Tag Archives: Loretta Greco

Sep 21

Nostalgia, Homecoming & Misogyny: “The Hills of California”

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Meghan Carey, Kate Fitzgerald, Alison Jean White, Chloé Kolbenhyer, Nicole Mulready (on floor); photo by Liza Voll.

Presented by The Huntington in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Written by Jez Butterworth 
Directed by Huntington Artistic Director Loretta Greco 
Music direction by Daniel Rodriguez

September 12 – October 12, 2025
The Huntington Theater 
264 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Please note: Herbal cigarettes and smoke/haze are used in this production. You may want to take an antihistamine or wear a mask if you suffer from allergies.

This critique contains plot spoilers. Read at your own risk. 

BOSTON — The Huntington’s production of The Hills of California, newly staged by Artistic Director Loretta Greco and currently running through October 12 at the Huntington Theater in Boston, is beautifully staged, beautifully sung, and beautifully acted. It is technically perfect. Unfortunately, playwright Jez Butterworth traumatizes his female characters while prioritizing their relationships with men instead of giving them backstories or personalities. He objectifies them as underage entertainment instead of as human entertainers. It’s too bad, because he is thisclose to letting them be real people.

Summary: Three out of four adult Webb sisters’ (Amanda Kristin Nichols as Gloria, Aimee Doherty as Ruby, Karen Killeen as Jillian) homecoming to the seaside guest house where they grew up. As girls (Kate Fitzgerald as Young Joan, Meghan Carey as Young Gloria,  Chloé Kolbenheyer as Young Ruby, Nicole Mulready as Young Jillian), their fierce and ambitious mother Veronica (Allison Jean White) trained them for a singing career à la The Andrews Sisters. Now adults, the sisters must reconsider the choices their mother made, the nostalgic call of youthful harmonies, and the unbreakable bonds of family while they wait for their prodigal sister Joan to come home. Trigger warnings: Pedophilia, sexual coersion and abuse, forced abortion, eof-of-life care of an elder, alcoholism, alleged drug abuse, hackneyed playwriting.  Continue reading →

May 18

A Heartfelt Take on a Modern Classic: “The Light in the Piazza”

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The cast of The Light in the Piazza; directed by Loretta Greco; photo by Julieta Cervantes.

Presented by The Huntington
Book by Craig Lucas
Music and lyrics by Adam Guettel
Based on the novel by Elizabeth Spencer
Directed by Loretta Greco
Music direction by Andrea Grody
Scenic design by Andrew Boyce
Lighting design by Christopher Akerlind
Costume design by Alex Jaeger
Featuring Emily Skinner, Sarah-Anne Martinez, Joshua Grosso, William Michals,
Rebecca Pitcher, Alexander Ross, Rebekah Rae Robles

May 9 – June 15, 2025
The Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02115

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

BOSTON – When The Light in the Piazza premiered on Broadway two decades ago, it was lauded as a quaint but refreshing return to style, and Adam Guettel’s delicate, almost operatic score became an instant classic. Compared to contemporary 2000s box-office smashes like Spamalot and Avenue Q, this intimate love story favors pathos over spectacle, sincerity over irony – on the surface, it’s as old school as a 21st Century musical can get.

Classic as it may look and sound, however, The Light in the Piazza is a weird little musical. It examines the idea of love through a myriad of refractions: passion, to be sure, but also power, possessiveness, and loss. It frequently shatters the fourth wall and its own idyllic veneer. At times, it is disarmingly funny; at others, profoundly sad. Continue reading →

Sep 18

Witness History Repeating: “Prayer for the French Republic”

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The cast of “Prayer for the French Republic.” Photo by T Charles Erickson.

Presented by The Huntington
By Joshua Harmon
Directed by Loretta Greco
Featuring: Amy Resnick, Nael Nacer, Tony Estrella, Joshua Chessin-Yudin, Talia Sulla, Carly Zien
Lighting Design by Christopher Akerlind
Scenic Design by Andrew Boyce
Dramaturgy by Charles Haugland

September 7-October 8, 2023
264 Huntington Ave
Boston MA

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

Content advisory: This production contains vivid descriptions and discussions of antisemitism, violence and death related to the Holocaust, hate crimes, and sexual violence. It also contains one instance of blood.

BOSTON, Mass. — A classic adage: if you ask two Jews a question, you’ll get three opinions. Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic features so many Jewish characters – secular and religious, Sephardic and Ashkenazi, patrilineal and matrilineal, Zionist and antizionist (and everywhere in between) – most of whom are relatives living under the same roof. Opinions are too numerous to count. Naturally, the play is three hours long.

The play is massive in other ways as well, bouncing between 2016 and 1944 and featuring 11 characters played by 10 actors. Harmon traces the legacy of the Salomon family, who have been living a comfortable middle-class life in Paris for decades, only to find themselves grappling with the same terrifying questions that their great-grandparents (and many Jewish ancestors before them) once faced: Are we safe here anymore? Is it time to flee? Continue reading →

May 10

Words, Words, Words (With a Few Feelings): “Joy and Pandemic”

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Presented by The Huntington Theatre Company
Written by Talor Mac
Directed by Loretta Greco
Sound Designer and Composer: Fan Zhang
Voice coaching by Rebecca Schneebaum
Dramaturgy by Shirley Fishman
Movement Consultant: Ryan Winkles
Featuring Stacy Fischer, Ella Dershowitz, Marceline Hugot, Ryan Winkles, Breezy Leigh

April 21 – May 21, 2023
The Calderwood Pavillion
527 Tremont St.
Boston, MA 02116

Tickets

Review by Maegan Clearwood

BOSTON, Mass. — In an interview with dramaturg Shirley Fishman, Taylor Mac cites 19th century playwright Henrik Ibsen as a major influence behind Joy and Pandemic, currently premiering at Huntington Theatre. “Content almost always dictates the form,” Mac says, and indeed, the hyper-naturalism of judy’s (more about Taylor Mac’s pronouns here) play complements the central themes of belief versus reality.

The playwright whose echoing influence I heard the loudest however, was one of Ibsen’s contemporaries, George Bernard Shaw. This is a play about ideas, lots of them, with characters who represent opposing societal viewpoints and a captivating script that broadly prioritizes intellect over feeling. Continue reading →