Aug 05

It’s Only Torture if Organs Fail: “Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them”

Photo Credit: Titanic Theatre Co’s Facebook page. The company is not afraid of icebergs or snuggles.

By Christopher Durang
Directed by Adam Zahler
Presented by Titanic Theatre Company

July 25-August 10, 2013
Arsenal Center for the Arts
Watertown, MA
Titanic Theatre Co Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

M for Mature. Actors occasionally appear in their underoos.

(Watertown) The attack on the two towers in NYC and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 changed the way the United States viewed itself forever. Before that day, many citizens viewed North America as the most powerful entity in the world. After 9/11, we recognized our vulnerability as a country. Almost everyone was looking for answers. There were many who turned to The Arts for catharsis. These same people reacted in anger when artists turned back to them for compassion. The Arts were supposed to provide answers. While coping with the same shock, we artists didn’t know what to do either.

It’s been 12 years since the attacks and the US is still divided. Our media has moved on to bigger and newer things. But our artists are still processing the events and asking questions. The media has given the American people plenty of reasons to explain why Taliban members attacked. Thank goodness for The Arts. Playwright Christopher Durang hasn’t given up on understanding the U.S.’s response to the attacks of 9/11. Rather than focus on the “badness” of Ossama Bin Laden*, Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them ponders the American people’s decade-long reaction from the perspective of western, 20/20 hindsight. He peppers his absurdist play with Dadaism and panic. The script is a sweet bouquet of human experience and dramatic flair. Continue reading

Dec 07

End. Begin. End. Begin Again.

Meghan McGeary as Hannah. Photo by Marcus Stern.


The Blue Flower.  Music, Lyrics, Script, and Videography by Jim Bauer; Artwork, Story and Videography by Ruth Bauer.

American Repertory Theatre, 12/1/10-1/8/11.

http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/blue-flower

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

The moment the audience enters the doors (actual scenery), they are invited to join Max Beckmann’s collage of memories.  An accordion player crosses the stage and roams the audience prior to the start of the show.  The stage is in a state of ordered disorder—the perfect working space for creating art.  All of the elements (the music, lighting, acting, scenery, and film) swirl around to form a story of love, loss, sorrow and hope. Continue reading