by David Angus
Stage directed by James Darrah

March 16 – 25, 2018
Huntington Avenue Theatre
264 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA
BLO on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) 3Penny is not your Daddy’s stodgy traditional opera. Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht were communist rabble rousers hell-bent on challenging the operatic form. They were freedom fighters rebelling against the Nazis through theatre. A stalwart Marxist, Brecht wanted to destroy opera’s association with the bourgeoisie. Weill believed opera could belong to the proletariat if given the opportunity. Both would have appreciated the BLO’s production of The Threepenny Opera. Opera purists would not.     Continue reading

Mar 26

Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club presents “The Laramie Project”

Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club Presents THE LARAMIE PROJECT at A.R.T.’s Club OBERON

 Cambridge, MA – Tickets are now on sale for Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club’s production of The Laramie ProjectPerformances will take place on Wednesday, April 11 and Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 PM, as well as Friday, April 13 at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Performances are at the American Repertory Theater’s second stage, Club OBERON (2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, MA).

Tickets ($15-$35) may be purchased through the A.R.T. box office (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA – (617) 547-8300), online (http://bit.ly/laramieatoberon), or at the door pending availability.

Facebook Event: http://bit.ly/laramie2018

About the Play – In 1998, Matthew Shepard was fatally injured and left for dead because he was gay. Following his death, the Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie, Wyoming to understand the town which came to be defined by two men’s crime. The Laramie Project retells the words of Laramie’s residents verbatim, and in their retelling, begins to uncover the prejudices, both loud and quiet, that boil over into violent hate crime.

Join the ensemble of actors as they embody these stories, bringing the Laramie of 1998 to the immersive Club OBERON. Join them as they ask – what does Laramie have left to tell us? Continue reading

Mar 21

An Interview with Sam Gould from Open Door Theatre

Samantha Gould (SG) took a moment for an email interview with the New England Theatre Geek (NETG). Open Door Theatre presents Cinderella this week in Acton. Tickets are HERE.

Cinderella plays March 16 – 25, 2018
All performances open captioned
Friday, March 16 – 18, 2018 – ASL-Intepreted
Saturday, March 24, 2018 1:00 PM – Sensory-Friendly Performance
Saturday, March 24, 2018, 2017 7:00 PM – Audio Described
R.J. Grey Junior High School
Acton, MA
Accessibility information

NETG: Please introduce yourself. What is it you do at Open Door Theater?
SG: My name is Sam Gould and I am the President of the Board of Open Door Theater. However, as we are all volunteers at Open Door, I am a producer, grant writer, accessibility coordinator, public liaison, Make up person, backstage crew, recruitment coordinator, mediator, floor sweeper, etc. Continue reading

Mar 15

Fear Isn’t Logical: “The Humans”

Photo by Julieta Cervantes

Presented by Boch Center and the Roundabout Theatre Company
By Stephen Karam
Directed by Joe Mantello

Shubert Theatre
Boston, MA
Boch Center on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) The Humans is a play about fear and the ways we humans navigate them. Brigid(Daisy Egan) and Rich (Luis Vega) are hosting Thanksgiving in their first adult apartment in Manhattan. Sister Aimee (Therese Plaehn) has recently broken up with the love of her life. Parents, Deirdre (Pamela Reed) and Erik (Richard Thomas) have brought grandma Momo (Lauren Klein). Regardless of their troubles, everyone is determined to have a nice time. Continue reading

Mar 06

Laughing Together to Confront Suicide Stigma: “Every Brilliant Thing”

Krstansky with audience members. Those happy faces tell you all you need to know. Maggie Hall Photography

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
By Duncan MacMillan
With Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Marianna Bassham
Featuring Adrianne Krstansky

March 21 – 31, 2018
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
SpeakEasy on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Every Brilliant Thing is a story about a woman’s appreciation for living as told through a long list of joys. Audience participation is nearly mandatory. Adrianne Krstansky is so welcoming that volunteering is fun. The Calderwood Pavilion is a safer space for an hour.   Continue reading

Mar 05

It’s Time to Talk About White on White Crime: “Ripe Frenzy”

 

Left to right: Veronika Duerr, Stacy Fischer, Samantha Richert. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky. It’s a strange cruelty to photograph actors from below.

Presented by NewRep Theatre and Boston University College of Fine Arts
By Jennifer Barclay
Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary

Feb. 24 – March 11, 2018
BU College of Fine Arts
Studio ONE
Boston, MA
NewRep on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

Trigger warnings: references to gun violence, references to animal abuse, references to violent behavior, references to suicide, stalking. NewRep/BCAP don’t include trigger warnings and they should. 

(Boston, MA) The people who commit monstrous wrongs are still people. The man who murdered 17 in the recent Florida tragedy took an Uber to get to the school. After, he went to Walmart, bought a drink at Subway and ate at McDonald’s. He was arrested as he walked out on his own (a common occurrence for white shooters). In Ripe Frenzy, a similar tragedy is told from the perspective of a mother who lived through the event. It is possible to cherish a monster even as he commits horrendous acts. Continue reading

Feb 26

Show Up and Shut Up: “An Education in Prudence”

with Christa Brown, Caitlin Gjerdrum, Tenneh Sillah, Shana Elizabeth Jackson, Mary O’Donnell, Kevin Paquette, Jon Vellante & Regine Vital; photo by Matt McKee Photography.

Presented by Open Theatre Project
By Stefan Lanfer
Directed by Pascale Florestal
Inspired by the historical research of Beth Miller

Feb. 9 – 24, 2018
St. John’s Church
Jamaica Plain, MA
OTP on Facebook

“Grant me chastity and constancy, but do not grant it yet.” Saint Augustine of Hippo

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Jamaica Plain, MA) OTP’s An Education in Prudence sold out its run. If you missed the readings, the workshops, or the performances, then the joke’s on you. Do yourself a favor and donate to OTP so they can create more important works. Prudence deserves, at the very least, a performance in Canterbury, CT. They’ll need our help to get there. Continue reading

Feb 18

The Benefits of Inflection: “A Winter Gathering of New Music & Multimedia Performance”

From “Picture This.” Veronica Anastasio Wiseman, Adara Meyers, and Blair Nodelman with baggage.

Presented by Sleeping Weazel
Co-produced by Charlotte Meehan and Adara Meyers

Feb. 15 – 26, 2018
Plaza Black Box Theatre
Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St
Boston, MA
Sleeping Weazel on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) A Winter Gathering of New Music & Multimedia Performance is an intimate multimedia salon theatre experience. It’s a concert with dramatic sketches. It’s a lot of things including unusual, fun and experimental. Continue reading

Feb 12

45 Proposes Withdrawing Federal Funding for PBS, NPR & NEA

Please see The Hill for the recent article about the President’s dastardly proposal to cut funding to the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).

Article by Joe Concha: http://thehill.com/homenews/media/373434-trump-proposes-eliminating-federal-funding-for-pbs-npr 

Here is information on a proposal to withdraw funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Article 1:  http://www.artsactionfund.org/news/entry/white_house_releases_fy_2019_budget_request_to_congress
Article 2:  http://www.artsactionfund.org/news/entry/arts_action_fund_statement_on_the_presidents_fy2019_budget_proposal

NPR, PBS and the NEA are vital resources for everyone living in the US. Cutting funding would impact the US budget only minimally. This is largely a demoralizing gesture to indicate how 45 presides as a fascist demagogue. Don’t let this tactic work.