Nancy Grossman - Page 19

Boston Public Works Theater Company, a playwrights' collective, presents its second production, the east coast premiere of FROM THE DEEP, Cassie M. Seinuk's award-winning play about two prisoners in existential captivity. A young Israeli soldier and a Boston University student share the space for two hours, conveying the tedium and tension in their unfolding drama.

Argos Productions and Happy Medium Theatre collaborate to present a cast of experienced fringe actors in LIFERS by John Shea and Maureen Cornell. A comedy about change set in a family restaurant in the summer of 2004, one week before the no smoking law goes into effect in Massachusetts, the slice of life story gives us something to chew on with characters we can care about.

New Repertory Theatre's second annual Next Rep Black Box Festival celebrates the work of women theater artists, starting with Jessica Dickey's THE AMISH PROJECT. A fictionalized account of the 2006 shooting of Amish schoolgirls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, the one-woman show features Danielle Kellermann in a riveting and haunting portrayal of seven distinctive characters.

If you like Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, then Company One's SHOCKHEADED PETER is for you. With musical mayhem provided by Walter Sickert and The Army of Broken Toys, the New England premiere at Suffolk University's Modern Theatre is dark, twisted, funny, and never dull. It is not for the faint of heart, those who are easily shocked, or anyone prone to nightmares.

INTIMATE APPAREL is one woman's story of courage and resilience set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing America in early 20th century New York City. Under the direction of Summer L. Williams, who also directed Lynn Nottage's BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK at the Lyric Stage Company, INTIMATE APPAREL offers a realistic depiction of the human drama inherent in the journeys of half a dozen individuals who have more in common than it first appears.

The first of four APPLE FAMILY PLAYS to be staged in collaboration between Stoneham Theatre and Gloucester Stage Company, THAT HOPEY CHANGEY THING has six quality Boston area actors who will stay with the project for the duration, but one hopes that the nutritional value of the plays going forward will change. The expected political zingers fail to materialize and this family spends more time eating than anything else.

Celeste Oliva gives a riveting, tour de force performance as The Pilot in George Brant's GROUNDED at the Nora Theatre Company, under the astute direction of Artistic Director Lee Mikeska Gardner. George Brant's play examines the life of one woman, prohibited from flying due to an unexpected pregnancy, and the impact that her reassignment to the unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) "chair force" has on her psyche and sense of self.

Audra McDonald has picked up two more Tony Awards since her last appearance at the Celebrity Series of Boston in 2011. Accompanied by her music director Andy Einhorn on piano, Gene Lewin on drums, and Dave Phillips on bass, McDonald gave the sold-out Symphony Hall audience an evening of stars, moon, and rainbow.

The Boston Center for American Performance and Boston Playwrights' Theatre co-production of Michael Hammond's comedy UNCLE JACK is a modern-day retelling of Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA relocated to a small summer theater in the Berkshire hills.

THE BIG MEAL, the Boston area premiere of Dan LeFranc's play about the interactions of five generations of an extended family, is the kind of show that Zeitgeist Stage Company and Artistic Director David J. Miller feast upon - a character-driven ensemble piece that showcases the range of the actors, as well as Miller's ability to transfer the playwright's vision from page to stage.

Bridge Repertory Theater of Boston continues its second season with shows two and three running in repertory. While seemingly very different, FUFU & OREOS and SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE are linked by a common theme of struggling to navigate between two worlds. As the Boston theater community examines the issue of gender parity, they are also linked by strong direction by the tandem of Rebecca Bradshaw and Shana Gozansky.

In commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th Anniversary of World War II, Goethe-Institut Boston's German Stage, in association with the Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Israeli Stage, presents the American Premiere of A CASE NAMED FREUD in five locations this week. The opening night staged reading marked the tenth German Stage production since 2012 and provided a backdrop to the farewell for Goethe-Institut Director Detlef Gericke who has served in Boston for six years.

Matthew Woods and his Imaginary Beasts are back with their annual WINTER PANTO: KERPLOP! THE TALE OF THE FROG PRINCE, tickling the funny bones of the many children in the audience, while going over their heads to engage the adults who are along for the ride.

Ho, ho, ho and Hallelujah! The Gold Dust Orphans are back in Boston with an all-new holiday joyride, exclaiming JESUS CHRIST, IT'S CHRISTMAS! Based on the 1947 classic film THE BISHOP'S WIFE, Ryan Landry's sendup of the romantic comedy is overflowing with winking biblical references and musical numbers that make the season merry. Put tickets for this in your stocking, but do not bring the kids!

Moonbox Productions opens its fifth season with THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS (THE MUSICAL!), with seamless direction and choreography by Rachel Bertone and music direction by Dan Rodriguez. Paying homage to the stylings of five giants of musical theater, there's something for everyone in this satirical songfest. It's a totally enjoyable night at the theater that will make your spirits bright.

Andrea McArdle talks with BroadwayWorld about 4 GIRLS 4: A CHRISTMAS TOGETHER , a star vehicle with Maureen McGovern, Donna McKechnie, and Faith Prince driving into Boston next week for one night at The Wilbur Theatre. A modernization of the original show which starred Rosemary Clooney, this version presents four fabulous musical stars who each take a turn performing their signature material and some music of the season, with Music Direction by John McDaniel.

PigPen Theatre Company tells a good, old-fashioned story in a good, old-fashioned style with folk music and various forms of theatrical magic at the Paramount Center Main Stage. In THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON, the PigPen guys will draw you into their imaginative world of shadow puppets, sailboats, and swordplay while acting like a bunch of energetic school boys.

It is a signal of good writing and significant dramatic impact that a play which premiered in 1935 can be relevant nearly eighty years later. Clifford Odets' classic AWAKE AND SING! is grounded in the dire economics of the depression era and the circumstances of a Jewish immigrant extended family struggling to survive in their overcrowded Bronx apartment. Informed by her own family history, Obie Award-winner Melia Bensussen directs the Huntington Theatre Company production with intensity and an inherent understanding of the challenges faced by the Bergers and their ilk.

Hub Theatre Company of Boston draws the curtain on its second season with the Boston premiere of 6 HOTELS by Israel Horovitz. Half a dozen slices of life share comedic and poignant DNA, with four actors playing twenty-two characters trying to connect in hotel rooms, bars, and restaurants. Club Cafe serves as an ideal venue and co-directors John Geoffrion and Daniel Bourque use the space well. Some vignettes land better (lightly) than others (with a thud), but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Boston Playwright's Theatre alumna Monica Bauer turned her memoir into a memory play that tells her compelling personal story. CHOSEN CHILD travels between times and places, as well as across generations, but it is worth staying with it to get inside these characters and understand their motivations. A stellar cast under the direction of Megan Schy Gleeson gives nuanced performances, brimming with intensity and commitment.