Alex Lonati - Page 2

You don't go into a show called The Annotated History of the American Muskrat without some very specific preconceptions. While you may have no idea what the piece is actually going to be about, you know it's probably safe to say that it isn't about to be your standard Tennessee Williams drama. The Circuit Theatre Company's production of this brand new show, written for them by Boston playwright John Kuntz, certainly fulfilled the preconceived notions that filled my head.

The Hub Theatre Company of Boston is presenting The Complete Works of Shakespeare [Abridged], a hilarious, highly physical, wacky portrayal of all of the Bard's plays originally conceived by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield.

Telling the story of popular Japanese cartoon, Astro Boy, and his creator, Osamu Tezuka, the piece utilizes more mediums than I ever imagined possible for a stage piece. Not only were projections used, but controlled animation, live drawing, vocal effects, puppetry, and combinations of all of the above.

The Circuit Theatre Company has a summer season of three shows, two of which are currently running in rep at the Oberon Theatre in Cambridge. Last night, I had the pleasure of experiencing both: The Walk Across America for Mother Earth by Taylor Mac and Welcome to Arroyo's by Kristoffer Diaz.

This week is Pride Week in Boston and what better way to support and celebrate than with a festival of plays and theatrical pieces that feature appropriate and relevant themes. Sleeping Weazel's Doubles, Demons, and Dreamers spans two weekends, each of which has its own lineup of a solo performance and a full length play that all tell touching, absurdist, revolutionary, and surrealist tales.

This is the story of Dorothy Thompson, an American journalist and radio broadcaster during WWII who was known to some as the "First Lady of American Journalism". In Cassandra Speaks at the Nora Theatre Company at the Central Square Theater, we see her the morning of her third wedding, as she struggles to finish an article, looks back on her previous loves, and recounts her accomplishments and failures as a journalist in Europe and America.

Who says arts and academia cannot work hand in hand? Isn't theatre one of the best ways to reach large groups of people and enact change? So why not teach lessons about issues of science and environmental awareness within a theatrical piece?

In Imaginary Beasts's mission statement, they refer to the art they create as adventurous, non-traditional, and for an eclectic public. I have seen few shows that adhere to their company's mission statement better than this one. This weekend, I attended Imaginary's Beasts's production of Lovers' Quarrels, a fairly unknown Moliere piece, and have to say that adventurous and non-traditional hit the nail right on the head.

There are few things that speak to the resilience and hopefulness of mankind more than the history of Brundibar, currently being performed at the Central Square Theatre. It is an opera for children (which is ambitious in itself), but it was created by Jewish artists and performed in the Terezin concentration camps, in spite of all of the horror and pain being inflicted.

This February, Actors Shakespeare Project is presenting a production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, directed by longtime theatre practitioner Melia Bensussen. The production runs February 12 through March 9 at the Dane Estate at Pine Manor College.

A panto, I have learned, is a British tradition of a winter musical comedy for the whole family, incorporating a well known children's story, musical numbers, and vaudeville humor. This production, conceived and directed by Matthew Woods, told the story of Rumpelstiltskin, but focused more on the evil plots of the right hand man of the king (who looked a lot like Aladdin's Jafar), the prince's search for a squire and a bride, and something about a magic fox.

Based on the Alice Walker novel of the same name, The Color Purple spans over thirty years, following a young African-American woman named Celie and her struggles with gender roles, violence, accepting love, and exploring her relationship with God.

This story of a king's obsession with obtaining a male heir is not one of Shakespeare's commonly produced works, but the Actor Shakespeare Project's production was beautifully familiar and accessible.

Boston Theater Company, a newly established production company, just closed their season opener of Romeo and Juliet, which took a modern approach that incorporated political parties, drug abuse, and the harsh eye of the media.

Sometimes I wish I could still see things through the eyes of a child. I miss the days when a pillow fort could be a dark and endless cave, when a stuffed animal could be a very real, very talkative playmate, and when anyone in costume was automatically magical and mystical. A kid can believe anything, as long as it is told with excitement and authority. Last night, I attended the Wheelock Family Theatre's production of The Hobbit, and I once again wished I was a child.

On one fateful winter evening, a few weeks before Christmas in 1956, producer Sam Phillips managed to get all of his stars in one room. The recording session of Carl Perkins and Jerry Le Lewis soon turned into an impromptu jam session when Johnny Cash and breakout star Elvis Presley showed up too. This was to be the first and the last time all four men were in the same room together and goes down in history as one of the greatest spontaneous rock and roll collaborations of all time

Jeff loves Harry Potter and wants to provide an entertaining, yet accurate, recap of all seven of the novels. Dan, who is moderately aware that Harry Potter exists at best, just wants to have fun and play Quidditch. As the two bumble their way through the seven books, storytelling through puppetry, audience participation, and outrageous 1970s song, hijinks ensue and lots of trouble is made.

The Other Place by Sharr White, presented by the Underground Railroad Theater and the Nora Theatre Company at the Central Square Theater is about a middle-aged scientist faced with a crumbling marriage, an estranged daughter, and a mystery illness that she is trying to self-diagnose. The story is described by director Bridget Kathleen O'Leary as a logic puzzle.

The show is a new musical that follows two Scottish performers as they join together in music and try to make a name for themselves, all while exploring the destructive and alluring romance between them. The entire piece is told through story telling and constant rock music, as these two trace their meeting, the development of their relationship, and how stardom affects their personal lives.