Nancy Grossman - Page 18

Superlative acting, intense staging, and timeless themes are the hallmarks of THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM, Enda Walsh's 2010 Obie Award-winning play now receiving its New England Premiere at Gloucester Stage Company under the direction of Interim Artistic Director Robert Walsh. Its setting in a small fishing village on the west coast of Ireland permeates the story with indigenous peculiarities, but resonates with the realities of life in any little coastal community where gossip and fish tales are the order of the day.

Three summers ago, Company One Theatre converted the Roberts Studio Theatre into an authentic wrestling arena for its acclaimed production of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Kristoffer Diaz's satire of the faux violence and bright lights of the show biz world of professional wrestling. C1's season 16 concludes with the very real brutality of college football simulated on an astroturf stage in Colossal, a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere by Andrew Hinderaker. Accompanied by the sights and sounds of an actual game, the audience is immersed in a 'Friday Night Lights' experience of pounding drumbeats, crunching body contact, and crushing emotional sequences. Blending the physicality of the sport with the artistry of dance blurs the line between the two seemingly disparate activities, resulting in a compelling approach to telling a powerful story.

ArtsEmerson: The World on Stage presents the East Coast Premiere of HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN: A NEW MUSICAL PLAY at the Emerson/Cutler Majestic Theatre. Performances have been extended through August 2nd for this feel-good evening of just over two dozen selections from Berlin's vast catalogue. The program includes unknown gems, lovely ballads, patriotic tunes, and favorites that everyone can sing along with, but Felder's artistry also evokes the man behind the music. Irving Berlin is a delight for any and all who appreciate hearing an array of standards from the great American song book.

The Boston Gay Men's Chorus annual Pride concert on Sunday at Symphony Hall featured Special Guest Laura Benanti, the Tony Award-winning singer/actress, also known to television audiences for her roles on "Nashville" and "The Good Wife." In a program with selections ranging from musical theater greats like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb, and Stephen Sondheim, to pop artist Madonna and a newly commissioned piece, the BGMC and Benanti seemed to inspire each other to perform at the highest level of their combined vocal abilities, spiced up with some flashy dancing boys and refreshing comedy stylings by the guest artist.

Gloucester Stage opens its 36th season with the second play of Richard Nelson's four-part American epic collectively known as THE APPLE FAMILY PLAYS. Collaborating with Stoneham Theatre, each company will produce two of the plays between this year and next under the direction of Stoneham's Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes, with the same design team and outstanding cast of six actors on board for the entire project.

Director/choreographer Ilyse Robbins reigns as chair of the board over a company of established pros and starry-eyed up-and-comers in Stoneham Theatre's effervescent HOW TO $UCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. Tyler Bradley Indyck and Ephie Aardema make beautiful music together, Angelo McDonough almost steals the show, and the ensemble sing and dance with great energy and style. It's bound to do boffo business!

Zeitgeist Stage Company presents the New England premiere of Jeff Talbott's THE SUBMISSION and, once again, lives up to its name and mission. Victor Shopov and Aina Adler create two indelible characters, and Director David J. Miller sculpts the performances to eliminate any wasted moments from this hard-hitting comedy-drama.

Gaiety ruled at the 33rd Annual Elliot Norton Awards ceremony as Ryan Landry, impresario of the Gold Dust Orphans, received the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence, and comedian-actress-jazz musician Lea DeLaria was the Guest of Honor. Bragging rights went to American Repertory Theater with seven wins in the large theater categories, while Lyric Stage Company led all midsize theaters with four wins.

The 130th season of the Boston Pops Orchestra is a celebration of Conductor Keith Lockhart's 20th anniversary, and the opening night festivities included balloons, cupcakes, and an exquisite cake, with sizzle provided by Tony Award-winning vocalist and actress Bernadette Peters. Music ranged from Williams to Rossini, Rodgers and Hammerstein to Sondheim, selections from the voluminous canon of Old Blue Eyes, and, of course, John Philip Sousa.

Artistic Director Charles Towers is stepping down after fourteen seasons at the helm of Merrimack Repertory Theatre. He leaves the audience with one final moving drama by playwright Bruce Graham, written with impeccable honesty and directed with the finest attention to every emotional detail.

The real Jeremy Jordan took to the stage at the Sorenson Center for the Arts on the campus of Babson College in his Boston concert debut, JEREMY JORDAN: BREAKING CHARACTER. Known for iconic roles on Broadway, television, and film, his appreciative fans discovered that Jordan is an interesting character on his own terms, even when he is not portraying a character, and greeted his original song compositions with enthusiasm equal to that for his better-known show tunes.

Israeli Stage, in association with ArtsEmerson: The World on Stage, presents its first full production with the North American premiere of Gilad Evron's ULYSSES ON BOTTLES in the Jackie Liebergott Black Box at the Paramount Center. Producing Artistic Director and Founder of Israeli Stage Guy Ben-Aharon directs a stellar cast of top-shelf Boston actors in this important play examining conflicting values around the plight of Palestinians living in the embargoed Gaza Strip and Israel's rights and responsibilities in the highly-charged situation.

NEVILLE'S ISLAND is a fish out of water story about four guys trying to bond and survive on a corporate team building excursion gone awry. Strong performances from Jim Loutzenhiser, Alexander Platt, Brooks Reeves, and Brandon Whitehead can't rescue them from playwright Tim Firth's overlong comedy trying to be a psychological thriller.

Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans mash-up THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, and the politics of oil and the Middle East in their latest side-splitting musical, THOROUGHLY MUSLIM MILLIE. Scott Martino's to-die-for costumes and scenic design aesthetic are on display, along with a cast made up of long-time favorites and fresh talent, singing and dancing to a batch of borrowed musical theater gems. Put on your harem pants and belly dance down to Machine in the Fenway.

Huntington Theatre Company presents William Inge's sixty-five year old classic American drama, but it is nowhere near ready to be retired. Under the direction of David Cromer, it is a first rate production with incisive writing, design realism, and honest, raw performances.

New Repertory Theatre concludes the Second Annual Next Rep Black Box Festival, celebrating the powerful voices of women theatremakers, with GOD BOX, Antonia Lassar's seriocomic solo show directed by Christine Hamel. When the quintessential Jewish mother discovers that her recently-deceased daughter had been on a journey to explore various religious beliefs, she decides to follow in the same footsteps for her own enlightenment. Lassar is a wonderful storyteller and her performance is like spiritual comfort food.

Moonbox Productions stages David Lindsay-Abaire's black comedy about a sixteen-year old girl with a rare disease that ages her rapidly. Allison Olivia Choat directs a cast of five who humanize these quirky, dysfunctional characters and allow us to feel how they live with the specter of doom hanging in the balance.

Actors' Shakespeare Project takes a break from the Bard to stage the first Boston area production of Jenny Schwartz's linguistically-rich play GOD'S EAR. Thomas Derrah directs and draws authentic, heartbreaking performances from Tamara Hickey and Gabriel Kuttner as a married couple grieving the tragic loss of their son. Humor and hope rise to the surface from the depths of their suffering.

Hub Theatre Company of Boston starts its third season with LOOT, an irreverent, dark comedy by British playwright Joe Orton (WHAT THE BUTLER SAW, ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE) at the First Church in Boston. Daniel Bourque directs a cast of six live actors and one dormant dummy that is handled with reckless abandon. Part detective story, part farce, LOOT is reminiscent of plays staged by high school drama clubs in the 1960s, giving everyone a chance to chew lots of scenery.

Playwright/performer Alice Manning tells cathartic, deeply personal family story with humor and pathos, but always moving toward the light and, ultimately, choosing love.