Sharmarke Yusuf and Regan Sims; Photo: T Charles Erickson.
Presented by the Front Porch Arts Collective and The Huntington Written by Lenelle Moïse Directed by Dawn M. Simmons Dramaturgy by Charles Haugland Choreography by Misha Shields Intimacy consultant: Gregory Geffrard Voice coaching by Christine Hamel, Rebecca Schneebaum Cultural consultant: New England Aces
March 3, 2023 – April 2, 2023 The Calderwood Pavilion/BCA Boston, MA 02116 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission Digital access to the filmed performance is available until April 16, 2023.
Spoiler Alert: New England Theatre Geek discusses a central theme of K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Knowing this information shouldn’t ruin the play’s other surprises, character arcs, or ending. Your reaction to this plot point, how the characters react to it, and the audience’s reaction may teach you about your own inherent biases.
Critique by Kitty Drexel
BOSTON, MA — The Huntington and The Porch must please update their summary for K-I-S-S-I-N-G. It no longer accurately describes the show. I thought there was going to be a lot more David Bowie and at least one quote from bell hooks. There are no pizza box art projects or fireworks displays. The co-production is/was highly anticipated. That part can stay.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G is a quasi-Cinderella story about the emotional and sexual awakening of Lala (Regan Sims), a young woman living on the edge of poverty who craves art, poetry, and the feel of warm, supportive arms around her. She lives with her emotionally stunted mother Dot (the ethereal Patrese D McClain who dominated the stage with her presence) and her little brother Max. Lala’s father Jack (James Milord) loves Lala like the sun loves the sparkle on the ocean’s waves, but he can only visit once a week. Continue reading →
Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company Dream Boston: A New Series of Audio Plays The 54th in ’22 by Kirsten Greenidge McKim by Brenda Withers Overture by Kate Snodgrass By the Rude Bridge by Melinda Lopez
Online now for free on the Huntington Theatre website
Huntington on Facebook, Twitter Please remember to donate! Donate now so theatre can still exist later.
Critique by Noelani Kamelamela
STREAMING – I appreciate theatre makers using online platforms to present pre-recorded work or livestream theatrical content. In these times, when it is prudent for people not to be in theatres or congregating outdoors for a concert, the creation of work that can be digested at home or even on a lunch break is a political act beyond taking general responsibility for the health and welfare of a community by cancelling in person productions.
Dream Boston is easy to digest in four separate audio plays and can be listened to with an internet connection on someone’s phone for less than ten minute stretches. The playwrights and the directors for Dream Boston are women. Continue reading →
Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA 10th Anniversary Ribbon Cutting: (L-R) BCA Chairman Philip W. Lovejoy, Huntington Trustees Gerald and Sherryl Cohen, Calderwood Charitable Foundation Trustee John Cornish, former Huntington chairman J. David Wimberly, (behind) Paul Grogan of The Boston Foundation, BCA Executive Director Veronique Le Melle, Huntington Chairman Carol G. Deane, (behind) former BRA member Harry Collings, former Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Bank of America Massachusetts State President Robert Gallery, Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois, (behind) former Huntington president William P. McQuillan, Huntington President Mitchell J. Roberts, Nancy Roberts, Huntington Managing Director Michael Maso, photo: Paul Marotta
Article by Kitty Drexel
BOSTON — The July 9 press release said, “Huntington Theatre Company announces the election of 4 new board members and the promotion of two Huntington Advisors to Trustee level. The election took place during the Huntington’s year-end meeting of the Board of Trustees and Advisors on June 8, 2020.”
The headliner of the press release, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner, director of Huntington productions, and historically relevant badass Billy Porter is a new trustee of the Huntington. Porter and global businessman Professor George Yip are the only two people of color added to the Huntington’s snowflake white board leadership. Three of the six promotions are white women. The other is, of course, a rich, cis, white male.
While we congratulate all of the new board and trustee members, we can’t help but notice the Huntington’s hypocrisy. The theatre penned and posted a Black Lives Matter solidarity statement on its website. The election of four white people flies in the face of that solidarity statement. Continue reading →
On May 25 (yesterday), Massachusetts began the first of fourth phases to reopen. Exact information on the plan and all four phases can be found at https://www.mass.gov.
Mass Creative created a super helpful graph that represents the artistic community’s participation in reopening. The phases for arts organizations are:
Image credit Mass Creative.
Phase 1 (May 25th): Zoos, outdoor gardens, public installations, and drive-in theaters
Phase 2: Some outdoor performances, maybe some outdoor venues
Phase 4: Large venues (arenas, stadiums, night clubs—in process of defining large venues)
All our love from six feet away,
Kitty Drexel
Queen of the New England Theatre Geeks
P.S. This post is a late due to mental health/personal reasons. It is important that we take care of ourselves at all times but especially now. Life is stressful for all manner of reasons. It’s okay not to do the thing, all of the things, or any of the things. It is okay not to be productive. Our health must come first.
American Repertory Theatre — American Repertory Theater at Harvard University announces upcoming free virtual conversations and events. Conversations are open to the general public, though advanced RSVPs are required. 1776 IN DIALOGUE TONIGHT—Tuesday, May 26 at 6PM
With Diane Paulus, director of 1776; Timothy Patrick McCarthy, Professor of History and Literature at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and Core Faculty at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government; and Oneika Phillips from the cast of 1776. Register for 1776 in Dialogue here
CITIZENSHIP 1776 – 2026: APPROACHING 250 YEARS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Monday, June 1 at 4PM
With Annette Gordon-Reed, Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School; Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, it is worthwhile to consider what it means to be a citizen of the country that was created in 1776. Harvard Professor Annette Gordon-Reed explores the questions of how citizenship is expressed in this modern context, how we kept the republic, and what might the future hold for our republic. Register for Citizenship 1776 – 2026 here.
THE SHOW MUST GO SEAN
Tuesday, June 4 at 6:30PM
The 2020 Tony Awards were postponed, but the celebration goes on! Join A.R.T. for The Show Must Go Sean, a special Tonys-themed trivia night hosted Broadway aficionado and A.R.T.’s Assistant Director of Membership and Donor Relations, Sean Cummings. Bring a team of your favorite theater enthusiasts for an interactive evening of merriment and multimedia trivia—teams of any size and participants of all ages and knowledge levels are welcome! Register for The Show Must Go Sean here.
LUNCH WITH LUNSFORD
The A.R.T continues its Lunch with Lunsford series with guests announced for the month of June. Hosted by Artistic Producer Mark Lunsford, the Tuesday noontime webinar features curated conversations with artists in A.R.T.’s orbit, followed by interactive audience Q&A. Learn more and RSVP for Lunch with Lunsford here.
Apollinaire Theatre Company — Apollinaire Theatre is excited to invite you to join us for Apollinaire at Home, a free online play & film script reading gathering! Apollinaire at Home is hosted by your Apollinaire favorites, and the cast includes You. Readings will be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30, and Sunday “matinee” at 3:00.
We’ll post the schedule for each week at the beginning of the week (check on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning).
Huntington Theatre Company — Huntington Theatre Company announces their annual Spotlight Spectacular Gala will take place virtually on the Huntington’s Facebook and YouTube channels Monday, June 15, 2020 beginning at 7:30pm. More info about the gala is HERE.
Liars & Believers — The Greening of Bridget Kelley, by Peter Snoad. It features LAB company member Jesse Garlick and our friend, Aislinn Brophy, who was in A Story Beyond.
A New Normal: A Zoom play by David Perkinson — Written by David Perkison, A New Normal is a dryly comic look at 3 friends trying to cope during the pandemic. A one act performance recorded entirely in one take using Zoom recording software. Follow the YouTube link to watch!
There is more to do here, in this list, than there is time in the day. We sincerely hope your business keeps you happy, sane, and stable.
New offerings from MassMouth, New Rep, Sparkhaven Theatre, ArtsEmerson join the ranks of consistent givers Flat Earth Theatre, The Umbrella Arts, HowlRound & Liars & Believers.
You are loved, you are necessary, you contain multitudes. We look forward to seeing you again at the theatre!
All our love from six feet away,
Kitty, Queen of the New England Theatre Geeks
[Image of an embroidary hoop with stitching that reads, “wash your hands and don’t be a racist.”]
Action! by Design – Action! By Design launched Live Stream Local to connect audiences to the voices they love, virtually and to help support local artists. 6 – 7:30 P.M. on Thursdays, a local artist will enter their studio to stream music. Click the links for the lineup. Now there’s a Sunday Open Mic Night from Rascals!
ArtsEmerson – The Together Apart series presents Sequence 8. Sequence 8 from The 7 Fingers will be available to view from April 13-27, 2020. From the ArtsEmerson website:
“Contemporary circus arts require the utmost faith in your fellow performers. When it comes down to it, your life is quite literally in their hands. The lessons we, as the audience, learn from circus take on a new importance in light of our current circumstances; while we cannot physically hold each other, we prop each other up through zoom calls with family and friends, encouraging text messages, and sharing a common knowledge that by acting together, we help each other. We care for each other deeply, standing together by standing apart.”
Catalyze Playwriting Group – Catalyze presents Genie in the Machine: Virtual Plays on Artificial IntelligenceCome and join your friendly neighborhood science and science fiction play group for some readings that have to do with artificial intelligence!
Where, you ask? *https://mit.zoom.us/j/801660241*
April 18th
THE CANTEEN by Carl Danielson
THE ORPHIDY SMORLACK VARIETY HOUR by Nathan Comstock
April 25th
DEATHS OF DESPAIR by Anna Waldman-Brown
HADALYGIRL by Zach Barryte and Drache Bowens-Ruben
Flat Earth Theatre – Coming to Facebook Live, their new radio play Fine-Tuned Universe by A. Lehrmitt will stream weekly on Saturday nights at 7 P.M. from April 25th – May 30th. Each week brings a new 20-minute chapter. Fine-Tuned Universe: a radio play by A. Lehrmitt. Directed by Jake Scaltreto Saturdays, April 25th – May 30th, 7pm EST, Streaming on Facebook Live Featuring: Juliet Bowler, Kristen Heider, James Hayward, Chris Chiampa, Melissa de Jesus and Liz Salazar. With sound design by James Rossi
Homesick Play Project and Sparkhaven Theatre present a performance of Nosferatu, The Vampyrby M Sloth Levine with original music by Alissa Voth. HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 30 April 2020 at 3:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 5:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).
HOWL Shakespeare – HOWL Shakespeare presents their first livestreamed event! Over a dozen of the Boston area’s boldest young Shakespeare performers performing a Socially Distanced reading of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.
This reading is to raise money for Massachusetts General Hospital’s efforts to fight COVID-19. Don’t want to wait to donate? Donate to MGH here: https://tinyurl.com/HowlMSND Send us a screenshot of your donation receipt and we’ll give you a shout-out in the livestream
From Our Homes to Yours – Everything Possible – Boston Gay Men’s Chorus
(Our eyes are leaking.)
Huntington at Home – Huntington @ Home is a series of new programs to connect with our audiences right now and includes:
Sign up for Huntington @ Home and receive a phone call from a Huntington artist or staff member. Choose for a staff member to deliver a short monologue from a past Huntington production or have a discussion with a member of the Huntington’s acclaimed production team about how the theatre created one of your favorite plays or musicals. We want to do our part by sharing our collective love of theatre and storytelling on a personal level.”
Shakespeare over Zoom – “The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisby”
MassCreative – Every Friday at 9:45AM, MassCreative will host a 15-minute COVID-19 Virtual Policy & Action Update to help you make sense of what Congress and the MA Legislature are doing to strengthen the social and economic safety net during this public health emergency. Their goal “is to keep these webinars short, sweet, and to the point.” REGISTER
MassMouth – “Live shows may be postponed, but this is still a good time to continue improving your storytelling skills. Join our online events, including coaching sessions, webinars and virtual classes. Learn more below HERE.”
Craft your story. Tuesday, April 28th. 7:30 ET. – Each story featured on Stories from the Stage is unique, but the principles behind a good piece are universal. Explore key story elements and hear about the experience of a former teller, Cecilla Viveiros. Free. Massmouth will share the World Channel registration link with the community shortly.
Story workshop. Sunday, May 3rd. 4:30pm ET. – One of the best ways to improve a story is to share it with others and get their feedback. In this workshop, exchange a story with five other participants and one of Massmouth’s coaches. Hear what they love about your piece, as well as their ideas for improvement. Free. Register online.
Story workshop. Sunday, May 17th. 4:30pm ET. – One of the best ways to improve a story is to share it with others and get their feedback. In this workshop, exchange a story with five other participants and one of Massmouth’s coaches. Hear what they love about your piece, as well as their ideas for improvement. Free. Register online.
Museum of Science – ArtsBoston has a super convenient list of sites to access the Museum of Science online.
New Repertory Theatre — NEW! In the Wings Artist Salon Series Presented by Artistic Director, Michael J. Bobbitt. Head over to New Rep’s Facebook page on Sundays at 2:00 for a live panel. Host Michael J. Bobbitt will be joined each week by local artists, to discuss the state of theatre post-COVID-19. This week: Boston area Playwrights
Puppet Showplace Theater — Puppetry is alive and well, and we’re here to give you as many doses of hand-crafted creativity as you need to survive this disaster. Sign up for their first Virtual Hatchery, watch an Online Performance, or Take Action to help them support puppeteers during closure.
The Hatchery: Virtual Project Night/ Tuesday, April 21 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm. FREE Virtual “Drop-in” Event – Donations Welcome – Join Resident Artist Sarah Nolen for Puppet Showplace Theater’s first-ever digital Hatchery! Now, from the comfort of your home or studio, connect with fellow puppeteers and puppet-curious artists in a low-stress Zoom Room setting. Participants can share and discuss project ideas, works-in-progress, and strategies for creative resilience during a pandemic. Join for all or part of the time!
April 30 – Next Live Performance! – Celebrate the power of DIY theater in miniature! In early April, the amazing artists of Great Small Works gathered Toy theater practitioners from all over the world the world to share original short shows, many of which were created in response to the present circumstances. All performances are still available to watch, and a new festival is coming April 30th. Don’t have time to watch two full nights? Check out Resident Artist Sarah Nolen’s performance “Don’t Stop the Pot!” on Day 2 at 1:41:35.
Faye Dupras’ new children’s series, Cozy Corner(It has a catchy theme song and puppets!)
Upcoming TCG Webinar — Please join TCG for our upcoming CARES and Community Care: A “What Now?” Webinar on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, 4-5:30pm ET. To register, please click HERE.
The Umbrella Stage Company is now accepting video audition submissions for its 2020-2021 Season. For more information and instruction, click on the links below.
Private Coaching for Adults & Youth Private coaching in acting, audition techniques, public speaking and more! NOTE: PRIVATE COACHING IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE.
Date Night: Unlocking Shakespeare’s Text – Apr 24, 2020 to Apr 24, 2020 — ONLINE! Grab a date and join this introduction to Shakespeare’s approach to poetic drama.
GAME NIGHT! Online Improv Playground Apr 25, 2020 to Apr 25, 2020
ONLINE! Let’s come together, all ages and abilities, to play using skills and techniques from the world of Improvisation.
Civil Discourse Society: The Art of Persuasion– Apr 30, 2020 to May 28, 2020 ONLINE! Join our newest club! Civil Discourse Society is for mastering the art of persuasion. Consider the language you use, and your approach to truly activating dialogue in your private and public.
Presented by Huntington Theatre Company Resident Direction / Choreography by Carisa Barreca
Original Direction / Head Writing by Carly Heffernan
Original Music & Sound Design by Mary Mahoney
Music Direction & Sound Design by Jacob Shuda
Stage Managing by William Collins
Boston, MA — I am woman, hear me roar… with laughter? She the People is fun, high-energy, and, in its best moments, a cathartic release of female frustrations. At its least effective, it is as on the nose as the opening sentence of this review, and narrow in its vision. Though not as radical as one might expect or hope for, it nevertheless presents an entertaining piece of political bubblegum pop to chew on. Continue reading →
Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
By Lynn Nottage
Directed by Kimberleigh Senior
Original music & sound design by Pornchanok Kanchanabanca
Fight direction by Ted Hewlett
Content warnings: This production includes the smoking of cocoa shell cigarettes (100% nicotine-free). It contains themes of drug use, drug addiction, alcoholism, and homelessness.
Trigger warnings: racial and gender microaggressions, intentional bigotry, sexism, racism, graphic violence, implied drug use, exploitation of a disabled person, and Republican politics
The Huntington Theatre Company website says that those who are interested in more information should please reach out to Ticketing Services at 617 266 0800.
Critique by Kitty Drexel
Boston, MA — Lynn Nottage’s Sweat won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. After reading in in 2017 and seeing it live last night, it is not difficult to understand why. Sweat balances gender, race, and class discrimination issues like a well-crafted dagger. This art represents the struggling people of Reading, PA that Nottage interviewed to write her play. It gives insight into the dangers of unchecked greed while commenting on the political events that provoked into a capitalist fury. Sweat has you in the palm of its metaphorical hand… And then it drops you on your ass. Continue reading →
“Ring-a-round the rosie, A pocket full of posies, Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down.” – Traditional song (American version)
Boston, MA — We All Fall Down is a family portrait that examines clashing egos during a period of family dilemma. The Stein family isn’t talking to each other. In their defense, they aren’t listening either. It’s Passover. Everyone has an agenda and none of them correspond. We All Fall Down is about the power we give denial. The stronger the denial, the tauter the family bond. Continue reading →
Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company in association with Hartford Stage and Alley Theatre
A reimagining of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
By Octavio Solis
Directed by KJ Sanchez
Compositions and sound design by David R. Molina
Other compositions by Eduardo Robledo
Music direction by Jesse Sanchez
Fight direction by Ted Hewlett
Vocal and dialect coaching by Robert Ramirez
Dramaturgy by J. Sebastián Alberdi
(Boston, MA) It’s only three days until Thanksgiving! So let me take this opportunity to remind you, dearest reader, that the very land you stand on was stolen by colonizers from Native American tribes. Quixote Nuevo takes place on the Mexican-American border. The US is currently keeping the children of immigrants in cages at that border. Their parents aren’t much better off. When you see this production, and you should because it is excellent, please consider the role colonizers and their progeny (us) have played in putting the land’s indigenous peoples behind bars. Continue reading →
Oppression isn’t a contest. Virginia is mourning the 400th anniversary of slavery in the US. June 28 marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The ADA wasn’t made law until 1990. The only people who win when marginalized communities fight are the rich, white people who make money from our oppression. No one is free until we are all free. Freedom must be intersectional. Continue reading →
Presented by the 
