Category Archives: Uncategorized

Feb 10

Snowpocalypse/Snowmageddon/Snowzilla 2013: Cabin Fever Edition

Posted on by

The New England Theatre Geek presents:

Terrific Moments in History

THE GREAT EMU WAR

They will get you

They will get you.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you an historic event of terror so great that the public school system deems it unacceptable teaching material.

In 1932, Australia was overrun by a population of emus so horrifying that soldiers recently returned from World War I were employed to eradicate the emu nuisance. The resulting conflict was dubbed the Emu War. My friends, the humans had machine guns, recent war experience, and the language skills; the emus had tiny brains and natural instincts.  Using guerrilla tactics such as remaining out of firing range and clumping into small groups, the emus outsmarted the humans. The emus WON.

Let this be a lesson to us all.

They look cute now. Will they be so cute in guerrilla warfare?

They look cute now. Will they be so cute in guerrilla warfare?

This posting of a random act of history is brought to you by cabin fever, a dearth of performances to review (due to the weather), and gross amounts of caffeine. The New England Theatre Geek will resume posting performance reviews once New England area theaters have been dug out of their snowy catacombs.

At least it isn’t raining spiders.

Jan 31

The US premiere of “Metáfora”: Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía

Posted on by

WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts presents Flamenco Festival 2013 featuring

the Boston debut of

Photo credit: Ballet Flamenco de Andalucia

Photo credit: Ballet Flamenco de Andalucia

Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía
performing the US premiere of Metáfora

 BOSTON, MA — World Music/CRASHarts presents the Boston debut of Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía on Friday, March 1, 7:30pm, Saturday, March 2, 8pm and Sunday, March 3, 3pm at the Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, 219 Tremont St., Boston.

Flamenco Festival 2013 returns for a 12th glorious season of world-class flamenco dance and music with the massively popular Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía, coming to Boston for the first time, direct from Spain. This renowned company of 17 dancers, singers and musicians, directed by award-wining flamenco star Rubén Olmo, presents the US premiere of Metáfora, a dazzling kaleidoscope of castanets, fans, traditional flamenco bata de cola dresses, powerful footwork, demanding technique and jaw-dropping athleticism. It is a program that will inspire the audience with the emotion, drama and passion of Andalucía, the cradle of flamenco. Continue reading →

Jan 25

Concert/World Premiere: “The Cat and the Moon”

Posted on by
Photo credit: Ellen Mandel; Kitty companions should be left at home.

Photo credit: Ellen Mandel; Kitty companions should be left at home.

Daniel Neer sings music by Ellen Mandel at the ”Pianos Plus Concert”

New songs to poems by Thomas Hardy, Seamus Heaney, WB Yeats, e.e. cummings, and others, including a World Premiere of Yeats’ sweet  “The Cat and the Moon.”

New Gallery Concerts
Thurs January 31 at 7 PM
The Community Music Center of Boston
34 Warren Avenue, Boston, MA 02116

Ellen Mandel Facebook Page
more information:  (617) 254-4133
http://www.newgalleryconcertseries.org/
Available on Amazon.com

Also on the program: Pianists, Sarah Bob, Marti Epstein, and John McDonald, performing music by Barish, Epstein, McDonald, and Woolf, and an exhibit of works by multi-media artist Chelsea Revelle. REVIEWS: Continue reading →

Jan 24

The Bad Plus premiere of “On Sacred Ground: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring”

Posted on by
Photo: Cameron Wittig; not just handsome faces.

Photo: Cameron Wittig; The Bad Plus, not just handsome faces.

presented by World Music/CRASHarts

The Bad Plus
Performing the Boston premiere of On Sacred Ground: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring
Friday, February 15, 7:00 PM and at 9:30 PM

Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Ave
Boston, 02210
General admission $35.00
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook Page
The Bad Plus Facebook Page

Rule-breaking, genre-bending and thoroughly entertaining, the charismatic jazz trio returns with its daring take on Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, accompanied by a mind-blowing video mix by lighting designer Cristina Guadalupe and film director Noah Hutton.

Jan 21

“Once” from Theater Communications Group

Posted on by
"Once" by Enda Walsh

“Once” by Enda Walsh

Once by Enda Walsh
Lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

Theater Communications Group (TCG)
January 2012
$13.95
520 Eighth Ave, 24th Floor
New York, New York 10018
www.tcg.org

This volume includes the book and lyrics but not the score. It includes a brief foreword by writer Enda Walsh about the workshop process in a church basement in Cambridge, MA.

The story revolves around an Irish man, “Guy,” who has almost given up on life, love and music. He is given new perspective by a passionate and sweet Czech woman, “Girl,” a single mother and music enthusiast. Together these unrequited lovers set on a course for life affirming change and success while renewing their faith in the power of creation and love. Continue reading →

Jan 15

Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Feb. 9, 8PM

Posted on by
Ladysmith Black MambazoPhoto: Luis Leal

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Photo: Luis Leal

presented by World Music/CRASHarts

From South Africa

Saturday, February 9, 8:00 PM ONLY
Sanders Theatre
45 Quincy St
Cambridge, 02138
Ladysmith Black Mambazo Facebook Page

With the power of gospel and the precision of Broadway, Ladysmith Black Mambazo is the undisputed king of mbube, South African a cappella singing. The group came together in the early 1960s and continues to thrill audiences around the world with its strong, proud melodies, harmonized in layers of call and response.

Jan 15

“Vinegar Tom”: A Deceptively Timely Play

Posted on by
Photo credit: Whistler in the Dark; This show contains material that may trigger PTSD - please try to see it anyway.

Photo credit: Whistler in the Dark; This show contains material that may trigger PTSD – please try to see it anyway.

presented by Whistler in the Dark Theatre
Vinegar Tom is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

by Caryl Churchill

directed by Mac Young
songs composed by Molly Allis, Juliet Olivier & Veronica Barron
music Composed and Performed by: Veronica Barron & Tony Leva
lyrics by Caryl Churchill

January 11th-February 2nd
The Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA
539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116
Whistler in the Dark Theatre Facebook Page

Review by Gillian Daniels

TRIGGER WARNING

(Boston) Historical fiction is often said to reflect the era in which it’s written rather than the era it’s written about.  Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom, originally performed in 1976, mirrors the growing awareness of feminism.  In 1600’s England, a group of women deal with being unmarried, unrepresented, and unwanted. The result is a play that’s appropriately bleak.

Vinegar Tom begins with Alice, portrayed by the excellent but often subtle Becca A. Lewis.  Lewis playfully drives the show as a young woman with a feather-light conscience despite having an infant son out of wedlock.  Her performance is credible not as a woman anachronistically independent or “ahead of her time,” but as someone who wants to marry and live on her own terms.  She is aided by her mother, Joan (Karin Webb), who is largely dismissed and derided by their town as an old hag. Continue reading →

Jan 06

Breathtaking Chutzpah: PIPPIN

Posted on by
Photo: Michael Lutch; a tender balancing act.

Photo: Michael Lutch; a tender balancing act.

book Roger O. Hirson
music and lyrics Stephen Schwartz
directed by Diane Paulus
circus creation Gypsy Snider of Les 7 Doigts de la Main
choreography by Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse

presented by American Repertory Theatre
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
December 5, 2012 to January 20, 2013
ART Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Cambridge) This Cirque du Soleil meets Fosse production of “Pippin” tells the tale of the Everyman, a youthful personification of any adult tentatively beginning the journey toward self-knowledge. Our young hero seeks the meaning of life in all the wrong places: violence, sex, politics, and other follies of inexperience. What the audience soon realizes is that Pippin, son of Charlemagne (the Emperor who not only made Christianity famous but mandatory), for all his proclamations, isn’t special. He is on the same journey that all young adults travel in their search for self – plus or minus some fantastical hardships and an orgy or two. What our hero discovers on this epic ego-trip is that, after he finds and secures a lasting relationship with meaning, he doesn’t know what to do with it. Continue reading →

Dec 29

Bring Tissues: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”

Posted on by
Photo credit: Turtle Lane Playhouse; Joseph and Pharaoh getting familiar.

Photo credit: Turtle Lane Playhouse; Joseph and Pharaoh getting familiar.

by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

Presented by Turtle Lane Playhouse

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
December 7th-30th, 2012
Turtle Lane Playhouse Facebook Page
283 Melrose Street
Auburndale Ma 02466

Directed and Choreographed by Rachel Bertone
Music directed by Daniel Rodriquez

The music of Andrew Lloyd Weber has a way of wheedling its way under your skin and pulling on the most protected of heart-strings. Tim Rice’s words and lyrics are like poetry. This is true still of Turtle Lane’s production of Joseph the 2nd to last production for this Playhouse before the doors close forever. It’s a damn shame, their productions are touching and their outreach is vast. This is a community theater production with all the trappings of community theater but it is strikingly good. Those expecting it to be a different beast will be disappointed. Those anticipating a friendly night of theater will be happily surprised by the quality of the local music, dancing and costumes. Continue reading →

Dec 25

A Somewhat Fun Yuletide Tradition: THE CHRISTMAS REVELS

Posted on by
photo credit: The Christmas Revels

photo credit: The Christmas Revels

 

presented by Revels, Inc.

Directed by Patrick Swanson George Emlen, Music Director Sanders Theatre Cambridge, MA December 16th – 27th, 2012

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Cambridge) Christmas is perhaps the one time of the year when America adheres fiercely to tradition. Every family that celebrates Christmas has its rituals, whether it’s going to midnight mass or eating all of the red M&M’s on Christmas Eve and all of the green M&M’s on Christmas Day. The trick is to keep the rituals vibrant and alive, rather than go through the motions year after year. Continue reading →