Boston Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 24

BWW Review: Laughter Amidst the Tears and Fears in MALA
by Nancy Grossman - November 08, 2016

ArtsEmerson presents the world premiere of Melinda Lopez's one-woman play MALA. Ostensibly autobiographical, it is an honest representation of the ups and downs of one woman's journey as she bears witness to the most ordinary, shared human experience, the act of dying. As playwright, she incorporate...

by Rishka Mehra - November 07, 2016

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BWW REVIEW: National Tour of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS Launches in Boston
by Jan Nargi - October 31, 2016

Joie de vivre is in short supply in AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, the acclaimed Broadway musical now launching its first national tour in Boston through November 6. Inspired by the beloved 1951 MGM movie musical starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, this Broadway iteration looks and feels monochromatic comp...

BWW Review: Huntington Theatre Company Extends New Comedy TIGER STYLE!
by Nancy Grossman - October 31, 2016

Success in academia is not always transferable to personal or professional success upon leaving the halls of ivy. Playwright Mike Lew explores this phenomenon in his new comedy TIGER STYLE! The laughs come fast and furiously as siblings Albert and Jennifer Chen struggle to figure out who to blame fo...

BWW Review: WARRIOR CLASS: Early Voting Projects a Win
by Nancy Grossman - October 25, 2016

Boston premiere of Kenneth Lin's ('House of Cards') "political thriller" at Lyric Stage Company ultimately works because of a trio of fine performances by Steven Barkhimer, Michael Tow, and Jessica Webb, under the taut direction of Dawn M. Simmons. You may have had more than your fill of politics fo...

BWW Review: New England Premiere of ABIGAIL/1702 Fits the Season
by Nancy Grossman - October 22, 2016

ABIGAIL/1702 is playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's exploration of the aftermath of the 1692 Salem witch trials. Merrimack Repertory Theatre and Director Tlaloc Rivas push all the right buttons to give the audience a scary ride. The outstanding design elements create an atmosphere that is spooky on ...

BWW REVIEW: Boston Gets Schooled in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER
by Jan Nargi - October 22, 2016

Tight harmonies and an even tighter cast make the first national tour of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER delicious fun. Now at Boston's Citi Center Shubert Theatre through October 23, this totally original musical comedy by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lut...

BWW Review: The Stake is Raised High in Provincetown Theater's DRACULA FOR DUMMYS
by Kristen Morale - October 18, 2016

Did you ever wonder what would happen if the traditional Dracula story was made into something so perfectly absurd that it actually turns itself funny? If what is meant to be a frightening tale of the undead becomes a wacky, Barbie doll- infested, cross-dressing adventure that brings the quest to de...

BWW Review: N.E. Premiere of Morally Ambiguous UNCANNY VALLEY
by Nancy Grossman - October 11, 2016

Stoneham Theatre presents the New England premiere of playwright Thomas Gibbons' UNCANNY VALLEY, a view into the not too distant future when researchers have found a way to extend the human lifespan through artificial intelligence. While it raises more questions than it answers, its rich subtext and...

BWW Review: MAN IN SNOW: World Premiere of Chilling Tale
by Nancy Grossman - October 07, 2016

MAN IN SNOW, Israel Horovitz's newest play, receives its world premiere at Gloucester Stage in a riveting production directed by the playwright. A full-length stage adaptation of an earlier radio play, the seed of the fictional story was sown from a real-life event in Alaska nearly twenty years ago....

BWW Review: Sean O'Casey's THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS Becomes An Epic Tale Of History And Bloodshed
by Justin J Sacramone - October 05, 2016

Now celebrating its 90th anniversary, The Plough and the Stars has been given a reimagined revival by The Abbey Theatre, Ireland's National Theatre and is on tour at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA until October 9th. This Brechtian inspired production is as alien as it is fresh and r...

BWW Review: All Hail PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT
by Nancy Grossman - October 01, 2016

Fiddlehead Theatre Company's Boston premiere production of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT dazzles, and it's not just because of the millions of sequins used by Director/Costume Designer Stacey Stephens for the ab-fab fashions of the glamorous drag performers and their entourage. With over 300 costume...

BWW Review: The Wonder of Fright Rises with Cape Rep's THE WOMAN IN BLACK
by Kristen Morale - September 30, 2016

Many of you may be familiar with The Woman in Black due to it being the second longest running play in London's West End (twenty-nine years strong), or perhaps you were pretty spooked by the 2012 film starring Daniel Radcliffe. However you were lured to see this production, Susan Hill's and Stephen ...

BWW Review: SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Wedding Bell Blues
by Nancy Grossman - September 23, 2016

SpeakEasy Stage Company is presenting the New England premiere of a new comedy by Joshua Harmon (BAD JEWS) prior to its scheduled Broadway run in February, 2017. Under the insightful direction of Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault, SIGNIFICANT OTHER offers a cornucopia of talented players (...

BWW Review: Patti LuPone: No Monkeying Around in Worcester
by Nancy Grossman - September 21, 2016

Music Worcester had a grand opening to its 157th season last night at beautiful Mechanics Hall, a treasure in downtown Worcester, presenting Patti LuPone in her latest solo concert program, DON'T MONKEY WITH BROADWAY. She shared the stage with her fantastic musical director/accompanist Joseph Thalke...

BWW Review: EIGHT BY TENN: Alas, a Menagerie
by Nancy Grossman - September 17, 2016

Zeitgeist Stage Company presents a collection of short plays by Tennessee Williams. EIGHT BY TENN has the trademark lyrical writing style that makes Williams Williams, but not all characters are equally developed, posing a challenge for the actors. Artistic Director David J. Miller directs an ensemb...

BWW Review: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Opens Huntington Theatre Company Season
by Nancy Grossman - September 16, 2016

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE opens the Huntington Theatre Company's 2016-2017 season. Directed by Artistic Director Peter DuBois, with Music Direction by Eric Stern, it features a large and talented ensemble with a mix of Boston theater artists and those with Broadway credits. Jenni Barber is a de...

BWW Review: LUCKY STIFF: Loosey-goosey Fun For All
by Nancy Grossman - September 13, 2016

Stoneham Theatre has a lively hit on its hands with the Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty 1980s musical murder mystery farce, LUCKY STIFF. The rom-com romp stars young company alum Andrew Barbato, with direction by Caitlin Lowans, choreography by Ilyse Robbins, and music direction by Bethany Aiken. It's ...

BWW Review: In Very Good COMPANY
by Nancy Grossman - September 11, 2016

Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos opens the 2016-2017 Lyric Stage Company season with Stephen Sondheim's ground-breaking concept musical COMPANY. Winner of six Tony Awards in 1971, as well as the 2007 winner for Best Revival of a Musical, don't be surprised to find this modern makeover capt...

BWW Review: REGULAR SINGING: The Apple Family's Last Supper
by Nancy Grossman - September 08, 2016

New Repertory Theatre presents the Boston area premiere of the final component of Richard Nelson's four-play cycle. Weylin Symes, the producing artistic director of Stoneham Theatre, returns to the helm with the stellar six-member cast of Joel Colodner, Laura Latreille, Karen MacDonald, Paul Melendy...

BWW Review: ALABAMA STORY Brings an Intriguing Southern Tale to WHAT
by Kristen Morale - September 08, 2016

Alabama Story, which recently opened at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, begins and ends with the simple, child-like need for the characters to both tell and beckon the audience to prepare for a story: a story that tells of the South but deals with much that is not southern in nature, a story th...

BWW Review: THE TOTALITARIANS: Too True to be Good
by Nancy Grossman - September 07, 2016

Gloucester Stage Company presents the New England premiere of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's THE TOTALITARIANS, an over-the-top satire about an unqualified female political candidate wooing the electorate by promising 'Freedom from Fear.' GSC Managing Director Jeff Zinn makes his local directing debut and k...

BWW Review: Watch It Ensnare Us All with THE MOUSETRAP at Cape Playhouse
by Kristen Morale - August 28, 2016

With a small yet stellar cast directed by Pamela Hunt and finishing the Playhouse's 90th season as its final full length production of the summer, there is so much to love about this production of Christie's classic The Mousetrap. Honestly, if you don't enjoy it, you really aren't following the stor...

BWW Review: Annie Golden stars as Annie Golden in BROADWAY BOUNTY HUNTER
by Justin J Sacramone - August 25, 2016

Broadway Bounty Hunter, a new musical which opened at Barrington Stage Company on August 19th, celebrates the history of B-list movies and modern musical theatre by blending them together in hilarious fashion. At the center of this high-antic musical is Joe Iconis' psychedelic score- a surreal compo...

BWW Review: Raise a Glass High to Monomoy's JOHNNY ON A SPOT
by Kristen Morale - August 25, 2016

Have you ever been high on what life is and all it throws at you - to become charged by the excitement and wonder of it all, followed by the mayhem, the confusion and the constant need to keep up with the bundles of mess that almost seem too perfectly destined to fall right in your lap? Have you eve...