Category Archives: Other

Aug 09

Trip the Light Fantastic: Cavalia’s “ODYSSEO”

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Photo Credit: François Bergeron; the show is excruciatingly beautiful.

Presented by Cavalia, Inc.
Directed by Wayne Fowkes
Equestrian Direction and Choreography by Benjamin Aillaud
Choreography by Darren Charles & Alain Gauthier

August 7 – 25, 2013 (extended by demand)
Under the Big Top
Assembly Row
Somerville, MA 02145
Cavalia on Facebook, twitter

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Somerville) If there were a special Heaven divined for equines and the humans who love them to commune in the afterlife, it would look like Cavalia’s Odysseo. These horses are intelligent and strong. They call to mind the unicorn myths handed down through generations. Although, their human companions are equally as gifted, the show is not about Man. It’s about the sinuous beauty of the horse. This spectacle trades on Man’s obsession with these majestic beasts and provides a glimpse into where the obsession comes from. Continue reading →

Aug 07

A Dream to Touch the Heart and Soul: Cavalia “Odysseo”

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Credit: www.cavalia.net

WHEN:
August 7 – 25, 2013, evening and matinee shows available

WHERE:
Under the White Big Top, at Assembly Row in Somerville, at the intersection of Interstate 93 and Route 28 — 201 Assembly Square Drive, Somerville MA 02145

TICKETS:
Available at www.cavalia.net or by calling 1-866-999-8111. $34.50 to $219.50 + applicable taxes and fees. Special pricing and packages also available for groups, children (2-12), juniors (13-17) and seniors (65+).

From the website:
The internationally acclaimed Cavalia pushes the limits of live entertainment with its newest production that is now touring the globe. Cavalia Odysseo is a theatrical experience, an ode to horse and man that marries the equestrian arts, awe inspiring acrobatics and high-tech theatrical effects. Set under a 38-meter tall White Big Top, audiences will be transported around the world as more than 50 horses and an international cast play and demonstrate their intimate bond. The 1,393 square meter stage features a real carousel and a magically appearing 302,000-litre lake in front of a stunning video backdrop the size of three IMAX screens. Odysseo is a two-hour dream that will move the heart and touch the soul. It is an evening that the audience will never forget.

Credit: www.cavalia.net

Jun 10

Wistful, Warm and Inconclusive: SELECTED SHORTS ON TOUR: SPRINGTIME, SEX & BASEBALL

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A National Public Radio Production
Hosted by the Huntington Theatre Company

Avenue of the Arts
BU Theatre
June 8th, 2013
Huntington Theatre Co Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

Short review: It was great.  You missed it.  Support your public radio.

(Boston) Kidding, kidding, but really what else is there to say?  Take four well-crafted short stories of love, baseball and awkwardness, mix in three superb actors and stir.  Watching the touring production of Selected Shorts is a powerful reminder that we are creatures of narrative.  Whole societies are shaped by storytelling, be it a creation myth or an endearing belief of what a well-regulated militia looks like.  People die for stories, people become president by telling stories.  Without stories we might as well climb back up into the trees (unless you believe in the Christian creation story….see?). Continue reading →

Jun 07

Paris in the Rain: Coeur de Pirate at Paradise Rock Club

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WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts and Crossroads
Presents PRESENTS COEUR DE PIRATE
with Kandle

Thursday, June 6, 8pm,
Paradise Rock Club, 18+
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook page
Coeur de Pirate Facebook page
Kandle Facebook page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) Coeur de Pirate vocalist, Béatrice Martin, has a lovely voice and charismatic stage presence. Her music sounds they way Paris in the rain feels; it is touched with lyric and pop influences. She was “under the weather” a.k.a. visibly ill yesterday evening. Therefore, giving her a review based on her performance would be unfair. What I saw was exemplary given the circumstances. You can decide on your own by listening to her CD (which I’ve been listening to on repeat all week) on Spotify, iTunes, or her website. Continue reading →

Apr 25

Help Make The Theatre Geek’s Dream Come True!

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season-teasersmallSwiftly Tilting Theatre Project, Inc.
Swiftly Tilting Theatre’s Facebook Page

Kickstarter Page
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
January 9-19, 2014, at The Chain Theatre, 21-28 45th Rd, Long Island City, NY
Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides
March 31-April 13, 2014, at The Secret Theatre’s Poco Theatre, 44-02 33rd St, Long Island City, NY

I passed on my blog to Kitty Drexel when I realized that I could no longer deny my desire to create a theatre company.  Long Island City, one of the major residences of New York based theatre people, is becoming an economical alternative for theatrical productions.  I was born in New Jersey, so it was only a matter of time before I inched my way back to the area.  I want to give artists and audiences the opportunity to be a part of quality theatre, regardless of income.  I am trying to do what Whistler in the Dark has done for Boston to the Queens area.

Swiftly Tilting Theatre Project is an artist community that will work towards bringing artists and audiences together while allowing us all to not be crushed by hard economic times.

Please watch the video and even the smallest pledge to the Kickstarter will help my dream become a reality.

Becca Kidwell, Chief Geek. Emerita

Apr 19

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Dark Night: A Response

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In light of the events of this week and specifically of today, April 19, 2013, the Good Reviewers of New England Theatre Geek would like to acknowledge the bravery of the men and women representing the National Guard, Police, Fire and Security Services, Activists and Volunteers. Thank you for risking your lives to keep our city safer. Bless you.

We had considered silencing the blog out of respect but to remain quiet in the face of terror and danger is to allow the people who inspire fear to win. That is what instigators of terror want. Instead, we hope that the arts community and its advocates will continue to stay strong and to focus their energies into powerful acts of creation. We are the light that keeps the dark at bay. There are things that “go bump in the night.” We can be the people who bump back.

Much Love,
Your Geeks 

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Apr 15

Whistle It, Just A Little Bit***: Ryan Landry’s “M”

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David Drake, Samantha Richert, Ellen Adair, Larry Coen, and Laura Latreille in the Huntington Theatre Company's production of RYAN LANDRY'S "M". March 30 - April 27, 2013 at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. huntingtontheatre.org. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

David Drake, Samantha Richert, Ellen Adair, Larry Coen, and Laura Latreille in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of RYAN LANDRY’S “M”. March 30 – April 27, 2013 at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. huntingtontheatre.org. Photo: T. Charles Erickson

Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
Ryan Landry’s “M”
Directed by Caitlin Towland 

March 28-April 28
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
Boston, MA
Huntington Theatre Co Facebook Page
Gold Dust Orphans Facebook Page

 Review by Noelani Kamelamela 

(Boston) Fritz Lang’s masterpiece M, released in 1931, revealed much of his hatred and compassion regarding German society at the time.  Ryan Landry’s M likewise breaks new ground while being observant of society’s duality. The Huntington’s production is ambitious with explosively funny results. Spoiler alert:  nothing written here can be a genuine spoiler, trust me.  A real spoiler would be able to point you towards a reasonable expectation of what will actually happen on stage.  Ha ha ha! Continue reading →

Mar 25

Masterly, Fun Fiddling: NATALIE MACMASTER

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Photo Credit: Care of the Natalie MacMaster Facebook Page

Presented by World Music/Crasharts Festival: Winter/Spring 2013

Sanders Theatre
Cambridge, MA
Saturday March 23, 2013
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook Page
Natalie MacMaster Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idebrook

(Cambridge) When done right, there is something so unpretentiously fun about the Celtic music that comes from the little Nova Scotian island of Cape Breton.  Rooted in Scottish musical traditions and honed in kitchen parties on long winter nights, it is a musical form that is vibrant, heartfelt and accessible.  And few Cape Breton products so embody the spirit of this musical scene better than Natalie MacMaster, a world-class fiddler from world-class fiddling stock.  Continue reading →

Mar 17

Muito Obrigado: Ana Moura at the Berklee Performance Center

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Photo borrowed from the lovely Ms. Moura's Facebook Page

Photo borrowed from the lovely Ms. Moura’s Facebook Page

World Music/CRASHarts presents, in collaboration with the Mass Cultural Council

Saturday, March 16, 2013
Berklee Performance Center
Boston, MA
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook Page
Ana Moura Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston by way of Portugal) While a large percentage of Bostonians were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day (a made up holiday to celebrate something that never happened) there was a smaller part of Boston reaping the benefits of Portuguese culture. The concert given by Ana Moura and her exquisite band (Portuguese guitar player Angelo Freire plays with incomparable skill. His performance was virtuosic.) on Saturday, March 16 was as near perfect as fate can make it. She performed traditional Fado, Portuguese folk, and jazz standard from her 2012 CD, Desfado. Continue reading →

Dec 07

Pinch Yourself: “La Belle et la Bête”

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The gate isn’t real. Shocking, right?

 

Presented by Lemiex Pilon 4D Art and Theatre du Nouveau Monde
Created and directed by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon
Created and written by Pierre Yves Lemieux
Translated by Maureen LaBonte

ArtsEmerson
Dec 5 – 9, 2012
Cutler Majestic Theater
Boston, MA

Theatre du Nouveau Monde Facebook Page
ArtsEmerson Facebook Page
Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) Lemieux Pilon 4D Art’s La Belle et la Bête (The Beauty and the Beast) is a masterpiece in technical design. The entire team draws from tradition as well as modern (pop culture) references to create this multi-disciplinary performance piece. This is easily the most awe-inspiring, visually stunning productions you will see all year. Continue reading →