May 06

Dancing with Sergent Garcia and the Devil

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Presented by World Music/CRASHarts

Thursday, May 2, 7:30 PM
Johnny D’s
17 Holland St Davis Square
Somerville, 02144
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook Page

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Somerville) “Let’s dance the dance of the Devil! One step forward and two step backward!” said Bruno “Sergent” Garcia through his thick French accent. It was right in middle of his performance at Johnny D’s this past Thursday and the audience, including the couples who had gotten up to dance, responded with a cheer. Then the Sergent and the Cumbiamuffin All Stars launched into their next, Caribbean, Afro-Columbian tinged
song. Continue reading →

Apr 29

Spunk without Charm: PIPPI LONGSTOCKING

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Photo by Gary Ng. Sirena Abalian as Pippi Longstocking.

Presented by Wheelock Family Theatre
Story by Astrid Lindgren
Adapted for the stage by Thomas W. Olson
Music by Roberta Carlson
Directed by Wendy Lement

Boston, Massachusetts
April 12th – May 12th, 2013
Autism Friendly Modified Performance: Saturday April 27 at 10:00am
ASL/AD: Friday May 10 at 7:30 & Sunday May 12 at 3:00
All performances offer Open Captioning
Wheelock Family Theatre Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston) Why is everyone in such a hurry to update our iconic and innocent redheads?  A cover for a new edition of Anne of Green Gables ditches her red hair and makes her uncomfortably shapely.  The pigtailed girl in the Wendy’s logo seems to have grown up and has nothing more to do than disparage other peoples’ lunches.  And now we have Pippi Longstocking to add to the list. Continue reading →

Apr 29

Sergent Garcia with the Cumbiamuffin All Stars at Johnny D’s

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Presented by World Music/CRASHarts

http://www.sergentgarcia.com/en/

Thursday, May 2, 7:30 PM
Johnny D’s
17 Holland St Davis Square
Somerville, 02144
World Music/CRASHarts Facebook Page

Post by Gillian Daniels

On Thursday, Davis Square’s very own Johnny D’s will be hosting the Paris-based style-fusion artist, Sergent Garcia.

Bruno Garcia, originally a renowned, apparently hyperactive DJ, fuses the music gleaned from a European, punk upbringing in France with a passion for Latin and Caribbean rhythms. He combines jazz, reggae, hip-hop, and salsa for an energetic genre he has affectionately dubbed, “salsamuffin.”  The “muffin” of “salsamuffin,” apparently, is a reference to “ragamuffin” or “dancehall,” a kind of reggae.

Garcia, himself, is named in homage to the sidekick of the fictional Zorro, Sgt. Demetrio Lopez Garcia.  The musician is part of an effort by World Music/CRASHarts to bring diverse, one-of-a-kind voices and
acts to New England.

This will be Sergent Garcia’s Boston debut.  He will be performing with the Cumbiamuffin All Stars at 7:30pm on May 2nd.

Apr 29

The Love That Spawned A Million Campaigns: “She Kills Monsters”

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2013 Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo — with Meredith Saran, Stewart Evan Smith Jr, Noam Ash, Dobs Ebiama and Jordan Clark.
White hot nerdity and geekery abound!

Presented by Company One
by Qui Nguyen
Directed by Shira Milikowsky

April 12-May 11
Plaza Theatre at the BCA
Boston, MA
Company One Facebook Page

Review by Noelani Kamelamela

(Boston) The Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company at Center Stage, NY has been centered around making theatre that engages an audience of like-minded people.  Mainly popular entertainment, most productions incorporate a large amount of stage combat as well as clever use of props and costumes.   Company One brings indie sensibilities to a production that fans the heart flames of con-going die-hard gamers (both LARP and video) as well as n00bs for an overall shiny audience experience. Continue reading →

Apr 26

Perils, Pirates, Prostitutes, and the Peculiarity of “Pericles”

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Omar Robinson, Johnny Lee Davenport*, and Johnnie McQuarley in the foreground, with Jesse Hinson* (Pericles) and the cast in the background.
Photo: Stratton McCrady Photography

Presented by Actor’s Shakespeare Project
by William Shakespeare
directed by Allyn Burrows

The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University
525 Washington St., Boston
April 17 – May 12, 2013
ASP Facebook Page

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Boston) It’s easy to see why Pericles, Prince of Tyre isn’t one of Shakespeare’s best loved plays.  The plot is often as lost at sea as the titular character, who drifts from one melodramatic episode to the next on an unending voyage.  Pericles’ journey begins with villainous incest and the threat of death and, after abandoning this thread, continues on to tragic storms, kidnappings, and brothels.  Taking on this play means a potential mess. 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

“Beowulf”: A Badass, Raucous Production

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Kickin'it olde school. Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva

Kickin’it olde school. Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presented by American Repertory Theatre
A songplay by Banana Bag and Bodice
Text and lyrics by Jason Craig
Music by Dave Malloy
Directed by Rod Hipskind, Mallory Catlett

Oberon
Cambridge, MA
April 16 – May 5
A.R.T. Facebook Page

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Cambridge) An aggressively weird audio feast, this Beowulf is a musical take on the millennia-old epic-poem. The dialogue performs the syntax gymnastics of Seamus Heaney’s translation while the songs are guttural and set to a frantic, pleasing percussion. Banana Bag and Bodice’s production, though, both honors the source material while dissecting it. Continue reading →

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 →

Apr 15

Child-Like Wonder & Awe: LITTLE GIANTS

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Photo Credit: Imaginary Beasts

Photo Credit: Imaginary Beasts

Presented by Imaginary Beasts
written by Thornton Wilder
Directed by Matthew Woods

BCA Blackbox Theater
Boston, MA
April 5 – 27, 2013
90+ minutes, no intermission.
Imaginary Beasts Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) Little Giants has puppets, masque work, gender reversal, religious metaphor, interpretive dance, song, tumbling, Greek mythos, Bible references, and mime work. It’s influences range from the Commedia dell’Arte to the modern circus. That is where the similarity ends. The production is a lot to process in one sitting but the cast and director, Matthew Woods, weave it into an enjoyable albeit sometimes overwhelming evening. Continue reading →