Greater Boston Stage Company Enchants With "The Irish And How They Got That Way" - Through March 25th

Sure and begorrah, 'tis a fine way to be spendin' an evenin' bein' enchanted by "The Irish And How They Got That Way" now running at The Boston Stage Company in Stoneham. Make your way to Stoneham Square between now  and March 25th to soak up the atmosphere of this celebration of Irish heritage in America.

Noted Irish American author Frank McCourt has put together this revue that combines stories and Irish music that goes back to traditional ballads from the Old Sod all the way to a familiar tune by U2 and Bono.

Director Dawn M. Simmons has assembled a very talented sextet of actors/musicians who not only regale us with tales and quips, but play instruments to accompany their singing. William Gardiner, Nile Hawver, Michael Levesque, Kirsten Salpini, Nicole Vander Laan, and Ceit Zweil each have their moments to shine individually, but it was their ensemble singing that I found most moving, especially with such songs as "Erie Canal," Danny Boy," and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

Michael Levesque, Nicole Vander Laan, Kirsten Salpini, William Gardiner*, and Ceit Zweil*
"The Irish And How They Got That Way"
by Frank McCourt
Greater Boston Stage Company
Through March 25th

Scenic Design is by Shelley Barish, Costumes by Brittany Rolfs, Lighting by Karen Perlow, Sound Design by John Stone.

Sitting behind me were a couple whom I surmise may have been of Irish heritage, for they quietly sang along with some of the old ballads. One need not be Irish to be entertained and beguiled by this revue. This afternoon's matinee was a sellout, so I would not hesitate to book your tickets now.

William Gardiner*, Ceit Zweil*, Nile Hawver*, Michael Levesque, Kirsten Salpini, and Nicole Vander Laan"The Irish And How They Got That Way"
by Frank McCourt
Greater Boston Stage Company
Through March 25th

Greater Boston Stage Website

Enjoy! Erin Go Bragh

Al



by Frank McCourt
Original musical arrangements by Rusty Magee
Additional musical arrangements by Kirsten Salpini
The Irish And How They Got That Way is presented by special arrangement withThe Irish Repertory Theatre Company, Inc. 
Directed by Dawn M. Simmons
Music Direction by Kirsten Salpini

SpeakEasy Stage Company Presents "Every Brilliant Thing" by Duncan MacMillan - Featuring The Amazing Adrianne Krstansky

Every time I have seen Adrianne Krstansky on stage, I have marveled at the multi-faceted talents she brings to her craft and her art. In the deeply immersive, audience-participation One Act play that is "Every Brilliant Things," she leads us on a journey that is both sobering and inspiring. She portrays a woman whose mother was bipolar and suicidal. We get to hear about how a 7 year-old girl feels when she learns that her mother has been hospitalized because she can find no more reasons to live. And we follow her journey through college, courtship, early adulthood, her own bouts with depression, the dissolution of her marriage to Sam, and the eventual death by suicide of her mother. The thread that ties everything together, and that enlists audience members, is a list of "Brilliant Things" that the little girl began to accumulate when she was 7. #1: Ice Cream!

The list was her attempt to nudge her depressed mother into a place of positivity. That tactic did not work for her mother, but it provided the girl growing into womanhood with a lifeline of hope and affirmation of all the reasons she had to be alive. Playwright Duncan MacMillan, along with Jonny Donahue, developed this play from a short story he had written. Under the Direction of Marianna Bassham, Ms. Krstansky is a master story teller, careening around the corners of the Roberts Studio at the Calderwood Pavilion, engaging with audience members, weaving them into the saga and having them shout out items from the list of Brilliant Things.

Adrianne Krstansky
"Every Brilliant Thing"
by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Calderwood Pavilion
Through March 31st
Photo by Maggie Hall Photography

While frankly dealing with issues of mental illness, depression and suicide, this invigorating evening of theater is life-affirming in some very creative ways. Music plays an important role in remembering important milestones with her mother, father, Sam, and other key figures in her life. Scenic and Lighting Design is by Eric Levenson, Costume Design by Amanda Ostrow Mason, Sound Design by Abby Shenker.

Adrianne Krstansky
"Every Brilliant Thing"
by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe
SpeakEasy Stage Company
Calderwood Pavilion
Through March 31st
Photo by Maggie Hall Photography

Audience members were encouraged to write Post-it notes at the end of the play to express their own personal "Brilliant Thing." This was mine: "That feeling sitting in the theatre when the lights dim and the orchestra strikes up the opening chords of a familiar Overture."

The play runs through March 31st.

SpeakEasy Stage Website

Enjoy!

Al

Review of "Political Justice" by Dennis Carstens - A Marc Kadella Legal Mystery

"Political Justice" by Dennis Carstens is part of the author's Marc Kadella Legal Mystery Series. In this installment, the action follows a Machiavellian Presidential candidate whose randy desires led him into murky waters, and a plot to frame a naive young aide for the death of a young girl whom the candidate had bedded. The candidate's complicit wife takes advantage of the situation to boost her own ambitions. Attorney Marc Kadella is called upon to find justice for the innocent young man who has been framed. Complex plot twists and memorable characters make this a good read.

We see a sordid side of life in the underbelly of Washington political life that is all the more plausible given the undrained swap we all now observe in our nation's capital. Think "House of Cards" meets the Land of Trump, and you will have a feel for the craven ambiance of this novel's landscape.

Enjoy!

Al

Zeitgeist Stage Company Presents "Steve" by Mark Gerrard - A Riveting Tragicomedy - Through March 24

Mark Gerrard's playwright voice sounds a bit like Terrence McNally with his acerbic wit. In Gerrard's tragicomedy "Steve," we met two gay couples who have been together for some time and the once red hot passion has cooled to a tepid state. Stephen (Alex Jacobs) and Steven (Victor Shopov) have an adopted son, Zach. Things are not going well. Zach seems to be a kleptomaniac with a speech impediment. Stephen supports the household as a lawyer, while former chorus boy and dancer Steven is a stay-at-home Mom to Zach. Steven has discovered on Stephen's iPhone that he has been sexting with their friend, Brian (Mike Nilsson), who is in a long term relationship with Matt (Mikey DiLoreto). Matt and Steven  used to wait tables and sing with Carrie (Jenny Reagan). Carrie is a listing ear for Steven, but she has just broken up with her girlfriend, and she has a terminal disease. Steven remains in denial.

Issues of infidelity, the inevitable fading of physical beauty and attractiveness, the nature of friendship, monogamy, and death are all explored with great care and cleverness by Mr. Gerrard, and acted out superbly by this strong ensemble - a sextet, if you will. Director David J. Miller skillfully directs the pace of this show that runs for 75 minutes in one act.The timing of the dialogue is crucial, for the playwright writes as people talk - stepping on one another's lines, interrupting each other mid sentence, and finishing one another's thoughts. In the case of Steven, Carrie, and Matt, they pepper each paragraph with Broadway musical allusions. I counted close to 100 of them as they went zinging past me. These quips and quotes from show tunes not only punctuate the conversations, they serve as the oxygen that these people breath, and function as a life line that keeps them from drifting away with the outgoing tide of approaching middle age and decrepitude. Matt and Brian try to hold the inevitable at bay by engaging Trainer Steve at their gym. Trainer Steve soon becomes part of their household and a third party to their relationship. In the meantime, Stephen and Steve cannot seem to get over the contretemps of the sexting episode, and things are falling apart as Carrie slips away. Then there is the handsome Argentine waiter, Esteban (Adam Boiselle), with whom Steven is smitten. Estaban is ubiquitous, offering distraction with every movement of his supple hips.

Mikey DiLoreto as Matt, Alex Jacobs as Stephen
Jenny Reagan as Carrie, Victor Shopov as Steven
Adam Boiselle as Estaban, Mike Nilsson as Brian
"Steve" by Mark Gerrard
Directed by David J. Miller
Zeitgeist Stage Company
Plaza Black Box Theatre at BCA
Through MArch 24
Photo by David 

Costue Design is by Elizabeth Cole Sheehan, Lighting Design is by Michael Clark Wonson, and Sound Design is by Jay Mobley.

The action and the dialogue are rife with humor, conflict, and pathos. Each character is well developed, and the arc of the story held my attention throughout. The writing is inspired, and the ensemble acting is flawless. This is a play you will not want to miss. It runs at the BCA through March 24th - Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays at 8:00, Saturdays at 4:00 and 8:00, and Sundays at 4:00.

Zeitgeist Stage Website

Enjoy!

Al

Apollinaire Theatre Company Presents The U.S. Premiere of "Winter Solstice" by Roland Schimmelpfennig, Translated by David Tushingham

Roland Schimmelpfennig has written a very Germanic play to warn his fellow Germans of the insidious dangers of letting a wolf in sheep's clothing in the door. The elongated shadow of fascism still has this dysfunctional bourgeois German family adumbrated as they prepare to celebrate Christmas and the Winter Solstice. The feel and mood in the play is almost Expressionistic, as Albert (Brian McCarthy) and Bettina (Lindsay Beamish) await the arrival of Bettina's troublesome mother, Corinna (Maureen Adduci). The problematic mother surprises her hosts by inviting in a stranger she had just met on the train, Rudolph (Phil Thompson), an urbane doctor who has come from Paraguay. A fifth character, Konrad (Ambjorn Elder) plays an enigmatic role, reading stage directions that the playwright specified be read, and also functioning as a one man Greek chorus. It is only as the evening wears on that Albert becomes concerned about his guest, who spouts pietistic mottoes about racial purity and the importance of not mixing. The doctor's presence and philosophy has a toxic effect upon Albert.

While clearly meant as a cautionary tale for Germans to never forget how subtly evil can present itself and insinuate itself, this English translation comes at a time when Americans are sorely in need of a similar warning. The shadows that benighted Germany during the Third Reich have begun to creep across our borders, and no wall can keep the darkness from spreading into the very fabric of the life of our fragile republic.

Maureen Adduci as Corinna
Brian McCarthy as Albert
Ambjorn Elder as Konrad
Phil Thompson as Rudolph
Lindsay Beamish as Bettina
"Winter Solstice" by Roland Schimmelpfennig
Translated by David Tushingham
Directed by Brooks Reeves
Apollinaire Theatre Company
Through March 11

Director Brooks Reeves has cleverly apportioned the stage directions among several characters in addition to Konrad. He has his quintet of actors movingly well among the levels of the stylized set, designed and lit by Danielle Fauteux Jacques. Costume Design is by Elizabeth Rocha, and Sound Design is by David Reiffel.

The play will run through March 11 at Chelsea Theatre Works.

Apollinaire Website

Enjoy!

Al

AMIOS Presents "The Loneliest Number" by Lizzie Vieh at the Flamboyan Theater, Lower East Side - A World Premiere Through March 10th

Brooklyn-based playwright Lizzie Vieh has written a fascinating and compelling four-hander that addresses issues of boredom and loneliness within a marriage relationship. "The Loneliest Number" follows a husband and wife who decide to try a risky experiment to find a spark to reignite their faltering passion. Beginning in August, each partner will invite a third person to join them in a menage a trois. The following month, the other partner gets to chose whom to invite. Complications ensue when Wendy (Leigh Williams) finds that her work mate, Kevin (Justin Yorio), has secretly been in love with her, and he jumps at the invitation to jump into bed with her. Arianne (Cassandra Paras), part-time clerk at the dry cleaner and bartender, is John's (Maurice Jones) choice for the month of September, and even more labyrinthine complications ensue.

Director Maria Dizzia (Orange Is The New Black) directs this gifted ensemble with a steady hand, and with considerable help from the creative team of Sound Designer Nick Abel, Lighting Designer Ali Hall, Set Designer Frank J. Oliva, and Costume Designer Jocelyn Pierce. This World Premiere is the latest iteration of a project that began as a workshop as part of AMIOS' popular SHOTZ! short play series.

In addition to the loneliness made explicit in the title of the play, the playwright explores themes of risk, infertility, betrayal, forgiveness, and deep existential despair. Ms. Vieh has created four memorable characters, each of whom is unbalanced in unique ways, and each of whom harbors their own brand of loneliness. None of them is particularly likable, with the possible exception of tatted-up Arianne, who has no more fucks to give, but is charming nonetheless. The miracle of the writing and the acting here is that I found myself caring about what would happen to each of these four misfits. I suspect that you will care, as well, when you make your way to the Flamboyan Theater at 107 Suffolk Street in the Lower Eat Side, just off of Delancey near the entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge.

The plays will run until next Sunday, March 10th.

Amios Website

Enjoy!

Al

Brown Box Theatre Project Astonishes With The Mind-Blowing "The Hotel Nepenthe" by John Kuntz - At Atlantic Wharf

Whatever genus of mushroom John Kuntz has access to that enables him regularly to transcend the gravitational bonds of quotidian logical discourse and linear narrative exposition, and to soar into the realm of magic and genius as a playwright - I want some of those mushrooms. "The Hotel Nepenthe," currently being presented by Brown Box Theatre Project at the Atlantic Wharf is an example of a play that inhabits several universes simultaneously. It has one foot in the world of Theatre of the Absurd. It has another foot firmly planted in the cosmos of Theater of the Ontological, in that this play invites us to examine the nature of being - in a multiverse, or in a dizzying array of parallel universes.

Margaret Clark and Michael Underhill
"The Hotel Nepenthe" by John Kuntz
Brown Box Theatre Project
At Atlantic Wharf
Through March 11
Photo by Maggie Hill Photography

The dramatist accomplishes this theatrical leger de main using four gifted actors who represent eighteen disparate (and often desperate) characters. Margaret Clark, Rebecca Schneebaum, Cam Torres, and Michael Underhill are more than equal to the task of keeping pace with the playwright's rapid grinding of the tectonic plates that under-gird the memorable characters and their shifting universes. Scenic Designer Abby Shenker has created a malleable playground for the actors, made up primarily of a series of cubes and frames of various sizes. The set pieces are forever being moved to different places on the stage, and reconfigured so that they are sometimes parallel, sometimes perpendicular to one another, sometimes lying flat on the floor. Actors sit on them, in them, lie atop them or atop one another. And each permutation serves to remind us that a slight variation of setting and character ushers us into a new universe. It is both mind-boggling, hilarious, sobering, and wildly entertaining. A character holding a Rubik's Cube serves as a visual metaphor for the underlying theme of this play that there are many ways in which our multi-colored facets can turn and interact.

Lighting by Keithlyn Parkman and Costumes by Lila West serve to abet the playwright and the actors in signaling shifts from one universe to the next.

Margaret Clark and Michael Underhill

Rebecca Schneebaum and Cam Torres

"The Hotel Nepenthe" by John Kuntz

Brown Box Theatre Project

At Atlantic Wharf

Through March 11

Photo by Maggie Hill Photography

The characters are as diverse as this sampling: a bellhop, a brother, a rent-a-car gal, a taxi driver, a bus driver, and Senator's wife with Presidential ambitions, a whore, a starlet, a baby, a fairy with wings, a sister, a mother. And the common thread that binds them together across space and time is the plaintive cry:"I wish my life mattered, somehow. That this pervading sense that this is just a bunch of random stuff happening would dissipate. And through all the chaos, everything would somehow make sense." There is the heart of this play, and it touches the hearts of each sentient audience member. Director Alex Lonati uses the talents of the actors and creative team with precision and vision.

Margaret Clark and Michael Underhill
Rebecca Schneebaum and Cam Torres
"The Hotel Nepenthe" by John Kuntz
Brown Box Theatre Project
At Atlantic Wharf
Through March 11
Photo by Maggie Hill Photography

A note on the term and concept of "nepenthe." Attributed to Homer around 700 B.C., it means "something capable of causing oblivion of grief or suffering," or to have the opposite effect. Nepenthe can offer comfort amidst grief and hardship, or it can cause discomfort and death - and it can be both at the same time. The universe - or multiverse - will decide.

You should decide to inhabit this multiverse and check into "The Hotel Nepenthe" - this evening at 7:30, or next weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday March 9-11 at 7:30 at Atlantic Wharf. Tickets are free, with an opportunity at the end of the show to give donations.

Brown Box Theatre


Enjoy!

Al

"The White Card" by Claudia Rankine Serves Up A Provocative and Dramatic Conversation about Race and White Privilege - A World Premiere

ArtsEmerson Presents the World Premiere of the American Repertory Theater Production of "The White Card" by Claudia Rankine, Directed by Diane Paulus.

On Wednesday of this week, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh proclaimed February 28, 2018 as "Claudia Rankine Day." There were many "Whereas" clauses explaining the reasoning behind such an honor. Poet Claudia Rankine, a Yale Professor, has been a MacArthur Grant recipient, and a bestselling author of a popular volume of poetry entitled "Citizen:An American Lyric." In "The White Card," she takes the themes explored poetically in "Citizen," and explodes them into dramatic conflict among five characters. She serves up challenging dialogue the way that the Williams sisters blister serves across a tennis net.

Karen Pittman as Charlotte
Daniel Gerroll as Charles
Arts Emerson Presents the American Repertory Production
and World Premiere of
"The White Card" by Claudia Rankine
Robert J. Orchard Stage
Emerson Paramount Center
Through April 1st
Photo by Gretjen Helene Photography

The audience climbs a flight of stairs to enter the re-configured Robert J. Orchard Stage at the Emerson Paramount Center. The sound of tennis balls being volleyed back and forth can be heard. We sit in opposing grandstands in an all-white windowless room that feels like a combination racquetball court, large holding cell, and isolation chamber. But it becomes clear through the brilliant projections by Peter Nigrini of the Venue and Serena Williams competing against each other that tennis will be a metaphor for the conflicts playing out on the stage/court in front of us. A bonus of the divided seating is that audience members get to watch one another squirm as inconvenient truthes of white privilege are bandied about across the gaping fault line of racism and tone deafness. The innovative scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez, Costumes by Emilio Sosa, Lighting by Stephen Strawbridge, and Sound by Will Pickens draw us into the lives and conflicts among the characters.

Well-heeled businessman and art collector, Charles (Daniel Gerroll), has developed a strange desire to collect the work of artists who capture images of violence against people of color. He and his well-coiffed wife, Virginia (Patricia Kalember) have invited to their home their art adviser, Eric (Jim Poulos) and flavor-of-the-month photographer Charlotte (Karen Pittman). In an effort to try to avoid any social awkwardness with a black guest in the home, they have given their black maid the night off. Charles hopes to persuade Charlotte to allow him to purchase her latest works. Stirring the pot is Alex (Colton Ryan), the angry, adolescent, activist son of Charles and Diane. He enters the fray, having just returned from a Black Lives Matter Rally. He resents his parents, particularly his father's means of earning money, and the hypocrisy of the artistic proclivities of the pater familias. We have all the makings of a contentious mixed-doubles match.

Karen Pittman as Charlotte
Arts Emerson Presents the American Repertory Production
and World Premiere of
"The White Card" by Claudia Rankine
Robert J. Orchard Stage
Emerson Paramount Center
Through April 1st
Photo by Gretjen Helene Photography

Tension mounts as it becomes clear that Charles harbors some ideas of racial justice that are framed and filtered through his position of white privilege. Charlotte becomes increasingly agitated as philosophy of art morphs into world view conversation. In a set of subplots, it becomes evident that while Charles hopes to change the world through his enlightened art collection and his foundation, he has failed miserably in making any meaningful connections with his wife or son. Chekhovian disaffection is in the air.

The playwright serves up many layers of thought-provoking themes, none of which are amenable to facile or simplistic solutions. What role do well-meaning, and well-endowed white liberals have in entering the arena (tennis court, if you will) of the struggle for racial justice? Is it even possible to open the aperture and see beyond the lens of white privilege? Does putting on display examples of violence against black men and women objectify them, or can it lead to healthy discussion of the mindset that made such violence possible? The playwright wants us to squirm, but simultaneously implores us to stay in the room to wrestle with these issues - as individuals and as members of communities that are willing to engage in tough conversations.

And Act II of this play presents just such an opportunity for frank conversation among audience members. We were invited to stay, and were led by facilitators who served as catalysts in posing  questions like: "What struck you most within this play? What made you most uncomfortable?" On opening night, a healthy mixture of diverse and inclusive audience members made for a lively beginning of a conversation that could lead to meaningful change. I guess the "ball is in our court" to ensure that the conversation continues to deepen and leads to meaningful action.

Jim Poulos as Eric
Karen Pittman as Charlotte
Daniel Gerroll as Charles
Colton Ryan as Alex
Arts Emerson Presents the American Repertory Production
and World Premiere of
"The White Card" by Claudia Rankine
Robert J. Orchard Stage
Emerson Paramount Center
Through April 1st
Photo by Gretjen Helene Photography

The actors' skill and passion to tell this story were equal to the exalted level of artistry of Ms. Rankine, Ms. Paulus, and the rest of their visionary creative team. At a pivotal moment near the end of the play, it becomes clear that Charlotte's words over time have flayed Charles, and have stripped him naked in an emotional and existential sense. We see clear evidence that he has been moved to action - and to change - when he strips to his waist, exposing his lily white skin - not only to Charlotte's scathing language, but to her searching lens. It is an indelible image that punctuates one of the multiple messages of this majestic work of art and social engineering.

The play runs through April 1st, and should not be missed.

Enjoy - and engage!

Al

Lyric Stage Presents "Virginia Woolf's Orlando" - Gender Fluidity Examined - Through March 25th

When I first saw a production of "Orlando" a few years ago, I found it long and tedious, so I was not sure what to expect with the current Lyric Stage production. Using an adaptation by Sarah Ruhl that pares the play down to a crisp 90 minutes, including a brief Intermission, Director A. Nora Long keeps the pace of the show going at a fast clip. The result was that I found myself engaged and entertained. The telling of this gender-bending and time-traveling tale is greatly enhanced by a simple and elegant monochromatic set design by Richard Wadsworth Chambers. Lighting Design by Steven McIntosh cleverly incorporates floor lighting that is used to suggest travel and movement as Orlando progresses from man to woman, and from century to century. Lush period Costumes are by Jessica Pribble. The production is presented in collaboration with the Suffolk University Theatre Department.

Caroline Lawton as Orlando
Rory Lambert-Wright and Jeff Marcus
"Virginia Woolf's Orlando"
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by A. Nora Long
Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Through March 25th
Photo by Mark S. Howard

The cast of six are led by the impressive Caroline Lawton as Orlando. Playing multiple roles as Chorus members are Elise Arsenault, Michael Hisamoto, Rory Lambert-Wright, Jeff Marcus, and Hayley Spivey.

For those who know the backstory of the development of "Orlando," this play has been called "the longest and most charming love letter in literature." Virginia Woolf wrote the play as the embodiment of her love and friendship for Vita Sackville-West. Today, many of us often find ourselves as participants or listeners to conversation about "gender fluidity," But back in the Roaring 20s, when the play was born, issues of sexuality of any kind were not discussed in polite society. Virginia Woolf shattered that taboo with this play, and people have been buzzing about it ever since. Because during the course of the play Orlando experiences life both as a man and as a woman, the playwright is able to provide insights into both male and female sensibilities, proclivities, attractions, advantages, and challenges. The result is a play that challenges conventional thinking about gender, and leaves the audience to ruminate on many issues that are virtually imponderable.

Caroline Lawton as Orlando
Rory Lambert-Wright and Jeff Marcus
Elise Arsenault and Hayley Spivey
"Virginia Woolf's Orlando"
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by A. Nora Long
Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Through March 25th
Photo by Mark S. Howard

This excellent drama is worthy of your consideration.

Through March 25th.

Lyric Stage Website

Enjoy!

Al