Tag Archives: Roe v. Wade

Mar 11

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

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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 →

Mar 17

I Didn’t Make the World, I Just Live Here: Front Porch Arts Collective and The Huntington present “K-I-S-S-I-N-G”

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Sharmarke Yusuf and Regan Sims; Photo: T Charles Erickson.

Presented by the Front Porch Arts Collective and The Huntington
Written by Lenelle Moïse
Directed by Dawn M. Simmons
Dramaturgy by Charles Haugland 
Choreography by Misha Shields
Intimacy consultant: Gregory Geffrard
Voice coaching by Christine Hamel, Rebecca Schneebaum
Cultural consultant: New England Aces

March 3, 2023 – April 2, 2023
The Calderwood Pavilion/BCA
Boston, MA 02116
2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission
Digital access to the filmed performance is available until April 16, 2023. 

Spoiler Alert: New England Theatre Geek discusses a central theme of K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Knowing this information shouldn’t ruin the play’s other surprises, character arcs, or ending. Your reaction to this plot point, how the characters react to it, and the audience’s reaction may teach you about your own inherent biases.

Critique by Kitty Drexel

BOSTON, MA —  The Huntington and The Porch must please update their summary for K-I-S-S-I-N-G. It no longer accurately describes the show. I thought there was going to be a lot more David Bowie and at least one quote from bell hooks. There are no pizza box art projects or fireworks displays. The co-production is/was highly anticipated. That part can stay.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G is a quasi-Cinderella story about the emotional and sexual awakening of Lala (Regan Sims), a young woman living on the edge of poverty who craves art, poetry, and the feel of warm, supportive arms around her. She lives with her emotionally stunted mother Dot (the ethereal Patrese D McClain who dominated the stage with her presence) and her little brother Max. Lala’s father Jack (James Milord) loves Lala like the sun loves the sparkle on the ocean’s waves, but he can only visit once a week. Continue reading →