Tag Archives: Paula Plum

Nov 10

Yearning for Connection Across Memory: “Summer, 1976”

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Laura Latreille, Lee Mikeska Gardner; Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by Central Square Theater
By David Auburn
Directed by Paula Plum
Featuring: Lee Mikeska Gardner, Laura Latreille

November 6 – 30th, 2025
Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

Critique by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

CAMBRIDGE, Mass — Summer, 1976 is an intimate play. It is literally small, with a cast of two, a runtime of just 90 minutes, and a cozy little set that brings the actors practically nose-to-nose with the audience. But more interestingly, it is a story about yearning: two women stumble headfirst into an unexpected friendship, underestimating how hungry they are for deep, heart-opening vulnerability. They also underestimate how terrifying that kind of connection can be.

David Auburn’s play transports us to Ohio during the American bicentennial. Offstage, the women’s liberation movement is in full swing. Onstage, at Central Square Theatre, we could be anywhere, anytime. The set (Kristin Loeffler) features two brightly colored dollhouse-like facades to indicate where different scenes take place, but nothing onstage screams 1970s, and the costumes (Sydney Hovasse) allude to a bit of hippy inspiration without throwing the audience back in time. 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 26

We Need No Grave to Bury Honesty: “The Winter’s Tale”

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The Cast of The Winter’s Tale. PC: Nile Scott Studios.

Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Bryn Boice
Original Music by Mackenzie Adamick
Choreography by Victoria Lynn Awkward
Fight/Intimacy Consultant: Jess Meyer
Scenic Design: James J. Fenton
Costume Designer: Rachel Padula-Shufelt
Lighting Designer: Maximo Grano De Oro
Sound Designer: David Remedios
Properties Designer: Lauren Corcuera

July 16 – August 4, 2024
The Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common
Boston, MA

Accessibility Info
All performances of The Winter’s Tale are open-captioned.

Fancy interactive digital Playbill

Content Advisory from the CSC website: jealousy, betrayal, a child and mother dying, child abandonment, false imprisonment, pick-pocketing–and being pursued by a bear (while exiting). A copy editor needs to check the website’s grammar. For example, periods go outside of parentheses when ending a sentence.  

The Winter’s Tale runs approximately two hours and twenty minutes plus a 15-minute intermission.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON — Some people love Shakespeare; I don’t prefer him; it’s not my thing. I appreciate Shakespeare: the poetry in his language and the traditions surrounding his works, but I don’t seek him out. Shakespeare on the Common is for an audience who loves an outdoor performance (no thanks), who wants to see Shakespeare’s works reconsidered (nope), and who loves the summer ritual of Shakespeare in the Park (alas, nay). 

Reader, I had an enjoyable time at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s The Winter’s Tale on Boston Common. CSC and its cast and crew created a delightful experience. This may be one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” that alienates audiences with its complications and, while this production has its problems, it is entertaining and will please more people than it disappoints. Continue reading →

Sep 19

Why Isn’t She President?: “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive”

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From left: Laura Latreille, Monique Ward Lonergan, Lisa Yuen, Catia, and Crystin Gilmore. Photo by Nile Scott.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
By Selina Fillinger
Directed by Paula Plum
Fighting and intimacy choreography by Angie Jepson
Featuring Marianna Bassham, Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda, Catia, Crystin Gilmore, Laura Latreille, Monique Ward Lonergan, Lisa Yuen

Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, 2023
Audio Description: Friday, October 6, 2023 at 8pm; Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 2pm
Open Captioning: Saturday, October 7, 2023 at 8pm; Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 3pm
BCA Roberts Studio Theatre
527 Tremont Street
Boston, MA

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, Mass. — POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is hardcore intersectional feminism! It is raunchy*, it is absurd, and it is the funniest 110 minutes you’ll spend in the theatre this fall.

Paula Plum directs a cast of brilliant, multi-hyphenate actors in SpeakEasy’s production of POTUS at the Roberts Studio Theatre. Playbill summarizes POTUS thusly: “It’s just another (omg, wtf, LMFAO) day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When a White House PR nightmare spins into a legit sh*tshow, seven brilliant and beleaguered women must risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to keep the commander-in-chief out of trouble. POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive is a bawdy and irreverent look at sex, politics, and the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world…” Continue reading →

Mar 03

Grow to Live: “The Children”

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Paula Plum, Karen McDonald, Tyrees Allen. Photo by Maggie Hall Photography.

Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company
By Lucy Kirkwood
Directed by Bryn Boice
Fight & intimacy consulting from Jessica Scout Malone

Feb. 28 – March 28, 2020
Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA
SpeakEasy on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“You have a choice, don’t you, exactly, at our age which is that you slow down, melt into your slippers, start ordering front fastening bras out of Sunday supplements, or you make a committed choice to keep moving you know because you have to think: This is not the end of our lives but a new and exciting chapter.” – Hazel, The Children by Lucy Kirkwood

Boston, MA — Science fiction is about how humans interact with each other and the world amidst scientific and/or technological changes. Without getting into the nitty-gritty details of what is and isn’t science fiction, The Children is science fiction theatre. It has a lot to offer to everyone: science fiction enthusiasts will see themselves represented on the stage; science fiction cynics will see scientists as people. Everyone will see a great play by Lucy Kirkwood. Continue reading →

Jul 23

Laughter Through Tears: “Steel Magnolias”

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The Cast; Photo by Tim Gurczak

Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston
By Robert Harling
Directed by Paula Plum

July 19 – Aug. 3, 2019
Club Cafe
209 Columbus Ave
Boston, MA
Hub on Facebook

Critique by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Steel Magnolias is a theatre classic. It can be seen in fringe and community productions across the country. The 1989 movie starring Sally Fields and Dolly Parton has firmly cemented itself into the 80’s pop culture. The 2012 TV-movie starring Queen Latifah and, queen in her own right, Phylicia Rashad introduced a new generation to the story. It has survived well because of its timelessness. There will always be a need for safer-spaces where women can be themselves beyond the emotional and physical labors society demands from them. Hub Theatre’s production nestles into that need.  Continue reading →

May 07

She Will Cut You: TOP GIRLS

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Sophia Ramos, Carmen M. Herlihy, Paula Plum, Kiara Pichardo, and Carmen Zilles; Photo: T. Charles Erickson,

Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
By Caryl Churchill
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Dramaturgy by Phaedra Michelle Scott
Original music & sound design by Broken Chord

April 20 – May, 2018
Huntington Theater
Avenue of the Arts
Boston, MA
Huntington on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Congrats to the Huntington for finally get that permanent ramp set up.

Top Girls is a feminist play by Caryl Churchill. It has a good script. It’s a good play for women. It isn’t Caryl Churchill’s only feminist play. It isn’t the only feminist play for a cast of women. There are others out there waiting to be produced, and yet, the New England theatre community loves this show. So much so that it’s been produced three times in the Boston-area alone in the past four years. The Kilroy’s List was supposed to end the ad nauseum repeats.   Continue reading →

Jul 17

“Waiting for Waiting for Godot”

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Photo by Tim Gurczak; costumes and puppy by Chelsea Kerl; the corgi isn’t part of it but she should be.

Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston
Written by Dave Hanson
Directed by Paula Plum

July 14 – 29, 2017
Club Cafe
209 Columbus Ave
Boston, MA
Hub on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

Trigger warnings: bathroom use without washing hands

(Boston, MA) Waiting for Waiting for Godot (WfWfG) is Beckett fanfiction through the lense of a Durang play. It’s confusing, absurd, and ultimately very funny. Hub Theatre Co of Boston does a fine job with Dave Hanson’s script. Continue reading →

Jun 01

No Parrots Were Harmed in the Making of This Production: LIGHT UP THE SKY

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The cast of Light Up the Sky. Photo: Mark S. Howard.

The cast (in their finery) of Light Up the Sky. Photo: Mark S. Howard.

Presented by Lyric Stage Co. of Boston
By Moss Hart
Directed by Scott Edmiston
Music direction by Will McGarrahan

May 15 – June 13, 2015
Boston, MA
Lyric on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) If one scratches the surface of theatre history, information on Moss Hart and his great effect comes spilling forth like a Texan hitting oil in his backyard. He was beloved by most, if not all, for his contributions. He worked with greats such as George S. Kaufman, Kurt Weill, and Ira Gershwin. He co-wrote countless musical reviews (I’d Rather Be Right), directed some hits (Camelot), and wrote several award winning screenplays (A Star Is Born). He was a gentleman, a scholar and pretty great guy. Continue reading →

Jul 24

Ladies Pondering Lives, Fashion in “Love, Loss, and What I Wore”

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Presented by Hub Theatre Company of Boston
by Nora & Delia Ephron
based on the book by Ilene Beckerman
directed by Paula Plum

July 19 – August 3, 2013
The First Church in Boston
66 Marlborough Street
Boston, MA 02116
Hub Theatre Co of Boston Facebook Page

Review by Gillian Daniels

(Boston) Until recently, I scorned “chick lit” and “chick flicks,” resenting the idea that light, fluffy fare was meant for women alone.  I’ve begun to wonder, however, if the label has been stuck on books and films having to do with women because of how the material is approached or because it’s about women, period.  It’s an insulting, dismissive label and it would be a little too easy to slap it on Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Continue reading →