Author Archives: Kitty Drexel

Sep 02

Not the End of the Line for “T Plays V: Last Call”

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Winning play: “SL1 12:32am,” Greer Rooney and Kevin LaVelle, Photo by Meg Taintor

Presented by Mill 6 Collaborative
Artistic directed by John Edward O’Brien
Co-managing directors: Irene Daly, Antoine A. Gagnon

Aug. 21-31, 2013
The Boston Playwright’s Theatre
Boston, MA
Mill 6 Collaborative on Facebook

Written by : Lisa Burdick, Patrick Gabridge, Emily Kaye Lazzaro, Alexa Mavromatis, Bob Murphy, Rick Park

Plays directed by: Barlow Adamson, Matt Chapuran, Mikey DiLoreto, Lindsay Eagle, Kathy Maloney, Kim Anton Myatt

Actors: Jake Athyal, Irene Daly, Jillian C. Couillard, Kelley Estes, Kevin LaVelle, Lonnie McAdoo, Mal Malme, Janelle Mills, Bob Mussett,Jason Myatt, Greer Rooney, Forrest Walter, Stephanie Yackovetsky

Review by Kitty Drexel

My apologies to the cast and crew of T Plays. I had intended to get this review out several days ago. Life interceded and prevented me from doing ago. Please accept this as compensation.

(Boston) The MBTA has its own special kind of magic that transcends beyond the brilliance of a puppy’s smile or the tragedy of a dropped ice cream cone. It affects us all, pedestrian, car-driver and commuter alike. It’s a wonder that local transit hasn’t inspired more art in Boston. That is where Mill 6 Collaborative steps in. This theatre troupe brought us six 1-act plays all inspired by the MBTA in its many forms. The playwrights pick a bus or T line out of a hat, ride the last trip of the evening and write a short play based on their experiences. They hand the show over to their assigned directors and actors who then churn out theatre for an audience three days later. The audience then votes* for their favorite. The play that wins gets to brag and return for the next round in 2014.  Continue reading →

Aug 26

AUDITION FOR TRUE COLORS: Sept. 10, 2013, 6-9pm

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Are you interested in acting, writing, or performing? Want to use your art for activism, to make your school, community and world a better place? Audition for True Colors: Out Youth Theater!
 
Open auditions on Tuesday, September 10th from 6 – 9 PM.
Looking for youth ages 14-22 who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, or straight allies. Performers must have a flexible schedule & be available for:
  • Rehearsals & touring September 17 – December 19, 2013
  • Weekly rehearsals in Boston ­on Tuesdays & Thursdays 6-9:15pm
  • One week of mandatory rehearsal: September 30 – October 4, 2013
  • Touring to up to 10 locations (4 performances during school/work hours)
  • Ability to travel independently via Boston public transportation required

** Please contact us to sign up for an audition slot & for location information at The Theater Offensive: 617-661-1600 or truecolors_at_thetheateroffensive.org. The Theater Offensive is also on Facebook.

True Colors: Out Youth Theater Troupe is a group of up to 15 youth, ages 14 – 22 who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and straight allies. Through this program, youth work together to write a play based on personal experience, the experience of their peers, and LGBT youth issues, and then tour this play to schools, community organizations and state agencies throughout Massachusetts. Youth perform and participate in audience discussions after each show, using the arts as a means to educate about, and advocate for, the LGBT community and youth in particular.

Aug 23

Punks That Rock, Plot that Panders: “Rooms, A Rock Romance”

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Photo Credit: Kevin Hadfield for Bad Habit Productions. Kicking ass/Taking names.

presented by Bad Habit Productions
music and lyrics by Paul Scott Goodman
book by Paul Scott Goodman and Miriam Gordon
directed by Daniel Morris
arrangements and orchestrations by Jesse Vargas

The production is in memory of Terri Meilus.

reviewed on August 22, 2013
August 10 – 25, 2013
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Boston, MA
Bad Habit on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) Rooms: A Rock Romance is a contemporary rock musical dressed in vintage clothing. It has Folk, New Wave and Pop Rock influences. It sounds like the love child of John Cameron Mitchell and Jonathan Larson if Joni Mitchell was the surrogate and they all lived in Glasgow. It has a rich score well worth a listen. Continue reading →

Aug 20

Indian Sarod Master, Amjad Ali Khan: Sept. 15, 7:30PM

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Photo care of World Music/CRASHarts Press Center

WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts presents INDIAN SAROD MASTER, AMJAD ALI KHAN
Sunday, September 15, 7:30pm, Berklee Performance Center
Amjad Ali Khan Website
Amjad Ali Khan Facebook
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook

BOSTON, MA — World Music/CRASHarts presents Amjad Ali Khan, from India, on Sunday, September 15, 7:30pm at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston. Tickets are 48, $42, $37 or $28, reserved seating. For tickets and information call World Music/CRASHarts at (617) 876-4275 or buy online at www.WorldMusic.org.

In a career spanning 50 years, Amjad Ali Khan has single-handedly elevated the sarod to one of the most popular instruments in the Northern Indian tradition. Trained by his father, the legendary Haafiz Ali Khan, Amjad Ali Khan is the sixth in an uninterrupted lineage of music masters. Joining him are his sons, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, who are already beloved as the next generation of masters on this ancient instrument. Two tabla virtuosi will add percussive richness to the ensemble sound.

In the West, the sitar has become better-known than the sarod, but in India both string instruments are held in the highest regard. The sarod is much smaller than the sitar and its sound has a lithe muscularity that is lean and clean, with less of the sitar’s prominent jangling of sympathetic strings. The sarod comes from the Afghan rubab, a folk instrument which still dominates Afghan music today. Amjad Ali Khan’s great great great grandfather, Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangash brought the rubab to India about 200 years ago, and it was his descendants who gradually transformed the rubab into the sarod as it is known today. The name sarod comes from the Persian ‘sarood’ meaning ‘melody,’ alluding to its more melodic tone.

The sarod has four strings used for playing the melody, plus four drone and rhythm strings and 11 steel sympathetic strings. The strings are plucked with a small plectrum, which can be a hammer or a feather, and the fingerboard is covered with a smooth metal plate which makes it easy to slide from note to note. The range of colors that a player like Amjad Ali Khan can get out of the instrument is truly incredible, justifying the instrument¹s important role in classical Indian instrumental music.

For More Information:

About World Music/CRASHarts
World Music, a non-profit organization established in 1990, is New England¹s premier presenter of global culture, featuring music and dance from the far and near corners of the globe. In 2001, World Music launched CRASHarts as a division of World Music dedicated to presenting a contemporary performing arts series in greater Boston. World Music/CRASHarts strives to offer audiences an opportunity to share in many different cultural and artistic expressions and seeks to foster an atmosphere of discovery and exploration. The organization presents approximately 70 concerts and 15 educational programs per year. For more information, call (617) 876-4275 or visit www.WorldMusic.org.

World Music/CRASHarts is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Aug 12

Admiral Kittypants: Full, Frontal Artistry seeks performers for Sept. 22, 2013

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Admiral Dudley T. Kittypants

For Immediate Release – August 12, 2013
For more information, please contact: Kitty Drexel, Queen Geek at blognetheatregeek@gmail.com

Admiral Kittypants: Full, Frontal Artistry seeks performers for its 2nd event

Event date:
September 22, 2013, 3pm to 5pm
The Democracy Center, Cambridge, MA
Suggested $5 donation to benefit The Democracy Center

 

Cambridge, MA – New England Theatre Geek announces the 2nd event for Admiral Kittypants: Full, Frontal Artistry on Sept. 22, 2013, 3-5pm. Performers are encouraged to submit their monologues, sets, songs, solos, etc. to blognetheatregeek@gmail.com for consideration. Artists interested in dusting off their monologue or song before audition season hits full swing are particularly encouraged to submit.

Kittypants is a creative community experiment that promises performers of all stripes and polka dots the opportunity to play with their art in a relaxed, safe space before performing it on the stage. Dramaturges, Directors, Music Directors, Composers, Choreographers, Stage Managers and the ilk interested in more information or in hosting an event should do the same.

Kittypants events are held monthly and announced on www.newenglandtheatregeek.com and on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/AdmiralKittypantsFFA

Continue reading →

Aug 09

Trip the Light Fantastic: Cavalia’s “ODYSSEO”

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http://cavalia.net/files/cavalia/odysseo_fb_0478.jpg

Photo Credit: François Bergeron; the show is excruciatingly beautiful.

Presented by Cavalia, Inc.
Directed by Wayne Fowkes
Equestrian Direction and Choreography by Benjamin Aillaud
Choreography by Darren Charles & Alain Gauthier

August 7 – 25, 2013 (extended by demand)
Under the Big Top
Assembly Row
Somerville, MA 02145
Cavalia on Facebook, twitter

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Somerville) If there were a special Heaven divined for equines and the humans who love them to commune in the afterlife, it would look like Cavalia’s Odysseo. These horses are intelligent and strong. They call to mind the unicorn myths handed down through generations. Although, their human companions are equally as gifted, the show is not about Man. It’s about the sinuous beauty of the horse. This spectacle trades on Man’s obsession with these majestic beasts and provides a glimpse into where the obsession comes from. Continue reading →

Aug 07

A Dream to Touch the Heart and Soul: Cavalia “Odysseo”

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Credit: www.cavalia.net

WHEN:
August 7 – 25, 2013, evening and matinee shows available

WHERE:
Under the White Big Top, at Assembly Row in Somerville, at the intersection of Interstate 93 and Route 28 — 201 Assembly Square Drive, Somerville MA 02145

TICKETS:
Available at www.cavalia.net or by calling 1-866-999-8111. $34.50 to $219.50 + applicable taxes and fees. Special pricing and packages also available for groups, children (2-12), juniors (13-17) and seniors (65+).

From the website:
The internationally acclaimed Cavalia pushes the limits of live entertainment with its newest production that is now touring the globe. Cavalia Odysseo is a theatrical experience, an ode to horse and man that marries the equestrian arts, awe inspiring acrobatics and high-tech theatrical effects. Set under a 38-meter tall White Big Top, audiences will be transported around the world as more than 50 horses and an international cast play and demonstrate their intimate bond. The 1,393 square meter stage features a real carousel and a magically appearing 302,000-litre lake in front of a stunning video backdrop the size of three IMAX screens. Odysseo is a two-hour dream that will move the heart and touch the soul. It is an evening that the audience will never forget.

Credit: www.cavalia.net

Aug 05

It’s Only Torture if Organs Fail: “Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them”

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Photo Credit: Titanic Theatre Co’s Facebook page. The company is not afraid of icebergs or snuggles.

By Christopher Durang
Directed by Adam Zahler
Presented by Titanic Theatre Company

July 25-August 10, 2013
Arsenal Center for the Arts
Watertown, MA
Titanic Theatre Co Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

M for Mature. Actors occasionally appear in their underoos.

(Watertown) The attack on the two towers in NYC and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 changed the way the United States viewed itself forever. Before that day, many citizens viewed North America as the most powerful entity in the world. After 9/11, we recognized our vulnerability as a country. Almost everyone was looking for answers. There were many who turned to The Arts for catharsis. These same people reacted in anger when artists turned back to them for compassion. The Arts were supposed to provide answers. While coping with the same shock, we artists didn’t know what to do either.

It’s been 12 years since the attacks and the US is still divided. Our media has moved on to bigger and newer things. But our artists are still processing the events and asking questions. The media has given the American people plenty of reasons to explain why Taliban members attacked. Thank goodness for The Arts. Playwright Christopher Durang hasn’t given up on understanding the U.S.’s response to the attacks of 9/11. Rather than focus on the “badness” of Ossama Bin Laden*, Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them ponders the American people’s decade-long reaction from the perspective of western, 20/20 hindsight. He peppers his absurdist play with Dadaism and panic. The script is a sweet bouquet of human experience and dramatic flair. Continue reading →

Aug 02

Bread & Puppet Theater descends on the Cambridge Common: September 1, 2013

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BnPCircus2013

photo by Mark Dannenhauer

Total This & That Circus

Cambridge Common
Sunday, September 1st, 3 pm

(Cambridge, MA 02138) Bread & Puppet Theater: Total This & That Circus. Held outdoors on Sunday, September 1st at 3 pm. On the Cambridge Common, near the intersection of Mass. Ave. and Waterhouse St., Cambridge. Free performance [pass-the-hat donations welcome], rain or shine. For further details, call the Boston-area Bread & Puppet Theater information line 617-286-6694 or log onto www.breadandpuppet.org.

As part of a world-wide birthday celebration of “50 Years of Sublime Arsekicking Puppetry,” the award-winning Bread & Puppet Theater from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom presents their Total This & That Circus on the Cambridge Common, a public space they used to frequent prior to the mid-1980’s. For the past few years, the company has once again revived its descent upon the park, resurrecting that age old Harvard Square tradition of outdoor theatrical political rabble rousing. Continue reading →