Tag Archives: Thain Bertin

Dec 02

Have Yourself A Horny ‘Lil Christmas: “Sweeney Claus: The Demon Father of Sleet Street”

Posted on by

Photo by Michael von Redlich. Ryan Landry as Mrs. Leaveit and Thain Bertin as Sweeney

Presented by the Gold Dust Orphans
Written by Ryan Landry
Directed by Kiki Samko
Choreography by Hallie Nowicki
Music Direction and Arrangement by Tad McKitterick
Sets & Costumes by Scott Martino
Lights by Matthew Brian Cost
Props by Ryan Landry and Gina Carmela
Sound by Ryan Landry & Tad McKitterick
Spotlight Operation by Keith DeSutter
Wigs by Shaun O’Connor
Production Assistance by Clare Strickland and Clare Newman
Featuring: Ryan Landry, Thain Bertin, T Perry, Mary Mahoney, Tim Lawton, Kiki Samko, Scott Martino, Gina Carmela, Sarah Jones, Tad McKitterick, Lizette Morris, Dominika Zawada, Joey Pelletier, Hallie Nowicki, Marilyn Wilson, Simon Huynh, James Brooks Jr., Phaedra Ferrini, Lara Williams.

November 29 – December 21, 2025
The Iron Wolf Theatre
South Boston Lithuanian Citizens Association
368 West Broadway, 3rd Floor
South Boston, MA 02127

Critique by Kitty Drexel

UPDATE 12/02/2025:  Ensemble member Lara Williams was improperly credited in a previous draft. Her name is now correct. 

SOUTH BOSTON — December has arrived and so has this year’s Gold Dust Orphans Christmas panto parody, Sweeney Claus: The Demon Father of Sleet Street by Ryan Landry. It’s a rollicking good time! Get your tickets before they sell out. 

Sweeney Claus marries the Sondheim and Wheeler musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street to Christmas capitalism via the Gold Dust Orphan panto tradition. It follows the essential plotlines of the Sondheim classic with some deviations. Dasher (Thain Bertin) is a disillusioned sea captain who lands in Scituate, Massachusetts, to set up his barber shop and search for his lost wife and daughter. Dasher finds himself in the spare room at Mrs. Leaveit’s (Landry, giving the people what they want by occasionally showing some leg) bakery. They concoct a plot with an aptly named sailor, Semen (T Perry), to rescue Dasher’s daughter, Johanna (Mary Mahoney). Continue reading →

Apr 28

Bleeding Heart Fox Lovers: “The Squirrels”

Posted on by

Photo by Apollinaire Theatre. Great squirrels of our time.

Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company 
By Robert Askins
Directed by Brooks Reeves
Movement Choreography by Audrey Johnson
Fight Choreography by Matt Dray

April 18-May 18, 2025
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet St.
Chelsea, MA

Running Time: estimated 2 hours

Critique by Kitty Drexel

“Artists must let audiences in on the risk of the live performance through intentionally crafting moments in which it is revealed. This is why moments of misfire, moments that shatter the theatrical illusion, feel so resonant: they reveal the risk underpinning a truly live and dynamic experience… These moments don’t have to be literal mistakes… But rather ideas, images or performances that surprise us by upsetting our expectations and enhancing our awareness of events unfolding around us.” 

Theatre of the Unimpressed: In Search of Vital Drama by Jordan Tanahill, Coach House Books, Toronto: 2015.

CHELSEA, Mass. — The Squirrels by Robert Askins (best known for Hand to God, a play about a boy and his outspoken hand puppet) is a strange ‘lil beastie of a play. At first glance, it is a departure for Apolliniaire Theatre Company – a company that stages adventurous plays about the human experience. But, upon further investigation, The Squirrels is well within Apollinaire’s bailiwick. Askins’ play is about the failures of our flesh, our need for compassion and warmth, and our propensity for greed when left unchecked. It is also about common street Rodentia. 

Apollinaire’s website summarizes The Squirrels thusly: “A bitter struggle for love, power, and the almighty acorn divides a once-peaceful tree in Robert Askins’ dark satire of prejudice and greed… A tragi-comical epic battle for nuts.” It is Watership Down meets King Lear with some Lysistrata thrown in for good measure. It is fluffy, horny, and entirely human.  Continue reading →