Boston Theater Reviews Page 4

Review: PIPPIN: Growing Up Is Hard To Do
by Nancy Grossman - August 08, 2022

The second and final production of Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston’s 2022 season is Stephen Schwartz’s PIPPIN, originally produced on the Broadway stage in 1972 with direction and choreography by Bob Fosse, and revived/reimagined in 2013 by Diane Paulus at the American Repertory Theater befor...

Review: WE ARE CONTINUOUS at Williamstown Theatre Festival
by Marc Savitt - August 07, 2022

Simon and his mother, Ora, have always been close. She’s been his champion, his defender, and his friend. But when a life-changing secret comes to light, can their bond survive? 2020 Foeller Fellow Tyler Thomas directs this exquisitely wrought WTF-commissioned play by Harrison David Rivers that expl...

Review: SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD at Berkshire Theatre Group
by Marc Savitt - August 03, 2022

There is not one single word of spoken dialogue. The driving, exquisitely crafted score is brilliant. It draws you in and in most cases, regardless of who might be performing a given piece, you find yourself caught up in the lyrics feeling as if they could be telling your story or at least a good ...

Review: ANNA IN THE TROPICS at Barrington Stage Company
by Marc Savitt - July 24, 2022

ANNA IN THE TROPICS is something like a well curated and presented collection of themes that are both timeless and universal. Coming quite close to the proverbial, perhaps lofty goal of, having something for everyone. One thing we agreed upon is that ANNA IN THE TROPICS is the latest high caliber ...

Review: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE at The Emerson Colonial Theatre
by Erik Bailey - July 14, 2022

Biographical jukebox musicals are becoming more and more common. They use a singer and/or songwriter’s music to tell that person’s life story. The most recent addition to the cannon is A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL (now playing at the Emerson Colonial Theatre until August 7th). ...

Review: MAN OF GOD at Williamstown Theatre Festival
by Marc Savitt - July 12, 2022

The relevancy to current issues such as Me Too, Feminism, Sexism, Abuse of Power, Patriarchal Systemic Inequality, Masculine Toxicity, My Body – My Rights, See Something – Say Something … abound. Will these dynamic, seemingly “ordinary / normal” young women persist, or give in and conform to the ov...

Review: WEST SIDE STORY: You've got to be taught
by Nancy Grossman - July 11, 2022

What did our critic think of WEST SIDE STORY at Reagle Music Theatre Of Greater Boston: There's a new spring in the step of Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston in Waltham. Award-winning director and choreographer Rachel Bertone takes over as Artistic Director and opens the season with WEST SIDE S...

Review: ABCD at Barrington Stage Company
by Marc Savitt - July 09, 2022

At two very different public schools in the same city — an underserved school on the verge of shutdown, and an elite magnet program nearby — pressure to perform well on standardized tests drives students and teachers to compromise their integrity. Kudos to Artistic Director, Julie Ann Boyd and the ...

Review: American Repertory Theater and Roundabout Theatre Company's 1776 is a Master Class in Musical Theatre Revivals
by Erik Bailey - July 08, 2022

It is no surprise to anyone that we are living in an incredibly politically charged time. One can’t help but wonder if this is the future our Founding Fathers had envisioned for our country. 1776 gives us a look at what may have been going through their minds when leading America to its independence...

Review: A MOMENT WITH MARK ST. GERMAIN at Great Barrington Public Theater
by Adam Cohen - July 08, 2022

Mark St. Germain is a prolific playwright whose works have been performed in New York City, the Berkshires and beyond. He has written the plays CAMPING WITH HENRY AND TOM (Outer Critics Circle Award and Lucille Lortel Award), OUT OF GAS ON LOVER'S LEAP and FORGIVING TYPHOID MARY (Time Magazine's 'Ye...

Review: ONCE at Berkshire Theatre Group
by Marc Savitt - July 05, 2022

ONCE is one of those productions that comes along, once in a while, where audience members can truly sit back, relax, get comfortable, and enjoy as a delightful experience sweeps them up, carries them away, and lets them feel all the feels. ONCE continues at Berkshire Theatre Group’s Colonial Theat...

Review: B.R.O.K.E.N CODE B.I.R.D SWITCHING at Berkshire Theatre Group
by Marc Savitt - June 26, 2022

The season opener of Berkshire Theatre Group’s 2022 season B.R.O.K.E.N CODE B.I.R.D SWITCHING is not, as the title might suggest to some, about Native American Communication Specialists during WWII. It is one of those relatively infrequent theatrical experiences in which each of the many individual...

BWW Review: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' THE FATS WALLER REVUE at Barrington Stage Company
by Marc Savitt - June 20, 2022

To be clear, there is absolutely nothing about this production that is dull, dated, or dusty. The joint is most certainly jumpin’ for an evening full of rowdy, raunchy and humorous songs that capture the love longing and zest for life in the 1920’s/’30s....

Review: ANDY WARHOL IN IRAN at Barrington Stage Company
by Marc Savitt - June 19, 2022

World premiere presentations like ANDY WARHOL IN IRAN offer Berkshire audiences a special opportunity to experience a work in progress, recognized for their potential. While I won’t term this as a must-see; it is most certainly a fine piece, well worth seeing. If not for the creative aspects touche...

BWW Review: THE INHERITANCE at SpeakEasy Stage is a Six and a Half Hour Look at How Our Lives Make a Lasting Impact
by Erik Bailey - June 02, 2022

'He has a story to tell- it is banging around inside him, aching to come out. But how does he begin?' These are the first words the audience of SpeakEasy Stage's production of Matthew López's play THE INHERITANCE. The six-and-a-half-hour play (presented in two parts) explores what it means to write ...

BWW Review: THE APPROACH at Shakespeare & Company
by Marc Savitt - May 24, 2022

What on the surface appears to be a lovely “little Irish play”, performed near flawlessly by three talented actors is one of the most powerful and deeply profound pieces of black box theatre I have seen in many years....

BWW Review: MISS HOLMES RETURNS at Greater Boston Stage Company is a Captivating Twist On One of Literature's Most Well Known Characters
by Erik Bailey - April 24, 2022

Sherlock Holmes is one of literature’s most well-known characters. Through the years, many people have tried to adapt Holmes to different time periods and situations. But none that I have come across have done so as successfully as Christopher M. Walsh does in MISS HOLMES RETURNS, now playing at the...

BWW Review: BURGERZ at EMERSON PARAMOUNT CENTER JACKIE LIEBERGOTT BLACK BOX is a Captivating Look at Privilege and our Place in Society
by Erik Bailey - April 18, 2022

The moment we are conceived, society tries to tell us who we are and who we should be. Before we even get the chance to breathe our parents and their doctors determine our gender and how that makes us who we are. But if anyone chooses to break from these norms and live their lives how they so choose...

BWW Review: FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME at the Emerson Colonial is a Masterclass in Improv
by Erik Bailey - March 30, 2022

Improv comedy is one of the most underappreciated arts forms. It is seen by a lot of people as corny and hard to watch. However, improv is a skill that requires a lot of training in order to be pulled off seamlessly. The cast of FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME (now playing at the Emerson Colonial Theater unt...

BWW Review: ONCE ON THIS ISLAND at Speakeasy Stage Proves that Love Can Prevail
by Erik Bailey - March 16, 2022

The first and only production of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND I saw was a concert production featuring an all-white cast. So, when I heard that Speakeasy Stage would be producing the show, I was excited to be able to see how it is meant to be performed. This production, directed by Pascale Florestral and mus...

BWW Review: WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME at Emerson Cutler Majestic is an Informative and Entertaining Look at the Constitution in Today's America
by Erik Bailey - March 06, 2022

Right now, in this country and across the Globe, democracy is in danger. The US Constitution was written many years ago by a bunch of white men who didn’t know what the country and the world would be in the future. WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME by Heidi Schreck, examines what the Constitution me...

BWW Review: THE BOOK OF WILL at Lyric Stage Company of Boston is a Fun Night out at the Theatre
by Erik Bailey - March 06, 2022

William Shakespeare no doubt changed the world of theatre and helped to shape it into the art form that it is today. In his short fifty-two years of life, he wrote at least thirty-seven plays and collaborated on more. Without the work of two of his friends, those plays could have been long lost and ...

BWW Review: OCEAN FILIBUSTER at the American Repertory Theater Leaves Audiences Confused and Guilty
by Erik Bailey - March 04, 2022

When I walked into the ART for OCEAN FILIBUSTER, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew that this was going to be a performance about the climate crisis. However, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the two hour and fifteen minute spectacle I was about to witness. ...

BWW Review: THE 11TH ANNUAL 10 X 10 NEW PLAY FESTIVAL at Barrington Stage Company
by Marc Savitt - March 02, 2022

Although no theme is clearly communicated in the promotional materials, the common thread that seems to be woven throughout the collection this year is comedy and perhaps seeing things from a differing perspective.  Think – do not judge a book by its cover.  ...

BWW Review: PEOPLE, PLACES, & THINGS at Speakeasy Stage
by Erik Bailey - February 13, 2022

Life is full of challenges. It is impossible to make it throughout the day without facing some sort of challenge. It can be as small as you’ve run out of cream for your morning cup of coffee or as large as you’ve become addicted to alcohol and/or drugs. In PEOPLE, PLACES, & THINGS, Duncan Macmillan ...