Category Archives: Drama

Jan 16

A Mainly Nutritious Treat: Superior Donuts

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Will LeBow, Omar Robinson. Photo by Mark S. Howard

Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts, Lyric Stage, 1/6/12-2/4/12, https://lyricstage.com/main_stage/superior_donuts/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston, MA) Allow me to digress right from the get-go and say that it’s worth the price of admission of Superior Donuts to watch Lyric Stage Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos give his send-up of the standard fire-exits-and-cell-phones spiel before this play begins. A theater that sets loose a dry wit like Veloudos on the crowd before the play begins is bound to produce something worthwhile.

And Superior Donuts doesn’t disappoint.  Continue reading →

Jan 13

Hovey Players Present CLOSER

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From press release:

(January 13, 2012) — Hovey Players present CLOSER by Patrick Marber, directed by Kristin Hughes, and produced by Nicole Sparks.  The Cast includes Sara Jane Burns as Alice, Robin Gabrielli as Dan, Bill Stambaugh as Larry, and Melissa Sine as Anna.

CLOSER focuses on the complex relationships and sexual politics, and morality of four people trading partners in search of love, intimacy, and being closer. By turns funny, scabrous, and tragic, this winner of the 1998 Olivier Award for Best Play and the 1999 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play offers a brutal and honest look at the pitfalls of modern romance.

Performances are January 13, 14, 20, 21, 26, 27 & 28, at 8pm, and January 22 at 2pm.

Tickets are $18 General Admission and $15 Seniors and Students.

Performances will be at the Abbott Memorial Theater, 9 Spring Street, Joel’s Way, Waltham, MA, next to the Waltham Public Library.  Reservations can be made by calling (781) 893-9171 or you may email reservations@hoveyplayers.com.

Jan 08

Riveting Art: RED

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Photo: Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo — with Thomas Derrah and Karl Baker Olson.

Red by John Logan,  Speakeasy Stage, Virginia Wimberly Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, 1/6/12-2/4/14, http://www.speakeasystage.com/doc.php?section=showpage&page=red.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston, MA) It’s one thing to pull off an entertaining melodrama, it’s quite another to stage a debate on art and make it captivating.  While the play Red may be too intellectual to be everyone’s cup of tea, it is engrossing, especially in this strong production staged by SpeakEasy.

The two-person play centers on renowned 20th century visual artist Mark Rothko (Thomas Derrah) and his first attempt to create a series of murals for the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City.  Continue reading →

Jan 04

Uncle Vanya’s House Party

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John Kuntz as Uncle Vanya, Marissa Rae Roberts at Elena, Photos: Danielle Fauteux Jacques.

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov, Apollinaire Theatre Company, Chelsea Theatre Works, 12/29/11-1/22/12, http://www.apollinairetheatre.com/index.html.  Live gun fire in close proximity (blank gun)

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Chelsea, MA) It’s like being at your family’s holiday party, except for the relief that it’s not your family.  Words fly and passions rise as the audience travels from room to room glancing at the private moments of Vanya’s family.  Youth and beauty contrast with the harsh realities of country living as love and hope are thrown about bouncing from wall to wall.   Continue reading →

Dec 12

Three Pianos: Ambition, Anachronism, and a Fun Party

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Dave Malloy, Alec Duffy, Rick Burkhardt. Photo Ryan Jensen

Three Pianos by Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duffy, and Dave Malloy, American Repertory Theatre, Loeb Drama Center, 12/7/11-1/8/12,  http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/three-pianos.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

In Three Pianos, Rick Burkhardt, Alec Duffy, and Dave Malloy look to reconcile the historical Schubertiade with more modern, boozy gatherings of friends.

The production believes there’s little difference between the parties that Schubert threw for his friends, prominent artists during the Romantic movement, and the soirees of contemporary audiences.  Particularly entertaining are the actors, in the guise of German guests, deciding who should go on a beer run. Continue reading →

Dec 08

Hope Held ‘HIGH’

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Sister Jamison Connolly (Kathleen Turner) and Cody Randall (Evan Jonigkeit) in HIGH, Photo credit: Lanny Nagler

High by Matthew Lombardo, Broadway National Tour, Cutler Majestic Theatre,

12/7/11-12/11/11,  http://www.highonbroadway.com/about.html.  Male nudity, mature language and themes

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Boston, MA)  

“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability… To be alive is to be vulnerable.”  Madeleine L’Engle

How do we find strength and salvation in the middle of pain and suffering?   Everyone tries to hide from pain and many people try to protect others from the experience, but the inevitability of life is that human beings get hurt.  We try to breathe and “be strong”–to not let anyone see that we are falling apart.  What if we all admitted that we are not perfect–that there isn’t even one person out there that could be categorized by society’s standards as “normal”?  High offers no escape from that darkness that lies inside of all of us and calls us to either face our flaws or recede further into our own shame. Continue reading →

Dec 04

Hitting the Sweet Spot: The Velveteen Rabbit

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Photo Credit: Boston Children's Theatre

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, adapted by Burgess Clark, original music by Austin Davy, Boston Children’s Theatre, Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, 12/3/11-12/18/11,  http://bostonchildrenstheatre.org/season/the-velveteen-rabbit/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

If the mark of a good play is its ability to transport you from your own day-to-day cares into another world, then the Boston Children’s Theatre’s The Velveteen Rabbit passes with flying colors. Continue reading →

Nov 30

Three Viewings: Humor and Human Folly at the Graveside

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Adrianne Krstansky as Virginia in Three Viewings. Photo by Andrew Brilliant/ Brilliant Pictures.

Three Viewings by Jeffrey Hatcher, New Repertory Theatre, Arsenal Center for the Arts, 11/27/11-12/18/11, http://newrep.org/three_viewings.php.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Watertown, MA) Three Viewings is the kind of theatrical outing that I cannot recommend highly enough, a play where writer Jeffrey Hatcher deftly and comically attempts to capture the variation and nuance of human nature. Continue reading →

Nov 24

Arabian Nights: Colorful Storytelling

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The Ruhk and the Cast in a scene from The Nora Theatre Company and Underground Railway Theater’s production of Arabian Nights running from November 17 – December 31 at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. Tickets & Information: 866-811-4111 or CentralSquareTheater.org. Photo: A.R. Sinclair Photography.

Arabian Nights, adapted by Dominic Cooke, The Nora Theatre Company and Underground Railroad Theater at the Central Square Theater,  11/17/11-12/31/11,  http://www.centralsquaretheater.org/season/11-12/arabian-nights.html.

Reviewed by Anthony Geehan

(Cambridge, MA) The ancient civilizations of the Middle East where a progressive and highly advance set of empires and people, making large strides in the studies of mathematics, astronomy, and architecture. Many of these contributions have had a phenomenal affect on the modern world, including their ancient stories that have influenced the structure and tone of a wide range of stories throughout Western civilizations, from King Arthur and the Nights of the Round Table to Loony Tunes. Many of the more influential stories from the area were collected within the famous book 1001 Arabian Nights, a series of tales and legends of ancient Persia, ranging from epic adventure tales to short comedies told around the central focus of a young woman named Scheherazade attempting to quell the rage of a wronged king and save the woman of his kingdom. A selection of these tales, as well as the story of Scheherazade and the king is the focus of The Nora Theatre Company and Underground Railway Theater’s first combined effort Arabian Nights; a grandly staged yet minimal production of classic tales of adventure, morality, and humor. Continue reading →

Nov 23

A Confused Classic: A Christmas Carol

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Brian McEleney as Ebenezer Scrooge and the cast of the 35th annual production of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, adapted by Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming, directed by Christopher Windom, presented by Cardi’s Furniture with supporting sponsor Amica Insurance. Performances will be November 18 - December 30 in the Chace Theater. Set design: Michael McGarty; Costume Design: William Lane; Lighting Design: John Eckert. Photo by: Mark Turek.

A Christmas Carol, adapted from Charles Dickens’ novel by Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming, original music by Richard Cumming, Trinity Repertory Company, 11/18/11-12/30/11, http://www.trinityrep.com/on_stage/current_season/ACC.php.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Providence, RI) At first glance, it seems easy to perform A Christmas Carol; just round up the usual characters from last year and dust off the crutch.  But staging a play that everyone knows can present a challenge because of audience dogma; everyone has an idea of the way the play should go. A director can be ridden out on a rail if s(he) strays too far from the collective idea of the play.

Confronted with such a double-edged sword, directors have two options.  They may either decide to stage the play faithfully, trying to bring out bits of nuance to keep theater-goers and actors from falling asleep, or stage the play in a new way that helps the audience examine why it has become such a cultural icon.  Continue reading →