In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that when I was first approached about the opportunity to see Pirate Lives! The Musical! (by David Marino and Stephen Gilbane, directed by Marino and musically directed by Gilbane), I was slightly apprehensive. I’d never heard of the works that served as the inspiration for […]
I don’t really care for original works. I fully support them but I have a hard time reviewing them. I never know whether the play needs a new cast, a new director, or a few more workshops. Expecting by Noah Tobin is a new work at Boston Playwright’s Theatre. The play […]
Alumnae Theatre’s current production of Cosi is the best thing I’ve seen from them since director Jane Carnwath’s last project, Hedda Gabler in 2010. There’s a character clarity in Carnwath’s productions that’s missing from most of the rocky company’s other projects. She also has a knack for casting and has lucked out on pretty good […]
Boston Conservatory (BoCo) has always held a special place in my heart. Factory Girls was one of my first reviews for this site just under a year ago. I have gone to see a few BoCo shows since then and I’ve been consistently impressed with the quality of work produced, from the singing, to the […]
Last weekend, Boston University Stage Troupe succeeded in thrilling its audience with In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play directed by Melissa D’Anna. I’ll mention before I go into my impressions, that I had never seen or read the play before, so I was unsure of what to expect. The very first thing I […]
The annual short play festival at The Imperial Pub, put on by “Toronto’s Geekiest Theatre Company” is an adorable event. The tiny back room that houses a makeshift theatre has terrible acoustics and lots of pub noise leaking through the curtain that separates it from the main bar section. The lighting grid is sparse, the […]
If I were a Legally Blonde character I would be a not-so-delicate combo of snobby conservative Vivienne Kensington and frumpy, loudmouth intellectual-liberal Enid Hoopes; but despite this uber-brunette pedigree, I am an unabashed Elle Woods fan. I think she’s the greatest. The world needs kind and well-meaning characters like Elle and her empathetic optimism, and […]
Sometimes a one-act play can be brilliant in its low-frills simplicity (great one-man shows like Modern Love, Bursting into Flames and Ellamentary are like that). Sometimes their shortened length allows for succinct storytelling and tight pacing (particularly in intimate stories like family-centred one-acts Kim’s Convenience and Remember, Maggy?– both wonderful). And sometimes you’re glad a […]