Tag Archives: chelsea

May 13

Meaning-making across language and time: “Translations”

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Image via the Longwood Players Facebook page.

Presented by The Longwood Players
By Brian Friel
Directed by Rose Carlson
Produced by Michael Tricca and Kaitlyn Chantry
Set Design by Jessica Algard
Dialect coaching by Mark Hessler
Featuring: Matthew Feldman, Dasha Artemchuk, Jimmy Jack, Via Gould, David Kleinman, Melinda Kalanzis, Anthony Mullin, Raj Bhuva, Carlos Fruzzetti, Gabriel O. Pagán-González

May 8 – 16
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA 02150

Review by Maegan Clearwood

CHELSEA— In 1833, the villagers of Baile Beag are content: they teach each other Latin and Greek, go about their farmwork and household chores, host dances and celebrate christenings. This peaceability is tempered, however, by a palpable unease. The villagers whisper about looming political violence, about phantom sweet potato smells – they are haunted, not by Ireland’s past, but by its future. Continue reading →

Apr 21

Woman on the edge of a tragedy: “Dido of Idaho”

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Inside you, these two wolves fight for dominance. Ashley Lyon as Crystal and Parker Jennings as Nora. Photo by Apollinaire Theatre Co.

Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company
By Abby Rosebrock
Directed by Brooks Reeves and Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Scenic and sound design by Joseph Lark-Riley
Featuring: Parker Jennings, Mauro Canepa, Mariela Lopez-Ponce, Paola Ferrer, Ashly Lyon

April 17 – May 10
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet Street
Chelsea, MA 02150

Review by Maegan Clearwood

Content advisory: this play discusses and depicts many sensitive topics. To avoid spoilers, I am linking the production information page here, where prospective audience members can find more information.

CHELSEA – Abby Rosebrock’s play Dido of Idaho fits seamlessly into one of my favorite, hyper-specific storytelling subgenres: the redemptive, darkly hilarious portrayal of a mentally unwell heterosexual woman hitting ultimate rock bottom. Think Fleabag, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Bridesmaids – comedies that don’t shy away from the muck, despair, violence, sexual depravity, and absurdism that 21st century womanhood frequently encompasses.

Dido of Idaho, now playing at Apollinaire Theatre Company, has this messiness in spades: bodily fluids, profanity, internalized misogyny, and cat fights galore. It’s a series of tonal ricochets, swinging from disgust to hope to grief and back again in a matter of seconds. It’s relentlessly honest, laughing in the face of feminine acceptability, daring the audience to look away. Continue reading →

Nov 18

Tickets, Please: “the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo)”

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Photo scavenged from online.

Presented by Teatro Chelsea
by Matthew Barbot
Directed by Armando Rivera
Associate Director – Luz Lopez
Fight direction – Naomi Kim

October 31- November 22, 2025
Chelsea Theatre Works Blackbox
181 Winnisimmet Street
Chelsea, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Estimated Runtime: 95min w/ no intermission

“Cuando a sus playas llegó Colón;
Exclamó lleno de admiración;
‘Oh!, oh!, oh!, esta es la linda
tierra que busco yo.’”
“When at her beaches Columbus arrived,
he exclaimed full of admiration:
‘Oh! Oh! Oh!
This is the beautiful land, that I seek.’”

– Taken from “La Borinqueña.” Lyrics by Manuel Fernández Juncos (1846-1928). Translation by Samuel Quiros. 

CHELSEA, Mass. —  The title of Matthew Barbot’s play, the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo), is derived from the lyrics of Puerto Rico’s national anthem, “La Borinqueña.” Parts Waiting for Godot and Snowpiercer (2013), the production asks what failed Puerto Rican nationalist assassins Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola would think of the United States’ appropriation of Puerto Rican culture through the decades. Was their sacrifice worth it? Who has taken up the mantle of independence since the event of their activism? Teatro Chelsea’s production is now running at Chelsea Theatre Works through November 22.

It’s 1950. Members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Oscar Collazo (Carlos Zalduondo) and Griselio Torresola (Nathaniel Justiniano), travel by train from New York to Washington, D.C. Their mission: to assassinate President Harry S. Truman (Alexander Crespo Rosaro II) in the name of Puerto Rican independence. They have two pistols and a conspiratorial Can-Do attitude. They intend to use their train trip to solidify their plans, but their fellow travelers (Ashley L. Aldarondo) keep interrupting Oscar and Griselio’s trip. Teatro Chelsea’s website says this play is “Loosely based on historical events and definitely based on recent ones, the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo) is a funny, gripping rollercoaster ride through Puerto Rico’s relationship to the United States.” Director Rivera plays a poet with one foot in the future and the other in the present.  Continue reading →

Apr 24

A House with Good Bones: “Alba”

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Presented by Teatro Chelsea
A new play by Alejandro Rodriguez
Based on The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca
Produced & directed by Mariela Lopez-Ponce

April 17-May 4, 2025 
Chelsea Theatre Works Black Box
181 Winnisimmet Street
Chelsea, MA 02150

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CHELSEA, Mass. — Alba, currently running at the Chelsea Theatre Works black box through May 4, is a modern adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s 1945 classic The House of Bernarda Alba. Playwright Alejandro Rodriguez spins Lorca’s play by adding a narrator, a male Poet, to a play originally written for 12 women and one child. Rightly or wrongly, this adaptation provides the male perspective on the relationships between women in a family free of men.   Continue reading →

Mar 11

When Bad Things Happen to Bad People: “Hedda Gabler”

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Photo credit: Apollinaire Theatre Company

Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company
By Henrik Ibsen 
Adapted by ATC from the translation by Edmund Gosse and William Archer
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques

Feb. 21 – March 16, 2025
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet Street
Chelsea, MA 02150

Run time is 1 hour 45 minutes

Trigger warning: Gun shots, gun violence, death by suicide, mentions of murder 

CHELSEA, Mass. — Apollinaire Theatre Company takes extra care with its dramaturgy. The company immediately welcomes its patrons into the world of their show from the moment we enter their space. Earlier this season, The Antelope Party had internet memes and ponies. Every Brilliant Thing had sticky note lists. For Hedda Gabler now up at Chelsea Theatre Works through March 16, dried flowers adorn the walls of the lobby. Candles glow in corners. The theatre itself is as dark as a tomb. A single bright stage light shines into the audience and onto the floor like a portent of scarring things to come.    Continue reading →

Dec 31

Really Good Oranges: “Every Brilliant Thing”

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Cristhian Mancinas-García as the Narrator. Photo by Apollinaire Theatre.

Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company
By Duncan Macmillan
With Jonny Donahoe
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Scenic & Sound Design: Joseph Lark-Riley
Lighting Design: Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Stage Manager: Kaleb Perez
ASMs: Miguel Dominguez, Max Wanty

Dec. 27, 2024-Jan. 19, 2025
Performances Featuring Parker Jennings: Sat. 12/28, 1/4, 1/11, 1/18, Sun. 1/5, 1/19
Performances Featuring Cristhian Mancinas-García performing in English: Fri. Dec. 27, Sun. Dec. 29, Sun. Jan. 12, Sat. Jan 18 at 3:00
Featuring Cristhian Mancinas-García performing in Spanish: Fri. Jan 10, 17
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet Street
Chelsea, MA 02150

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CHELSEA, Mass. — Every Brilliant Thing is currently in production at Chelsea Theatre Works by Apollinaire Theatre. It was last produced in the Boston area by SpeakEasy Stage in March 2018.  Adrianne Krstansky played the Narrator to the delight of the theatregoing population. The New England Theatre Geek review of that production is here. 

 It’s been many years and an entire pandemic since Massachusetts audiences last saw this play. While it is a play one never forgets and SpeakEasy’s production with Krstansky in the lead was memorable for its touching interpretation, it was not a monolith. There is room for alternative interpretations of Every Brilliant Thing. Sometimes, the most tender productions are intimate with a smaller impression. Apollinaire is one such production. 

Apollinaire’s Every Brilliant Thing is nestled in the third-floor black box theatre in Chelsea Theatre Works. After collecting one’s ticket (and adult beverage, if that’s your thing) from the hosts at the bar, patrons enter the performance space under white house lights as Big Band jazz classics tickle the ear. Our hosts told us, “All seating in the theatre is audience seating.” This means the black plastic chairs on risers, the velvet cushioned dining chairs and the loudly-patterned couches with pillows are intended for audience butts, too. We weren’t late but weren’t early so the couches were taken by other patrons. Get there early if your heart is set on couch surfing.   Continue reading →

Oct 03

Yoga Delights and Destroys: “The Hombres” at Chelsea Theatre Works

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The Hombres cast. Photo by Jason Grow.

Presented by Teatro Chelsea and Gloucester Stage Company
by Tony Meneses
Directed by Armando Rivera 
Intimacy Direction by Olivia Dumaine
Fight Direction by Robert Walsh
Movement Direction by Nathaniel Justiniano
Dramaturgy by Yijia Yu

September 6 – 29, 2024
Gloucester Stage & Chelsea Theatre Works 
Featuring Arthur Gomez, Jaime José Hernandez, Ricardo “Ricky” Holguin, Luis Negrón, Patrick O’Konis

100 minutes + 15 minute intermission

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CHELSEA, Mass. — We sincerely apologize to the cast, crew, and staff of The Hombres for our publishing delay. Life had become personally and professionally unwieldy and there weren’t enough hours in the day for our many responsibilities. Nosotros nos disculpamos. 

The run of The Hombres ended on Sept. 29. If you missed it, it sucks to be you. This play rocked.

The Hombres is a play about a generous, kind yoga instructor, studio manager, and dancer Julián (Ricardo “Ricky” Holguin) turning around to find random straight men in his studio. Julián is cleaning and choreographing a new dance piece. He turns around: BAM! Strong and silent construction site manager Héctor (Arthur Gomez, who is finally getting the larger roles he deserves) is standing in the studio offering custodial services in exchange for yoga classes. Julián contemplates the risks he’s taking by allowing Héctor in the studio after hours. He turns around: BAM! Héctor’s coworker from the site Pedro (Luis Negrón) wants classes, too. Julián can’t face the back wall for fear he’ll discover another straight guy when he turns around.  Continue reading →

Sep 10

For the Punks, By the Punks: “The Arsonists”

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Left to right: Julia Trueblood. Stephanie Charlton, and Kim Carrell

Praxis Stage presents The Arsonists
Written by Max Frisch
Translated by Alistair Beaton
Directed by Bob Scanlan
Costume Design by Maureen Festa
Lighting Design by Kevin Fulton
Sound Design by Mackenzie Adamick
Dramaturgy by Michael Anderson 

The Band:
Guitar and Music Director: David Kurimsky
Vocals/Arrangements: Miss Mary Mac
Guitar: Malachi Connolly  
Percussion and Backing Vocals: Benedict Dawn-Cross
Saw: Leigh Calabrese

Sept. 5 – 15, 2024
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet Street
Chelsea, MA 02150

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CHELSEA, Mass. — The Arsonists is about fascists. This production is decisively, unquestionably anti-fascist (and vehemently anti-MAGA). Gird your loins and buy your tickets accordingly. 

Praxis Stage presents Alistair Beaton’s translation of Max Frisch’s The Arsonists, a morality play with a hero who learns no moral. Beaton’s updates Frisch’s original work (previously The Fire Raisers, 1953) with 21st-century language and modern references. Praxis expounds upon Beaton’s work by adding references to the Trump presidency and America’s other political chicaneries. The keen updates appeal to the modern audience member. We can laugh at the absurdity of the play while mourning the state of our political stage.     Continue reading →

Jul 02

Fear and Loneliness in El Serano: “Fade”

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Photo via Teatro Chelsea Facebook page.

Presented by Teatro Chelsea
By Tanya Saracho
Directed by Armando Rivera
Movement direction by Audrey Johnson
Intimacy direction by Olivia Dumaine
Featuring: Luz Lopez & Cristhian Mancinas Garcia

June 19th – 30, 2024
Chelsea Theatre Works
181 Winnisimmet Street
Chelsea, MA 02150

Teatro Chelsea in METRMAG

Critique by Kitty Drexel

The play is presented in English and some Spanish. Run time is approximately 106 minutes with no intermission.

CHELSEA, Mass. — Teatro Chelsea’s Fade at Chelsea Theatre Works was excellent. At 106 minutes in a wee black box, it was compact and intimate. Congratulations to the cast and crew on a successful run and a sold-out final performance! 

Mexican-born novelist Lucia (Luz Lopez) moves to El Sereno, Los Angeles to write for a copaganda TV series. She forges an unexpected friendship with the Mexican American custodian, Abel (Cristhian Mancinas Garcia), because she is homesick, and he speaks Spanish. As their friendship grows, Abel trusts Lucia with the details of his life. The boundaries between his stories and hers fade.  Continue reading →

May 15

Battle Uphill, Downhill, and Hopping Across: “Touching the Void”

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The cast of “Touching the Void.” Photo by Danielle Fauteux Jacques.

Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company
Based on Joe Simpson’s bestselling memoir Touching the Void
Written by David Greig
Directed by Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Scenic & Sound Design: Joseph Lark-Riley
Costume Design: Elizabeth Rocha 
Lighting Design: Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Featuring: Patrick O’Konis, Kody Grassett, Parker Jennings, Zach Fuller

April 19- May 26, 2024 (Extended!)
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet St.
Chelsea, MA

Running Time: estimated 2 hours with one intermission

Performances followed by a Reception with the actors

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CHELSEA, Mass. — Apollinaire Theatre Company’s Touching the Void is about two men chasing death up a mountain. Death chases them back down.  It runs through May 26 at Chelsea Theatre Works.

It is 1985. Two Brits, Joe Simpson (Patrick O’Konis) and Simon Yates (Kody Grassett) are mountaineers who decide to climb a dangerous mountain together: the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. These dumbass himbos don’t have a backup plan, just a hippy acquaintance with no useful skills, Richard (Zach Fuller), watching their gear at base camp. Touching the Void is told in imaginary flashforwards and backs that feature Joe’s sister Sarah (Parker Jennings). Sarah wants to understand why Joe, Simon, and even Richard would do such a foolhardy thing as climbing a treacherous peak. Me too, Sarah.  Continue reading →