Category Archives: Musicals and Opera

May 07

Lunatics Running the Asylum: ASSASSINS

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As the culminating event in the College's year-long examination of the theme of violence, Assassins brims with a particularly urgent energy. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky for Boston University Photography © 2012 Boston University all rights reserved

Assassins, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman, Boston University Colllege of Fine Arts School of Theatre, Boston University Theatre, 4/4/12-4/10/12, http://www.bu.edu/cfa/2012/04/20/assassins/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston, MA) It’s nice for Stephen Sondheim and his partner John Weidman to clear up a few things for us about theater in their mishmash of a play, Assassins, playing at the Boston University Theatre.

They have proven a fundamental truth: You can populate your play with profoundly interesting characters, give them things to do that impact every theatergoer’s psyche and bestow wonderful music for them to sing as they do it, but if the script doesn’t allow them to interact in a meaningful way, it’s just an exercise in futility.  The playwrights prove this point despite the best efforts of a talented cast, who creates full-fledged and compelling characters. In fact, the cast and stellar set give us such high expectations that it makes the mind want to rebel at this idle script all the more.    Continue reading →

May 07

Juventas New Music Ensemble-A Company to Watch

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Juventas New Music Ensemble‘s upcoming events:

Illuminations Release Party, Saturday, May 12 at 8:00pm, Futura Productions – Roslindale, MA
Juventas performs music by Polina Nazaykinskaya, Florie Namir, Moshe Shulman and others. at Rachmaninoff Festival May 26-27
New Music on the Lake, June 9 at 3pm
AND WHY YOU SHOULD GO SEE THEIR PERFORMANCES:
Folklore Shapes and Splinters The Fiddler and the Old Woman of Rumelia
retrospective by Gillian Daniels

Deep in the Balkans, a wandering gypsy woman, Roma (Hilary Anne Walker), meets and agrees to share a week of travel with Hajduk (Kevin Kees), an outlaw. They are not characters, really, but character archetypes who have drifted from their respective stories. Now they seek an audience. 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 28

Melissa Carubia Takes Us For A Ride On The MBTA MUSICAL

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T: An MBTA Musical Starts 6/8/12 at Club Oberon in Cambridge, MA.

photo credit: Elizabeth Woodward (from last year's production.)


www.elizabethwoodwardphoto.com

Interview by Becca Kidwell

(Last year’s review: https://www.netheatregeek.com/2011/07/02/t-an-mbta-musical-charlie-takes-a-wicked-funny-ride/)

They’re ba-ack…Alice, John, and Michelle return to thwart the troublesome MBTA. On June 8th, T: An MBTA Musical, the surprising smash hit of last summer, makes stops at Club Oberon. Where do ideas for musicals come from? Melissa Carubia, the show’s composer, takes us on the underground journey.

Continue reading →

Apr 28

When Crowd-Pleasing Isn’t Always A Good Thing: THE FULL MONTY

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teve Gagliastro (as Harold Nichols), Nick Sulfaro (as Malcolm MacGregor), Michael Timothy Howell (as Jerry Lukowski), Corey Jackson (as Dave Bukatinsky), Andrew Oberstein (as Ethan Girard), David L. Jiles, Jr. (as Noah "Horse" T. Simmons); photo credit: Carla Donaghey

The Full Monty; book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by David Yazbek, Stoneham Theatre, 4/12/12-5/6/12, http://stonehamtheatre.org/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston, MA) I remember once going to see Gremlins 2 as a child and thinking immediately afterwards that it was just as good as the original. It had so much that was…fun!  Continue reading →

Apr 22

ANNOUNCEMENT: PIRATE LIVES

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Pirate Lives, book and lyrics by David Marino, music by Stephen Gilbane, additional lyrics by Stephen Gilbane, Deanna Tolliver, and Sasha Goldberg, Flat Earth Theatre, 4/20/12-4/28/12, Black Box Theatre at Arsenal Center for the Arts, http://flatearththeatre.com/shows/2012/pirate-lives/.

(Watertown, MA) Uppercrusters and swashbucklers cross swords this April as Flat Earth Theatre stages the world-premier of Pirate Lives! The Musical! at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown. Written by Somerville playwright David Marino with composer Stephen Gilbane, Pirate Lives! pays crass homage to the works of Noel Coward with a tip of the hat to Gilbert and Sullivan. Continue reading →

Apr 21

Growing up at the “Bee”

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25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, music and lyrics by William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin, Turtle Lane Playhouse, 4/13/12-4/29/12, http://www.turtlelane.org/showdetail.php?show=SpellingBee.

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Auburndale, MA)  Healthy competition is good for children!–Well, that’s what everyone says.  The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee tells a story that soccer and hockey parents have been learning in the past few years:  kids still need to be kids.  It’s hard enough to adjust to the physical, social, emotional changes without being expected to act like an adult.  Continue reading →

Apr 06

Haunting Echoes of Brilliance: FLOYD COLLINS

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Phil Tayler as Floyd Collins, photo by Sharman Altshuler

Floyd Collins, Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettal, Book and Additional Lyrics by Tina Landau, Moonbox Productions, Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre, 4/5/12-4/15/12, http://www.moonboxproductions.org/.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston, MA) There are many ways to be trapped. For some thrill-seekers, the risk of death and the short life it might bring is a better alternative than dying incrementally in quiet desperation.   Continue reading →

Apr 01

Grey Gardens: Lavish, Detailed Musical for a Small Stage

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photo credits go to Brigid Davis

Grey Gardens, book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie, Arlington Friends of Drama, 3/30/12-4/15/12, http://afdtheatre.org/greygardens.html.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Arlington, MA) With expert costuming and stage design, The Arlington Friends of the Drama succeed wildly in cramming the Broadway production of Grey Gardens onto its stage.

But Grey Gardens isn’t one musical Continue reading →

Mar 17

We Have Mental Illness: NEXT TO NORMAL

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A woman (Kerry A. Dowling) fantasizes about her psychopharmacologist (Chris Caron) in a scene from the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of Next to Normal, running now thru April 15th at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, in Boston’s South End. Tix/Info: 617-933-8600/www.SpeakEasyStage.com. Photo: Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo.

Next to Normal; Music by Tom Kitt, Book and Lyrics by Brian Yorkey, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Boston Center for the Arts Roberts Studio Theatre, 3/9/12-   4/15/12,   EXTENDED THROUGH 4/22/12 (Second and Final Extension)!!! http://www.speakeasystage.com/doc.php?section=showpage&page=normal.

Read Rebecca’s interview with Kerry Dowling here.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston, MA) Break a toe and you might end up with a sore back.  Twist an ankle and your knee might have trouble compensating.  A family is like that.  It is a group of humans that moves in concert and is much more adaptable than a body, for better or worse.  When a part of the social organism is injured, the other parts imperfectly try to take up the load.  What else can you do, amputate?

Speakeasy’s production of Next to Normal provides a clear window into the holistic impact the mental illness of one member of the family has on the family-body.  It realistically and powerfully illustrates how we all soldier on when there are pieces of us missing.  But this isn’t an “Eat-Your-Vegetables-and-Learn-About-Mental-Illness” production.  Next to Normal provides pitch-perfect comedic timing, layered action, great music and a stunning set.  Life flows through this play; though it is heartbreaking, it is not a requiem.  Tissues are a must, however. Continue reading →