Nancy Grossman - Page 16

Gina Gionfriddo and Peter DuBois team up once again to present the world premiere of her latest play, CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? The playwright's trademark dark humor is on display and performed to a high standard by a stellar cast of five.

Director/choreographer Ilyse Robbins pays homage to Bob Fosse, but puts her artistic stamp on the 1966 Tony Award-winning musical. You will love Vanessa Dunleavy as the hopeful dance-hall hostess looking for love in all the wrong places. Stoneham Theatre veterans and newcomers comprise a stellar ensemble that delivers the songs and dances with panache.

The National Touring Production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien, breathes new life into the venerable hills and introduces a star-in-the-making. Vivacious and talented Kerstin Anderson captivates us from the opening strains of the title song, and her passion and energy propel the show forward. More than five decades after its Broadway premiere, the powerful message of the story and the superb Rodgers and Hammerstein score still resonate.

New Repertory Theatre participates in the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Steve Yockey's BLACKBERRY WINTER, a thoughtful, poignant take on one woman's coming to terms with her mother's diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. Director Bridget Kathleen O'Leary and Adrianne Krstansky bring out the humor while focusing on the human emotions, rather than the illness, and the result is surprisingly uplifting.

Idris Goodwin's second break beat play is a love story set in the world of hip-hop, exploring one young man's search for authenticity and identity when he moves from the suburbs to the urban environment. Hoping to immerse himself in the culture of the hip-hop music world, T.O. learns important life lessons from a no-nonsense Journalism professor and from being tossed around on the rocky shoals of love.

The New England premiere of Robert O'Hara's BOOTYCANDY at SpeakEasy Stage Company is based on the author's own experiences of growing up black and gay in America. Similar in structure and tone to THE COLORED MUSEUM, it is a series of loosely connected vignettes that rely on humor and satire to confront racial, sexual, and cultural stereotypes. Summer L. Williams directs an outstanding cast of five actors who portray nearly two dozen characters.

Flat Earth Theatre opens their tenth anniversary season with the East Coast premier of Gina Young's cheeky exploration of growing up queer in the 90s. An ensemble cast of seven women and four men portray girls and boys of varying ages and personality types, but you will recognize all of these kids and may see yourself among them. Through a series of vignettes, dances, and songs, Young captures the awkwardness and anxiety of sexual awakening and feeling "different," but would get more bang for the buck with some judicious editing.

Bridge Repertory Theater of Boston presents the world premiere of local playwright MJ Halberstadt's THE LAUNCH PRIZE under the direction of Tiffany Nichole Greene. A quartet of visual arts graduate students anxiously awaits the announcement of the prize winner and their friendship is challenged by the competition. Over the course of eighty minutes, the foursome unleashes a virtual herd of elephants in the room as issues of race, gender, entitlement, and duplicity bubble up from deep wells of resentment.

Described as a theatrical crime caper, FAST COMPANY explores a major con gone wrong and digs into the dynamics of the family Kwan. It's a fun ride when the game is being plotted and executed, but slows considerably when the focus is on the family. The actors do what they can to get inside their characters, but they're written a little flat and the relationships are less than compelling.

The Suffolk University/Boston Playwrights' Theatre co-production of RHINOCEROS, newly adapted by Wesley Savick from Derek Prouse's translation, features a Boston setting, but maintains the themes of Eugene Ionesco's 1959 classic play from the Cold War era. Things being as they are, that sort of feels like the good old days, yet we are reminded that conformity, fascism, and totalitarianism have never gone out of style.

In a departure from its more substantial recent fare, Zeitgeist Stage Company offers up a sugary confection about a cake baking competition in a small Vermont town. Although widely-produced in Canada and the United States, including a run Off-Off Broadway, CAKEWALK is a slight story that is slow to pick up steam. Its humor is driven by its quirky characters and Director David J. Miller fields an endearing ensemble, but the recipe lacks nutritional value.

Stoneham Theatre stages the third installment in Richard Nelson's four-play series with the director, design team, and cast intact from the earlier entries. They are a cohesive, well-oiled team, but while SORRY gets deeper into the personalities of the characters, it fails to deliver the political goods that we would expect from its setting on Election Day, 2012. Of course, no fiction could match the histrionics of the real life 2016 election-year campaign.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre hosts the regional premiere of Mat Smart's TINKER TO EVERS TO CHANCE, a play for die-hard baseball fans. Focused on a mother and daughter who bond over their shared love of the Chicago Cubs, it resonates with members of Red Sox Nation who understand the roller coaster emotions of hope and disappointment associated with loving a star-crossed team, but may be less engaging for non-aficionados of the sport.

Boston Playwrights' Theatre mounts BACK THE NIGHT, Melinda Lopez's new play that explores violence against women on a college campus. When a feminist blogger is attacked, there are plenty of aspersions to go around as her enemies list is a long one. Her best friend, fraternity brothers, college officials, and even a U.S. Senator are caught up in the maelstrom when doubts surface as the investigation seeks truth.

New Repertory Theatre continues its third annual Next Rep Black Box Festival with Colm Toibin's THE TESTAMENT OF MARY, a controversial one-woman play that reimagines the life and attitudes of Mary some twenty years after the crucifixion of her son. Artistic Director Jim Petosa directs Paula Langton in an impressive solo performance, with texture added by lighting designer Matthew Guminski and composer/sound designer Dewey Dellay.

MRT stages the first of three world premieres with Artistic Director Sean Daniels' play THE WHITE CHIP, a dark comedy about his own alcoholism and recovery. By sharing his personal story, he hopes to help someone else going through the same thing; by lightening the mood, he makes the story entertaining and accessible.

There's Sondheim music galore playing at the Lyric Stage Company as Producing Artistic Director and recognized Sondheim expert Spiro Veloudos directs an octet of Boston musical theatre performers in SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM. In effect, the composer/lyricist is the ninth member of the ensemble as he appears onscreen, larger than life, providing intimate commentary on his life, his process, and his words and music. The video affords the opportunity to sit through a master class with the master, and the living, breathing actors demonstrate his brilliance with their starry interpretations.

Fresh Ink Theatre Company presents the inaugural production of Ginger Lazarus' THE HOUSEKEEPER at Boston Playwrights' Theatre. The four-character drama includes a ghost, but she's less scary than the teenage girl struggling with her grief and growing pains. An inept father relies on the new housekeeper to return order to their chaotic existence, but she has to straighten out her own closet if she is to succeed.

Chase the post-holiday blues and January blahs away with a trip to Oz, courtesy of the imaginary beasts' annual WINTER PANTO 2016: THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ. Artistic Director Matthew Woods presents his 13th panto in collaboration with a talented ensemble of actors and an amazing team of designers. They sing, they dance, and they tell a great story, but they can't do it without you. Audience participation is a must and guarantees a good time for all ages.

New Repertory Theatre's 3rd Annual Next Rep Black Box Festival presents British playwright David Hare's VIA DOLOROSA as the first of its three shows. Minimal design elements sharpen the focus on David Bryan Jackson's virtuoso performance as the author. Serving as an animated and amiable tour guide, Jackson is fully committed to connecting with the audience, ensuring that the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are understood and keenly felt.