Tag Archives: 2015

Feb 24

Because He Could: ALBATROSS

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Presented by the Poets’ Theatre in collaboration with Ocean Conservancy
Directed by Rick Lombardo
Written by Matthew Spangler & Benjamin Evett
Based on “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The poem can be read here.

Feb. 13 – March 1, 2015
The Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre
Emerson/Paramount Center
Boston, MA 02111
Poets’ Theatre on Facebook
Ocean Conservancy on Facebook

Trigger Warnings: graphic violence, harsh language

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Disney’s Captain Jack Sparrow is a poster boy for pirates. He’s grimy, clever thief with a heart of tarnished gold. Jack likely smells rank but has an unmistakable charisma that drives audiences  wild. Some want to be him; some want to f^ck him, etc. It’s no wonder that this franchise made so much money.

Sparrow is a lie. He is the Hollywood equivalent of a romantic adventure on the high seas with creatures great and majestic during a time that never was. Pirates are not charming; they are brutal criminals capable of unthinkable acts. Historically, pirates sailing the Atlantic sacked and ravaged rival merchant ships. Cruelty was de rigueur. Continue reading →

Feb 23

Crying Uncle: UNCLE JACK

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10929149_10152928903511072_1633828632893124184_nPresented by Boston Center for American Performance and Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Written and Directed by Michael Hammond
Adapted from the play by Anton Chekhov

February 12 – March 1, 2015
BU Theatre, Lane-Comley Studio
264 Huntington Avenue, Boston
Boston Playwright’s Theatre on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(Boston, MA) You know, I’ve never noticed it before, but there really is something innately Chekhovian about major summer-stock theatres (particularly in the New England Area). Out in the wilds of Western Massachusetts, a seasonal culture abounds. Large, stately mansions (mostly empty during the rest of the year) stand ready to receive their visitors; high-status patrons, family dear and estranged, and random acquaintances who have long been treated as family. The constant financial difficulties that running these estates entails weave through life upon them like a second soul. The back-to-nature feel of the Berkshires where city-slicker actors arrive to work, to fall in love, and to torment the people who call this big empty place “home” the rest of the year could very well be a cherry orchard or a provincial Russian estate. The incestuous, teeming nature of a long-standing summer-stock company almost reeks of Chekhov; the half-forgotten love affairs, the misbehavior that will never be spoken of again, and the half-cocked gun on the mantelpiece just waiting for its Act Four moment…. Continue reading →

Feb 20

WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts PRESENTS: Golden Dragon Acrobats performing, “Cirque Zíva”

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WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts PRESENTS
From the People’s Republic of China & direct from Broadway

Golden Dragon Acrobats

Performing the Boston premiere of Cirque Zíva
Saturday, March 21, 3pm & 8pm
Emerson/Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston

Text taken directly from the World Music/CRASHarts website.

BOSTON, MA — World Music/CRASHarts presents the Golden Dragon Acrobats performing the Boston premiere of Cirque Zíva on Saturday, March 21, at 3pm and 8pm at the Emerson/Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St., Boston. Tickets are $30-$58. For tickets and information call World Music/CRASHarts at (617) 876-4275 or buy online at www.WorldMusic.org.

For More Information visit: www.goldendragonacrobats.com

Cirque Zíva is sure to entertain, delight, and keep audiences of all ages on the edge of their seats. Performed by the internationally celebrated Golden Dragon Acrobats from Hebei Province, China, this fast-paced, technically innovative performance showcases traditional Chinese acrobatics, dance, and costumes; ancient and contemporary music; and modern theatrical techniques. The renowned acrobats dazzle with amazing feats of athleticism, heart-stopping stunts, and the grace of their centuries-old art form.

(c) Amitava Sarkar

(c) Amitava Sarkar

Continue reading →

Feb 20

Ignore what your Momma Told you: TALK TO STRANGERS

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Presented by Liars and Believers
In collaboration with the Boston Circus Guild
Directed by Jason Slavick
Music Direction by Chuck Lechien

One Night Only: February 19, 2015
The Oberon
2 Arrow Street, Cambridge MA
Liars and Believers on Facebook
Boston Circus Guild on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(Cambridge, MA) Liars and Believers are well-versed in the art of collage. Bringing together dance, clowning techniques, poetry, music, mask-work, circus performance, and whatever you could call the live-improv style randomness that happens at Club Oberon, they have presented a beautiful ode to the pain of anonymity brought about by the modern technological era in their piece Talk to Strangers. Transient and fleeting, I could no more pin this piece down with words than replicate it. Continue reading →

Feb 16

WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts PRESENTS: “The Son of the Sheik”

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(c) Courtesy of World Music/CRASHarts

(c) Courtesy of World Music/CRASHarts

WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts PRESENTS:

Performing the Boston premiere of its live score for the silent film
The Son of the Sheik
Saturday, March 7, 8pm, Somerville Theatre

For additional information, please visit:
http://www.alloyorchestra.com/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38827091910

Boston, MA — World Music/CRASHarts presents Alloy Orchestra performing the Boston premiere of its live score for the silent film The Son of the Sheik on Saturday, March 7, 8pm at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $25, reserved seating. For tickets and information call World Music/CRASHarts at (617) 876-4275 or buy online at www.WorldMusic.org.

The world-renowned Alloy Orchestra presents the Boston premiere of its live musical score to the 1926 classic silent film The Son of the Sheik, directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Bánky, and George Fawcett. Valentino died suddenly just as the film was being released, unleashing an outpouring of love and support for the deceased actor along with his last and perhaps finest film. This wonderful swashbuckling romance is being presented in a beautifully restored print along with one of Alloy Orchestra’s best original scores.

(c) Ivan Singer

(c) Ivan Singer

Rudolph Valentino’s last film, The Son of the Sheik, is a film of passion, betrayal, and redemption. He is often cited as the silver screens greatest lover, and this film demonstrates why this reputation is justly deserved. In The Son of the Sheik, Valentino plays an unusual dual role of both the Sheik and his son. The film was a huge hit, grossing a million dollars in the first year, and critics have deemed it the greatest work of the actor’s career. Alloy Orchestra premiered their new score for The Son of the Sheik, along with the new 2k digital restoration of the film by sister company Box 5, at a special event of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival on September 20, 2014. Continue reading →

Feb 11

Totally Rad To The Max: Bogart and Lement’s “PINOCCHIO”

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Photo by by Kippy Goldfarb.

Presented by Wheelock Family Theatre
Adapted by Steven Bogart and Wendy Lement
Based on the book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Directed by Steven Bogart
Music directed/composed by Mary Bichner
Choreographed by Patricia Manalo Bochnak
Dramaturg: Kate Snodgrass
Sign Performers: Jola Leary, Adrianna Kathryn Neefus, Desiree Weems Sheppard

Jan. 30 – Feb. 22, 2015
ASL/Audio description: Feb 12,20,22
200 The Riverway
Boston, MA
Wheelock on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Many years ago, when I was a burgeoning opera singer, I attempted to read Collodi’s Pinocchio in the original Italian to learn the language. Pinocchio, originating as a series of short stories in an Italian magazine, is a convoluted tale of dramatic proportions about a little wooden puppet-boy who gets into scrapes only to be saved by those who inexplicably love him. Pinocchio has no social skills, no respect, and no discipline. Yet,his father Geppetto and the Blue Fairy are devoted anyway. I read about ¾ of the book on my journey towards bilingualism. Considering my penchant for justice and the frequency in which Pinocchio is rewarded for his bad behavior, I’m surprised I slogged through as much as I did. Continue reading →

Feb 06

“The Second Girl” Keeps to Familiar Territory

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Photo credit: Hunting Theatre Co

Photo credit: Hunting Theatre Co

Presented by Huntington Theatre Co.
Written by Huntington Playwriting Fellow Ronan Noone
Directed by Campbell Scott

Jan. 16 – Feb. 21, 2015
South End / Calderwood
Pavilion at the BCA
Huntington Theatre on Facebook

Review by Gillian Daniels

The class war still rages on.  People from countries with fewer opportunities than ours wash up on the shores of America willing to work sixteen-hour days at thankless jobs.  In “The Second Girl,” the audience is transported to the influx of Irish immigration in the earlier twentieth century.  Specifically, we watch a full day in the life of Bridget O’Sullivan (Kathleen McElfresh) and aspiring actress Cathleen O’Leary (MacKenzie Meehan) in August 1912.  Both work as maids for the summer home of wealthy employers.  The carping and melodrama of our heroines’ everyday world is mined for a play that seems a little too grounded in the immigration stories that came before. Continue reading →

Feb 02

Almost Like Family: THE BEST BROTHERS

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Photo by Meghan Moore.

Photo by Meghan Moore.

Presented by Merrimack Repertory Theatre
Written by Daniel MacIvor
Directed by Charles Towers

January 8 – February 1st, 2015
Lowell, MA
MRT on Facebook

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Lowell, MA) Every time a member of one’s family dies, the remaining members of the family must re-form to create a unit, or split away and cease to be. This is an especially arduous task for two almost estranged brothers in The Best Brothers. They must resolve what they were to each other when the matriarch of the family was alive, and what they are to each other now that she is gone. Continue reading →

Feb 02

Where the Shadows Run from Themselves*: ECHOES

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echoesPresented by Brown Box Theatre Co.
Written by N. Richard Nash
Directed by Kyler Taustin
Brown Box on Facebook

January 30-February 1 & February 5-8
Atlantic Wharf @ 7:30
290 Congress Street, Boston, MA

February 13-16
Ocean City Center for the Arts @ 7:30
502 94th Street, Ocean City, MD

Review by Kitty Drexel

Trigger Warning: Panic Attacks, emotional violence, minor physically violent episodes – While the majority of the events are non-violent, actions depicted on stage may also trigger PTSD.

(Boston, MA) I must caution that extra-sensitive individuals or individuals with a negative associations with in-patient mental health facilities carefully consider attending Echoes. I mention this because the acting is very good, very realistic and, for this reason, potentially triggering. The play by N. Richard Nash focuses on the how the brain copes with trauma when faced with an unsafe reality. It is also about taking the first impossibly difficult steps from that reality towards treatment. This is difficult enough in real life. This production may impede the good work one has done outside of the theatre. Not attending this production falls under the category of  “self-care to stay safe and stable.” Everyone else and their Mom’s uncle’s sister should attend. Continue reading →

Jan 30

That Which Makes Us Different Makes Us Beautiful: BREATH & IMAGINATION

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Elijah Rock, Nehal Joshi and Harriet D. Foy Photo credit: Mike Ritter

Elijah Rock, Nehal Joshi and Harriet D. Foy
Photo credit: Mike Ritter

Presented by ArtsEmerson
Created/written by Daniel Beaty
Directed by David Dower
Music directed/accompanied/arranged/additional music by Jonathan Mastro

Jan 27 – Feb 08, 2015
Paramount Center Mainstage
Boston, MA
ArtsEmerson on Facebook
Roland Hayes (School of Music) on Facebook, Wiki

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Black lives matter: Racism is alive and thriving everywhere. “But it’s 2015,” people will cry. Right, it’s 2015 and racism is still alive and thriving in Boston. To prove a point: check out which art makes the most money. For an institution greatly concerned with artistic expression, remaining significant in an ever modernizing world, and pushing boundaries, opera tends to steer clear of non-White people. Opera includes POCs in its casting but its stories are mostly about White people. Roland Hayes, first Black man to sing a concert at Symphony Hall would be an excellent subject for an opera.  Thank the great goodness that there’s Breath & Imagination to educate the masses. Continue reading →