I had never seen anything at Wheelock Family Theatre, but I could not think of a better musical than Hairspray as an introduction to WFT’s fine work. I can’t pretend that the production didn’t have its flaws, but, looking around on opening night, I noticed that the audience more than appreciated the production for its […]
SpeakEasy Stage Company presents a moving and thoroughly enjoyable, even grandiose but always heartfelt, production of The Color Purple. Based on the novel by Alice Walker and the hit movie, the musical is an immersive tale of Celie, an “ugly” African-American woman who has enough heartache and troubles for us all, as she journeys from […]
There was unmistakable and exasperated scream on the other end of the phone. “What?! Are you serious? How is that possible?” You would have thought that I had told my mother that I was pregnant with quintuplets. But no. That was my mother’s reaction when I let slip that I have never seen the movie […]
I have wanted to see a performance of Tribes since I missed Speakeasy Stage Company’s production earlier this season. It fetched some stellar reviews for the way that they presented incredibly challenging material. Unfortunately, Epic Theater Company’s production at the Artist’s Exchange in Cranston, Rhode Island didn’t rise to that challenge. Nina Raine’s script focuses […]
The Toronto Laboratory Theatre and an English-Russian Theatre company named Théatrus have come together to produce a well-conceived play called The…Musician: An Etude. Three actors, Shelley Liebembuk, Clayton Gray and Kevin Kashani collaborate to play more than ten roles to the music of Art Babyants, who conceived and directed the project. Although I anticipated the […]
Flesh and Other Fragments of Love is about a married couple, Simone (Maria del Mar) and Pierre (Blair Williams). They bicker and squabble and get in each other’s way while on vacation in Ireland. Enter a ghostly, dead woman who has been found washed up on the beach. Her name is Mary (Nicole Underhay). The […]
Next to Normal presents a topical depiction of living with and loving someone who has a mental illness. Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt were almost ahead of their time, especially since many recent shootings have rocked communities out of their complacency regarding mental illness and what it means to be alive. Next Door Center for […]
Venus in fur. Ven-us in fur. These words are purred by our gorgeous leading lady, Vanda, played by the seductive and mysterious Andrea Syglowski, with growing anticipation. Syglowski expertly casts a spell over Chris Kipiniak’s stuffy Thomas and audience alike during a spell-binding performance of David Ives’ Venus in Fur. David Ives, known for his […]