BOSTON THEATER REVIEWS

Where most productions paint the duo as downtrodden and rather depressed, here the two main characters are painted with s sense of comedic timing and light-heartedness that almost seems choregraphed. A performance harkening back to some of the greatest comedic duos. The likes of Lewis and Martin, ...

Each player has moments of strength, weakness, anguish, despair, all presented well individually. I did not, however, feel as if I were watching a cohesive unit, in their element, weaving a tapestry as their lives intertwine. More that of a group of individuals well skilled at delivering Shakespea...

As is often the case the BTG production is a high-quality production where seemingly everyone involved has played their role and done their work well. There is, however, one aspect I certainly did not expect. Laughter. At several points throughout the three acts in 2-hours, audience members responde...

There are a few technical glitches that presented themselves to a keen eye, but virtually something for everyone to like.  Overall, BSC’s production of ALITTLE NIGHT MUSIC represents another triumph for both Barrington Stage and the woman who has steered the company’s successful course for the...

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 b...

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 ex...

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 ...

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 ...

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). ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 independen...

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...

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 The...

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 individu...

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....

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 touc...

'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...

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....

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 t...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...