Sep 17

Welcome Friend, You’re Right on Time!: “Primary Trust” 

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From left: Arthur Gomez and David J. Castillo; photo by Benjamin Rose Photography.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
By Eboni Booth 
Directed by Dawn M Simmons

Sep 12 – Oct 11, 2025
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Neurospicy [adjective | nur-oh-SPYCE-ee]: A playful substitute for ‘neurodiverse’ or ‘neurodivergent.’ Via Merriam-Webster.com 

BOSTON — Currently running at the Boston Center for the Arts, SpeakEasy Stage presents Primary Trust by Eboni Booth. The full script of Primary Trust appeared in the Spring 2024 print issue of American Theatre magazine. The play won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2024. It premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company in Spring 2023 and was produced locally by Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, MA during the company’s 2024/2025 season. Now it’s in Boston, and we’re glad to see it in the hands of the most capable staff, cast and crew of SpeakEasy Stage. Continue reading →

Sep 16

Two Turn-of-the-Century Trailblazers: “The Kittie Knox Plays” & “Silent Sky”

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The Kittie Knox Plays 
Produced by Plays in Place with MassBike
Three one-act plays by Patrick Gabridge, Claire Gardener, Kirsten Greenidge
Directed by Michelle Aguillon
Music direction by Nicholas Chieffo
Choreography by Hampton Richards
Performances in Cambridge, Milton and Boston, MA
The plays are FREE, but registration is required. 

&

Silent Sky 
Produced by Central Square Theater, a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production
By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Sarah Shin
Sound designer and composer: Kai Bohlman
Choreography by Peter DiMuro
Performances in Cambridge, MA
Playbill online

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The 2025/2026 theatre season began in earnest for this queen theatre geek with two turn-of-the-century plays about two local headstrong, heart-set trailblazers: daredevil cyclist Kittie Knox (1874 – 1900) and astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921) and her colleagues at the Harvard Observatory. I had the great fortune of watching both productions on Saturday, Sept. 13. Like a curated tasting of fine wines, the productions have their distinct differences but offer something for every playgoer.  Continue reading →

Jul 13

Uneven Grandeur: “Evita”

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The cast of “Evita.”

Presented by Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston
Lyrics by Tim Rice 
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Direction and choreography – Rachel Bertone
Musical Direction – Dan Rodriguez
Scenic Design – Cameron McEachearn
Lighting Design and Production Design –  Baron Pugh
Costume and Wig Design – Ellie De Lucia
Sound Design – Sebastian Nixon

Online Playbill

July 11 – 20, 2025
Robinson Theatre
617 Lexington Street
Waltham, MA 02452

Critique by Craig Idlebrook

2 hours, 15 minutes with a 15-minute intermission

WALTHAM, Mass. — The musical Evita is having a moment. It is an interesting time for a resurgence of a play about a populist Argentine icon, when the world appears buffeted by the populist and authoritarian actions of some world leaders. 

The play, which started its Broadway run in 1979, is seeing a viral resurgence, thanks to a Rachel Zegler-led production in London that has taken some of its act outside the theater for the masses to enjoy. One would think that Eva Perón, the titular Argentine historical figure, would have appreciated the streetside stagecraft.  Continue reading →

Jul 06

Notes After Creation: The Theater Offensive’s Queer [Re]Public Festival

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Presented by The Theater Offensive 
In partnership with Double Edge Theatre and Think Outside the Vox
June 26-29, 2025
Arrow Street Arts
2 Arrow Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Theater Offensive’s inaugural Queer [Re]Public Festival was a glorious presentation of queer, trans and BIPOC joy. At which, artists Victoria Lynn Awkward, Annalise “River” Guidry, and Cheyenne Wyzzard-Jones convened and performed the fruits of their 22-month-long Emergent Artist and True Colors Residencies. By doing so, the residents transformed Arrow Street Arts into a community space where artists offered art to their audience, we received it and offered it back again. 

I was fortunate to attend Awkward’s dance composition In The Space Between in the main theater and a reading of Wyzzard-Jones’ The Messenger in the studio. My reactions to those works are below. I was unable to see Guidry’s Theater of Union or attend The Audacity of Being Yourself conversation with Durand Bernarr, Victoria Awkward and Diovanna Frazier. It is my sincere hope for the artists involved that they received everything they wanted and needed from their work.  Continue reading →

Jun 19

Travesty to Atonement and Back Again in 13 Lessons: “Our Class”

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The Cast of “Our Class.” Photo by Pavel Antonov.

Presented by Arlekin Players Theatre
By Tadeusz Słobodzianek 
Adapted by Norman Allen
Directed by Igor Golyak
Scenic & Prop Design by Jan Pappelbaum
Costume Design by Sasha Ageeva
Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg
Sound Design by Ben Williams
Music composed by Anna Drubich
Projection Design by Eric Dunlap & Igor Golyak with Andreea Mincic
Chalk Drawings Design by Andreea Mincic
Choreography by Or Schraiber
Dramaturgy by Dr. Rachel Merrill Moss
Stage violence and intimacy choreography by Leana Gardella (2024 New York production)
Featuring: Gigi Watson, Gene Ravvin, Kirill Rubtsov, Deborah Martin, Jeremy Beazlie, Zach Fike Hodges, Chulpan Khamatova, Richard Topol, Ilia Volok, Ryan Czerwonko

June 18 – June 22, 2025
Calderwood Pavilion
Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116

Duration: 2 hours 50 minutes with one intermission

Suitable for ages 16+

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Our Class is about the slow radicalization of Polish catholics against their Jewish friends and neighbors in the years before and during the Holocaust (1918-2021). It is violent, angry, and expertly crafted by the Arlekin Players. While the historical events depicted and themes explored look similar to ongoing news events, Our Class is about the 1940s Russian occupation of Poland and not current international crises: the christian nationalization of the United States and retreat from its status as a world superpower, Russia’s war on Ukraine, or even Israel’s bombing of Iran. Performances at the Boston Center for the Arts Calderwood Pavilion run through June 22.  

Off of 2024’s award-winning production of The Dybbuk, Arlekin presents another triumph in Our Class. This production worked out its technical and stagecraft kinks in New York during its run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, because, from its horizontal staging to its multidisciplinary incorporation of projection and live-camera video, it is spotless. Its Boston run brings new cast members and new opportunities for accolades.  Continue reading →

Jun 17

Queer pride through historical reimagining: “Bull in a China Shop”

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Karen Dervin as Dean Welsh and Linnea Lyerly as Woolley; Photo by Brian Higgins.

Presented by The Treehouse Collective
By Bryna Turner
Directed by Lisa Tierney
Lighting design by Dan Clawson
Set design by Britt Ambruson
Featuring: Linnea Lyerly, Heidi White, Karen Dervin, Anneke Salvadori, Hannah Young, Lena Vani

Abbott Memorial Theatre at Hovey Players
9 Spring Street
Waltham, MA 02451
June 13 – 29, 2025

Accessibility Note: There are a total of 13 steps to get downstairs to the theatre, with no elevator access.  

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

WALTHAM – The most radical element of Bull in a China Shop is emblemized by its earliest visuals. Two women in early 20th century garb lounge on a bed together, tangled in each other’s arms. Everything is perfectly mundane: they discuss personal and professional dreams; they quarrel; they kiss. And they do explain their queerness to the audience. They simply exist in their historical moment, no excuses necessary.

Bull in a China Shop by Bryna Turner isn’t a perfect play, but it fits neatly into The Treehouse Collective’s ethos. Their seasons largely feature contemporary works that give voice to ahead-of-their-time trailblazers (particularly women and queer folks, although I hope their team will add some more racial diversity to their season selection in the future) whose stories have otherwise been silenced by the patriarchal, heteronormative archival machine. Continue reading →

Jun 16

The Best Summer of Your Life: The Nova Show presents “Camp Camp”o

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The Nova Show poster

Presented by Nova Comedy Collective
Hosted by David Thomas
Directed by Michael Trainor
Video by Ryan Dalley
Creator and showrunner: Kayleigh Kane
Featuring: Gwen Coburn, Colleen Donahue, Nick Perron, Kristina Feliciano, John Serpico, Erin Lee, Anthony Zonfrelli, Sumeet Sarin, Hannah Breen, Kylie Rolincik. 
Guest performers: drag performer Stabitha Christie, rapping comedy duo Magically Delicious, and standup comedian Will Smalley.
Chill tunes provided by D.J. TJ Reynolds and Todd Brunel on the saxophone

June 14, 2025
The Rockwell
Davis Square
255 Elm Street
Somerville, MA 02144

Online Playbill 
Eventbrite Page

Critique by Kitty Drexel

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — June 14 was a busy day. “No Kings” protesters gathered peacefully in downtown Boston while the Pride for the People parade marched from Copley Square to the Common. For some, it was a long day of fighting fascist tyranny while celebrating another year of queer survival. After a rainy Saturday of marching, dancing and rebelling, an evening of libations and laughter watching Nova Comedy Collective’s “Camp Camp” in the warm belly of The Rockwell’s black box theater hit the spot.   

The Rockwell has become home to members of the local improv, comedy and standup community after Improv Boston, a People’s Republic of Camberville favorite for comedic relief, ceased its operations in 2023. The Nova Comedy Collective is one of the resident organizations that rose from Improv Boston’s ashes. NCC is here to deliver comedy in its many forms to weekend matinees, early evening and late night crowds (schedule pending) over a cold adult beverage while farting into a folding chair of suspicious stability. Continue reading →

May 30

Progression and Congestion: “Stories”

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Pretty poster art by Leon Friedman

Presented by Cunning Folk Theatre
Based on a short story by Y.L. Peretz
Adapted and directed by Catherine Alam-Nist
Translated by Giovanna Truong and Ruthie Davis
Guitarist: Gabe Nixon

May 28 – 29, 2025
BCA Plaza Black Box
539 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

75+ minutes with one intermission

BOSTON — Cunning Folk Theatre has shown significant growth from 2023’s Selkie Play at the Somerville Armory to this week’s Stories playing at the Boston Center of the Arts’ Plaza Black Box theater. Stories is an ambitious project with moments of delightful artistic freedom, and its writing is overwhelmed with too many layers of meaning. The creative team should be proud of their progress, and also aware of how much farther they’ve yet to go.  Continue reading →

May 27

It’s About Us: “The Prom”

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The Company of THE PROM. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by Wheelock Family Theatre
Book and Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
Book by Bob Martin
Music by Matthew Sklar
Based on the Original Concept by Jack Viertel
Directed & Choreographed by Larry Sousa
Music Directed by Jordan Oczkowski

May 17 – June 8
Wheelock Family Theatre
180 Riverway
Boston, MA 02215

Runtime: 2 hours and 25 minutes including intermission.

Review by Helen Ganley

Floor-length dresses and well-tailored suits, a room full of bouncing balloons and floating streamers—it can only mean one thing: prom season. This high school rite of passage is so deeply ingrained in American culture that it’s almost hard to imagine a parents’ board canceling the whole event for one reason: two girls want to attend together. The Prom at Wheelock Family Theatre unfurls this story with energy and empathy, delivering a heartfelt tale of acceptance, community, and love. Continue reading →

May 22

Unapologetic Joy, Bursting at the Seams: “Hello, Dolly!”

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The cast of “Hello, Dolly!” Photo by Mark S. Howard.

Presented by Lyric Stage of Boston
Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman
Book by Michael Stewart
Based on “The Matchmaker” by Thornton Wilder
Directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent
Music direction by Dan Rodriguez
Choreography by Ilyse Robbins
Featuring Temma Beaudreau, Joshua Wolf Coleman, Max Connor, Aimee Doherty,
Kristian Espiritu, Mark Linehan, Michael Jennings Mahoney

May 16 – June 22
Lyric Stage Theatre
140 Clarendon Street, 2nd floor
Boston, MA 02116

Runtime: 2 hours and 30 minutes including intermission.

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

BOSTON — Full disclosure: I am something of a Hello, Dolly! apologist. Sure, it’s Broadway at its hammiest, and I won’t pretend that it’s aged perfectly. But beneath its veneer of feathers and bows and heteronormativity, this is a musical about characters pushing against turn-of-the-century gender and class constraints, straining to express themselves as loudly and brassily as possible.

Jerry Herman, the composer-lyricist behind some of Broadway’s most fabulous characters (see Mame and La Cage aux Folles) knew what exactly he was doing here: Hello, Dolly! is queer joy incarnate, and you can’t convince me otherwise. Continue reading →