Boston Playwrights Theatre | The Sleepless Critic

REVIEW: Wishing upon a ‘Soft Star’ at Boston Playwrights Theatre

Posted on November 24, 2024 by The Sleepless Critic

Somewhere in Minnesota, two best friends with a complex history each wish on what is deemed a soft star in the sky. What develops over time will test the limits of their friendship and much more.

Contemplatively directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary, Boston Playwrights Theatre presents Tina Esper’s supernatural drama Soft Star through Sunday, November 24 part of the Boston Playwrights Theatre’s Fall Rep Festival. This absorbing production runs 85 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

The cast of Tina Esper’s ‘Soft Star’ Photo by Amelia Cordischi

Boston Playwrights Theatre’s Fall Rep Festival features two new productions from living authors taking place on one stage and scenic designer Maggie Shivers continues to make distinctive use of the space for these two vastly different productions. With fold out compartments that pose as couches, a barbecue grill and shelves, cast members transform the set and props between scenes from a beachside setting to a completely new landscape. Zachary Connell’s starlit and warm lighting adds an ethereal quality to the production featuring lanterns and luminous creatures boosted by Kai Bolman’s mystical sound design. Set within the span of the 70’s and 80s, E. Rosser’s colorful costumes depicts fashion trends of the time such as baby doll dresses, keds sneakers, and Henley shirts.

Annika Bolton and Mairéad O’Neill in Tina Esper’s ‘Soft Star’ Photo by Amelia Cordischi

A complex drama of jealousy, isolation, insecurity, secrets and longing, Soft Star is poignant and wistful as Jane and Belle search for a sense of belonging as they contemplate about the direction their lives have taken. There is a real sense of uncertainty from these individuals as the show progresses. Annika Bolton as Jane, Jesse Kodama as Dick, Mairéad O’Neill as Belle and Kamran Bina as Mitch make up a tightly woven group that also share building tension and passive aggressiveness, especially among Dick and Mitch who are best friends working together as well as a palpable chemistry between Mitch and Jane.

What is wonderfully fascinating about Soft Star is how best friends Annika Bolton as Jane and Mairéad O’Neill as Belle’s connection and priorities mature and evolve over time. From two coming of age girls to established women, Esper’s script explores the transforming interests of these individuals and at the same time, depicts how some reflections on their lives never change.

Annika Bolton in Tina Esper’s ‘Soft Star’ Photo by Amelia Cordischi

With an elements of magic and mysticism, Soft Star is an intriguing and imaginative drama fueled by Esper’s layered script which unfolds from a straightforward narrative to how life becomes immensely complicated through circumstances and when other emotions take hold. Emotions that linger and ripen even as people mature exasperated by a wish.

Boston Playwrights Theatre presents Tina Esper’s supernatural drama Soft Star through Sunday, November 24 part of the Boston Playwrights Theatre’s Fall Rep Festival. The show runs 85 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: Money is king in Maggie Kearnan’s ‘How to NOT Save the World with Mr. Bezos’ at Boston Playwrights Theatre

Posted on November 23, 2024 by The Sleepless Critic

How much is that going to be?

Let’s talk about billionaires, gargantuan amounts of money and how to use it.

At least, that is what Becca A Lewis as sleuth Forbes journalist Cherry Beaumont has on her mind in a mysterious interview with Jeff Bezos as he faces a federal case against him in the year 2030. Accompanied by narrator and fact checker Robbie Rodriguez at the ready, How NOT to Save the World with Mr. Bezos is a deep dive into wealth, envy, greed, and blind rage as lines gradually blur between fact, falsehood and fiction.

With unsteady direction by Taylor Stark, Boston Playwrights Theatre presents Maggie Kearnan’s How to NOT Save the World with Mr. Bezos at Boston Playwrights Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 24. This interactive production contains graphic adult themes and runs approximately 100 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

Boston Playwrights Theatre’s Fall Rep Festival features two new productions from living authors taking place on one stage and scenic designer Maggie Shivers certainly makes distinctive use of the space for two vastly different productions. Multicolor light streams through adjustable windows in a modern office setting but Courtney Licata’s props are the real kicker which includes red solo cups. Anna Drummond’s immersive sound design with Zachary Connell’s foreshadowing light design proves effective as the production intensifies.

Mark W Soucy in Boston Playwrights Theatre’s ‘How to NOT Save the World with Mr Bezos’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

With a biting and abrupt laugh and in a vest which seems more like a life preserver, Mark W. Soucy depicts a confident, expeditious yet preoccupied Bezos full of humble brags and word play until the stakes get high. Lewis as Cherry is lively, amusing and occasionally unhinged in a three piece suit and black sneakers. Soucy and Lewis spar with engaging flair as both vie for the upper hand as impressive fact checker Robbie Rodriguez works overtime taking the audience temporarily in and out of the production to clarify each character’s statements.

Mark W Soucy and Becca A Lewis in Boston Playwrights Theatre’s ‘How to NOT Save the World with Mr. Bezos’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

How to NOT Save the World is fueled by some jaw dropping facts about wealth and offers quite the perspective of how much money billionaires really possess. Among some of the most fascinating are it would take 570 years to spend Bezos’s wealth if Bezos spent 1 million dollars a day or the value of a 430,000 house means just 32 cents to him. It also offers even handed facts about Bezos’s life. At one time, he was the most powerful person in the world.

Mark W Soucy Becca A Lewis and Robbie Rodriguez in Boston Playwrights Theatre’s ‘How to NOT Save the World with Mr Bezos’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

However, the show begins to veer off course and some of the most absurd parts of the production, which infuses a classic tune, do not seem to fall as they should and comes off rather unnecessarily as the interview takes an unexpected turn.

Becca A Lewis and Mark W Soucy in Boston Playwrights Theatre’s ‘How to NOT Save the World with Mr. Bezos’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

Amazon executives have a room where they can let out a primal scream during the holiday season and by the end of the production, I was ready to do so, but not for the reason the show encourages. As one toils at work especially with this inflation, it is difficult for the average person to get ahead. As satirical as the show may suggest, it relies on a society so enraged it cannot see past its most base instincts to supersede every other reasonable thought and bereft of hope for a bleak future. Shouldn’t humanity get more credit than that?

Boston Playwrights Theatre presents Maggie Kearnan’s How to NOT Save the World with Mr. Bezos live and in person at Boston Playwrights Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 24. This interactive production contains adult themes and runs approximately 100 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: ‘Driving in Circles’ a winding and resilient concert journey at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre

Posted on April 3, 2024 by The Sleepless Critic

Now here is something refreshingly different.

Directed with energizing flair by Sam Plattus, innovative sound design by Gage Baker and cleverly written and performed by Jay Eddy, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre presents Driving in Circles live and in person at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, April 6. This new, deeply personal concert-style work is 100 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

Jordan Palmer Zach Fontanez and Jay Eddy in Driving in Circles Photo credit to Scornavacca Photography

Infusing storytelling, relatable humor, and a fascinating blend of hard hitting and uplifting original music, Everett-born Jay Eddy as Jill/Bill is a witty individual who has faced a daunting set of physical and emotional challenges at a young age. Eddy is raw, honest, funny, and self deprecating tackling trauma at its core as well as the aftershocks of these events demonstrated in a catchy opening number that explains how to survive an earthquake. Eddy counts backwards in time at the prevalent ages in which Eddy endured these hardships.

Jay Eddy on guitar in ‘Driving in Circles’ Photo credit to Scornavacca Photography

Scenic designer Danielle DelaFuente with set construction by Carly Stegall has fittingly set up a highway rest stop with a dart board, colorful vintage license plates and vinyl records. A hanging pink bathrobe is just one of the significant Easter eggs shown on Eddy’s reflective journey. Wearing red eye shadow and white boots, Jay Eddy, keyboardist Jordan Palmer, and guitarist Zach Fontanez sport similar blue uniforms by costume designer Eric Tran as they perform on a staged road while lighting designer Kevin Fulton sets an atmospheric vibe including twinkling lights and multicolored linear array lights that illumine each performer’s space.

Jay Eddy sharing a humorous weather report in ‘Driving in Circles’ Photo credit to Scornavacca Photography

Driving in Circles is essentially an emotionally-charged concert road trip through a variety of beautiful and traumatic events that have shaped Eddy’s life. It is powerful, sad, and disturbing at times, but is also hopeful, charming and lighthearted on this unpredictable road to healing. This is not lighthearted fare and the material is a bit too serious to be considered standup, but Eddy’s enthusiasm and interactive style is relatable, warm, sincere, and funny. Sharing home movies creatively projected by Maria Servellón, Eddy is not limited to the stage and engages the audience in a compelling manner that makes you feel a part of her journey brimming with detours, twists and turns on past road trips and misadventures that include destinations such as Seattle, Nashville, Vermont and Maine. Driving in Circles contains plenty of local references and Eddy shares a compelling and relatable tale getting lost on the road in what should have been a simple trip to the dentist.

Jay Eddy in ‘Driving in Circles’ Photo credit to Scornavacca Photography

Eddy’s original electronic music is performed on the spot as lead vocals in a three piece band. Eddy is a master on the audio board expertly delivering vocals and sound effects while keyboardist Jordan Palmer and guitarist Zach Fontanez enhance this dynamic blend of lively songs. Eddy is a powerful, edgy and expressive singer and it is amazing to listen to it navigated through the audio board, but Eddy’s bare vocals are also incredibly affective. Shrill Woman, Time Traveler, Another Day, the soothing You’ll Feel Better with Fontanez delivering a notable guitar solo, uplifting The Dog Days of Summertime and hopeful The World is Ending Anyway are just a few highlights.

Jay Eddy in ‘Driving in Circles’ Photo Credit Scornavacca Photography

A perceptive work with plenty of heart, Driving in Circles is a powerful and original work about resilience and hope even through harrowing events. Eddy demonstrates music’s healing power through art as well as the music that helped Eddy cope from artists such as Simon and Garfunkel and Tom Petty. After all, Driving in Circles can still lead to beautiful destinations.

Jordan Palmer, Jay Eddy, and Zach Fontanez in ‘Driving in Circles’ Photo credit to Scornavacca Photography

REVIEW: Exiled Theatre’s disquieting and fuzzy trilogy thriller ‘Hauntings I Have Lived Through’

Posted on November 27, 2023 by The Sleepless Critic

Three lost women. One embraces it, one denies it, and one leans into it.

In their first show since the pandemic, Exiled Theatre presented Hauntings I Have Lived Through, a trilogy thriller that took place live and in person at Boston Playwrights Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 19. Written and directed by James Wilkinson, the show was 80 minutes without an intermission. Click here for more information on future performances.

From L to R: Laura Crook Waxdal, Morganna Becker, and Alex Alexander in Exiled Theatre’s ‘Hauntings I Have Lived Through’ Photo credit to James Wikinson

The set, which included a water pitcher and empty glass on a wooden desk sitting on top of a colorful Egyptian rug, is simply staged but each character handles the set differently. The harp-laden eerie music fits the ominous aura between scenes.

Hauntings I Have Lived Through may hint at a collection of ghost stories especially since it was delivered just after Halloween, but this is not entirely the case. Three separate women recall enduring unique types of trauma. However, coping with occasional moments of dark humor, their reactions are relatable even in the darkest of circumstances.

In The Hanging Tree, an increasing anxious and somewhat disheveled woman approaches the desk. She admits to coming off a tough breakup, though the breakup is mostly incidental to this woman’s real story. The real story develops from an offhanded remark about a mysterious Sycamore tree in her woodsy backyard of a house she is becoming increasingly uncomfortable residing in. With darting eyes, increasingly shaking hands, and a pale and stricken expression as she utters the anxiety laden yet humorous remark, ‘Pause for effect’ is effective as a rare light in Alex Alexander’s character’s bleak testimony before veering into an unpredictable direction.

Alex Alexander in Exiled Theatre’s ‘Hauntings I Have Lived Through’ Photo credit to James Wilkinson

Morganna Becker’s character has been through a lot, but her frank, sarcastic and chatty tone hints of denial as she recalls a macabre event in the show’s second part, Nora (All Over). This chapter is a bit muddled and at times difficult to follow, but there is no denying that this woman has also been through defining trauma. As Becker recounts her story as if incidentally recalling the difficulties of a typically tough day, there is a fear behind her engaging yet guarded demeanor. This story is particularly graphic and gory while Becker takes it in as if she is a spectator in her own life. Her subtle fear keeps her sympathetic as if she will at any minute grasp the gravity of what she has experienced.

Morganna Becker in Exiled Theatre’s ‘Hauntings I Have Lived Through’ Photo credit to James Wilkinson

The finale, The Dark Lady Gospels, delves into experienced trauma, but does not seem to belong with the other parts of the trilogy. Laura Crook Waxdal delivers a strong performance as a twisted evangelist, but this compassionate woman does not practice what she preaches. This part seems more parlor trick and diatribe than what could have been a meaty exploration into this complicated and abandoned woman’s character. Perhaps her practices are a veiled attempt to cope with trauma, but even so, what she preaches seems beside the point and bereft of hope. As a woman with a considerable amount to live for, it does not fit squarely into the show’s premise and gradually strays too far from its focus hinging more on fear than exploration.

Laura Crook Waxdal in Exiled Theatre’s ‘Hauntings I Have Lived Through’ Photo credit to James Wilkinson

Exiled Theatre presented Hauntings I Have Lived Through, a trilogy thriller that took place live and in person at Boston Playwrights Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 19. Written and directed by James Wilkinson, the show was 80 minutes without an intermission. Click here for more information on future performances.