Theater
In the perceptive hands of director Joann Green Breuer, the combination of scripts (stretching from the 1940’s to the 1970’s) proffers a compelling meditation on Tennessee Williams’ exploration of women and desire, as well as some surprising spins on his classic plays.
Dramatist Jason Grote spins a postmodern, political variation on Scheherazade in his play 1001, and while it skimps on the imaginative playfulness of other versions, its time-tripping allusiveness has a scruffy intellectual charm.
While by no means the headiest permutation of commedia dell’arte, Shakespeare & Company’s production of THE VENETIAN TWINS is skillful as anything a commedia enthusiast might hope to see.
In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman argues that American culture is becoming dumber and dumber—plays like Matt & Ben suggest that we have entered the afterlife. Matt & Ben by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers. Directed by M. Bevin O’Gara. At the Central Square Theater, 450 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA, through August…
There are moments in Hideous Progeny (especially early in the second half) that grip and move the audience. But there are not enough of them. I dare this gifted troupe of theater makers to be more inventive, take greater risks, and live up to their so obvious promise. Hideous Progeny by Emily Dendinger. Staged by…
The Chester Theatre Company’s production, directed by Ron Bashford, runs over two hours with nary a dull moment and the actors seem to be having as wonderful a time as the audience.
There is nothing shocking, nothing sensational, nothing revelatory, in this workmanlike production of ARMS AND THE MAN. Nor should there be, as the play doesn’t give much room for innovation.
The likable Commonwealth Shakespeare Company staging leans very heavily on the comedy in ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, minimizing the Bard’s melancholic undertow.
Enthusiasm simply wasn’t enough to salvage the production — the musical comedy 2010 contains too many pitfalls to overcome.
The Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll at Mid-Year: Warming Up a Riff — How It Happened, and Why It Matters