Category Archives: Drama

Nov 27

Plucky Repertory at BPT: “How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos” & “Soft Star”

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Presented by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 
Produced in collaboration with the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Theatre.
BPT’s Fall Rep Festival

How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos by Maggie Kearnan
Directed by Taylor Stark
Intimacy and violence choreography by Jess Scout Malone
Special effects by Lynn Wilcott
Featuring: Becca A. Lewis, Mark W. Soucy, Robbie Rodriguez

Soft Star by Tina Esper
Directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary
Intimacy & Violence Choreographer: Jess Scout Malone
Featuring: Annika Bolton, Mairéad O’Neill, Jesse Kodama, Kamran Bina

November 7-24, 2024 
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (now with a water fountain!) 
Kate Snodgrass Stage
949 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Boston Playwrights’ Theatre presents two plays as part of its Fall Rep Festival: How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos by Maggie Kearnan, a fictional interview with the nonfictional journalist, and Soft Star, a play about secrets between best friends, by Tina Esper. 

While they are running in repertory with each other, these plays will not be critiqued by the same standards. The scripts are at different levels of development: Bezos is nearly if not fully completed; Soft Star requires some tweaking and that’s okay; that’s why BPT exists.   

This critique discusses both plays in the order I viewed them. Both plays ran through Nov. 24 on different days on the Kate Snodgrass Stage at BPT. Their runs have ended but their legacy will live on.   Continue reading →

Nov 11

This Place Must Yield Something Good: “Sojourners”

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Abigail C. Onwunali, Asha Basha Duniani in Sojourners; photo by Marc J. Franklin.

Presented by The Huntington 
Written by Mfoniso Udofia
Directed by Dawn M. Simmons
Dramaturgy by Christine Mok
Voice and dialect coaching by Dawn-Elin Fraser
Fight Director & Intimacy Coaching by Brian C Green
Featuring: Asha Basha Duniani, Nomè SiDone, Abigail C. Onwunali, Joshua Olumide 

Oct. 31 – Dec. 1, 2024
The Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave. 
Boston, MA 02115

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Wednesday, November 6 was a lot. It should have been an occasion for much rejoicing. I can’t have been the only person who expected- whether innocently or obtusely- to celebrate the first female president of color as Boston celebrated Sojourners, the first play of Mfoniso Udofia’s Ufot Cycle at The Huntington. Instead, my heart was in my stomach and between my teeth. I am terrified for my friends, my found family, my community and our children’s children. May they forgive us. 

But, let history remember: We did celebrate Sojourners! Our community gathered at 264 Huntington Ave to rightly praise Udofia, Dawn M Simmons, their cast, crew, production staff, and community leaders for the beginning of a most intrepid, two-year project – to stage and witness Udofia’s complete Ufot Cycle as a unified city of great theatremakers and artists. (A list of involved companies is HERE.) 

Mayor Michelle Wu proclaimed Nov. 6 Mfoniso Udofia Day in Boston before the play started. There was cheering from the swankily dressed crowd. It was a happy moment before a gorgeous play that capped a sad day for the history books.  Continue reading →

Nov 04

The Power of Radical Imagination: “On the Eve of Abolition”

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Photo by Ricardo Alcaraz.

Presented by Arts Emerson
Written by Papel Machete
Directed by Jorge ‘Cano Cangrejo’ Díaz Ortiz
Directing team: Deborah Hunt and Sugeily Rodríguez Lebrón
Selected voices by Rob Thelusma, Krystal Clark, Mumia Abu-Jamal
Puppet and mask design and direction by Deborah Hunt
Lighting design by Luis Felipe Rivera Santiago
In community partnership with Prison Radio and Sisters Unchained

October 31 – November 3, 2024
Emerson Paramount Center, Robert J. Orchard Stage
559 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
Tickets here

Critique by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

Content advisory: flashing lights, strong language, gun violence

BOSTON — In Papel Machete’s On the Eve of Abolition, an ensemble of multi-talented performers demonstrate the power of imagination on two levels.

For one, there is the majesty of inventive storytelling. Papel Machete presents an ever-unfolding series of theatrical surprises: doll-sized prison doors open to reveal cells where marionette revolutionaries bide time until their uprising; pop-up book scenes of abolition camps and prisons are displayed simultaneously on stage and through video projection; characters appear in a variety of awe-inspiring configurations, from tiny figurines trapped in paper prisons to life-sized dancers in detailed, expressive masks. Continue reading →

Oct 22

Beating Back the Leviathan of Mediocrity: “Pru Payne”

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Karen MacDonald and Gordon Clapp; Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
Written by Steven Drukman
Directed by Paul Daigneault
Intimacy Direction by Jesse Hinson
Featuring: Marianna Bassham, Gordon Clapp, De’Lon Grant, Karen MacDonald, Greg Maraio

Oct 18 – Nov 16, 2024
Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.”

― Dorothy Parker

BOSTON — It’s another excellent production from SpeakEasy Stage and the last non-musical from director Paul Daigneault before he moves to different things. Pru Payne by Steven Drukman is at the Calderwood Pavilion through Nov. 16.

Pru Payne (New England grand dame, Karen MacDonald) is a New York theatre critic with strong opinions, a caustic wit and decades of education and experience who finds herself writing her memoirs when the play begins. She’s trying to write, but she’s experiencing memory lapses. Her son Thomas (De’Lon Grant) sets her up at a state-of-the-art research facility. There, Pru meets Gus Cudahy (Gordon Clapp), a salt-of-the-earth custodial engineer with a heart of gold.  Continue reading →

Oct 03

Yoga Delights and Destroys: “The Hombres” at Chelsea Theatre Works

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The Hombres cast. Photo by Jason Grow.

Presented by Teatro Chelsea and Gloucester Stage Company
by Tony Meneses
Directed by Armando Rivera 
Intimacy Direction by Olivia Dumaine
Fight Direction by Robert Walsh
Movement Direction by Nathaniel Justiniano
Dramaturgy by Yijia Yu

September 6 – 29, 2024
Gloucester Stage & Chelsea Theatre Works 
Featuring Arthur Gomez, Jaime José Hernandez, Ricardo “Ricky” Holguin, Luis Negrón, Patrick O’Konis

100 minutes + 15 minute intermission

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CHELSEA, Mass. — We sincerely apologize to the cast, crew, and staff of The Hombres for our publishing delay. Life had become personally and professionally unwieldy and there weren’t enough hours in the day for our many responsibilities. Nosotros nos disculpamos. 

The run of The Hombres ended on Sept. 29. If you missed it, it sucks to be you. This play rocked.

The Hombres is a play about a generous, kind yoga instructor, studio manager, and dancer Julián (Ricardo “Ricky” Holguin) turning around to find random straight men in his studio. Julián is cleaning and choreographing a new dance piece. He turns around: BAM! Strong and silent construction site manager Héctor (Arthur Gomez, who is finally getting the larger roles he deserves) is standing in the studio offering custodial services in exchange for yoga classes. Julián contemplates the risks he’s taking by allowing Héctor in the studio after hours. He turns around: BAM! Héctor’s coworker from the site Pedro (Luis Negrón) wants classes, too. Julián can’t face the back wall for fear he’ll discover another straight guy when he turns around.  Continue reading →

Sep 30

A Love Song to Ephemerality: “February House”

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Shira Cahn Lipman, Matt Finn, Shai Wolf, Todd Sandstrom, Travis Karas, Em Sheeran, Todd Yard. Photo credit: Val Tracy

Presented by The Treehouse Collective
Music and lyrics by Gabriel Kahane
Story by Seth Bockley
Directed by Katie Swimm
Music direction by Jeff Kimball
Costume design by Marc Capizzi and Christina Petrillo
Set/props design by Britt Ambruson
Lighting design by Dan Clawson
Stage management and sound design by Dannie Smith

Featuring: Todd Sandstrom, Em Sheeran, Todd Yard, Shai Wolf, Travis Karas, Matty Finn, Sean Donnelly, Shira Cahn-Lipman, Devin Bean, Maggie Post

September 27 – October 13
Plaza Theatres at Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02131

Critique by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

BOSTON — I didn’t find myself humming snippets from February House on my rainy walk back to the train station last night, because Gabriel Kahane’s score isn’t particularly catchy. The music is memorable, to be sure, but not in the brash, ear-wormy way that one might expect from a musical.

Instead, my memories of February House felt quiet and fleeting, like the smell of an old house or the footsteps of a once-familiar companion. As George Davis (the titular house’s den mother and the musical’s narrator) explains, love is not about possession, but about letting go, and to that end, the Treehouse Collective’s quiet but piercing production of this musical is resoundingly successful. Continue reading →

Sep 22

Morality Makes No Difference Legally: “Leopoldstadt”

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The cast of The Huntington’s production of Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt,” photo Liza Voll. Projection design by Yuki Izumihara.

Presented by The Huntington
Produced in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company
Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Carey Perloff
Fight Director and Intimacy Consultant: Jesse Hinson
Movement director: Daniel Pelzig
Dialect Coach: Lee Nishri-Howitt
Dramaturgy by Charles Haugland and Drew Lichtenberg
Digital Playbill

September 12 – October 13, 2024
The Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave. 
Boston, MA 02115

Approximate run time: 2 hours and 20 minutes, plus one 15-minute  intermission.

Article by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — The Huntington presents Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt at 264 Huntington Avenue in Boston. Leopoldstadt is a two-act play that dissects the scarring consequences of Vienna’s existing early 20th-century anti-semitism and later genocide of its Jewish citizens during WWII on one extended family. It plays through October 13. 

Writing this response to Wednesday night’s performance has been difficult. Leopoldstadt is a powerful play. Its cast performs brilliantly. Director Perloff gives this epic play life and believability. I wept bitterly during Act 1 and Act 2.  Continue reading →

Aug 31

Linguistically Witty but Needs Workshopping: “A Neufaust”

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Photo credit: Christian Kelley.

Presented by the Cunning Folk Theatre 
Adapted by Catherine Alam-Nist from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Urfaust
Directed by Catherine Alam-Nis
Stage Managed by Aaron Mesa
Lighting, Projection, and Sound Design by Catherine Alam-Nist
Costume and Prop Design by Zel Tracey
Featuring: David J. Kim, Mari Elliot, Emma Weller

August 23-25
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
Information here

Critique by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

BOSTON — The Cunning Folk is a new theatre company interested in old stories: myths, legends, and fairy tales that at once fascinate and disturb, told anew through the adaptive craft of live performance. So far, they have produced Selkie Play, an exploration of Irish mythology by Kara O’Rourke, Measure for Measure, arguably Shakespeare’s thorniest problem play, and now A Neufaust, a new adaptation of the classic Enlightenment play.

This version, adapted and directed by artistic director Catherine Alam-Nist, is a riff on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Urfaust: an early draft of Faust: Part One. Audiences (including myself) are likely more familiar with Goethe’s later version, but most of the basic plot beats are still there: the demon Mephistopheles tempts Faust – a brilliant, learned, and ultimately mortal man – with worldly pleasures, namely the beautiful and innocent Gretchen. Tragedy ensues.  Continue reading →

Aug 27

“Let’s Misbehave:” A Gay Old Time

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Lydian Meloccaro (HE/THEY) & Adriana Alvarez (SHE/HER). Photo by Tobias Bond-Richardson.

Presented by Pansy Rampant Productions
Play by Lawrence Gullo
Co-facilitation by Liz Diamond and Jo Michael Rezes
Costume design by Sherman
Scenic design by Ellie Gillis
Lighting design by M Berry
Hair/makeup design by Em Salzman
Featuring: Mandy Jo Bemis, Sebastian Crane, Leanna Hieber, Lydian Meloccaro, Justin Peavey, Matti Steriti

August 23-25, 2024
The Foundry
101 Rogers Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
Information here

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — The not-so-roaring-2020s are a struggle-full time, particularly for queer folks who just want to exist in peace. Playwright Lawrence Gullo’s labor of love, Let’s Misbehave, transports us back in time almost a full century, not as a form of escapism, nor to prove that one era was crueler or kinder than the other, but to simply remind us that trans people have always existed – not only existed, but thrived. There’s profound hope in that simple sentiment, especially right now.

Gullo’s play has been simmering for over a decade, evolving from a TV pilot to a Zoom reading to this summer’s Boston stage premiere, and in that time, its characters have clearly had time to grow into their own. Fittingly, the play has something of a sitcom feel, featuring a merry band of friends who more or less just like hanging out together – except that these friends are queer social outcasts living in London in the 1930s. Continue reading →

Aug 17

Women of Intellectual and Moral Worth: “A Light Under the Dome”

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Presented by Plays in Place and the National Parks of Boston
This play is the first of three plays commissioned by the National Parks of Boston as a part of the Suffrage in Black & White series.
Written by Patrick Gabridge
Directed by Courtney O’Connor
Featuring: Thomika Marie Bridwell, Amanda Collins, Marge Dunn, Bridgette Hayes, Regine Vital, (U/S Aimmee Robinson).

SOLD OUT
August 12-15 2024
ASL Interpretation on Aug. 12 or Aug. 15
Massachusetts State House
24 Beacon St
Boston, MA 02133

Running time: Approximately 75 minutes

BOSTON — The run of A Light Under the Dome presented by Plays in Place ended on August 15. With any luck, the show’s sold-out run and enthusiastic audiences may convince Plays in Place, the National Parks Service, and the honorable Massachusetts Senate members to permit a second run. 

SUMMARY: It is the night of February 21, 1838, in Boston, Massachusetts. Exiled Southerner Angelina Grimke (Amanda Collins) becomes the first American woman to address a legislative body. Grimke uses her platform to argue vehemently for the abolition of slavery while asserting the full citizenship of American women. She is supported by her fellow abolitionists Maria Weston Chapman (Marge Dunn), Lydia Maria Child (Bridgette Hayes), Susan Paul (Thomika Marie Bridwell), and Julia Williams (Regine Vital).  Continue reading →