Boston Theater Reviews

BWW Reviews: Lots Happening in Central Square Theater's DISTRACTED

A show about how complicated raising a child now seems to be with the constant presence of technology, the media, new learning disabilities and disorders, and the fact that everyone is always on the move. Everything is much more complicated, and pure familial values are not always easy to find anymore. (more...)

BWW Review: High Seas Highbrow For The Lowbrow

PIRATES OF PENZANCE at the American Repertory Theater's Loeb Drama Center is tantamount to a three-ring circus being held at a beach volleyball tournament. There are beach balls, kiddie pools, beach chairs, and a grass cocktail shack. The cast performs as roving troubadours, each proficiently playing an instrument. The singing voices are good across the board and the songs are delivered with brio. As an acting troupe, The Hypocrites fit nicely with the A.R.T. aesthetic, making a strong connection with the audience both physically and emotionally. Director Sean Graney's vision serves as an introduction to the great work of Gilbert and Sullivan, albeit equivalent to a 'Reader's Digest' abridgement, and one might hope that it would motivate the previously uninitiated to learn more about them. (more...)

BWW Review: Tap Legend Hines Sings and Tells His Story

Maurice Hines puts his passion for tap, his late brother Gregory, and classic Big Band music on display in TAPPIN' THRU LIFE: AN EVENING WITH MAURICE HINES. Backed by the Berklee College of Music Select Big Band, under the direction of drummer Sherrie Maricle, Hines tells his story, shows off his vocal chops, and delights the audience with his warm, relaxed presence. The program is stingy with his dancing, but The Manzari Brothers ratchet up the excitement and kick up a lot of dust in their turn in the spotlight. (more...)

BWW Review: Lyric Stage Company: It's a Helluva ON THE TOWN

From stem to stern, the crew of Lyric Stage Company's ON THE TOWN serves up a boatload of thrills. Leonard Bernstein's glorious score, book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and Jerome Robbins' idea fuse into a terrific voyage to end the season. Director Spiro Veloudos, Choreographer Ilyse Robbins, Music Director Jonathan Goldberg, a creative design team, and a shipshape ensemble put on one helluva show. (more...)

BWW Review: Bond Meets the Bard at Vaquero Playground

FROM DENMARK WITH LOVE: A 007/HAMLET MASH-UP may be your poison if you know your James Bond movies and the crux of the Shakespeare tragedy. At times difficult to follow, the two vehicles blend better than you might think, thanks to clear direction and an energetic, fun-loving ensemble. Daniel Jones has enough good looks to play both leading men and has his hands full with the Bond girls. Playwright John J. King fulfills his mission to provide mirth while helping to save the earth. (more...)

BWW REVIEW: 'AMADEUS' BORDERS ON DIVINE AT NEW REP

Virtuosic performances, perfectly orchestrated direction and exquisite period detail render the decadence and divinity beautifully in Peter Shaffer's Tony Award-winning 'Amadeus' at New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, Mass. (more...)

BWW Review: PUNK ROCK Packs a Punch

Zeitgeist Stage Company's production of Simon Stephens' play, inspired by the Columbine shooting, hits very close to home on the heels of the Newtown and Boston Marathon tragedies. Director David J. Miller and an outstanding cast of teens and young adults handle the material responsibly and realistically. PUNK ROCK is an important play with an articulate message that needs to be heard over and over and over again. (more...)

BWW Reviews: One for the Kids with Wheelock Family Theatre's PIPPI LONGSTOCKING

Pippi Longstocking, a story that has been around since the 1940s, tells of a little girl who is left by her pirate father alone with her horse and pet monkey, Mr. Nilsson, to fend for herself and teach the meaning of fun to the rule-following children of the town. Along the way, Pippi fights burglars and policemen alike, shows off her unmatchable strength at the fair, throws cake at a dinner party, and brings happiness and friendship to her peers (more...)

BWW Reviews: Into the World of D&D with Company One's SHE KILLS MONSTERS

She Kills Monsters has the feel of a comic book, while telling the story of Agnes, an average woman who gets to know her late sister by acting out her created game of Dungeons and Dragons. (more...)

BWW Review: ALMOST BLUE Almost Works

Theatre on Fire creates the noir ambiance in the intimate confines of the Charlestown Working Theater, but lethargic pacing and lack of chemistry hamper fine individual acting efforts. (more...)

BWW Review: LOOPED Tour Banks on Stefanie Powers

Stefanie Powers is a trouper who stepped into the role of Tallulah Bankhead, which was originated by Valerie Harper, when Harper's untimely diagnosis of brain cancer forced her to withdraw from the national tour of LOOPED. Although the circumstances are bittersweet, Powers' performance is informed by her working and personal relationship with the film legend. Playwright Matthew Lombardo goes to great lengths to show and tell as much detail about Bankhead as possible in the limited span of this one long afternoon in the waning months of her life. (more...)

BWW Review: Merrimack Rep's GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Closes the Deal

David Mamet's 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning play resonates nearly thirty years later in Merrimack Repertory Theatre's crisp, dark, funny, riveting production. In the capable hands of Director Charles Towers and an accomplished group of actors, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS is a total entertainment package and a great way to conclude the 34th season in Lowell. (more...)

BWW Review: I Cannot Tell a Lie - PORNOCCHIO is a Hoot

Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans do what they do best…and then some. The troupe's musical theater skills are evolving with every production. Grace Carney is a real boy as the title character. Don't bring your kids, but prepare yourself for a visit with your inner child. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Actor Shakespeare Project's PERICLES, An Opinion Changer

It takes a pretty special production to fully capture my interest for the entirety of a Shakespearean work, particularly given the length of most of his plays.The Actor Shakespeare Project's production of Pericles, performed at the Modern Theatre, is one of these special productions. One of Shakespeare's least produced pieces, Pericles tells the complicated story of a nobleman's journey from land to land, escaping murder, falling in love, losing his family, and regaining hope. (more...)

BWW Review: Last Chance to See a Legendary Peter Pan

CATHY RIGBY IS PETER PAN National Tour completes its journey in Boston where it all began for the star in 1989, with the final performance Sunday evening, April 28, at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre. Rigby gives a magical performance in an imaginative and inspiring production, supported by a cast of the highest order. Brent Barrett is a virile Captain Hook and the entire ensemble has boundless talent and energy. Life is filled with regrets - don't let missing out on this be one of yours. (more...)

BWW Reviews: A Heavy Week for SITI Company's TROJAN WOMEN

The Siti Company, an ensemble based theatre company created by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki, is famous for its combination of Viewpoints and Suzuki, two very different acting trainings that focus on movement and gesture, and concentration and strength, respectively. This weekend, their production of Trojan Women, which utilized both acting techniques, came to ArtsEmerson, and audiences poured in after a very exhausting week here in the city. (more...)

BWW Review: No 'splainin' needed: I Love Lucie

In the case of Lucie Arnaz, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz is a consummate entertainer. Her acting and comedic skills come from her mother, but she owes her music and Latin heritage to her father. AN AFTERNOON WITH LUCIE ARNAZ pays tribute to the late Cuban band leader and features a majority of the songs from her 2010 cd "Latin Roots." (more...)

BWW Review: 'M' Is For Misfire

The Huntington Theatre Company world premiere of RYAN LANDRY'S 'M' is a design triumph, but the plot misfires. Karen MacDonald is an anxious menace skulking around the periphery, casting giant shadows, and Larry Coen milks every drop of humor from his multiple roles, but playwright Ryan Landry's story gets snagged between who he is and who he is trying to be. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Imaginary Beasts Imagine Thornton Wilder

Imaginary Beasts presents a selection of ten playlets written by Thornton Wilder before his 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning OUR TOWN. An egalitarian ensemble of ten actors and actresses creates a circus-like environment with mime, acrobatics, and clown collars, augmented by atmospheric lighting and original music. The gestalt results in a delightful evening of theater. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Too Much to Think About in Boston Actors Theater's THINKING OF YOU

Boston Playwright's Theatre is dedicated to giving life to new works, specifically those written by Boston playwrights, and it provides excellent opportunities for playwrights to workshop their pieces and get them seen. Their current endeavor is Elizabeth Dupre's Thinking of You, a story about a young designer on a business retreat, dealing with an overwhelming amount of drugs and alcohol, annoying coworkers, and the ghost of her dead brother. (more...)

BWW REVIEW: BOOK OF MORMON IS GOD AWFUL

'The Book of Mormon' may be outrageous, irreverent, and puerile in the extreme, but the most offensive thing about this insipid show is its insulting lack of wit. (more...)

BWW REVIEW: 'Raisin,' 'Clybourne Park' End Runs in Boston

Boston audiences have one last chance to see both the Huntington Theatre Company's knockout production of Lorraine Hansberry's landmark 1959 drama 'A Raisin in the Sun' and its modern-day follow-up, 'Clybourne Park,' running coincidentally in tandem at SpeakEasy Stage in the Boston Center for the Arts. (more...)

BWW Review: BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK at Lyric Stage Company

A play about a wannabe movie star features a magical blending of live performance with cinematic images in the New England premiere of 2011 Off-Broadway hit BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK. Summer L. Williams makes her Lyric Stage directing debut with Kami Rushell Smith shining at the forefront of a strong ensemble cast, most of whom play dual roles. Film and Media Designer Johnathan Carr puts his stamp on the production. (more...)

BWW Review: All Systems Go in OPERATION EPSILON

The Nora Theatre Company and Catalyst Collaborative @ MIT present the world premiere of MIT Professor Alan Brody's dramatic treatment of actual events at the close of World War II. On the brink of the United States dropping the atom bomb on Japan, the Allies held ten German scientists captive to determine how far the Nazis had gone in developing their nuclear capability. (more...)

BWW Review: A NEW BRAIN Has Heart and Music

Moonbox Productions and Director Allison Olivia Choat have reverted to the familiar terrain of musical theater with this intimate, sung-through look into the heart and mind (er, brain) of Tony Award-winning composer William Finn (FALSETTOS, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE) who grew up in Natick, Massachusetts. The cast of ten is bursting with new talent alongside three actors who have been in previous Moonbox shows, all of whom have incredible vocal chops. (more...)