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Interim Writers presents two nights of new plays for “Have You Read”
Aug 24th & 31st 7:30pm Free and open to the public Continue reading |
Aug
22
Tag Archives: MA
Aug
01
Earnestness, Perfected: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Photo Credit: F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, book and lyrics by Tim Rice,
F.U.D.G.E Theatre Company,
Black Box Theatre at the Arsenal Center for the Arts
7/27/12 – 8/4/12,
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-FUDGE-Theatre-Company-Inc/77922709870
Review by Craig Idlebrook
(Watertown, MA) I grew up believing Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice represented the theatrical establishment to overthrow. They wrote the stuff that mediocre crooners sang on cheesy records sold to bored housewives. They cursedly created the material for the medley that my 7th grade choir was forced to sing, filled with needless trills and fills. Continue reading
Jul
31
A Few Moments of Grace: Steel Magnolias
Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling, directed by Nancy Curran Willis
Nextdoor Center for the Arts, July 13-28 2012, http://www.nextdoortheater.org/STEEL.html
photo credit: Nextdoor Center for the Arts
Reviewed by Kate Lonberg-Lew
(Winchester, MA) When I watch an Olympic gymnast fly on the balance beam or the uneven bars, I
know I am watching genius, not because I know the difference between a punch- front summersault and a double pike, but because they make it look easy, effortless. The same can be said of playwright Robert Harling, the author of Steel Magnolias. Continue reading
Jul
23
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Black Comedy in the Park
photo credit: Apollinaire Theatre Company
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
by Tom Stoppard
Performances run July 11-28 at 7:30,
in English on Wed. Thurs. & Sat. and Spanish on Fri. & Sun.
Mary O’Malley Park, http://www.apollinairetheatre.com/productions/productions.html.
Reviewed by Gillian Daniels
(Chelsea, MA) In a twist on Shakespeare in the Park, the Apollinaire Theatre Company has chosen to perform a free production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead during the most gorgeous time of year. Each act is in a different location through out Mary O’Malley Park with the audience following the actors during intermission. The sunset, view of the river, docks, mural, and brilliant staging make a surprisingly fitting backdrop for Stoppard’s clever script. Continue reading
Jul
21
True Believers: Attempting a Tribute to Nerd Culture
photo credit: Vagabond Theatre Group
True Believers by Thom Dunn, Vagabond Theatre Group, The Factory Theatre, 7/12/12-7/21/12, http://vagabondtheatregroup.wordpress.com/.
Reviewed by Gillian Daniels
(Boston, MA) San Diego Comic-Con is less a comic book convention than a blown up Hollywood cousin of the original concept. I both loved and feared it when I attended last year. It’s a beautiful, strange mess of a con, bloated with action movie advertisements, cameras from SPIKE and BBCA, and hundred dollar t-shirts. While still a sort of haven for those obsessed with action figures and trade comics, its proximity to tinsel town has turned it into an exciting, stressful hype machine.
Vagabond Theatre Group’s production, True Believers, does an excellent job in distilling this over-saturation. Continue reading
Jul
20
Big Heart, Strings Showing: ANNIE
Photo by Paul Lyden, Jacquelyn Piro Donovan and Lauren Weintraub.
Annie, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charmin, book by Thomas Meehan, North Shore Music Theatre, 7/17/12- 7/29/12, http://www.nsmt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=971&Itemid=2320.
Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook
(Beverly, MA) Sometimes, when you shine a light on a worn-out plotline by staging a good production, you breathe new life into the script. Other times, a strong production’s focus can make a threadbare script fall to pieces. Continue reading
Jul
18
Bye, Bye, Birdie: Fully Loaded Fun
photo credit: Reagle Players
Bye, Bye, Birdie, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams, book by Michael Stewart, Reagle Music Theatre, Waltham High School Robinson Theatre, 7/13/12-7/22/12, http://www.reagleplayers.com/current.html#Birdieinfo.
Reviewed by John Herring
(Waltham, MA) I’ve always enjoyed seeing shows at Waltham High School’s Robinson Theatre. The audience space is ample, clean and comfortable, the orchestra pit plenty big enough for a mid-size ensemble, the technical facility is as good as or better than many professional theatres, and the acoustics are good. Which brings me to the sound quality of the orchestra. Winds and strings went together as tightly as I recall ever hearing a show orchestra play, with volume to fully envelop the listeners. So much so that I worried about the actors having to belt when they should soften, or being overpowered altogether. But worries were unfounded. Music Director Dan Rodriguez and Conductor Jeff Leonard made sure that the orchestra did what any good show orchestra should do – support and enhance the action. Continue reading
Jul
15
ANNOUNCEMENT: Studio 4 Productions of Legally Blonde and Miss Saigon with BCT
Miss Saigon, music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr., book by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, Legally Blonde, music & lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach, Boston Children’s Theatre Studio 4, The Governor’s Academy Performing Arts Center, http://bostonchildrenstheatre.org/legally-blonde-and-miss-saigon-this-summer-at-bct/.
Get ready for two amazing musical productions this summer! BCT presents the Studio 4 productions of LEGALLY BLONDE (John’s retrospective was for the Studio 3 session) and MISS SAIGON.
LEGALLY BLONDE PERFORMANCES:
Thursday, August 2 at 8pm
Saturday, August 4 at 8 pm
Sunday, August 5 at 2pm
MISS SAIGON PERFORMANCES
Friday, August 3 at 8 pm
Saturday, August 4 at 2 pm
Sunday, August 5 at 8 pm
Jul
15
LEGALLY BLONDE
Legally Blonde, music & lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach, Boston Children’s Theatre Studio 3, The Governor’s Academy Performing Arts Center, http://bostonchildrenstheatre.org/.
retrospective by John Herring
If anyone ever doubts the origin of energy at a performance, just look to those younger attendees. You will find your lost inner child there, and maybe a little of your missing ingenuousness. At the Boston Children’s Theatre Studio 3 presentation of LEGALLY BLONDE, at the historical Governor’s Academy in Byfield on Thursday evening, the 12th of July, I was swept on a tide of kids’ insouciant ebullience, just getting to the doors. Continue reading
Jul
02
“Polaroid Stories” Messily Blends Myth and Teen Anguish
Kiki Samko, Luke Murtha, Michael Underhill, Elizabeth Battey, and Michael Caminiti, photo credit: Heart & Dagger Productions
Polaroid Stories by Naomi Iizuka, Heart & Dagger Productions, Boston Actors’ Theatre, and Happy Medium Theatre**, Black Box Theatre at Boston Center for the Arts, 6/29/12-7/14/12, http://www.heartanddagger.org/.
**THIS REVIEW WAS SCHEDULED PRIOR TO THE CHANGES IN OUR REVIEWING POLICY AND WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE THAT HAPPY MEDIUM THEATRE COMPANY WAS DIRECTLY INVOLVED
Reviewed by Gillian Daniels
(Boston, MA) With mixed success, Polaroid Stories attempts an abstract production that marries mythology and youth drug culture. It’s a uneasy union. The actors, at least, mine the material to the best of their abilities. Continue reading
