Tag Archives: Cambridge

Aug 23

An Infallible System of Interpretation: “Rhinoceros”

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Giamatti and Turturo in “Rhinoceros.” Photo by Hawver and Hall.

Presented by American Repertory Theater
By Eugene Ionesco
Translated by Derek Prouse
Directed by Diane Paulus

Aug. 14 – Sept. 27, 2026
Loeb Drama Center

Digital Playbill

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Runtime: Two hours, including one fifteen-minute intermission.

TLDR; Famous people on stage! Timely politics on stage! Vote the rhinoceri out.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Boston’s arts journalism is awash with news about the American Repertory Theatre’s production of Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. Rightly so, it’s a grand production worthy of its hype. Director Paulus is finally meeting a political moment as it occurs. She’s invited a grand, New York- and L.A.-based cast to play in Cambridge, MA. (Hello, Bostonian understudies! I appreciate you.) Ionesco’s plays lack universal appeal. Thanks to Derek Prouse’s translation, this charismatic production comes as close as one might get. 

Ionesco’s Rhinoceros dwells under the umbrella of the dramatist movement, the Theatre of the Absurd. TOTA, a 1950s & 1960s American and European theatre movement based on Albert Camus’ “The Myth of Sisyphus” (1942), posits the nihilistic/absurdist/existentialist belief that human existence is without meaning or purpose. Rather than do as Camus suggested, which was to find joy in the absurdity, playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco (the Romanian Beckett), Jean Genet (the French Ionesco), and Harold Pinter (the British Genet) decided to be depressed. 

Thanks, Reddit.

Continue reading →

Jun 12

A Swan Lake Superfan Peeled Like a Grapefruit, Stepping Out of Her Skin: “Black Swan”

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The “Black Swan” gala or the “Phantom” gala? We may never know. Photo Credit: Hawver and Hall.

Presented by American Repertory Theater
Based on the Searchlight Pictures Film “Black Swan,” with story by Andres Heinz
Book by Jen Silverman
Music, Lyrics, and Orchestrations by Dave Malloy
Directed and Choreographed by Sonya Tayeh

May 26 – July 12, 2026
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Content Warnings: This production depicts characters experiencing mental health crises and physical violence/body horror. It contains intense strobe, flashing lights, haze, fog, and loud noises. They are frickin’ cool as heck. The lighting, sound, and illusion design departments know how to throw a creepy party. 

Recommended for ages 16+.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

TLDR: Dance = good. Everything else = iffy.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The A.R.T.’s Black Swan is based on the award-winning 2010 Darren Aronofsky film of the same name. It should be noted that the musical is not a strict remake of the film, and the musical makes several swift departures. Patrons can appreciate the musical without intimately knowing its source material. I found a rewatch of the film helpful before attending, as it gave me context for the musical’s more abstract psychological moments. It also reminded me when to expect a potential scare, because I’m an inappropriate giggler. Depending on one’s personal preferences, it may be better to watch the film later. 

If you don’t want to watch the movie, you can get by on reading the Wikipedia summary. Writing of which, this article contains spoilers. You have been warned.  Continue reading →

Jun 03

Laughing at the Horror of it All: “The Mystery of Irma Vep”

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Paul Melendy & Gabriel Graetz. Photo: Maggie Hall Photography.

Presented by Central Square Theater
By Charles Ludlam
Directed by David R. Gammons
Cast: Gabriel Graetz (Jane Twisden, Lord Edgar Hillcrest, et al), Paul Melendy (Nicodemus Underwood, Lady Enid Hillcrest, Alcazar, et al)

May 28 – June 21, 2026
Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139

Review by Craig Idlebrook

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Theater is full of silly mashup plays that provide ample opportunity for cartoonish violence and rapid costume changes, but few, I would argue, can help us laugh at the terror of our times as well as the 1984 comedy of The Mystery of Irma Vep, expertly staged at Central Square Theater in Cambridge. The play bear-hugs the penny dreadful genre, with homages to creature features of Victorian vampires, mummies, werewolves, departed former wives and more. Nods to Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde (and probably 15 other references I didn’t catch) are thrown in for good measure. Continue reading →

Apr 08

Free Will Is an Illusion: “Breaking the Code”

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Matthew Beagan, Eddie Shields; Photo credit: Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by Central Square Theater
Directed by Scott Edmiston
Based on the book Alan Turing, The Enigma by Andrew Hodges
Play by Hugh Whitemore
With a new epilogue by Neil Bartlett
Featuring: Matthew Beagan, Josephine Moshiri Elwood, Paula Plum, Dom Carter, David Bryan Jackson, Eddie Shields

April 2 – 26, 2026
Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Central Square Theater presents Breaking the Code by Hugh Whitemore, now through April 26. It attempts to shed light on Alan Turing, the gay neurodivergent man, while also highlighting his technological advances. History hasn’t been kind to Turing. Director Scott Edmiston’s production seeks to reverse the cruelty. 

To create some historical perspective, NASA’s Artemis II astronauts are returning to Earth after completing a week-long lunar flyby. These brilliant scientists (Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Jeremy Hansen) trained all of their adult lives to complete this mission. They represent the best of the best minds in the U.S. We will rightly commend them as heroes with a pat on the back and a press conference. Their choice of romantic partner plays no part in their work.  Continue reading →

Mar 18

Clowning, Catastrophe, and Communal Resistance: “The End is Nigh”

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Presented by Liars and Believers
Directed by Jason Slavick
Featuring Enrique Babilonia, Jesse Garlick, Ben Heath, Karina Ithier, Glen Moore, Hampton Richards

March 12-22, 2026
The Foundry
101 Rogers Street,
Cambridge MA

Review by Maegan Clearwood

CAMBRIDGE, Mas. — For centuries, the character of The Fool has used laughter to shed light on ugly existential truths. The End is Nigh walks in the clown-sized footsteps of Samuel Beckett and adds a dash of modern-day dystopian gameshow literature (think Squid Games or The Running Man), resulting in a theatrical collage that is brutally honest and surprisingly heartfelt.

The play, created by the Liars & Believers ensemble (with direction by Jason Slavick), invites audiences to cheer for the filming of “The End is Nigh,” the last television show to survive the apocalypse. Cutthroat host Consuela Hobbs (Hampton Richards) and her musical assistants (Jesse Garlick and Enrique Babilonia) drag three clown contestants onto the set, hoping that all three die gruesome, TV-worthy deaths. Continue reading →

Feb 16

Here There Be Dragonnes: “The Moderate”

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Celeste Oliva and Nael Nacer in The Moderate. Photo: Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by Central Square Theater
A Catalyst Collaborative@MIT Production
By Ken Urban
Directed by Jared Mezzocchi

February 5 – March 1, 2026
Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

Strobe and flashing lighting effects are used in this production.

Using the Motion Picture Association rating system, this production lands between R and NC-17 ratings for sexual content, violence, and mature themes including political terrorism and child abuse. 

Article by Kitty Drexel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Let’s begin with the end. In an interview with Playwright Ken Urban and Director and Multimedia Designer Jared Mezzocchi, I asked the duo what they hoped audiences would take away from their production of The Moderate (now playing at Central Square Theater). Urban said the play is a human story about a man struggling with his past. In doing so, he helps someone in the present. This is possible through Frank’s interactions online

Mezzocchi said he hopes audiences consider how their own internet use could be harmful and instead take a moment to reflect and look within themselves to find hope. 

Hold on to Mezzocchi’s message of hope. You’ll need it.  Continue reading →

Dec 30

When kindness and representation aren’t enough: “Wonder: The Musical”

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Garrett McNally and Donovan Louis Bazemore in Wonder. Photo: Hawver and Hall

Presented by American Repertory Theater
Based on the novel “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio and the Lionsgate and Mandeville film Wonder
Book by Sarah Ruhl
Music and Lyrics by A Great Big World (Ian Axel and Chad King)
Directed by Taibi Magar
Scenic design by Matt Saunders
Featuring: Melvin Abston, Kaylin Hedges, Alison Luff, Garrett McNally, Javier Muñoz, Nathan Salstone, Max Voehl 

December 17th, 2025 – February 8th, 2026
Tickets
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Online playbill

Review by Maegan Clearwood

This production depicts bullying and contains fog, haze, strobe, and flashing lights. Recommended for ages 9+.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — With the debut of Wonder: The Musical, the A.R.T. was simultaneously presented with a monumental opportunity and an obstacle. The source material, R.J. Palacio’s 2012 book of the same name, has been lauded as a groundbreaking story of empathy through its first-person portrayal of Auggie, a preteen boy with a facial difference. A Google search for reviews brings up words like “uplifting,” “heart-rending,” and “inspirational.” 

These very terms that are used to praise the novel are, however, at the root of frequent critique from members of the disability* rights community. Stories about disability far too often rehash tired tropes, portraying disabled characters as “objects of inspiration or charity,” as Professor Ari D. Ne’eman noted in a Harvard School of Public Health panel about the musical, rather than complex people in their own right. These tropes point to the fact that such stories are about disabled people, but not by or for them. (Editor’s note: We in the disabled community call this Inspiration Porn, a term coined by comedian and activist Stella Young. Check out her 2014 TEDx Talk. )  Continue reading →

Oct 08

Using His Powers for Good: “300 Paintings”

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Sam Kissajukian in performance of 300 Paintings. Credit: Evgenia Eliseeva

Presented by American Repertory Theater
Written and Performed by Sam Kissajukian
Produced by Sally Horchow and Matt Ross in association with Octopus Theatricals

Now – Oct. 25, 2025
Farkas Hall
12 Holyoke Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission

Critique by Diana Lu

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Watching 300 Paintings feels a bit like being dropped straight into the mind of Sam Kissajukian, mid-manic episode—but with comfy seats, visual aids, and killer comedic timing. For 80 minutes straight, the comedian-turned-painter commands the stage with no script; his first 300 paintings flash on the black screen behind him. The result is a hilarious, high-energy, and surprisingly insightful comedic monologue that explores the fine line between genius and madness, connection and isolation, and what gets assigned as worthy in this late-stage capitalist world of unprecedented wealth disparity—a world obsessed with packaging everything, including ourselves, into “brands,” “content,” “product.” 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 →

Sep 05

Pushing the boundaries of genre and form: “Passengers”

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Photo by Alexandre Galliez.

Production by The 7 Fingers
Presented by American Repertory Theater
Co-produced by TOHU (Montréal, Canada) and ArtsEmerson (Boston, États-Unis)
Written, directed, and composed by Shana Carroll
Composition and music direction by Colin Gagné
Lyrics Colin Gagné, Shana Carroll
Lighting design by Eric Champoux
Projection design by Johnny Ranger
Featuring: Victor Crépin, Eduardo De Azevedo Grillo, Isabella Diaz, Marie-Christine Fournier, Téo Le Baut, Amanda Orozco, Michael Patterson, Basile Pucek, Santiago Rivera, Méliejade Tremblay-Bouchard

September 2 – 26, 2025
Tickets
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Review by Maegan Clearwood

This production contains haze and flashing lights. 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –Since moving to Boston four years ago, I have been spoiled rotten by access to top-tier circus – from kitschy Halloween horrors with Boston Circus Guild’s Cirque of the Dead (now an annual tradition of mine) to a breathtaking showcase of talent from the instructors at Commonwealth Circus Center in Jamaica Plain. I am in awe of the twisty, bendy, flippy talent that’s on regular display here in my own backyard.  

Aside from this array of homegrown talent, Boston also has an ongoing love for Montreal circus troupe The 7 Fingers. The A.R.T. presented the ensemble’s spin on Pippin in 2012, and ArtsEmerson hosted Duel Reality last season, an irreverent twist on a Shakespearean classic. This fall, the troupe is back at The A.R.T. with its production of Passengers, which first premiered in Boston in 2019. Continue reading →