The Walk Productions in association with Handspring Puppet Company Presented by ArtsEmerson, American Repertory Theatre, Company One, the Institute of Contemporary Art, The City of Boston, and many others.
BOSTON, Mass. — On September 7, 2023 at 4 PM – 6 PM, Little Amal will begin her journey of 6,000 miles across the United States in Boston as part of the largest free public festival ever created bearing messages of compassion, empathy, and hope. She remains in Boston through September 9.
The “Walk with Amal” website says that Little Amal’s name means “hope” in Arabic. She is a 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee child.
Her urgent message is simple: “Don’t forget about us.”
Little Amal’s journeys across the world carry a message of hope for all displaced people and children separated from their families. She has traveled across 13 countries and met more than a million people.
Presented by The Huntington
By Stefano Massini
Adapted by Ben Power
Directed by Carey Perloff
Featuring Joshua David Robinson, Steven Skybell, Mayer Lehman
Music performed by Joe LaRocca
Dramaturgy by Julie Felise Dubiner
Update: This article previously credited Carey Perloff as the former artistic director of the incorrect institution. Perloff was the AD of American Conservatory Theater.
BOSTON, Mass. — If the playbill for The Lehman Trilogy is any indication, The Huntington artistic team knows that are dealing with a flawed, if renowned, play. The three-and-a-half-hour epic has a developmental history of international proportions: Italian playwright Stefano Massini’s play about Jewish-American bankers was adapted by British playwright Ben Power, then enjoyed critical acclaim on the West End before transferring to Broadway and winning the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play.
The production was a critical darling, but never without its skeptics. Think-pieces abound have accused the play of a) pandering in antisemitic tropes and b) sidestepping the centrality of slavery in the Lehman brothers’ (and more broadly, capitalism’s) rise to power. Continue reading →
UPDATE: A previous edit of this review had misspelled Vivian Liu-Somers’ name. It has been corrected.
BOSTON, Mass. — It is never too late to become who you are. This grammatically incorrect* but philosophically accurate statement rings true for the protagonists of SWAN currently playing as part of Moonbox’s second annual Boston New Works Festival at the BCA. Age, gender, dayjob, etc. should be incidental factors in one’s ongoing search for identity. Continue reading →
Full frontal chancla fight, Karina Beleno Carney and Luz Lopez in “Alma”. Photo: Nile Scott Studios.
Presented by Central Square Theater Written by Benjamin Benne Directed by Elena Velasco Choreography by Angie Jepson Dialect Coaching by Cristhian Mancinas-García Community Connectivity Dramaturgy by Zowie Rico Featuring Karina Beleno Carney (she/ella) and Luz Lopez (she/her)
February 23 to March 26, 2023 Central Square Theater 450 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 75 minutes with no intermission
Critique by Kitty Drexel
Cambridge, MA — The Oxford English Dictionary says the American Dream is “the ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” Benjamin Benne’s Alma at Central Square Theater is the story of a family that comes to accept that some American dreams are only available to wealthy, white, and documented dreamers. Continue reading →
Presented by ArtsEmerson A Malthouse Theatre Production Written & Performed by Wang Chong Codirected & Production designed by Emma Valente Codesigned by Emma Lockhart Wilson Dramaturgy by Mark Pritchard
February 1 – 12, 2023 American Sign Language Performance – Saturday, February 11 at 2:00 PM Audio Described Performance – Sunday, February 12 at 2:00 PM Emerson Paramount Center Jackie Liebergott Black Box 559 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
Recommended for Ages 16+ 60 minutes, no intermission
Review by Kitty Drexel
Boston, MA — ArtsEmerson respectfully asked journalists attending Wang Chong’s Made in China 2.0 to please refrain from discussing certain topics in an email days before the performance. They did this to ensure Chong’s safety while he visits the US and when he eventually leaves the US. Boston can be dangerous.
Journalists were encouraged to discuss Chong as an artist, his previous work, how his work was received, and his upcoming work. We were asked to be sensitive when discussing Chong’s style of theatre-making and why it’s considered risky.
I readily agreed to ArtsEmerson’s request. Freedom of speech is important to me. The sanctity of human life is too. America loves freedom! Continue reading →
Presented by Pipeline Theatre Company Written by Philip Santos Schaffer Directed by Isabel Quinzaños Alonso Performed by Mary Round Dramaturgy by Anna Woodruff Sound Design & Composition: Jorge Olivo Stage Manager: Matt Engle Producing Consultant: Stefanie Harris
February 1 – March 30, 2023 Your Phone/Zoom, Over 2 nights From anywhere in the USA Pipeline on Instagram
Review by Kitty Drexel
Your Phone — It is important for an audience member of Baby Jessica’s Well-Made Play to do some research before attending. I, like a dingus, thought I didn’t need to research the story behind Baby Jessica because she was in the news when I was a kid.
Friends, I incorrectly thought this play would be hilarious. I was six when 18-month-old Jessica McClure was rescued after being trapped for 58 hours in an abandoned water well in Midland, Texas. Don’t be like me. Please at least the Pipeline Theatre FAQ.
It is very important to note that Baby Jessica’s Well-Made Play is an interactive, conversational play. It occurs over two (2) scheduled evenings. The first evening runs two and a half hours long (150 minutes) but the attendee should give themselves an additional half hour (30 minutes) for setup before the show starts. That is a total of three hours or 180 minutes. Continue reading →
Presented by The Huntington In association with Hartford Stage Written by Kate Snodgrass Directed by Melia Bensussen Original music by Jane Shaw Fight direction and intimacy consultancy by Ted Hewlett Dramaturgy by Charles Haugland January 13–February 12, 2023
Production trigger warnings: slut shaming, victim blaming, mansplaining, manipulative and controlling behavior
Critique by Kitty Drexel
BOSTON, MA —Theatre doesn’t dive into feminine wrath the same way other media does. M3GAN, a current popular horror movie about a prescient AI doll, Jennifer’s Body (2009), and Teeth (2007) all hit the mainstream in ways that other horror plays haven’t.
Popular theatre gets the Medea myth, the Greek tale about a half goddess, enchantress and unfortunate mother of Jason’s (of the Argonauts fame) who became so enraged by her husband’s infidelity she mercy-kills his children. Honestly, what did Jason expect? They don’t call it divine retribution for nothing.
The Art of Burning follows five adults and one teen through vicious divorce proceedings. Patricia (Adrianne Krstansky in a wig that is doing no one any favors) and Jason (Rom Barkhordar) are about to finalize their divorce when Patricia requests full custody of their daughter Beth (Clio Contogenis). Jason’s girlfriend Katya (Vivia Font) is pregnant and Jason wants to keep it. Divorce lawyer and friend Mark (Michael Kaye) and his wife Charlene (Laura Latreille) are having marriage problems of their own. Continue reading →
Presented by the Lyric Stage of Boston Music, lyrics, book, and orchestrations by Dave Malloy Directed by Courtney O’Connor Music direction by Dan Rodriguez Dramaturgy by Megan Jepsen, Marieska Luzada Orchestra: Bethany Aiken, Mindy Cimini on keyboards
RUNNING TIME: APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS AND 10 MINUTES, INCLUDING A 15-MINUTE INTERMISSION.
Critique by Kitty Drexel
BOSTON, Mass. — As a girl I was introduced to the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff via the 1996 Geoffrey Rush movie Shine about pianist David Helfgott. I remember thinking Rachmaninoff’s music was so wondrous that it would be worth going a little mad to play it so beautifully.
It is terrifically easy for innocent children to romanticize the mental health crisis of adults. I’m an adult now with two degrees in classical music, but I don’t entirely disagree with my teenage self.
Preludes is Arcade Fire’s Win Butler (minus those pesky sexual assault allegations) meets contemporary musical theatre that arbitrarily skips between the centuries. It’s the story of poor, little rockstar composer Rach (Dan Prior) who suffers from debilitating writer’s block. Rach is seeing Dahl (Aimee Doherty), a hypnotherapist, to break his block and reach the great heights of success again. Rach shares his journey with his fiancee Natalya (Kayla Shimizu), opera singer Chaliapin (Anthony Pires Jr.), and assorted Russian intelligentsia (Will McGarrahan). Dan Rodriguez kicks ass as Rachmaninoff.
I’m of two minds about Dave Malloy’s Preludes at the Lyric Stage: it’s whiny and navel-gazy; and, it directly attacks the artist’s universal conundrum of creating art that is both valuable and entertaining. The Lyric’s production does not negate itself by doing both simultaneously.
This is what it is to be an artist. We desperately want to be hired but know that we may never reach our full potential. Every artists has that one brilliant friend who gave up because they couldn’t reconcile all that excruciating, costly, invisible work for lack of career recognition.
Audiences don’t often get to see artists complaining. As in the rest of life, artists can complain and still feel truly grateful for our discipline and talents. We bitch to our therapist, pick ourselves up again and get back to our art. In Preludes, Rach doesn’t get back to it because he can’t. Artists are people too.
Audiences will recognize Dave Malloy from his biggest success Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. Preludes is a great departure from Great Comet. For one thing, it’s mercifully shorter. For another, it has more than the one melody played over and over and over.
Malloy’s original compositions in Preludes have tight, exposed vocals. Sometimes the vocals are a capella. He incorporates techno elements on two keyboards. Malloy requires vocals to sing lines independent of the techno music.
The Preludes cast meets Malloys demands and conquers them. Whatever one might think of the script or the music, the cast does a great job. Kayla Shimizu has both an expressive legit voice and impressive, cathartic-sounding mix. Anthony Pires Jr. bounds across the stage as Chaliapin. Will McGarrahan wears many hats while wearing the same shirt. Aimee Doherty charms as Dahl.
Dan Prior rides waves of Rach’s mental health to the big breakdown in Act 2 like a professional surfer. Prior and director O’Connor paced both acts uncannily well to preserve Prior’s energy and the audience’s patience. By the time Rach is ready to tell his Big Tale, we’re ready to hear it.
Music director Dan Rodriguez is the soft-focus star of Preludes. He plays piano center stage, rarely looks up from the keyboard and utters few words over the course of the two-hour production. He hovers omniscient, observant, seen and unseen.
The actors drift around Rodriguez weaving Malloy’s story, but it’s Rodriguez who does the impossible work of interpreting Rachmaninoff’s genius and then threading Malloy’s compositions under and through. Then Malloy asks his music director to conduct from the stage. And then Malloy asks him to sing.
Rodriguez is a known, beloved music director in Boston. Rodriguez has the trust of his cast, his unseen orchestra, and the audience. We believe his Rachmaninoff and in his skill at the piano. This may be his most challenging role to date, and he meets it with aplomb. He takes a risk coming in front of the curtain. It pays off.
Photo by Mark S. Howard.
The “Who’s Who in Preludes” playbill article adds a thoughtful touch to the playgoing experience. It puts nine faces to nine famous name drops in the show and gives the audience something to consider during the intermission. (Such as how Tolstoy maintained such an exact yet plush eyebrow to mustache hair ratio). We’re introduced to how each knows Rachmaninoff and why they are important to Preludes. More dramaturgy is HERE.
For those of you who know what it is to have spoken with the muses and be abandoned by them, it is no small thing to have experienced their presence. Attempting to call them back is painful, embarrassing, and painfully embarassing. Malloy’s work represents his experiences. It isn’t universal. Be kind.
People want/need art but don’t want to pay artists a living wage. Preludes asks an audience to see an artist as a person, an imperfect, breakable person with more flaws than genius or friends. We ask a lot of our artists. Preludes asks us to give a little more than money and time.
Presented by American Repertory Theater Based on the novel by Yann Martel Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti Directed by Max Webster Scenic and Costume Design by Tim Hatley Puppetry and Movement Direction by Finn Caldwell Puppet Design by Nick Barnes by Finn Caldwell Video Design by Andrzej Goulding Lighting Design by Tim Lutkin Sound Design by Carolyn Downing Original Music by Andrew T. Mackay Dramaturgy by Jack Bradley
Dec. 6, 2022 – Jan. 29, 2023 Loeb Drama Center 64 Brattle Street Cambridge, MA 02138
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” – The Bene Gesserit’s “Litany Against Fear” from Dune by Frank Herbert
Critique by Kitty Drexel
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Life of Pi at American Repertory is for fans who loved the novel and the movie. It’s for people who loved the movie, too. Life of Pi may also appeal to people who don’t regularly attend the theatre but enjoy a spectacle epic.
Life of Pi the stage adaptation is not for children. The movie was rated PG, but the theatrical version is PG-13 at least. Puppets are no longer an indication of child-friendly content. Life of Pi’s puppets can be graceful and inspire wonder – yes – they also rightly invoke fear. Continue reading →
Photo via https://artsemerson.org/events/on-beckett/
Presented by ArtsEmerson, with Irish Repertory Theatre Produced by Octopus Theatricals Conceived and performed by Bill Irwin Based on the writings of Samuel Beckett, Texts for Nothing, The Unnamable, Watt, and Waiting for Godot.
October 26 – 30, 2022 Open Captioning, Oct. 29, at 2:00 PM Audio Description, Oct. 30, 2:00 PM Emerson Paramount Center 559 Washington St Boston, MA 02111
ArtsEmerson isn’t asking you to turn your phone off for its health. Turn your damn phone off, you git.
BOSTON, Mass — On Beckett is a masterclass taught by Bill Irwin on the works of playwright, novelist, Nobel Prize winner, and, among other things, WWII resistance fighter Samuel Beckett. Irwin’s dedicated performance, journalistic dramaturgy, and storytelling transcend the medium of the solo show.
On Beckett isn’t merely a performance incorporating the works of the infamous playwright; it is a doctorate-level dissertation. Emerson, give Irwin his honorary Ph.D. Continue reading →
