Boston Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 29

BWW Review: Freely Sounds the Mockingbird's Song in CCTC's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
by Kristen Morale - October 30, 2015

Now brought to the stage, thus making the message of a shared humanity that much more profound, the Cape Cod Theatre Company has given us a production that is worthy of more than just the audience's time and consideration: it is a lesson that must be carefully taught to each of us again and again, a...

BWW REVIEWS: DRY LAND and I AND YOU Delve Deeply into Teen Anguish
by Jan Nargi - October 23, 2015

Unwanted pregnancy and terminal illness haunt the flinty girls at the center of two gritty new plays by playwrights Ruby Rae Spiegel and Lauren Gunderson now receiving their New England premieres at Company One in Boston and Merrimack Rep in Lowell....

BWW Review: David Sedaris Brings a Little Night Mirth to Symphony Hall
by Nancy Grossman - October 16, 2015

David Sedaris makes his 11th appearance with the Celebrity Series of Boston, performing before a packed audience at Symphony Hall. His program adheres to a routine format, but there is nothing routine about the subject matter and content of Sedaris' writing, except for the irony, sarcasm and guarant...

BWW Review: SWEENEY TODD Makes the Cut at Academy Playhouse
by Kristen Morale - October 16, 2015

With score and lyrics by the [in]famous Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, Director Peter Earle brings Sweeney Todd to the town of Orleans, enshrouding the Academy Playhouse's intimate black-box theater in darkness as black as the hearts of many of the characters that make this show of suc...

BWW Review: ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME: High Tech Musical Adventure
by Nancy Grossman - September 30, 2015

ArtsEmerson: The World on Stage opens its sixth season with ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME, a time-traveling musical adventure that takes a modern-day woman out of her Brooklyn apartment and way out of her comfort zone to join the polar explorer on his harrowing expedition a century ago. Director Lisa P...

BWW Review: THE 'GREAT' AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL Returns to CCTC
by Kristen Morale - September 28, 2015

After an exciting summer season, Harwich Junior Theater, now a part of the Cape Cod Theatre Company, continues its sixty-forth season with a revival of its start-of-summer hit, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, bringing back a majority of its original cast that once made (and hereby continues...

BWW Review: Get Happy at GLOUCESTER BLUE
by Nancy Grossman - September 27, 2015

Gloucester Stage Company presents the New England Premiere of GLOUCESTER BLUE, written and directed by Founding Artistic Director Israel Horovitz. The latest in a series of Gloucester-based plays, this dark, funny play pits a pair of blue collar painters from The Fort section of town against a coupl...

BWW Review: Huntington Theatre Company's Glamorous A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
by Nancy Grossman - September 25, 2015

The genius of Stephen Sondheim is on display in Huntington Theatre Company's production of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, and Artistic Director Peter DuBois casts a vast array of local actors with a few Broadway veterans for a luminous spectacle. Lavish costumes and lush orchestrations counter a minimalist s...

BWW Review: New England Premiere of APPROPRIATE Opens SpeakEasy Stage's 25th Anniversary Season
by Nancy Grossman - September 22, 2015

Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins enjoys ambiguity and messing with traditional concepts and constructs. His 2014 Obie Award-winner for Best New American Play, APPROPRIATE, is a prime example as it defies categorization. He borrows themes and tropes from classic American family dramas, and the ensem...

BWW Review: MR. BURNS Brings Fiction to Reality in a Bright New Light at Cape Rep
by Kristen Morale - September 21, 2015

Written by Anne Washburn (who is also the show's lyricist) with a score by Michael Friedman and hereby directed by Philip Hays, Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play makes its appearance on Cape Cod following a successful run at Playwrights' Horizons in New York, and can now begin surprising audiences all...

BWW Review: THE LION Finds His Voice in His Father's Song
by Jan Nargi - September 19, 2015

One man, two chairs, six guitars and 15 songs mark the road from loss to redemption for singer-songwriter Benjamin Scheuer in his haunting autobiographical solo musical THE LION launching its national tour at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Mass....

BWW Review: Megan Hilty a Smash at The Shubert
by Nancy Grossman - September 19, 2015

Megan Hilty gave a wicked good performance at the Citi Shubert Theatre last night as she sang her way through her signature songs from the NBC-TV series 'Smash' and selections from her Broadway appearances in WICKED and 9 TO 4 THE MUSICAL. Sirius XM star Seth Rudetsky shined as pianist and host for ...

BWW Review: Zeitgeist Stage Strikes Up the Band with Gusto
by Nancy Grossman - September 17, 2015

Artistic Director David J. Miller tackles another iconic play from the catalogue of 20th century gay dramatic literature with Mart Crowley's groundbreaking THE BOYS IN THE BAND. Opening in 1968, one year before the Stonewall riots, these boys were at the head of the parade for the Gay Pride movement...

BWW CD Review: Boston's Nelsons Shows his Love for Shostakovich
by Erica Miner - September 16, 2015

Reasons for his close link to the 20th century Russian composer...

BWW Review: Stoneham Theatre's FORUM: A Comedy Tonight
by Nancy Grossman - September 14, 2015

Stoneham Theatre opens its 16th season with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, directed by Weylin Symes and Ilyse Robbins. Front and center for the nonsense is Neil A. Casey, surrounded by a stand-out cast, including Kathy St. George, Chip Phillips, Jordan Ahnquist, and Mark Linehan. Ri...

BWW Reviews: RED VELVET at Shakespeare & Company
by Karen Bovard - September 14, 2015

Theater history buffs have two reasons to seek out a production of RED VELVET, Lolita Chakrabarti's historical drama. First, it sketches in part of the true story of the first great black classical actor, Ira Aldridge. Second, it depicts the beginning of the shift from old-fashioned 19th century d...

BWW Review: Arthur Miller's BROKEN GLASS in Boston Premiere at New Rep
by Nancy Grossman - September 12, 2015

New Repertory Theatre joins the nationwide celebration of the late playwright Arthur Miller's 100th birthday with the Boston area premiere of BROKEN GLASS, one of his last plays. In keeping with New Rep's season theme of "Identity," Miller's Olivier Award-winning and Tony-nominated drama is a multi-...

BWW Reviews: A Picture is Worth the Time It Captures in WHAT's TIME STANDS STILL
by Kristen Morale - September 09, 2015

There are so many people in this world that are fascinated by such a myriad of things, but regardless of what that interest may be, each of those individuals shares a certain something with their fellow aficionados: they believe in that power of that hobby, that job or whatever it may be deemed to c...

BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY at Lyric Stage: A Grande Dame
by Nancy Grossman - September 08, 2015

MY FAIR LADY is one of the grande dames of musical theater and the Lyric Stage Company is giving her the royal treatment she deserves under the erudite direction of Scott Edmiston, with musical direction by Catherine Stornetta. In a production packed with quality portrayals across the board, Jennife...

BWW CD Review: Andris Nelsons Conducts Wagner and Sibelius
by Erica Miner - September 09, 2015

Nelsons shows a clear love for Wagner's early success, Tannhauser...

BWW Review: Broadway Finds New Legends at CDG's BROADWAY THRU THE DECADES
by Kristen Morale - September 06, 2015

Certain shows people go to see for a multitude of reasons: they may wish to see a favorite actor or personal acquaintance involved, or perhaps they wish to listen to the beautiful score associated with that show; the plot might be a favorite, or, like many do, might opt to go because the concept of ...

BWW Review: MURDER BY MISADVENTURE - Wow, What a Whodunit!
by Kristen Morale - September 02, 2015

Written by Edward Taylor (whom I would love to have the privilege of chatting with, the inner workings of his brain must be so profound) and directed by James Brennan (this show rocked, if you haven't already caught that), Murder by Misadventure is the title that mystery-series writing duo Kent and ...

BWW Review: From One Sandy Shore to Another, Neil Simon's Journey Triumphs at APA
by Kristen Morale - August 31, 2015

Imagine that you are a fifteen year old living in the midst of the Great Depression, living in tight quarters with both your immediate family and a few relatives, with every dollar earned considered precious and vital to getting through each passing day. If this were the case for any of us, it would...

BWW Review: Dickinson's Words Ring Forevermore in Harwich
by Kristen Morale - August 31, 2015

Dickenson believed in the power and majesty of the written word, and so, too, can a Cape Cod audience now embrace her passion in a new production which portrays not only the life of Massachusetts' own world-renown poet, but more specifically those emotions which made her one of the most memorable an...

BWW Review: A 'Midsummer' to End All Summers
by Kristen Morale - August 30, 2015

Watching Shakespeare's play come to life on the sandy shores of Chatham, Massachusetts is a rather interest thing to behold. Hippolyta lounges on a beach chair near the ocean while the mischievous Puck jovially dances onto the stage wearing an Anglers jersey. Cape Cod is to be found everywhere, yet ...