At the Papermill Theatre last week, the East Side Players premiered one of the most ambitious and beautiful works in the Canadian theatrical canon- Timothy Findley’s Elizabeth Rex. The complex hypothetical places the “virgin” Queen rather outlandishly in the barn where Shakespeare’s troupe The Lord Chamberlain’s men are lodging after performing Much Ado About Nothing […]
This month’s selections can only be described as tackling the smart and difficult topics left untouched by most of society. Too often, it is easier to ignore our problems and issues rather than facing them. These productions offer the touch discussions, from race to living life without regret to questioning the safety of our youth. […]
Earlier this season, my colleague Brian Balduzzi reviewed Hovey Players’ production of Geoffrey Nauffts’ Next Fall and had very little good to say of that production. So, one would hope that The Wellesley Players’ production, directed by Todd Sandstrom and starring Ryan MacPherson as Luke and Nick Bennett-Zendzian as Adam would have more to offer and […]
It’s hard to articulate exactly what I saw when I witnessed Maureen Keiller’s remarkable performance in the emerging hit White Rabbit, Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour. The one-man (or woman) play, produced as limited one-night engagements featuring other popular Boston actors such as Victor Shopov and John Kuntz, is a treat for anyone interested in […]
Plays are short. Obviously, we’ve all been to plays that feel far too long, but when it comes down to it, a full-length play has only a few hours to express everything that the playwright wants to say. A novelist can ramble for hundreds of pages but a playwright must be brief, confining all the […]
I love reality television. I do. I’ll watch Real Housewives of just about any city (except for Miami), and, if it’s on Bravo, I’ll probably watch it (except for Millionaire Matchmaker; something about rich people clumsily falling in love is just not compelling to me). I’m pretty unashamed about my love of trash TV, but […]
I think it must be hard to have the guts to choose to produce The Glass Menagerie, given the recent success of American Repertory Theatre’s production* and that that production just garnered multiple Tony Award nominations. Personally, I would think that a small community theatre might want to steer entirely clear of it. Local audiences can’t […]
Angels in America: Part 1 – Millennium Approaches is an ambitious piece of theatre. The play demands outstanding performers, technical innovation and precision, and a strong directorial concept and eye for detail. The Umbrella (formerly the Emerson Umbrella) in Concord, Massachusetts astounds and surprises with its professional delivery of Tony Kushner’s epic play. This performance […]