Tag Archives: MA

Sep 05

Pushing the boundaries of genre and form: “Passengers”

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Photo by Alexandre Galliez.

Production by The 7 Fingers
Presented by American Repertory Theater
Co-produced by TOHU (Montréal, Canada) and ArtsEmerson (Boston, États-Unis)
Written, directed, and composed by Shana Carroll
Composition and music direction by Colin Gagné
Lyrics Colin Gagné, Shana Carroll
Lighting design by Eric Champoux
Projection design by Johnny Ranger
Featuring: Victor Crépin, Eduardo De Azevedo Grillo, Isabella Diaz, Marie-Christine Fournier, Téo Le Baut, Amanda Orozco, Michael Patterson, Basile Pucek, Santiago Rivera, Méliejade Tremblay-Bouchard

September 2 – 26, 2025
Tickets
Loeb Drama Center
64 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Review by Maegan Clearwood

This production contains haze and flashing lights. 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –Since moving to Boston four years ago, I have been spoiled rotten by access to top-tier circus – from kitschy Halloween horrors with Boston Circus Guild’s Cirque of the Dead (now an annual tradition of mine) to a breathtaking showcase of talent from the instructors at Commonwealth Circus Center in Jamaica Plain. I am in awe of the twisty, bendy, flippy talent that’s on regular display here in my own backyard.  

Aside from this array of homegrown talent, Boston also has an ongoing love for Montreal circus troupe The 7 Fingers. The A.R.T. presented the ensemble’s spin on Pippin in 2012, and ArtsEmerson hosted Duel Reality last season, an irreverent twist on a Shakespearean classic. This fall, the troupe is back at The A.R.T. with its production of Passengers, which first premiered in Boston in 2019. Continue reading →

Jul 29

Kafkaesque Comedy: “The Understudy”

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Hub Theatre Co presents “The Understudy.”

Presented by The Hub Theatre Company of Boston
Written by Theresa Rebeck
Director – Paula Plum
Choreographer – Kiki Samko
Cast – Lauren Elias, Cristhain Mancinas-Garcia, Kevin Paquette

July 19 – August 2, 2025
Pay-What-You-Can Admission
Club Café
209 Columbus Ave.
Boston, MA 02116

Critique by Craig Idlebrook

BOSTON — Those who make the theatre their profession love to write about theatre as a profession. It’s an occupational hazard that audiences enjoy.

Playwright and author Theresa Rebeck is perhaps best known for penning the television show Smash, which premiered in 2012. The show followed the messy development process for a new musical and became something of a cult favorite during its two-season run. The play The Understudy, which Rebeck published in 2010, can feel a bit like a quiet prequel to Smash. The two works share themes about the push and pull between wanting to make great art and wanting to make it big. Continue reading →

Jul 23

The Whole Universe is in His Hands: “Kufre n’ Quay”

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Levi Mngomezulu. Photo credit Annielly Camargo.

Presented by Boston Arts Academy with advisory support from The Huntington and in collaboration with Wheelock Family Theatre 
By Mfoniso Udofia
Directed by John Oluwole ADEkoje
Choreography by Shaumba- Yandje Dibinga

July 10 – 26, 2025
Boston Arts Academy Main Stage Theatre
174 Ipswich St. 
Boston, MA 02215

Critique by Kitty Drexel

An explanation: We use the word kid, child, kids or children to describe a young person under the age of 18. You might feel grown; you may even act grown, but you are not yet grown.

BOSTON — Kufre n’ Quay is the fifth play in Mfoniso Udofia’s cycle of nine plays, the Ufot Family Cycle. It follows the events of Udofia’s fourth play, Her Portmanteau, which is about the reunion of matriarch Abasiama Ufot with her two adult daughters: First-born Iniabasi Ekpeyong, born in the U.S. and raised in Nigeria, and Abasiama’s second daughter, Adiaha Ufot, raised in Massachusetts and living in New York City. Her Portmanteau meets the stark differences between Nigerian and American family politics. The NETG critique is HERE. 

Continue reading →

Jul 13

Uneven Grandeur: “Evita”

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The cast of “Evita.”

Presented by Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston
Lyrics by Tim Rice 
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Direction and choreography – Rachel Bertone
Musical Direction – Dan Rodriguez
Scenic Design – Cameron McEachearn
Lighting Design and Production Design –  Baron Pugh
Costume and Wig Design – Ellie De Lucia
Sound Design – Sebastian Nixon

Online Playbill

July 11 – 20, 2025
Robinson Theatre
617 Lexington Street
Waltham, MA 02452

Critique by Craig Idlebrook

2 hours, 15 minutes with a 15-minute intermission

WALTHAM, Mass. — The musical Evita is having a moment. It is an interesting time for a resurgence of a play about a populist Argentine icon, when the world appears buffeted by the populist and authoritarian actions of some world leaders. 

The play, which started its Broadway run in 1979, is seeing a viral resurgence, thanks to a Rachel Zegler-led production in London that has taken some of its act outside the theater for the masses to enjoy. One would think that Eva Perón, the titular Argentine historical figure, would have appreciated the streetside stagecraft.  Continue reading →

Jul 06

Notes After Creation: The Theater Offensive’s Queer [Re]Public Festival

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Presented by The Theater Offensive 
In partnership with Double Edge Theatre and Think Outside the Vox
June 26-29, 2025
Arrow Street Arts
2 Arrow Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Critique by Kitty Drexel

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Theater Offensive’s inaugural Queer [Re]Public Festival was a glorious presentation of queer, trans and BIPOC joy. At which, artists Victoria Lynn Awkward, Annalise “River” Guidry, and Cheyenne Wyzzard-Jones convened and performed the fruits of their 22-month-long Emergent Artist and True Colors Residencies. By doing so, the residents transformed Arrow Street Arts into a community space where artists offered art to their audience, we received it and offered it back again. 

I was fortunate to attend Awkward’s dance composition In The Space Between in the main theater and a reading of Wyzzard-Jones’ The Messenger in the studio. My reactions to those works are below. I was unable to see Guidry’s Theater of Union or attend The Audacity of Being Yourself conversation with Durand Bernarr, Victoria Awkward and Diovanna Frazier. It is my sincere hope for the artists involved that they received everything they wanted and needed from their work.  Continue reading →

Jul 02

What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting: “Mox Nox” & “GUTS”

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Moonbox Productions’ Boston New Works Festival (BNWF)
Presented by Moonbox Productions
June 26 – 29, 2025
Multiple Spaces at the Boston Center for the Arts.
539 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02116 

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Last week, Moonbox Productions produced its Boston New Works Festival with seven original plays and musicals at the Boston Center of the Arts in the South End. It was the final weekend of Pride, the Supreme Court issued its final opinions before its summer recess*, the Bezos’ married in Venice, baseballers baseballed, and The Theater Offensive hosted another festival across the river in Cambridge. With the various and sundry events occurring across our city and the nation, I hope everyone attended events that brought them joy and a modicum of peace. 

This year’s BNWF featured fully realized productions and semi-staged readings from local playwrights, crew and actors. I attended two productions: Mox Nox by Patrick Gabridge and Guts by Rachel Greene. These are two vastly different plays in subject and creative temperament. Mox Nox is a finished work (if such things exist). Guts remains a play in progress. Both show Boston audiences what is possible and point to our collective future as a community.   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 →

Jun 16

The Best Summer of Your Life: The Nova Show presents “Camp Camp”o

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The Nova Show poster

Presented by Nova Comedy Collective
Hosted by David Thomas
Directed by Michael Trainor
Video by Ryan Dalley
Creator and showrunner: Kayleigh Kane
Featuring: Gwen Coburn, Colleen Donahue, Nick Perron, Kristina Feliciano, John Serpico, Erin Lee, Anthony Zonfrelli, Sumeet Sarin, Hannah Breen, Kylie Rolincik. 
Guest performers: drag performer Stabitha Christie, rapping comedy duo Magically Delicious, and standup comedian Will Smalley.
Chill tunes provided by D.J. TJ Reynolds and Todd Brunel on the saxophone

June 14, 2025
The Rockwell
Davis Square
255 Elm Street
Somerville, MA 02144

Online Playbill 
Eventbrite Page

Critique by Kitty Drexel

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — June 14 was a busy day. “No Kings” protesters gathered peacefully in downtown Boston while the Pride for the People parade marched from Copley Square to the Common. For some, it was a long day of fighting fascist tyranny while celebrating another year of queer survival. After a rainy Saturday of marching, dancing and rebelling, an evening of libations and laughter watching Nova Comedy Collective’s “Camp Camp” in the warm belly of The Rockwell’s black box theater hit the spot.   

The Rockwell has become home to members of the local improv, comedy and standup community after Improv Boston, a People’s Republic of Camberville favorite for comedic relief, ceased its operations in 2023. The Nova Comedy Collective is one of the resident organizations that rose from Improv Boston’s ashes. NCC is here to deliver comedy in its many forms to weekend matinees, early evening and late night crowds (schedule pending) over a cold adult beverage while farting into a folding chair of suspicious stability. Continue reading →

Jun 11

Nothing we can do, A total eclipse of the sun*: “Little Shop of Horrors”

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Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company
Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman
Music by Alan Menken
Directed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz
Music Directed by Bethany Aiken
Choreographed by Chris Shin
Stage Managed by Shauwna Dias Grillo

June 6 – 29, 2025
GBSC
395 Main Street
Stoneham, MA 02180

Critique by Kitty Drexel

Run Time: Little Shop of Horrors runs approximately 2 hours including the intermission.

STONEHAM, Mass. — My apologies to the cast, crew and staff of Greater Boston Stage Company’s Little Shop of Horrors for the delay in getting this critique out. I’ve been selfishly disturbed by the chaos ripping through Los Angeles manufactured by the Fascists-in-Chief to distract us from the beastly, bulbous tax and spending legislation sitting in the U.S. Senate. Actual, factual L.A. takes precedence over fantastical L.A. no matter how awesome your show is.

GBSC’s Little Shop of Horrors has commonality with Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show. It has pervy aliens, stiff romantic tension, a soupçon of domestic violence, and solid bangers to get your booty in motion. The biggest difference between the two shows remains costuming: Little Shop’s cast wears its weather- and situation-appropriate clothing by Chelsea Kerl (who could easily have costumed both shows from the same closet) for the duration of the production. While Audrey II starts and stays naked, her tandem actors keep their trousers on. So, negligee notwithstanding, if you like one show, you’ll like the other.  Continue reading →

Jun 10

A harmonious masterpiece that’s worth the trek: “Topdog/Underdog”

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Presented by Lanes Coven Theater Company
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Kadeem Ali Harris
Featuring Akilah A. Walker and Adrianna Mitchell

Windhover Performing Arts Center
257R Granite Street
Rockport, MA 01966
May 30 – June 15, 2025

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

ROCKPORT, Mass. — Lanes Coven Theater Company sets up shop at Windhover Performing Arts Center, a picturesque campus of indoor and outdoor workspaces in Cape Ann, nestled away at the end of a trail of winding, seaside roads. The company’s current production of Topdog/Underdog is being staged in the Chapel, a tall, barn-like structure that reverberates from whatever elements are roiling outside, with just enough room for 50 or so intrepid audience members who are in on a secret: there’s some damn good theatre in the corners of New England if you’re willing to make the trek. Continue reading →