Mar 11

There Were Always Bad Things Happening in Navestead: “Like Flies”

Photo by Noli French – French’s Fotos

Presented by Portland Stage
By Maggie Kearnan
Directed by Sally Wood
Featuring: Cynthia Barnett, DeAnna S. Wright, Catherine Buxton, Luz Lopez, Carina Higgins, Jordan Hurley, Kelly Chick

March 4 – March 22, 2026
Wed, Mar 04, 7:30pm* 
Sat, Mar 14, 8:00pm*
Thu, Mar 19, 2:00pm*
(*On sale 12pm until show time, day of show, in person only)
Portland Stage theater
25A Forest Ave 
Portland, ME 04101

Article by Kitty Drexel

RUN TIME approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.

PORTLAND, ME — Playwright Maggie Kearnan made a splash at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre in Nov. 2024 with her political satire, How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos. If you enjoyed that as much as we did, you’ll be tickled pink to know her latest creation, Like Flies, is playing at Maine’s quaint Portland Stage through March 22. Even better, it features a cast heavy with local actors. 

In the fictional town of Navestead (a place not dissimilar to historical Portland, ME), a new midwife has moved in down the road from the morgue. Edna (Cynthia Barnett) has come because she’d heard tell of mothers dying in childbirth. Edna’s move has upset the locals, including the resident midwife, Meg (DeAnna S Wright). After she saves a pregnant mother and her unborn baby, Edna and Meg form a courteous tag team. The women now come to them both for healing.  Continue reading

May 12

“Spiritual Advisors” at the Boston Fringe Festival

Presented as part of the Boston Fringe Festival 
Produced by The Asian American Playwright Collective (AAPC)

May 6-11, 2025
The Rockwell 
255 Elm Street
Somerville, MA 02144

Critique by Kitty Drexel

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — The Boston Theatre Festival hosted at Somerville’s Rockwell Theater was not the first fringe festival in Massachusetts. But! It is the only festival currently carrying the fringe moniker. I sincerely hope the producers keep up the momentum for 2026. In these days of fascist, unconstitutional grant dissolution, joyful theatre production is a form of resistance.    Continue reading