Tag Archives: Hannah Young

Apr 27

Absurdism, Profundity, Religiosity: “Church”

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The cast. Photo by Jason Grow.

Presented by Lanes Coven Theater Company
By Young Jean Lee
Directed by Justin Genna
Featuring: Alex Highsmith, Lily Narbonne, Cheryl D. Singleton, Hannah Young

April 24 – May 10
American Legion Post 3
8 Washington Street
Gloucester, MA 01930

Review by Maegan Clearwood

GLOUCESTER, Mass. – Church opens in emptiness: a lone voice carries over the audiences’ heads from behind, a familiar diatribe about ego and earthly trivialities. The American Legion hall is dark, a lectern ironically unoccupied as the disembodied sermon goes on and on and on. But Church ends in light, sound, frenetic movement – a smorgasbord for the senses, worlds apart from the solemnity of its beginning. Continue reading →

Apr 20

The Last Great Mass Delusion: “Mariette in Ecstasy”

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Presented by the Treehouse Collective
Based on the best-selling novel by Ron Hansen.
Adapted by Christina Calvit
Directed by Katie Swimm
Fight choreography by Shira Cahn-Lipman
Featuring: Carla Perrotta, Martha Warren, Michelle Leibowitz, Jaryn Wilcox, Lauren Foster, Grace Duffey, Cayd Barrera, Britt Ambruson, Hannah Young, Amanda Burke, Djessy Kungu, Brian O’Hara

April 3-19, 2026
Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St, Boston, 
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Mariette in Ecstasy mixes themes from shows like Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler with Miller’s The Crucible (or 2004’s Mandy Moore & Jena Malone vehicle, a satiric take on the evangelical purity movement, Saved!). Treehouse Collective’s production ran through April 19. So if you’re reading this article, and this sounds like your idea of fun, then I’m sorry; you’ve missed your chance. 

In turn-of-the-century upstate New York, Mariette Baptiste (Amanda Burke) enters the convent of the Sisters of the Crucifixion at the ripe, hormonal age of 17. The convent is run by her earthly sister, Reverend Mother Celine (Carla Perrotta). Mariette, like the other young sisters of the convent, is crazy bananas in love with their forever boyfriend, your savior and mine, Jesus of Nazareth. The young nuns dream of subjugating themselves to the Lord – not through years of hard, thankless work as the convent demands. No, they want to perform their subjugation to their holy husband immediately for public approval. None is more zealously devoted than Mariette.  Continue reading →

Jun 17

Queer pride through historical reimagining: “Bull in a China Shop”

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Karen Dervin as Dean Welsh and Linnea Lyerly as Woolley; Photo by Brian Higgins.

Presented by The Treehouse Collective
By Bryna Turner
Directed by Lisa Tierney
Lighting design by Dan Clawson
Set design by Britt Ambruson
Featuring: Linnea Lyerly, Heidi White, Karen Dervin, Anneke Salvadori, Hannah Young, Lena Vani

Abbott Memorial Theatre at Hovey Players
9 Spring Street
Waltham, MA 02451
June 13 – 29, 2025

Accessibility Note: There are a total of 13 steps to get downstairs to the theatre, with no elevator access.  

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

WALTHAM – The most radical element of Bull in a China Shop is emblemized by its earliest visuals. Two women in early 20th century garb lounge on a bed together, tangled in each other’s arms. Everything is perfectly mundane: they discuss personal and professional dreams; they quarrel; they kiss. And they do explain their queerness to the audience. They simply exist in their historical moment, no excuses necessary.

Bull in a China Shop by Bryna Turner isn’t a perfect play, but it fits neatly into The Treehouse Collective’s ethos. Their seasons largely feature contemporary works that give voice to ahead-of-their-time trailblazers (particularly women and queer folks, although I hope their team will add some more racial diversity to their season selection in the future) whose stories have otherwise been silenced by the patriarchal, heteronormative archival machine. Continue reading →