BOSTON THEATER REVIEWS

BSC veterans Carson Elrod, Jeff McCarthy, and Debra Jo Rupp, all of whom are well known to area theatre goers are joined by Cary Donaldson and Ruth Pferdehirt. The ensemble is well balanced and show themselves to be exceptional character actors. Not every line lands solidly, but the skilled cast u...

Disney's Freaky Friday just opened at North Shore Music Theatre. Based on the 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers. It was then made into a movie by Disney in 1976 staring Jody Foster and Barbara Harris, with a less memorable movie remake in 2018. It is now a newly created, fun family musical with all the bel...

The entire cast proves themselves to be exemplary delivering long complicated dialogue that remains true to the old English, not with trite overdone accents but with polished voices and presentation that helps to make each unique, authentic, and engaging. Although the language can be challenging at...

On Monday night, the Emerson Colonial Theatre presented THE SETH RUDESTSKY SERIES STARRING JESSIE MUELLER, the first of three concerts with Cheyenne Jackson (October 4) and Kelli O'Hara (January 9) to follow. The host of Sirius SM's On Broadway channel, Rudetsky is a pianist, a music director, and p...

There is a lot to like packed into this production directed by Randal Myler. The action is well paced and well-staged. The use of turntables, tiering, and scrims are particularly effective elements of the scenic design by Tim Mackabee. The choreography by Brian Reeder, and costumes designed by ...

A HUMAN BEING, OF A SORT represents an examination of what may lie beneath the surface. It suggests we look more closely at a reality complicated by context. It presents many of the paradoxes seemingly present in human interaction. It is a period piece but also quite timely and relevant. We find ou...

Playwright Matthew Lombardo revisits his 2002 play as a one-act solo vehicle for Faye Dunaway, now receiving a pre-Broadway premiere at the Huntington Avenue Theatre in Boston. Attractive design elements evoke the Old Saybrook, Connecticut world of Katharine Hepburn, but neither the script nor the s...

Directed by Obie Award winner Robert O'Hara, Hansberry's fearless interrogation of hope in the face of racial and economic strife is as provocative and powerful today as when it premiered. In the hands of this talented team, the issues the younger family faces transcend traditional lines and disti...

There's an unmistakeable sound of thunder emanating from the Ogunquit Playhouse these days, commencing with the rhythmic pounding of nearly two dozen pairs of feet, and ending in a crescendo of audience applause. It is not fulsome praise to give DirectorChoreographer Randy Skinner multiple huzzahs a...

A year shy of its 100th birthday, the Cabot Theatre in Beverly, a North Shore treasure for the performing arts, presented multiple Grammy Award-winning recording artist Dionne Warwick in concert before a sold-out house on Friday night. Now in the sixth decade of her singing career, Warwick and her v...

In a time when most of us are tied to and dependent on electronic devices, and we are bombarded by messages, tweets, compressed news cycles, and Fear Of Missing Out, it is rare that we have an opportunity to step-back, disconnect, decompress, and focus simply on the people and things that really mat...

INTO THE WOODS opened on Broadway over 30 years ago. It has since been revived several times, adapted into a Disney Film, and presented by countless regional and community theatres as well as school groups. If you are thinking, "been there - done that" and there is no reason to see this presentati...

Despite the valiant efforts of the cast, a strikingly handsome set, and beautiful costumes, PRIVATE LIVES will not be (pardon the pun) everyone's cup of tea. The material is dated and generally appeals most to an older audience segment and those who long for the days of Fred Astaire and Ginger Roge...

This bold, brave, important, timely, and highly relevant story is a cautionary tale. In the spirit of Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451 it is set in a dystopian society but as Playwright Stacey Rose, who was awarded the grand prize in BSC's Bonnie & Terry Burman New Play Award of 2019 for t...

Gloucester Stage Company opens its 40th Anniversary Season with a nostalgic romp in the park, specifically Neil Simon's 1963 hit play, BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. Pairing McCaela Donovan and Joe Short (who are married in real life) as the young newlyweds moving from their blissful six-day honeymoon into a...

...

YERMA, a play with music, adapted and translated by Melinda Lopez from Spanish poet/playwright Federico Garcia Lorca's 1934 work, is receiving its world premiere by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. On press night, in the age-old tradition o...

Oklahoma! is the first musical written by the team of composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells the story of farm girl Laur...

Just in time for LGBTQ Pride Month, and on the cusp of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, SpeakEasy Stage Company presents the New England premiere of the Off-Broadway musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS in the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. Inspired by a little-known historical ev...

Processing the powerful piece of theatre and important lesson in American History / civics HOLD THESE TRUTHS provides, the phrase: 'those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it' comes to mind. Particularly considering the relatively low level of coverage and general knowledge of this...

Playwright Patrick Gabridge, the 2018-2019 Mount Auburn Cemetery Artist-in-Residence, creates a series of site-specific plays which focus on the natural world of the 175-acre landscaped jewel in the heart of Cambridge. Five short plays inspired by and staged at various locales throughout the cemeter...

It is a challenge to convey in words the power, importance and relevance of this production. Even harder still, the impact it has on audience members. What I can and will say is that it should not be missed and, be sure to be present and attentive to the inspiring message in the closing line....

THE GOAT OR, WHO IS SYLVIA? Is a quick paced juxtaposition of humor within rage, anger, and conflict all wrapped up in the trappings of civility. It forces us to look between the blurred lines between love / sex / emotions; connections / physical / emotional; normative behavior - the "supposed to" ...

Brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour have found a creative home at the American Repertory Theater for the world premiere of their musical WE LIVE IN CAIRO. In collaboration with Director Taibi Magar and Choreographer Samar Haddad King, the Lazours have continued to develop the book, music, and lyrics ...