Presented by Company One Theatre in partnership with the City of Boston’s Office of Arts and Culture By Idris Goodwin Music by Divinity Roxx and Eugene H. Russell IV Directed by Summer L. Williams Music directed by David Freeman Coleman Choreography by Victoria Lynn Awkward Dramaturgy by afrikah selah
BOSTON, Mass. — The cast of The Boy Who Kissed the Sky performed admirably on Saturday evening despite technical difficulties and intense heat. The beloved Strand Theatre is old and, despite its renovations, failed under the extreme heat. The actors and band met the moment with indomitable will and aplomb.
Idris Goodwin’s The Boy Who Kissed the Sky is a fantasy on the childhood of Jimi Hendrix in music, dance, and color. A Boy (Errol Service Jr.) lives with his father (Cedric Lilly) in Seattle. The Boy imagines universes across a history of rock music with pencil set to paper as he strums a broom that bleeds corn bristles.
His multidimensional, intergenerational guide and musical conscience is J. Sonic (Martinez Napoleon). Together with the groovy Feedbacks (Yasmeen Duncan, Kiera “Kee” Prusmack, James Turner, and Adriana Alvarez) they witness a world of experiences so the Boy can find his own rock n roll voice. Continue reading →
Presented by Company One Theatre Plays written by Inda Craig-Galván, Francisca Da Silveira, and Idris Goodwin Directed by Pascale Florestal, India Nicole Burton, Sarah Shin Dramaturgy by Elena Morris, Jessica Scout Malone, Ilana M. Brownstein Featuring Adrian Peguero, Ireon Roach, Mal Malme, Micah Rosegrant and Regine Vital For participant bios, action steps, and additional resources, visit our website at https://companyone.org/remaking-america
YOUTUBE — Using their platform to bring awareness to issues that impact Bostonians amid the coronavirus, Company One presented Remaking America: An Inaugural Message to the New Administration on January 26.
A night filled with art and conversation, C1 presented three commissioned short plays by Surge Lab playwrights, Inda Craig-Galván, Francisca Da Silveira, and Idris Goodwin; all who focused their plays on issues on access to housing, mental health, and education. An address to the new Biden-Harris administration, it is with the utmost importance that they acknowledge these issues affected by the pandemic and recent events. Continue reading →
Below is a continuation of last week’s list. New England area theatre companies are keeping busy. And so should you! Many of the opportunities from last week are still active and thriving. Please check those links.
Keep washing your damn hands, getting enough exercize, Zooming your friends. Stay home.
All our love from six feet away,
Kitty, Queen of the New England Theatre Geeks
Apollinaire Theatre Company – ATC hosts Apollinaire at Home! It’s a free online play & film script reading gathering! Apollinaire at Home is hosted by your Apollinaire favorites, and the cast includes You!! Readings for the week are posted on Apollinaire’s main page on Tuesday evening/ Wednesday morning. Readings will be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30, and Sunday “matinee” at 3:00.
Bonnie Duncan and the Gottabees – For children of all ages, Bonnie Duncan & the Gottabees give you a few moments out of your (crowded!) day where you can enjoy being together as a family with puppets and music. A familiar, underpants-stealing-squirrel makes a cameo.
Boston Theater Marathon XXII: Special Zoom Edition – Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (BPT) presents “Boston Theater Marathon XXII: Special Zoom Edition,” featuring ten-minute plays written by New England playwrights and presented by New England theatres via the video conferencing tool Zoom, April 1-May 17. Readings will begin each day at 12 noon and will last approximately 15-minutes. Audiences will need to download the free Zoom app to participate, and it is recommended they call in a few minutes before “curtain” time.
Central Square Theater – Central Square Theater has made available for streaming a video recording of its acclaimed production of PIPELINE. The recording is available today through April 5, 2020. Details on how patrons may purchase access the recording is included. TICKETS.
CompanyOne – C1 has its new C1 “New Work #socialdistancing Community” form. Please drop your ideas there. Company One Theatre is postponing the remaining productions of Season 21, Clare Barron’s Dance Nation and Inda Craig-Galván’s Black Super Hero Magic Mama. Both productions will shift to 2021 and become part of Season 22.
Upcoming from C1: Resident playwright Kirsten Greenidge is launching a series of online Open Writes. Kirsten will hold space for folx who want a communal, but quiet, energy to support their writing. The first is scheduled for Saturday April 11 (time tbd), and will be co-hosted with David Valdes. C1 will send out a formal announcement with a video link as the date approaches. Please watch the C1 website for updates.
Post-Meridian Radio Players – PMRP makes available “The Mysterious Traveler” on their Soundcloud for listening. They ask that you please enjoy this thrilling story of the gentleman thief, Arsene Lupin. Auditions with PMRP’s summer will be announced on their website.
The Umbrella Arts – The Umbrella Arts Gallery has provided wider virtual access to exhibitions from their three gallery spaces at The Umbrella.
Aperture: The annual group show featuring more than fifty Studio Artists, viewable as a 360 Virtual Tour, and with works available for purchase through Artcld.
One Day I Will Walk Into The Umbrella: The Black Box Gallery exhibition of drawings created by Justin P. Douglass while incarcerated in Concord and in Norfolk.
Gallery 3: An exhibition of mixed media works by Cynthia Katz.
#TBT: Just AddedLyle Lovett Video– As we continue to digitize various Umbrella programming, we’re pleased to share for the first time a video excerpt of last fall’s amazing benefit concert by Lyle Lovett. The video was wonderfully produced with high-quality sound by video professional and Umbrella volunteer, Bob Greim.
The Multicultural Arts Center – The Multicultural Arts Center has created a virtual gallery for Cambridge students, teachers, parents, and community members to showcase its K-8 Young Artist exhibition.
TC Squared – In response to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic, TC Squared has launched a new online reading series: VOLUME UP Virtual Play Readings. Videos can be found on its YouTube channel.Facebookand Twitter has the most up-to-date info.
Like you, we at the New England Theatre Geek are starting to go stir-crazy during these times of social distancing #COVFEFE19. Below is a small collection of links to streaming content, classes, and performances to occupy your days.
We wish you all the best! Please wash your damn hands, get enough exercize, Zoom your friends, and stay home as much as you can.
All our love from six feet away, Kitty, Queen of the New England Theatre Geeks
The List
Apollinaire Theatre – Last week Apollinaire graciously hosted readings via Zoom. The scripts are still up on their main page.
Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) – The FeministFuturist exhibit is now online. Performances have been suspended. They have a page FULL ofOVID-19 relief opportunities for all artists. Please check it out… But first, FeministFuture!
The Brattle Theater – The Brattle is streaming their Boston Women’s Film Festival on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Cloud Cafe – Tune into Cloud Cafe tonight at 6 p.m.! Each night of this performance series will be curated by a different Boston based artist–all of whom have been forced to cancel gigs and tours to protect the community from COVID-19. Each curator will hand-pick members of their community who have been directly impacted by the pandemic to build creative performances that bring people together to heal and find joy.
Flat Earth Theatre Company – The radio play Lovecraft’s Unnamable Tales is free to listen to on YouTube and SoundCloud. We know the unknown is terrifying, but you can at least experience the indescribable virtually, from the comfort of your own attic laboratory full of unheard-of monsters.
HowlRound Events – HowlRound is streaming their events. Please check their site for more info.
John J King is hosting Johnny Cakes a weekday dance break at 12:45PM ETD.
Penobscot Theatre Company – PTC will livestream its production of Safety Netthrough March 29. It runs 90 minutes with no intermission. The playbill is available online. Tickets may be purchased HERE.
Metropolitan Opera – Daily streaming of opera for all – If you can beat the rush and the site doesn’t crash from the opera fervor!
MIT Arts – MIT is posting home concerts to its Facebook and Twitter account:s starting on March 20. Please check these links: FacebookadTwitter. Free to watch and listen!
L-R_ Inés de la Cruz, Minh-Anh Day, Greg Maraio, Adrian Peguero; Photo by Andrew James Wang.
Presented by Company One By Hansol Jung Directed by Summer L. Williams Dramaturgy by Ilana M. Brownstein Fight choreography by Jessica Scout Malone Boxing consultations by Kimberleigh A. Holman
January 30 – February 29, 2020 Boston Public Library Rabb Hall Central Library in Copley Square Boston, MA C1 on Facebook
Boston, MA — Wolf Play made me so angry I wanted to punch a philosopher. There is so much going wrong in Wolf Play. Good people do not sell or purchase children from the internet. They do immediately contact child services when they discover parents attempting to sell their adopted child. They do contact organizations working on behalf of exploited children. They do not attempt to liberate a child on their own because the US’s messed up legal system thinks that LGBTQ+ adults aren’t fit to raise kids. I know it’s pretend but it’s based on fact. The adults caught up in these actions are telling themselves that they are still good people. They are not. Continue reading →
Presented by Company One Theatre Written by Josh Wilder Directed by Summer L. Williams Developed by C1 PlayLab
July 21 – August 18, 2018 The Strand Theatre 543 Columbia Road, Boston, MA 02125 The Leftovers on Facebook
Review by Gillian Daniels
(Boston, MA) When a giant dandelion bursts out of the ground in their Philadelphia yard, Kwamaine (the charming Christian Scales) is enchanted while his older brother, Jalil (Kadahj Bennett, who pulls some of the best humorous faces I’ve seen on any given stage), is understandably baffled. Their harassed mother, Raquelle (Lyndsay Allyn Cox), is mostly just annoyed. Writer Josh Wilder and director Summer L. Williams deliver an odd, funny city-based fable that becomes a magic realist quest through systemic poverty, race, The Cosby Show, and the insulating nature of fantasies.Continue reading →
January 25 – March 12, 2017 63 Thayer St Boston, MA 02118 C1 on Facebook
Review by Kitty Drexel
(SoWa,Boston, MA) Subscribers to American Theatre Magazine will recognize Really from its September 2016 issue. I was excited at the chance to see Company One perform a play I’d only read before. C1 did not disappoint. Still, I had more questions after seeing the show than I did after reading it. Continue reading →
(Boston, MA) I’m not really a football fan. Much to the chagrin of my darling beloved, I have a hard time sitting through anything sports-related, and being forced to watch several hours worth of men chasing a ball for no apparent reason sounds like hell to me. But that, thankfully, did not prevent me from enjoying (almost) every minute of Company One’s Colossal. Continue reading →
(Boston) Sci-fi disciples should rocket into the BCA to catch Astro Boy and the God of Comics. Company One not only delivers the flash and joy of Mighty Atom, but also ably handles the more thorny political commentary. Violence, death, and some racially offensive content are referenced. Continue reading →
