Tag Archives: Company One

Jul 29

Everyone’s Invited to “The T Party”

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Playing through August 13, 2016. Photos by Paul Fox

Playing through August 13, 2016. Photos by Paul Fox

Presented by Company One
Written and Directed by Natsu Onoda Power (with contributions by Jade Sylvan)

July 15 – August 13, 2016
Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
Company One on Facebook
Review by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) The T Party is colorful potpourri of a show: bright, engaging, and eclectic in design. The skit format gives a wide range of stories based under the LGBTQ (QUILTBAG?) umbrella usually, but not always, focused on gender. Natsu Onoda’s anecdotes come in a wide range, some as feel good as a ‘90’s prom in the style of Lisa Frank that opens the show. Others are  more awkward, like a Craigslist meet up between a cis male identified crossdresser and a trans Filipina escort. The scope is broad and looks to simultaneously create community and intimacy. Without focus on an individual narrative, the tone shifts between joy and sadness wildly, suddenly, as if the two emotions weren’t separate at all, but a continuum of the same experience. Continue reading →

Feb 16

It’s A Privilege To Be So Offended: AN OCTOROON

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(photo cred: Jeremy Fraga)

(photo cred: Jeremy Fraga)

Presented by Company One and ArtsEmerson
Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Summer L. Williams

Jan. 29 – Feb. 27, 2016
Emerson/Jackie Liebergott Black Box
559 Washington St; Boston MA, 02111
Company One on Facebook
ArtsEmerson on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) I know enough about civil and political rights to know that I don’t know nearly enough to speak with authority; I know enough to know that white people need to shut up and show up in support of the voices of people of color (POCs). That white people have done more than enough talking on behalf of the peoples we oppress. My suggestion is to attend An Octoroon and stay for the talk back. Use your money to express your belief that everyone deserves equal rights and equal representation. Use your attendance as an opportunity to start a respectful conversation about the US’s race problem. Let POCs know that their fight doesn’t exist in a vacuum.  Continue reading →

Oct 06

The Government Has No Jurisdiction in A Uterus: DRY LAND

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Photo credit: Paul Fox

Photo credit: Paul Fox; Detergent should only be used to clean clothing, not a uterus.

Presented by Company One
Written by Ruby Rae Spiegel
Directed by Steven Bogart
Dramaturgy by Jessie Baxter

October 2 – 30, 2015
Plaza Theatre
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
C1 on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) For as long as there have been uteruses, there have been abortions. For almost as long as there have been abortions, there have been people desiring to control the contents of a uterus that isn’t theirs. Everyone, regardless of gender, deserves to know the capability of their body. Everyone with a uterus deserves to choose what is best for that uterus whether that means ending or beginning a pregnancy. A uterus shouldn’t be political. It is privately owned. No one gets to make decisions about my body but me. I support Planned Parenthood because I believe that everyone else deserves that freedom too.   

Company One’s production of Dry Land is about the consequences of abstinence only education, institutionalized ignorance, and socialized body shaming. Amy (Stephanie Recio) is a pregnant teenager. She doesn’t give us any specifics but it’s implied that she had consensual sex with a boy. Unfortunately, Amy lives in Florida. This means a safe, regulated surgical abortion is impossible for her to acquire without a parent’s input because Florida believes a teenager 16 or older is old enough to engage in sexual congress with someone up to seven years their senior but not to make their own decisions regarding the consequences of that sexual activity*. Instead, Amy has engaged Ester (Eva Hughes) to be her confidante in self-administering an at-home abortion. They are acquaintances through the high school swim team. Continue reading →

Jul 27

The Greatest Show on Turf: COLOSSAL

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Marlon Shepard as Mike and Alex Molina as Young Mike. (Photo by Mona Maruyama)

Marlon Shepard as Mike and Alex Molina as Young Mike. (Photo by Mona Maruyama)

Presented by Company One
An NNPN Rolling World Premier
Play by Andrew Hinderaker
Directed by Summer L. Williams

July 17 – August 15
Roberts Studio Theater at the BCA
527 Tremont St, Boston, MA
Company One on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(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 →

Jul 09

Team-Work at Play: An Open-Rehearsal Review of COLOSSAL

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Photo by Mona Maruyama

Photo by Mona Maruyama

Presented by Company One
An NNPN Rolling World Premier­­
Play by Andrew Hinderaker
Directed by Summer L. Williams

July 17 – August 15, 2015
Roberts Studio Theater at the BCA
527 Tremont St, Boston, MA
Company One on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(Boston, MA) Last night, I had the opportunity to watch from the sidelines what promises to shape up into one of the more exciting theatre offerings that Boston has on tap this summer.  Company One hosted an open rehearsal of their summer blockbuster Colossal and the show (from what I saw last night) has great promise! Continue reading →

Mar 09

Infanticide: The Musical : SHOCKHEADED PETER

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Photo Credit- Liza Voll

Photo Credit- Liza Voll

Presented by Company One
Created for the stage by Julian Courch and Phelim McDermott
Original music and Lyrics by The Tiger Lillies
Adapted from Heinrich Hoffmann’s The Struwwelpeter
Music Direction by Walter Sickert
Directed by Steven Bogart
Featuring Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys

March 6 – April 4, 2015
Modern Theatre at Suffolk University
525 Washington Street Boston, MA
Company One on Facebook
Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(Boston, MA) All the macabre poetic whimsy of Edward Gorey combined with the nostalgic cartoony lines of Disney’s Haunted Mansion are on display in Company One’s Shockheaded Peter. Fans of local band Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys will recognize the musical style of this production, and new aficionados are in for a treat. The Toys bring their incredible sense of boisterous musicality and penchant for dark themes to this ninety minutes piece that marries puppetry with physical performance to create a poetic ode to infanticide. Continue reading →

Nov 13

Luminarium Dance Presents: The Sleeprunner, December 2014

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sleep runner

THE SLEEPRUNNER
December 5 . 6 . 12 . 13 @
Multicultural Arts Center
41 Second Street
East Cambridge MA
BUY TICKETS
Luminarium Dance on Facebook

Don’t miss Luminarium’s largest production of the season during its two-weekend fall run. The production will take place at the beautiful and historic Multicultural Arts Center (41 Second Street, East Cambridge MA), highlighting the company’s signature imaginative choreography, lighting, and scenic design, while complementing the caliber of its past feature productions Mythos:Pathos (2012) and Secrets & Motion (2013).

What makes Luminarium uniquely dance & theatre?
  • Luminarium is the first dance company to be invited for, then granted, a Bob Jolly Charitable Trust Award, for its productions’ masterful theatricality in addition to dance. (All previous awards have gone to theatre companies and individuals.)
  • Luminarium was featured as one of 10 “Unsung Heroes” in the Boston performing arts scene, alongside New Repertory Theatre and Company One, by Improper Bostonian magazine.
  • Costumes for The Sleeprunner are being created by rising New York costume designer Sueann Leung, whose work was most notably featured in the runway section of the Wall Street Journal.
  • Luminarium’s The Sleeprunner marks another first for the local dance community as one of the smallest/youngest Boston-based companies to be adopting a theatre performance format, expanding to a two-week run.
  • Its performers come from an energetically-eclectic background that include a nationally-acclaimed colorguard performer, professional voice actor, internationally-touring classical Indian dancer, tap-dancing winner of the World Cup in Germany, and (just to add to the diversity) even a PhD candidate in Biology who is an aerial circus artist on the side.
  • The Sleeprunner will be lit and co-choreographed by professional theatre lighting design and choreographer Kim Holman, who does lighting design and choreography for local Boston theatre companies ranging from Babson College to the Boston Public Schools.
Aug 05

Blast Off Achieved: “Astro Boy and the God of Comics”

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Banner courtesy of the C1 Facebook page

Presented by Company One
Written and Directed by Natsu Onoda Power

July 19-August 16, 2014
Plaza Theatre at Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
C1 on Facebook

Review by Noe Kamelamela

(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 →

Jan 31

For F*ck’s Sake, It’s Not About White People: “We Are Proud to Present a Presentation about the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915”

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Presented by Company One Theatre and Arts Emerson
Written by Jackie Sibbles Drury
Directed by Summer L. Williams

January 10 – February 1, 2014
The Jackie Liebergott Black Box at the Emerson/Paramount Center
559 Washington St.
Boston, MA 02111
Company One on Facebook
Arts Emerson on Facebook

Performance run from 90 to 100 minutes. There is no intermission.

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) We Are Proud to Present a Presentation about the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 is a scripted, semi-interactive history lecture cum improv experiment dissecting the historical events of the German occupation of what is now Namibia. 6 actors attempt to reenact the experiences of German soldiers as they ousted the Herero tribe from their lands. It starts with a chipper cast playfully giving a lecture. As with much of history, it has a somber ending. Continue reading →

Jul 26

It’s Like A Jungle . . . Sometimes: HOW WE GOT ON

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© Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo

Presented by Company One
by Idris Goodwin
Directed by Summer L. Williams

July 19-August 17
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
Company One Facebook Page

Review by Noe Kamelamela

(Boston) Company One has spent over a decade in Boston bringing theater to bear on a list of problems, which is nearly as long as their list of awards.  Their latest is a vibrant production that lays down a phat beat for diversity.  The audience I sat in was the most visibly excited and diverse audience I’ve experienced all year, possibly due to one of its key topics:  hip-hop. Continue reading →