Franklin Meissner, Jr.
Latest News on Franklin Meissner, Jr.:
Review: PIPPIN: Growing Up Is Hard To Do (Aug 8, 2022)
Review: WEST SIDE STORY: You've got to be taught (Jul 11, 2022)
A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER to be Presented at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston (Mar 21, 2022)
Review: PIPPIN: Growing Up Is Hard To Do (Aug 8, 2022)
Review: WEST SIDE STORY: You've got to be taught (Jul 11, 2022)
A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER to be Presented at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston (Mar 21, 2022)
Productions
Videos
VIDEO: Watch the Cast of IN THE HEIGHTS at Wheelock Family Theatre In Rehearsals!
by Alan Henry - 2017-11-01 13:09:20
News
Review: PIPPIN: Growing Up Is Hard To Do
by Nancy Grossman - Aug 8, 2022
The second and final production of Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston’s 2022 season is Stephen Schwartz’s PIPPIN, originally produced on the Broadway stage in 1972 with direction and choreography by Bob Fosse, and revived/reimagined in 2013 by Diane Paulus at the American Repertory Theater before going to Broadway. Undaunted by following in those two very large sets of footsteps, RMT Artistic Director Rachel Bertone forges her own path to stage a version that leads with an enlarged heart and a healthy helping of fun and whimsy.
by Nancy Grossman - Aug 8, 2022
The second and final production of Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston’s 2022 season is Stephen Schwartz’s PIPPIN, originally produced on the Broadway stage in 1972 with direction and choreography by Bob Fosse, and revived/reimagined in 2013 by Diane Paulus at the American Repertory Theater before going to Broadway. Undaunted by following in those two very large sets of footsteps, RMT Artistic Director Rachel Bertone forges her own path to stage a version that leads with an enlarged heart and a healthy helping of fun and whimsy.
Review: WEST SIDE STORY: You've got to be taught
by Nancy Grossman - Jul 11, 2022
What did our critic think of WEST SIDE STORY at Reagle Music Theatre Of Greater Boston: There's a new spring in the step of Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston in Waltham. Award-winning director and choreographer Rachel Bertone takes over as Artistic Director and opens the season with WEST SIDE STORY, with Dan Rodriguez by her side as music director.
by Nancy Grossman - Jul 11, 2022
What did our critic think of WEST SIDE STORY at Reagle Music Theatre Of Greater Boston: There's a new spring in the step of Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston in Waltham. Award-winning director and choreographer Rachel Bertone takes over as Artistic Director and opens the season with WEST SIDE STORY, with Dan Rodriguez by her side as music director.
A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER to be Presented at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Mar 21, 2022
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder with Music and Lyrics by Steven Lutvak and Book and Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman will find its way to the Lyric Stage Company of Boston after originally scheduled to open on May 15, 2020.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Mar 21, 2022
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder with Music and Lyrics by Steven Lutvak and Book and Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman will find its way to the Lyric Stage Company of Boston after originally scheduled to open on May 15, 2020.
New Repertory Theatre to Present HAIR, Opening January 27
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 14, 2020
New Repertory Theatre presents Hair, with MacDermot's groundbreaking music and the show's progressive themes, Hair revolutionized musical theatre as Broadway's first rock musical in 1968. The production runs January 25 through February 23, 2020 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available, as well as free tickets for WIC/EBT cardholders.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Jan 14, 2020
New Repertory Theatre presents Hair, with MacDermot's groundbreaking music and the show's progressive themes, Hair revolutionized musical theatre as Broadway's first rock musical in 1968. The production runs January 25 through February 23, 2020 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available, as well as free tickets for WIC/EBT cardholders.
BWW Review: New Rep's OLIVER!: Singing and Dancing Orphans, But No Dog
by Nancy Grossman - Dec 17, 2019
New Repertory Theatre dusts off an old chestnut for a family-friendly, non-holiday, crowd-pleasing offering as their gift for the season. Lionel Bart's OLIVER!, based on Charles Dickens' novel OLIVER TWIST, is known to be a little dark, with its themes of orphans, child exploitation, and vast income inequality (sound familiar?), but in the hands of New Rep's new Artistic Director, Michael J. Bobbitt, the darkness is lightened up with jaunty performances, a smattering of silly antics, and a set design (Luciana Stecconi) that skews to the cartoonish. With almost a dozen capable adults anchoring the cast, the seven children of all ages are given free rein to behave like children, albeit amazingly talented and spirited ones.
by Nancy Grossman - Dec 17, 2019
New Repertory Theatre dusts off an old chestnut for a family-friendly, non-holiday, crowd-pleasing offering as their gift for the season. Lionel Bart's OLIVER!, based on Charles Dickens' novel OLIVER TWIST, is known to be a little dark, with its themes of orphans, child exploitation, and vast income inequality (sound familiar?), but in the hands of New Rep's new Artistic Director, Michael J. Bobbitt, the darkness is lightened up with jaunty performances, a smattering of silly antics, and a set design (Luciana Stecconi) that skews to the cartoonish. With almost a dozen capable adults anchoring the cast, the seven children of all ages are given free rein to behave like children, albeit amazingly talented and spirited ones.
HAIR: THE AMERICAN TRIBAL LOVE-ROCK MUSICAL is Coming to the Mosesian Center for the Arts
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Dec 9, 2019
New Repertory Theatre will present Hair this winter. With MacDermot's groundbreaking music and the show's progressive themes, Hair revolutionized musical theatre as Broadway's first rock musical in 1968. The production runs January 25 through February 23, 2020 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available, as well as free tickets for WIC/EBT cardholders.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Dec 9, 2019
New Repertory Theatre will present Hair this winter. With MacDermot's groundbreaking music and the show's progressive themes, Hair revolutionized musical theatre as Broadway's first rock musical in 1968. The production runs January 25 through February 23, 2020 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available, as well as free tickets for WIC/EBT cardholders.
BWW Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS: This Plant's No Shrinking Violet
by Nancy Grossman - Sep 6, 2019
Rachel Bertone has set the bar high for the 45th anniversary season of the Lyric Stage Company with her pitch perfect production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Assuming the mantle of both director and choreographer, with the dependable Dan Rodriguez as music director by her side, Bertone and her design team capture the grit and the innocence of the story set in the early 1960s, while finding ways to punctuate it with flashes of contemporary pizzazz. Puppet designer Cameron McEachern has crafted an Audrey II without gender bias on its menu, and despite being voiced by a woman (Yewande Odetoyinbo), the plant is no shrinking violet.
by Nancy Grossman - Sep 6, 2019
Rachel Bertone has set the bar high for the 45th anniversary season of the Lyric Stage Company with her pitch perfect production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Assuming the mantle of both director and choreographer, with the dependable Dan Rodriguez as music director by her side, Bertone and her design team capture the grit and the innocence of the story set in the early 1960s, while finding ways to punctuate it with flashes of contemporary pizzazz. Puppet designer Cameron McEachern has crafted an Audrey II without gender bias on its menu, and despite being voiced by a woman (Yewande Odetoyinbo), the plant is no shrinking violet.
Cast & Creative Announced For LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS At The Lyric Stage
by A.A. Cristi - Jul 24, 2019
Casting has been announced for LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Based on the film by Roger Corman, Screenplay by Charles Griffith. Directed and Choreographed by Rachel Bertone.
by A.A. Cristi - Jul 24, 2019
Casting has been announced for LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Based on the film by Roger Corman, Screenplay by Charles Griffith. Directed and Choreographed by Rachel Bertone.
MOULIN ROUGE, JAGGED LITTLE PILL & More Earn Nominations for 23rd Annual IRNE Awards
by Stephi Wild - Feb 25, 2019
The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) today announced the nominees for the 23rd Annual IRNE Awards, which honor the best of the previous year's actors, directors, choreographers, designers and companies across the full spectrum of large, mid-size and fringe theater companies. Moulin Rouge!, a new musical produced by Global Creatures, and An American in Paris, produced by the Ogunquit Playhouse, led with 12 and 11 nominations, respectively, in the Large Stage Musical Category. The Huntington Theatre led all companies with 31 nominations across seven productions, including 11 for Man in the Ring, the story of six-time world champion prizefighter Emile Griffith.
by Stephi Wild - Feb 25, 2019
The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) today announced the nominees for the 23rd Annual IRNE Awards, which honor the best of the previous year's actors, directors, choreographers, designers and companies across the full spectrum of large, mid-size and fringe theater companies. Moulin Rouge!, a new musical produced by Global Creatures, and An American in Paris, produced by the Ogunquit Playhouse, led with 12 and 11 nominations, respectively, in the Large Stage Musical Category. The Huntington Theatre led all companies with 31 nominations across seven productions, including 11 for Man in the Ring, the story of six-time world champion prizefighter Emile Griffith.
BWW Review: KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN: The Power of Love
by Nancy Grossman - Sep 14, 2018
Lyric Stage Company opens its 44th season with the Tony Award-winning (seven, including Best Musical) KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, directed and choreographed by Rachel Bertone, with music direction by Dan Rodriguez, who gets pizazz and a far bigger sound than anyone would expect from a five-piece orchestra. The show is almost entirely sung-through, and the Kander and Ebb score is outstanding, given its due by a cadre of vocalists who make each song better than the last. Eddy Cavazos and Taavon Gamble are impressive in their debuts at Lyric Stage.
by Nancy Grossman - Sep 14, 2018
Lyric Stage Company opens its 44th season with the Tony Award-winning (seven, including Best Musical) KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, directed and choreographed by Rachel Bertone, with music direction by Dan Rodriguez, who gets pizazz and a far bigger sound than anyone would expect from a five-piece orchestra. The show is almost entirely sung-through, and the Kander and Ebb score is outstanding, given its due by a cadre of vocalists who make each song better than the last. Eddy Cavazos and Taavon Gamble are impressive in their debuts at Lyric Stage.
KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Cast & Creative Team Announced At The Lyric Stage
by A.A. Cristi - Aug 13, 2018
by A.A. Cristi - Aug 13, 2018
Boston Theater Critics Association Announces 2018 Elliot Norton Award Nominees; Huntington's MERRILY Leads with Seven Nominations
by A.A. Cristi - Apr 20, 2018
Two dozen nominations of outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles were announced today by The Boston Theater Critics Association for the 36th Annual Elliot Norton Awards, celebrating achievement in Boston theatre.
by A.A. Cristi - Apr 20, 2018
Two dozen nominations of outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles were announced today by The Boston Theater Critics Association for the 36th Annual Elliot Norton Awards, celebrating achievement in Boston theatre.
Review Roundup: IN THE HEIGHTS at Wheelock Family Theatre - What Did The Critics Think?
by BWW Intern - Nov 14, 2017
IN THE HEIGHTS runs at Wheelock Family Theatre through November 19, and the critics are weighting in!
by BWW Intern - Nov 14, 2017
IN THE HEIGHTS runs at Wheelock Family Theatre through November 19, and the critics are weighting in!
VIDEO: Watch the Cast of IN THE HEIGHTS at Wheelock Family Theatre In Rehearsals!
by Alan Henry - Nov 1, 2017
Catch a glimpse of rehearsals and listen to the cast give their experiences about working on IN THE HEIGHTS at Wheelock Family Theatre, which runs through November 19!
by Alan Henry - Nov 1, 2017
Catch a glimpse of rehearsals and listen to the cast give their experiences about working on IN THE HEIGHTS at Wheelock Family Theatre, which runs through November 19!
Review Roundup: GYPSY at Lyric Stage Company
by BWW Intern - Sep 8, 2017
GYPSY will run at the Lyric Stage Company in Boston until October 8. The legendary show is based on the real-life memoirs of burlesque mega-star, Gypsy Rose Lee, and her stage-mother behind the curtain, Mama Rose. It features songs such as 'Everything's Coming Up Roses,' 'Some People,' and 'Let Me Entertain You.'
by BWW Intern - Sep 8, 2017
GYPSY will run at the Lyric Stage Company in Boston until October 8. The legendary show is based on the real-life memoirs of burlesque mega-star, Gypsy Rose Lee, and her stage-mother behind the curtain, Mama Rose. It features songs such as 'Everything's Coming Up Roses,' 'Some People,' and 'Let Me Entertain You.'
Regional Roundup: Top New Features This Week Around Our BroadwayWorld 9/8 - FOLLIES, GYPSY, GHOST, and More!
by BWW Special - Sep 8, 2017
BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature FOLLIES, GYPSY, GHOST, and More!
by BWW Special - Sep 8, 2017
BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature FOLLIES, GYPSY, GHOST, and More!
BWW Review: GYPSY Takes Off at Lyric Stage
by Nancy Grossman - Sep 7, 2017
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston has hit the trifecta with their season opener GYPSY, directed and choreographed by Rachel Bertone, music directed by Dan Rodriguez, and raised to the rafters by Leigh Barrett's forceful Mama Rose. This is one for the ages.
by Nancy Grossman - Sep 7, 2017
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston has hit the trifecta with their season opener GYPSY, directed and choreographed by Rachel Bertone, music directed by Dan Rodriguez, and raised to the rafters by Leigh Barrett's forceful Mama Rose. This is one for the ages.
Lyric Stage Announces Cast, Creative Team for COMPANY
by BWW News Desk - Sep 2, 2016
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston announces the cast & creative team for COMPANY, with Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM and Book by GEORGE FURTH. Directed by Spiro Veloudos with music director Catherine Stornetta and choreography & musical staging by Rachel Bertone, COMPANY will run September 2 - October 9, 2016.
by BWW News Desk - Sep 2, 2016
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston announces the cast & creative team for COMPANY, with Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM and Book by GEORGE FURTH. Directed by Spiro Veloudos with music director Catherine Stornetta and choreography & musical staging by Rachel Bertone, COMPANY will run September 2 - October 9, 2016.
Lyric Stage Announces Cast, Creative Team for COMPANY
by BWW News Desk - Aug 15, 2016
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston announces the cast & creative team for COMPANY, with Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM and Book by GEORGE FURTH. Directed by Spiro Veloudos with music director Catherine Stornetta and choreography & musical staging by Rachel Bertone, COMPANY will run September 2 - October 9, 2016.
by BWW News Desk - Aug 15, 2016
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston announces the cast & creative team for COMPANY, with Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM and Book by GEORGE FURTH. Directed by Spiro Veloudos with music director Catherine Stornetta and choreography & musical staging by Rachel Bertone, COMPANY will run September 2 - October 9, 2016.
Mark Rylance, GREAT COMET & More Win Boston's Elliot Norton Awards!
by Nicole Rosky - May 24, 2016
More than 25 nominations of outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles were announced today by The Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA), with winners to be revealed at the 34th Annual Elliot Norton Awards on Monday, May 23, 2016 at 7 PM, at Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre.
by Nicole Rosky - May 24, 2016
More than 25 nominations of outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles were announced today by The Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA), with winners to be revealed at the 34th Annual Elliot Norton Awards on Monday, May 23, 2016 at 7 PM, at Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre.
Videos