Oct 04

Looking for Heaven in All Places: “A Bright New Boise”

Photo by Richard Hall/Silverline Images

Photo by Richard Hall/Silverline Images; The Cast acting the crap out of “A Bright New Boise.”

 

by Samuel D. Hunter
presented by Zeitgeist Stage Company
directed by David J. Miller

Boston Center for the Arts
Plaza Black Box Theatre
September 28 – October 20

Zeitgeist Stage Company Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) A Bright New Boise, is the tale of one man seeking redemption in the break-room of a craft store by reconnecting with his son. It is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking.  The hero, soft-spoken and prodigal father, Will (Victor Shopov), reconnects with his son Alex (Zach Winston) after a successful interview at Hobby Lobby. Pauline (Janelle Mills), the manager, introduces the two and things start to go downhill, slightly uphill and then furiously downhill. They are joined by characters Anna (Dakota Shepard) and Leroy (David Lutheran), Alex’s brother. Continue reading

Sep 24

Half-Baked Silliness: LUMBERJACKS IN LOVE

Photo Credit: Carla Donaghey.

BOOK AND LYRICS BY: Fred Alley
MUSIC BY: James Kaplan
STORY BY: Fred Alley & James Kaplan

presented by Stoneham Theatre
Stoneham, MA
September 13th – 30th, 2012
Stoneham Theatre Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Stoneham) There is nowhere to hide with a new musical. Unlike a fresh drama, where an audience can be tricked into going along if there’s enough shouting, as soon as an actor opens her mouth to start singing, the audience can tell whether the song enhances or detracts from the plot, usually with disastrous results. Continue reading

Sep 20

Improv Boston Presents: GOREFEST X: 28 Days Latte

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GoreFest X: 28 Days Latte — ImprovBoston’s 10th Annual Halloween Horrorshow — is a brand new musical comedy from writer/lyricist Don Schuerman and composer Steve Gilbane. The Zombie Apocalypse is upon us, and a bunch of hipsters and two senior citizens are trapped inside a coffee place as they fight back the rampaging hordes. The show is dripping with tasteless dialog, juvenile humor, memorable music. Like every GoreFest, this year’s show features copious amounts of fake blood, gore and other bodily fluids, not all of which ends up on the actors. Continue reading

Sep 20

A ROAD FORGOTTEN: HOMESTEAD CROSSING

Homestead Crossing 
Presented Merrimack Repertory Theatre
by William Donnelly    
Directed by Kyle Fabel

Photo Credit: Meghan Moore

Merrimack Repertory Theatre Website                 Merrimack Repertory Theatre Facebook Page
50 E. Merrimack St.
Lowell, MA
Sep 6 – Sep 30, 2012

Review by Kate Lonberg-Lew

(Lowell, MA) It’s so easy to get lost in the minutia of daily life – the food shopping and bill-paying – that you forget that you make your own destiny. That, in fact, your destiny is created in those very everyday decisions. And it takes an unexpected event, be it a stranger knocking at your window or an unexpected call from an old friend, to remind us. Homestead Crossing, currently playing at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre, is the story of just such a couple.
Continue reading

Sep 18

Project: Project’s WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

This is our FIRST fundraiser for our FIRST production. A $500 pittance to assist with space rental and miscellaneous props that can’t be found in our closets.

Our current show, What are You Doing Here?, has been in the works since we first came together in November 2011. After one year of devising, improvising, writing and rewriting it is coming to fruition. Now we need your help to see it through! It’s part improvised, part scripted, and all site-specific at the Democracy Center in Cambridge, MA. Continue reading

Sep 17

“No Room for Wishing” Makes Room for All

No Room for Wishing
Performed and written by Danny Bryck.

Photo credit: “No Room for Wishing”

Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian.

Co-produced by Company One and Central Square Theater, supported in part by a Boston Playwrights’ Theatre Black Box Fellowship.

Playing at the Boston Center for Arts, 9/13 – 9/22
Playing at Central Square Theater, 9/30 – 10/9

No Room for Wishing Facebook Page
No Room for Wishing Website

Review by Kitty Drexel

“But I hear the boys the boys and girls are coming up up up from the underground… You can find ‘em there, they’re all fired up in Dewey Square… you can call them what you want, you can call them what you need, you can call them what you want but there’s no room for wishing in revolution.”  – Ruby Rose Fox, “Dewey Square”

(Boston) No Room for Wishing is a compilation of interviews and live recordings from the Occupy Boston Movement. The production was written and performed by local actor, Danny Bryck. It is directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian.

Bryck’s tour de force performance is a must see for Occupy Movement supporters and sympathizers. It offers a personal perspective of Occupy Boston that was not captured by local media during 2011. It is also a must see for those who opposed the movement.  This bare bones production lionizes the individual reasons for protesting while disassembling the stereotypes associated with the majority of activists. Bryck’s characterizations personalize the movement and the many people that the media had neglected; the moderate and the revolutionized. Continue reading

Sep 13

An Ambitious Tragicomedy: MARIE ANTOINETTE

photo by Joan Marcus

Marie Antoinette by David Adjmi
Directed by Rebecca Taichman

American Repertory Theater, Loeb Drama Center
September 1 – September 29

Reviewed by Kate Longberg-Lew

You are likely already familiar with the tale of Marie Antoinette, the young queen who eventually losses her head at the bequest of her constituency, but you’ve never seen it presented this way. The ART’s production is, in a word, ambitious. This self-described tragicomedy is part Sex in the City, part Moulin Rouge, part modern, part historical, part drama, and part comedy.   Continue reading

Sep 02

The Better to Allure You With, My Dear

Photo Credit: Wax Wings Productions

Grandma’s House
Directed by Jennifer Reddish, Script by Kevin Kordis

Factory Theater (791 Tremont Street Boston, MA) from August 22-September 2

Wax Wings Productions
Wax Wings Facebook Page

Review by Kitty M Drexel

(Boston) Grandma’s House is a dramatic re-envisioning of the classic “Little Red Riding Hood” tale. Playwright, Kevin Kordis, brings the relationship between the Wolf and Little Red into the 22nd century as he explores the many definitions of the term “Wolf.” In this cautionary tale about cautionary tales, the cast and crew invite their audience to enjoy the fable of their youth and manipulate them into challenging their understanding of what a wolf is and can be. Continue reading

Aug 11

An Ode to Mama

The Third Story by Charles Busch, directed by Adam Zahler and featuring Rick Park as “Queenie.”

Photo Credit: Evgenia Eliseeva

Titanic Theatre Company, August 9-18, 2012, The Arsenal Center for the Arts Black Box                 The Titanic Theatre Company Homepage

The Titanic Theatre Company Facebook Page

Reviewed by Kitty M Drexel

(Watertown, MA) The Third Story is Charles Busch’s devotional to Mothers and their Mama’s Boys everywhere. Screenwriter Peg lures her son Drew back into the business via a narrative of Gangster Noir, B-movie Sci-Fi, Russian fairytale and the kind of motherly affection psychologists use to warm their couches. Peg’s excuse is McCarthyism but her vehicle is a journey through the psyche of a co-dependent man emotionally unprepared to leave the nest. Continue reading

Aug 06

Be a Good Little Widow is a Good Little Show

Image Credit: AIM Stage

Image Credit: AIM Stage

Be A Good Little Widow

August 2- 12

Directed by Courtney O’Connor, AIM Stage, http://www.aimstage.com/index.html

Davis Square Theatre, 255 Elm Street, Somerville, MA

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Somerville, MA) In its inaugural productions, AIM Stage performs a successful balancing act between humor and tragedy. Bekah Brunstetter’s skillfully wrought Be a Good Little Widow is about the awkward timing of grief, the impact it has on relationships, and the bittersweet experience of watching someone disappear completely from your life. I was enormously touched and entertained by it. Continue reading