Category Archives: Uncategorized

Aug 10

It’s a Gift to be Phallic: “Pitbull’s Party at the End”

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Presented by Fork & Shoe Theatre Co-op
By Talia Rodriguez
Directed by Leo Leal

August 6-9, 2026
Chelsea Theatre Works

Critique by Kitty Drexel

The show runs approximately 95 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Venue opens 30 minutes before the show.

TLDR: It’s complicated. There’s good; there’s not great. Keep going.

CHELSEA, Mass. — Pitbull’s Party at the End was an ambitious project debuted by Fork & Shoe Theatre Co-op at Chelsea Theatre Works on Aug. 6. Unfortunately, it closed early due to COVID. We offer our sincere condolences to the cast and crew. Y’all deserve to feel proud of the work you’ve done. Successfully producing an independent show is a minor miracle in these dark times.  

Pitbull’s Party at the End’s summary on the Fork & Shoe website: It’s 2042 and a hurricane threatens to wipe Miami off the map. Meanwhile, Mr. Worldwide (Carlos Fruzzetti, charismatic and funny) is performing his last ever New Year’s Eve concert, the Phallic brothers (David Feit Mann, Scott Schaeffer, Eli Bondar) are planning the business deal of a lifetime, and an intergenerational Cuban-Jewish family (Paola Ferrer, David Kleinman, Sophia Yael Koevary, Audrey Molina) must bridge their differences to survive the apocalypse.

Pitbull’s Party suffers from too many storylines and too many messages carrying equal importance. This one 95-minute play is about the ethnic cleansing of multiple societies, our global climate disaster, Jewish Cuban culture, billionaires’ atrocities, intergenerational queer identity, anticapitalist philosophy, and the Grammy-winning American rapper, singer, songwriter, and “actor” Armando Christian Pérez, aka Mr. 305, aka Mr. Worldwide, aka Miami’s bald zaddy, Pitbull. Carrying that many subplots in one play requires careful threading.  Continue reading →

Jun 19

Sweet & Sour Fruit Meets a Charming Bulldozer: “In Old Age”

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Presented by ArtsEmerson and the Front Porch Arts Collective
By Mfoniso Udofia 
Directed by Dawn M Simmons

Jun 13, 2026 – Jun 28, 2026
Emerson Paramount Center
Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre
559 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
Online playbill

Learn more about the Ufot Family Cycle’s plays HERE.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

TLDR: In Old Age avoids unnecessary trauma, is a GD delight.

BOSTON — In Old Age runs in Boston while parts of the U.S. commemorate the Juneteenth National Independence Day. Fortunately, Massachusetts recognizes this day. Should you find yourself free, In Old Age is a great way to reflect on Juneteenth and to support excellent Black theatre celebrating the African diaspora. We’re privileged to have this opportunity when places like Florida and Texas are determined to erase the fullness of the U.S.’s history. 

In Old Age is the penultimate piece of Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play Ufot Family Cycle. In it, we find Abasiama Ufot (Ebony Marshall-Oliver, unlocking even more depths of a character Boston has come to love over the past year), living in the house where she raised her children (The Grove), unlocked her deceased husband’s trauma (Run Boy Run), and sacrificed her dreams. Her house is falling apart. Abasiama is determined to meet the challenge of rebuilding. She faces it, as she has many challenges across the Ufot Family Cycle: face-on with thoughtful resilience.  Continue reading →

Dec 16

He’s a Bollocks, but He’s Our Bollocks: “An Irish Christmas”

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Photos by Nile Scott Studios. This cast & crew photo would make an excellent holiday card.

A New England Premiere!
Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company
By Matthew Keenan
Directed by Weylin Symes
Dialect coaching by Lee Nishri-Howitt 
Featuring Alex Deroo, Alex M. Jacobs, Chris Kandra, Julia Hertzberg, Alex Leondedis, Ross MacDonald, Paul Valley, Richard Snee, and Robert Walsh
With rotating walk-on appearances by Eleanor Colleran, Phoebe Jacobs, Gilda Fitzpatrick, and Anya Flores
Musicians: Lindsay Straw with rotating collaborators: fiddlers Cara Frankowicz and Clare Fraser, and accordionist Dan Accardi.

December 5-21, 2025
GBSC Main Stage
395 Main Street
Stoneham, MA 02180
Online playbill

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Advisory: Colorful language and discussions of death.

STONEHAM, Mass. — ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the pub/ Some regulars (Ross MacDonald and Paul Valley) were drinking despite the grievances of its Scroogey schlub (a stern Robert Walsh who gives the role of David hidden depths). The bar and toilets were stocked by tender Bartek (a stalwart Alex Deroo) with care/While rosy-cheeked Frank (Richard Snee) hoped that sobriety would ne’er be there. Simon (Alex Leondedis) and Anna (Julia Hertzberg) bundled up in their coats/Had sincere glad tidings stuck in their throats. While all dreamed of gifts from ole Saint Nick/David chased them off by being a dick. With the arrival of Michael (Alex M Jacobs), blood brother and friend/David looked up from his accounting book and brought the jolliness to an end.

 “Now, Simon, Now Michael! Now, Frank and Jim! Now, Julia! Now, Bartek! Get away with that din!” The owner chased them out the bar/He chased them all out. 

So David was left to suffer alone for eternity/We’ve no doubt.    Continue reading →

Dec 15

Champing at too many bits: “Horseplay (Played by Medusa the Horse)”

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Presented by Fork & Shoe Theatre Cooperative
Written and directed by Charlie Snow
Scenic and lighting design by Isaac Zerkle
Choreography by J Cramer
Musical direction by Elise Brown
Costume design by E. Rosser
Puppetry design by Nick Chieffo
Featuring: Caleb Palmer, Mabel White, Tiffany Santiago, Robert Thorpe II, Cara Clough, Sophie Pels, Michael J Blunt

December 11 – 14, 2025
BCA Plaza Theatres
539 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02116

Review by Maegan Clearwood

BOSTON — In spite of all its weirdness, the world of Horseplay (Played by Medusa the Horse) isn’t very different from our own. Animals talk and pickles are an illicit substance, but in the offices of equine billionaire CEO Medusa Maria Groucho Martini the 10th, the capitalist machine churns along as unfeelingly as ever.

At the machine’s mercy is Julie Fern the Unpaid Intern (an appropriately frenetic Mable White). Practical, well-educated, and constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Julie has eight other jobs, but this time, she thinks, maybe this time, she will finally unlock the secrets of adulthood. Continue reading →

Oct 13

Between the Diet Coke Button and the Nuclear Codes: ASP’s “Macbeth”

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Omar Robinson (center) with Brian Demar Jones, Dennis Trainor Jr., Claire Mitchell, and Brooke Hardman (2025). Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography.

Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Christopher V. Edwards
Digital Playbill

Oct. 2-26, 2025
The Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts
321 Arsenal Street
Watertown, MA 02472

Content Warning: This production employs the use of water-based haze, stage cigarettes, flashing lights, strobe effects, and gunshots. 

RUN TIME: Approx. two hours and twenty-five minutes, including one intermission.

Warning: This critique includes light production spoilers. 

WATERTOWN, Mass — It’s been a busy quarter season for Macbeth performances: Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Stage2 student players performed Mackers in May; Cambridge’s Dream Role Players performed it in Longfellow Park last August; Boston Lyric Opera performed it at Emerson Colonial Theatre last weekend. Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production is at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in a vastly nontraditional production through October 26.  

ASP’s Artistic Director Edwards interprets Macbeth as a 1960s psychological and physical nightmare horrorscape in which fascistic tyranny, state-sanctioned drug abuse, bipartisan gaslighting and lies are de facto political tactics. In this version (as in our current White House), the psychological horrors outweigh the physical violence. Set in the U.S. immediately after the Cold War, title character Macbeth (Omar Robinson, unhinged and unbothered), Banquo (Jesse Hinson), Macduff (Brian Demar Jones), Ross (Jennie Israel), Malcolm (Chingwe Padraig Sullivan), Fleance (Vince Nguyen) and King Duncan (Dennis Trainor) are celebrating a battle win despite their personal tragendies. Amidst their revels, three psychological terrorists/witches (Jade Guerra, Amanda Esmie, Claire Mitchell) indoctrinate Lady Macbeth (Brooke Hardman) and Lord Macbeth into regicide through mind control manipulation and hallucinogenic drugs.    Continue reading →

Oct 08

Using His Powers for Good: “300 Paintings”

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Sam Kissajukian in performance of 300 Paintings. Credit: Evgenia Eliseeva

Presented by American Repertory Theater
Written and Performed by Sam Kissajukian
Produced by Sally Horchow and Matt Ross in association with Octopus Theatricals

Now – Oct. 25, 2025
Farkas Hall
12 Holyoke Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission

Critique by Diana Lu

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Watching 300 Paintings feels a bit like being dropped straight into the mind of Sam Kissajukian, mid-manic episode—but with comfy seats, visual aids, and killer comedic timing. For 80 minutes straight, the comedian-turned-painter commands the stage with no script; his first 300 paintings flash on the black screen behind him. The result is a hilarious, high-energy, and surprisingly insightful comedic monologue that explores the fine line between genius and madness, connection and isolation, and what gets assigned as worthy in this late-stage capitalist world of unprecedented wealth disparity—a world obsessed with packaging everything, including ourselves, into “brands,” “content,” “product.” Continue reading →

Oct 01

Magic in every corner: “The Fairy Tailor”

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Sarah Nolan and a friend.

Presented by Puppet Showplace Theatre
Created and performed by Sarah Nolen

Sept. 27 – 28, 2025
Brookline Puppet Showcase
32 Station St.
Brookline, MA 02445

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

BROOKLINE, Mass. — The cozy stage at Puppet Showplace Theatre in Brookline is overflowing with trinkets and tools: sewing boxes and pincushions; an ironing board and dress form; satins, sequins, and silks. These every day, seemingly mundane objects are the source of resident artist Sarah Nolen’s magic as she transports us beyond her shop walls and into three fantastical fairy tale worlds.

Nolen plays the titular tailor, who desperately needs the audience’s help as she frantically prepares for a visit from her biggest, scariest customer in The Fairy Tailor. To calm her frayed nerves, she tells stories, each with a quirky, interactive twist (and plenty of puns). Continue reading →

Sep 25

This Is the Way We Were: “Our Town”

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The Cast of “Our Town” with gentle lights by Deb Sullivan. Photo by Nile Hawver.

Presented by Lyric Stage of Boston
By Thornton Wilder
Directed by Courtney O’Connor

Sept. 19 – Oct. 19, 2025
Lyric Stage Theater
140 Clarendon St, 
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

2 hours and 10 minutes, including intermission

EMILY: “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it…every, every minute?”
STAGE MANAGER: “No. Saints and poets maybe… They do some.”
― Thornton Wilder, Our Town (1938)

BOSTON — Lyric Stage Boston presents Thornton Wilder’s Our Town at its theatre in downtown Boston now through Oct. 19. A theatre classic, Our Town came back into public eye when it was revived for Broadway again in 2024. It played 117 performances on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre until it closed on January 19 of this year. Its star-studded cast included Jim Parsons as the Stage Manager, Katie Holmes as Mrs. Webb, Zoey Deutch as Emily and Ephraim Sykes as George. Kenny Leon directed. While the Lyric can’t compete with Dawson’s Creek or The Big Bang Theory fame, its Boston cast infuses Wilder’s timeless story of smalltown simplicity with awe and undeniable charm.  Continue reading →

Sep 22

You Gotta Fix the Trouble in Your Own Neighborhood Before Makin’ Trouble Anywhere Else: “The Ceremony”

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Photo by Ken Yotsukura.

Produced by CHUANG Stage, in partnership with Boston University School of Theatre and Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (with The Huntington)
A World Premiere by Mfoniso Udofia
Directed by Kevin R. Free

September 11 – October 5, 2025
Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre
Boston, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Holy cats, tickets are sold out! Congratulations to the cast, crew and staff of The Ceremony! Break all the legs! A ticket waitlist is HERE. 

BOSTON — The saying goes, weddings, funerals, and babies bring out the best and absolute worst in people. Whether fearing change, fearing loss of control, or feeling overwhelmed by all of the pesky details, these three situations stir madness in even the most sensible of people. So, it makes sense that a loving but frequently rocky family dynamic, such as the Ufots’ in Mfoniso Udofia’s Ufot Family Cycle, would experience some instability during wedding planning. The Ceremony, now at BU’s Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre, shows us what happens when a family’s intergenerational secrets threaten a happy couple’s wedding plans.  Continue reading →

Sep 21

Nostalgia, Homecoming & Misogyny: “The Hills of California”

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Meghan Carey, Kate Fitzgerald, Alison Jean White, Chloé Kolbenhyer, Nicole Mulready (on floor); photo by Liza Voll.

Presented by The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Written by Jez Butterworth 
Directed by Huntington Artistic Director Loretta Greco 
Music direction by Daniel Rodriguez

September 12 – October 12, 2025
The Huntington Theater 
264 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Please note: Herbal cigarettes and smoke/haze are used in this production. You may want to take an antihistamine or wear a mask if you suffer from allergies.

This critique contains plot spoilers. Read at your own risk. 

BOSTON — The Huntington’s production of The Hills of California, newly staged by Artistic Director Loretta Greco and currently running through October 12 at the Huntington Theater in Boston, is beautifully staged, beautifully sung, and beautifully acted. It is technically perfect. Unfortunately, playwright Jez Butterworth traumatizes his female characters while prioritizing their relationships with men instead of giving them backstories or personalities. He objectifies them as underage entertainment instead of as human entertainers. It’s too bad, because he is thisclose to letting them be real people.

Summary: Three out of four adult Webb sisters’ (Amanda Kristin Nichols as Gloria, Aimee Doherty as Ruby, Karen Killeen as Jillian) homecoming to the seaside guest house where they grew up. As girls (Kate Fitzgerald as Young Joan, Meghan Carey as Young Gloria,  Chloé Kolbenheyer as Young Ruby, Nicole Mulready as Young Jillian), their fierce and ambitious mother Veronica (Allison Jean White) trained them for a singing career à la The Andrews Sisters. Now adults, the sisters must reconsider the choices their mother made, the nostalgic call of youthful harmonies, and the unbreakable bonds of family while they wait for their prodigal sister Joan to come home. Trigger warnings: Pedophilia, sexual coersion and abuse, forced abortion, eof-of-life care of an elder, alcoholism, alleged drug abuse, hackneyed playwriting.  Continue reading →