The Lyric Stage Company of Boston’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee marks my second production of the facetious and dry work of William Finn. I am a particular fan of Finn. His sardonic humor and dissonant harmonies are, for me, enough to entertain. The Lyric Stage brought to [...]
Boston, it elates me to say, is an enclave for upstart, up-and-coming, unconventional and unseen theatre. Boston houses countless theaters and likely thrice as many theatre companies. There is an incredible amount of diversity. The plethora of production companies and the cost of Boston real estate make establishing a new company an [...]
I have had the pleasure of reviewing much of the Company One 2009-2010 season. They have consistently demonstrated a great skill in play making, and I have often been drawn into the illusion they create. Once again Company One brought together the elements of a great production to lift the [...]
With the whip and the whirlwind of spring, I almost missed Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre’s season finale Uncontainable. Thank goodness for the company’s wonderful communications director for keeping me in the loop – I would be remiss to have missed this program. Out of the Dark, the most recent installment of [...]
I am ever leery of productions of Shakespeare. Too often it feels as though the actors are not exactly sure of what they are saying. Surely a name like The Actors’ Shakespeare Project would imply an understanding of Shakespeare. With their production of Othello, the company demonstrated a commitment to Shakespeare’s [...]
After taking our seats to watch The Company Theatre’s production of RENT, I heard the young ladies behind me saying how difficult it would be to refrain from singing along, having seen the movie. This tickled me a bit; I briefly imagined myself as a staunch old man turning around and [...]
Since reviewing José Mateo Ballet Theatre’s production of The Nutcracker, I have been anticipating their next production. Having enjoyed the performance of the JMBT Company of dancers accompanied by 200+ students in The Nutcracker, I was looking forward to seeing a program performed exclusively by the company. Out of the Dark, [...]
As I sit down to write this review for the Orfeo Group’s production of The Island of Slaves, I am presented with a particular conundrum. In reading the directors note I was thus informed, “[Y]ou’ll probably enjoy yourself more if you don’t know what’s coming.” At first glance, I took [...]
I like to believe that I was well suited to review The Company Theater’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I have a particular love for words. One might describe me as sesquipedalian. One of my favorite words is even a song title from the show (Weltanschauung). Some may say I go [...]
The civil rights movement and the about turn in the political posture that resulted have always been inspiring to me. I’m amazed when I think about people who have been repressed for centuries and how they work tirelessly to evoke non-violent revolution. Company One’s production of The Good Negro, by Tracey Scott Wilson, is a [...]