Category Archives: Comedy

Aug 01

Earnestness, Perfected: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

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Photo Credit: F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, book and lyrics by Tim Rice,

F.U.D.G.E Theatre Company,
Black Box Theatre at the Arsenal Center for the Arts
7/27/12 – 8/4/12,

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-FUDGE-Theatre-Company-Inc/77922709870

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Watertown, MA) I grew up believing Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice represented the theatrical establishment to overthrow. They wrote the stuff that mediocre crooners sang on cheesy records sold to bored housewives. They cursedly created the material for the medley that my 7th grade choir was forced to sing, filled with needless trills and fills. Continue reading →

Jul 31

A Few Moments of Grace: Steel Magnolias

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Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, directed by Nancy Curran Willis
Nextdoor Center for the Arts, July 13-28 2012, http://www.nextdoortheater.org/STEEL.html

photo credit: Nextdoor Center for the Arts

Reviewed by Kate Lonberg-Lew

(Winchester, MA) When I watch an Olympic gymnast fly on the balance beam or the uneven bars, I
know I am watching genius, not because I know the difference between a punch- front summersault and a double pike, but because they make it look easy, effortless. The same can be said of playwright Robert Harling, the author of Steel Magnolias. Continue reading →

Jul 23

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Black Comedy in the Park

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photo credit: Apollinaire Theatre Company

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
by Tom Stoppard

Apollinaire in the Park 2012

Performances run July 11-28 at 7:30,
in English on Wed. Thurs. & Sat. and Spanish on Fri. & Sun.
Mary O’Malley Park, http://www.apollinairetheatre.com/productions/productions.html.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Chelsea, MA) In a twist on Shakespeare in the Park, the Apollinaire Theatre Company has chosen to perform a free production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead during the most gorgeous time of year. Each act is in a different location through out Mary O’Malley Park with the audience following the actors during intermission. The sunset, view of the river, docks, mural, and brilliant staging make a surprisingly fitting backdrop for Stoppard’s clever script. Continue reading →

Jul 21

True Believers: Attempting a Tribute to Nerd Culture

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photo credit: Vagabond Theatre Group

True Believers by Thom Dunn, Vagabond Theatre Group, The Factory Theatre, 7/12/12-7/21/12, http://vagabondtheatregroup.wordpress.com/.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) San Diego Comic-Con is less a comic book convention than a blown up Hollywood cousin of the original concept.  I both loved and feared it when I attended last year.  It’s a beautiful, strange mess of a con, bloated with action movie advertisements, cameras from SPIKE and BBCA, and hundred dollar t-shirts.  While still a sort of haven for those obsessed with action figures and trade comics, its proximity to tinsel town has turned it into an exciting, stressful hype machine.

Vagabond Theatre Group’s production, True Believers, does an excellent job in distilling this over-saturation. Continue reading →

Jun 12

THE BEAUTY: CANDICE BERGEN SURVIVES STROKE, TAKES BROADWAY STAGE

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ROCK CENTER WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS interview airs on Thursday, June 14th at 10pm/9c on MSNBC.

The Best Man by Gore Vidal, Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (Broadway), 3/6/12-9/9/12, http://thebestmanonbroadway.com/.

“Candice Bergen is one of the great beauties – and most famous and versatile actresses – of her time. She speaks candidly with Harry Smith about how she has dealt with aging and the mild stroke she had six years ago. She looks back on her breakout role as Murphy Brown, and remembers growing up with her internationally-famous ‘puppet brother,’ Charlie McCarthy, who was given voice by her father, the ventriloquist and comedian Edgar Bergen.  She is now appearing in a Broadway play, ‘The Best Man,’ and she shares the stage with such bold-face names as John Larroquette, James Earl Jones, Eric McCormack and Angela Lansbury.”–Copy by Brian Gross

Jun 02

Vampires, Actually: YOUR WILDEST DREAMS

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Your Wildest Dreams by Joey C. Pelletier, Heart & Dagger Productions, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 5/18/12-6/2/12, http://heartanddagger.weebly.com/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

So you want to be a playwright.  Great.  From painful personal experience, let me offer one suggestion: limit your characters.  I know you will be tempted by the prospect of adding a zany waiter with a secret past or a crazy aunt with who steals the scene at dinner, but don’t.  Playwriting is hard.  Making a fully dimensional character is hard.  Keeping the audience’s attention is much harder than you think, and there is no worse sinking feeling than watching your friends make excuses halfway through your stage-reading, believe me.  Continue reading →

Jun 01

Hell is Other People: PRIVATE LIVES

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Bianca Amato and James Waterston in Noël Coward’s PRIVATE LIVES. May 25 – June 24, 2012 at the BU Theatre. huntingtontheatre.org. Photo: Paul Marotta

Private Lives by Noel Coward, Huntington Theatre, Boston University Theatre, 5/25/12-6/24/12, http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/2011-2012/private-lives/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

Sometimes, the mark of a good play is how close it comes to the bone.  If you are secure in your romantic relationship, you will laugh heartily at Noel Coward’s Private Lives, playing at the Huntington.  If you aren’t secure, you will laugh nervously.  If you are single, you will laugh derisively.  Either way, you will laugh at this mashup of the foibles of all passionate lovers everywhere. Continue reading →

May 01

WIN TICKETS TO T: AN MBTA MUSICAL!

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Performance dates:  June 8, 15, 29 and July 6 at Club Oberon in Cambridge, MA

Part of why T: An MBTA Musical reaches such a wide audience is because anyone who has ridden the T, even once, know the craziness that is the MBTA.

To win tickets to this show (that will sell out again), tell us your strangest, most humorous, or horrific story by filling the comment form below (click on title or “read more” for the full post) by May 8th.  You must enter your full name and a valid email address to win.  Winner will be announced on May 10th. Continue reading →

Apr 29

Joyful Absurdity in Trog and Clay: An Imagined History of the Electric Chair

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Trog (Cameron Beaty Gosselin) and Clay (Louise Hamill) dream of their elusive next meal. Photo by Sunny M. Rissland

Trog and Clay: An Imagined History of the Electric Chair by Michael Vukadinovich, Fresh Ink Theatre, The Factory Theatre, 4/27/12-5/12/12, http://www.freshinktheatre.com/on-stage.html.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) Fresh Ink Theatre Company’s Trog and Clay crackles with manic energy from its first moments.  Actors throw themselves into their roles with performances that range from amusingly campy to blindly sincere.  Continue reading →

Apr 27

28 SEEDS: Be a part of Boston History

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photo credit: Hans Wendland

28 Seeds, Liars & Believers, Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 4/19/12-5/12/12, http://liarsandbelievers.com/Shows/28Seeds.

Reviewed by John Herring

Let’s start with the mission statement of Liars and Believers, the company responsible for presenting 28 Seeds, currently at the Plaza theatre of the BCA complex: “Liars and Believers expands the language of live performance, exploring the widest variety of theatrical forms, creating accessible, unique shows that meaningfully engage the world we share.” Multimedia BOOYAH!!! fun is the game, here. Your seat taken, you will wonder at Zeynep Bakkal’s set design, involving the actual bare support structures of the space, evoking forgotten government warehouses, science gone terribly wrong, and gritty urban chaos that extends to and beyond your seat. Continue reading →