I can usually count on the Huntington to stage a heart-pounding dinner party. Whether its in a familiar story like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, or in a new sizzling show such as Smart People, I never tire of swiveling my neck back and forth as if at a tennis match, wondering when the ticking […]
One of the unexpected pleasures of New Rep’s current season—exploring themes of “identity”—is the inclusion of several small-cast shows. Shrugging off the expense and complications of large casts and cluttered sets, we are left with a few talented individuals charged with making their story relevant enough to hold our attention. New Rep’s production of Via […]
A revived musical has just pulled into town. SpeakEasy Stage Company has brought back the musical Violet, directed by Paul Daigneault, musical direction by Matthew Stern, to the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion. Jeanine Tesori (music) and Brian Crawley (book and lyrics) first joined forces to adapt Doris Betts’ short story “The Ugliest Pilgrim” into a musical […]
The imaginary beasts are back this January with their seasonal Winter Panto. This year they present the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the well-loved classic by L. Frank Baum, and proceed to shake it up in true panto style. References to Beyoncé, State Farm Insurance, and Hamilton bubble easily to the surface, as […]
2015 has been a delightfully unsettling year for the Boston theatre scene. As a critic, I was always kept pleasantly off-kilter. I’ve been on football fields and in fairy tales. I’ve seen Shakespeare plays in courthouses, parks, and churches. I’ve seen fantastic shows directed by, staged by, and wonderfully performed by women. The latter was […]
I am pleasantly surprised by the recent renaissance of interest in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. This summer I attended a delightful all-female production staged by Maiden Phoenix Theatre Company in a Somerville park, free for all to attend. This year Jeanette Winterson released her novel version of the play, The Gap of Time, published by […]
Fleet, comic, utterly cosmopolitan, Six Degrees of Separation is one of John Guare’s sharpest works. Loosely based on real-life events, the play revolves around the mysterious figure of Paul. This young man manages to impress and verbally seduce his way into the homes of some Upper East Side Manhattanites. Two couples and a Jewish doctor […]
This month, I’m rolling up my sleeves and plunging into two plays and two books that will recharge my critical batteries. These four brief choices will come as a relief after the doorstoppers I recommended last month. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman All My Sons was the play that finally launched Arthur Miller’s sterling […]