Alanis Morissette These days are a jagged pill to swallow--which makes the world premiere musical JAGGED LITTLE PILL inspired by Alanis Morissette's landmark 90's primal scream of an album more relevant than ever. Artistic director Diane Paulus has once again looked back to look forward, putting her finger on the pulse of the [...]
I've been running all over town to catch what's onstage and there's a stockpile of fantastic shows waiting to be seen--beginning with what I just saw at the Ramrod Center for The Performing Arts! I nearly laughed myself into insanity at what Ryan Landry and his GOLD DUST ORPHANS have rustled up: BROKELAHOMO! It's "Brokeback [...]
THE COLORED MUSEUM may make you uncomfortable, but you're going to have real good time first! The Huntington Theatre Company's revival of  George C. Wolfe's 1986 musical is a whip-cracking, gospel-ringing, minstrel-mashing, high stepping, low-down, soul-searching trip through a museum of black stereotypes, at once a purge and a celebration. At the helm is two-time Tony winner actor, director, [...]
OK-- BREAKING THE SHAKESPEARE CODE is a terrible title for a great new play put on by Vagabond Theatre Group but don't let that put you off! Last Saturday I felt "ultra-Bohemian" as I made my way to one of Boston's tiny little hidden theaters in the South End, through a parking lot and down [...]
MORE great theater in town--this time at SpeakEasy Stage Company which presents the New England premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's off-broadway hit THE WHALE. Superbly cast and tackling a profusion of problems, the show rivets us with its initial image. But first-- we hear the ocean; then we see a 600 pound man sitting center stage [...]
There are two extremely well-executed classics on stage in Boston right now, but you couldn't find two more wildly different experiences, in theme and execution: the first a tragedy about illusions that destroy, and the other a comedy about illusions that reveal and make merry; one realistic/naturalistic, the other, cutting edge-- with puppets! Lyric Stage [...]
Liza Voll Photography THE FLICK is set in a movie theater and when the movieâs over, thatâs when the real show begins. Itâs not just ingeniousâitâs brilliant. THE FLICK -- which won an OBIE for its talented playwright and cinephile Annie Baker--is here mounted by Company One and has to be one of [...]
What do THE HEART OF ROBIN HOOD and Shakespeare's HENRY VIII have in common? They're both onstage in the area right now, and both involve decapitation. I lost my head over one, but not the other. I'll begin with the one that also left me breathless, that timeless Sherwood Forest caper excitingly re-imagined over at [...]
Sick of all the saccharine celebrating of the holiday season? Then hightail it over to Machine (aka The Ramrod Center for the Performing Arts) to see IT'S A HORRIBLE LIFE! Ryan Landry and The Gold Dust Orphans have once again twisted a comely classic to their delightfully demented and off colorful ends! And it's all in the [...]
OMG. I just saw what has to be one of the most exciting new plays, productions, and ensembles of the year--by the excellent actor Steven Barkhimer called WINDOWMEN at Boston Playwrights' Theatre. The whole thing takes place in one dingy room of the wholesale lower Manhattan fish market known to the world as the Fulton [...]
