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.
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’sHow 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.
That is the main question broached by the cast of a mysterious character contemplated so often that it is a wonder if Tartuffe is less a person than legend. However, when Tartuffe does appear, plenty of drama lay in his wake.
Directed comically by Bryn Boice and translated by Richard Wilbur, Hub Theatre Company of Boston presents Molière’s satirical comedy drama Tartuffe live and in person at the Boston Center for the Arts in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 24. This semi-interactive and somewhat play-within-a play runs approximately two hours with an intermission and all shows are at a pay-what-you-can basis. Click here for more information and for tickets.
June Kfoury, Lily Ayotte and Brendan O’Neill in Hub Theatre Company of Boston’s ‘Tartuffe’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography
Though Molière ’s satirical comedy Tartuffe takes place during King Louis XIV’s reign in 1664, Hub Theatre Company of Boston mixes many aspects of the contemporary with the 17th Century French Common Era in costumes and nuanced dialogue. Costume designer Marissa Wolf and Wig Maven Liv Curnen blend historical French high fashion including decorated coiffed wigs, silks, trendy lace up shoes, crinoline, and vivid patterns including paisley and tartan to match with jeans, sneakers, and racer striped pants which provides a bit of a contemporary edge. Lily Ayotte as Mariane’s crinoline skirt cage however, felt gnawingly incomplete without a skirt over it even if it is in the name of high fashion.
Tartuffe, spoken in melodious coupling rhyme, is easy on the ears and adds lightheartedness to the production especially during its most serious moments. June Kfoury as Madam Parnelle baits the hook on Tartuffe as she humorously lambastes everyone in the room including her family in a marvelously frank and offhanded manner except the one person absent and proclaims an unpopular opinion: She considers Tartuffe a saint and praises his bold candidness.
Brooks Reeves in Hub Theatre Company of Boston’s ‘Tartuffe’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography
Brooks Reeves as oblivious Orgon also thinks the sun rises and sets on Tartuffe and although Orgon comes off as a bit one dimensional, Reeves leans into the character’s absurdity and stubbornness to craft a character you end up rooting for.
Lauren Elias in Hub Theatre Company of Boston’s ‘Tartuffe’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography
Lily Ayotte as sweet and obedient Mariane is one of the best parts of the production. Her engagement with the audience, reactions and physical comic timing is impeccable. Ayotte and Robert Thorpe II as Valère share amusing chemistry and their scenes are full of charming banter. Lauren Elias as maid Dorine is one of the few voices of reasons and a scene stealer in her own right navigating the plot through reason, good intentions, a good deal of sarcasm, and some popcorn (which acts as a fabulous gag during the show).
Laura Rocklyn and Jeremy Beazlie in Hub Theatre Company of Boston’s ‘Tartuffe’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography
Laura Rocklyn portrays cool and collected Elmire with finesse. Elmire is a dynamic role and Rocklyn brings determination and confidence, especially to her more absurd scenes with Reeves and Jeremy Beazlie as Tartuffe, performing to great lengths for a laugh.
However, Jeremy Beazlie as Tartuffe, well, there is not much question how Tartuffe lives up to his legend which will not be revealed here. Tartuffe explores hypocrisy and secrets while historically speaking to what was happening in France at the time and Beazlie depicts it to a fault stirring up a lot more than rumors by the time he takes the stage.
Jeremy Beazlie and Brooks Reeves in Hub Theatre Company of Boston’s ‘Tartuffe’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography
Though Tartuffe may not be for everyone, it boasts a strong cast and witty moments that keeps one guessing how this unbridled string of events will end up right through the very end.
Hub Theatre Company of Boston presents Molière ’s satirical comedy Tartuffe live and in person at the Boston Center for the Arts in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 24. This semi-interactive and somewhat play-within-a play runs approximately two hours with an intermission and all shows are at a pay-what-you-can basis. Click here for more information and for tickets.
For one night only, a revered love story caught between impossible choices took shape set in a war-torn country.
With over 200 artists involved including the Back Bay Chorale as well as Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) presented Verdi and Ghislanzoni’s stunning Italian opera, Aida for one gala benefit performance during Veteran’s Day weekend on Sunday, November 10 at 3PM at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. All funds raised benefited Boston Lyric Opera’s education, youth and community programs. Part of BLO’s You’ll Never Walk Alone themed season, this epic production ran 2 hours and 50 minutes including one 20-minute intermission. Click here for more information.
David Angus conducts the BLO Orchestra and BLO Chorus (Brett Hodgdon, Chorus Director) including members of Back Bay Chorale) Photo by Nile Scott Studios
Prior to the start of the production, the Boston Lyric Opera celebrated a milestone for renowned bass-baritone opera singer Morris Robinson. Twenty-five years ago to the day on November 10, 1999, Robinson debuted onstage in the role of the King for Boston Lyric Opera’s Aida. Not only was he named the 2024 Artistic Honoree, but Mayor Wu named November 10th Morris Robinson Day. The honor was presented to him by his mentor Sharon Daniels. Once a Boston University college football player, a clearly moved Robinson delivered an inspiring and relatable speech about career pivoting and the stellar chance he received from Boston Lyric Opera.
Morris Robinson as Ramfis in Boston Lyric Opera’s AIDA – Photo by Nile Scott Studios
Robinson’s charismatic presence as well as his rich, deep and commanding vocals as Ramfis in the following production depicts why Morris has had a lasting presence with Boston Lyric Opera.
Having never seen Aida performed as an opera but twice before as the Elton John and Tim Rice’s musical, it was amazing to see Verdi’s version which is the foundation in which this story was told. With the Boston Lyric Opera orchestra center stage and the chorus situated behind them, Aida was treated as a gala event enlivened by Aja M. Jackson’s atmospheric lighting in pinks, reds, blues, and gold backdrop weaving in images and symbols from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Jackson’s lighting had an encompassing effect creating a semi-panoramic view of images of multicolored Egyptian animals moving along the back of the theatre.
BLO Music Director David Angus leads the BLO Orchestra in Boston Lyric Opera’s AIDA – Photo by Nile Scott Studios
With trumpet accompaniment from the balconies, BLO conductor David Angus with Annie Rabbat, Brett Hodgdon, and Back Bay Chorale Music Director Stephen Spinelli navigates this complex orchestration of music to enrich this bold and compelling love story. Even with a brief pause during the production, Boston Lyric Opera handled the situation efficiently.
A fictional tale surrounding historical events, Aida explores a number of conflicted characters deliberating on love and loyalty during the Egyptian and Ethiopian war. Tenor Diego Torre delivers an impassioned performance as Radamès, an Egyptian commander in love with soprano Michelle Johnson as Ethiopian slave Aida while Aida’s father Amonasro, portrayed by baritone Brian Major, is a war prisoner. Mezzo-soprano Alice Chung delivers a multifaceted performance as resourceful Egyptian princess Amneris who wonders what it will take to win the love of Radamès .
Diego Torre as Radamès in Boston Lyric Opera’s AIDA – Photo by Nile Scott Studios
Adorned in gala attire rather than costumes, the cast’s powerhouse vocals exude despair, passion and desperation into characters facing impossible choices. Decked out in coat and tails, Torres evokes sympathy through his torment and soaring vocals as commander Radamès torn between his love for Aida and loyalty to his people. In a distinctive multicolored gown, Michelle Johnson illustrates the gravity of Aida’s rage, passion and despair over her decisions, torn between her secret love for Radamès and her own people. Johnson as Aida is bold, charming, and audacious while always carrying a heavy heart.
Michelle Johnson (l.) as Aida and Alice Chung as Amneris in Boston Lyric Opera’s AIDA – Photo by Nile Scott Studios
However, Alice Chung as shrewd and privileged Amneris has plans of her own and strategizes how to get what she wants. With dynamic range in a jeweled accented gown, Chung brings her own psychological warfare in a stunning duet with Johnson. Their intense and melodic vocals deliver gravitas in a suspenseful stand off as romantic rivals. Chung is confident and manipulative catching Aida at her most vulnerable, but also brings sympathy to her character in the looming fear of losing what she holds most dear.
(L.-r.) Stefan Egerstrom (King of Egypt), Brian Major (Amonasro) and Morris Robinson (Ramfis) in Boston Lyric Opera’s AID
Johnson’s Aida also shares a powerful scene with Major as Amonasro. Major is eloquent and stealthily convincing in a pivotal scene in which Aida is faced with the consequences of her decisions. This weighty exchange is filled with raw emotion and distress as she is backed into a corner.
The riveting harmonies, the fervent declarations, and the deeply romantic lyrical context of this production demonstrate why Boston Lyric Opera has returned to this memorable show over the years since first performing Aida at the Hatch Shell in 1981. Its rich exploration of passion, torment, war, and loss always has something new to say in a classic tale where love transcends everything.
Cast members and BLO Chorus (with members of Back Bay Chorale) in Boston Lyric Opera’s AIDA – Photo by Nile Scott Studios
Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) presented Verdi and Ghislanzoni’s stunning Italian opera, Aida for one gala benefit performance during Veteran’s Day weekend on Sunday, November 10 at 3PM at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. All funds raised benefited Boston Lyric Opera’s education, youth and community programs. Click here for more information.
With a wealth of urgency and powerful expression, Boston Ballet’s wonderful Fall Experience features a world premiere and an array of innovative pieces that depict the isolation and bleakness of the season as well as the excitement of what is in store.
With incredible choreography by Crystal Pite and music by Max Richter, The Seasons’ Canon finale is one of the most amazing pieces that I have ever witnessed from the Boston Ballet. The Fall Experience is not to be missed.
Boston Ballet’s Fall Experience continues at Citizens Bank Opera House in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 3. The production is one hour and 50 minutes with one intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Boston Ballet’s ‘Fall Experience’ ‘After’
Featuring Christine Vitale on violin and Sienna Tabron on piano, the world premiere of Lia Sirio’sAfter is steeped in shadows and the only light shown is illuminating from a white cavern. John Farrell’s minimalist set design with Brandon Stirling Baker’s mood induced lighting highlights the stirring exuberance of the dancers. In flowing and translucent clothing, After features an array of enthralling pas de deux and a wealth of tender moments between the dancers. Fueled by piano and fiddle-infused urgent rhythms, After is evocative and expressive as the lighting morphs into a beautiful teal background with subtle bursts of color. This multi-dimensional piece depicts isolation and ingrates sharp staccato dance movements blending modern and traditional dance.
Yue Shi in Sabrina Matthews’ Ein von Viel; photo by Christopher Duggan; courtesy of Boston Ballet
In suit and tails, pianist Alex Foaksman joins duo Jeffrey Cirio and Gearóid Solan onstage for Ein von Viel. Cirio and Solan demonstrate their athleticism and pliable skills in this powerful piece filled with swift, pronounced and intricate movements. Foaksman performing onstage as Cirio and Solan synchronize, playfully compete and complement each other to splendid selections by Bach.
Yue Shi in Sabrina Matthews’ Ein von Viel; photo by Christopher Duggan; courtesy of Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet in Jorma Elo’s Plan to B, photo by Gene Schaivone, courtesy of Boston Ballet
Under a gleaming and morphing light by Jay Gower Taylor and Tom Visser, the Boston Ballet unveils a vision like none other with The Seasons’ Canon. Crystal Pite’s intricate and meticulously detailed chorography to Max Richter’s version of Vivaldi’s mesmerizing The Four Seasons makes The Seasons’ Canon a superlative experience. An incredible vision in every sense of the word, The Seasons’ Canon is innovative and unique as dancers pulse, sway, and tumble with such fluidity and precision that it must be seen. Moving like one organism with grace and intensity, the sheer exactitude and congruent nature of these movements cannot be overstated. It is an exciting and commanding piece with bursts of energy as the landscape transforms into shades of silver, orange, and gold, exquisite in each season. It is a haunting and brilliant performance sure to stay with you long after the piece has ended.
Boston Ballet’s The Fall Experience continues at Citizens Bank Opera House in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, November 3. The production is one hour and 50 minutes with one intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Music is the foundation for so many amazing aspects of life.
As GBH’s newly appointed Head of Music, Sam Brewer discusses music’s remarkable impact and how he started in the industry. He also shares where to listen to live concerts around Boston after work for free, insight into GBH’s extraordinary studios, and the revolutionary ways GBH is connecting artists to viewers and listeners.
Sleepless Critic: Just to clarify, GBH’s Head of Music primarily covers classical and jazz music?
Sam Brewer: Yes, it is the jazz and classical team. GBH Music is a multi-platform production team housed inside GBH with twelve full time and almost as many part time employees. Our biggest commitment and what everyone knows us for is CRB Classical 99.5 Boston. CRB produces over 50 broadcasts a year and we have a live concert every single week from Symphony Hall or Tanglewood. That includes concerts from the Boston Pops too.
General Manager of GBH Music Sam Brewer Photo by Meredith Nierman/GBH
We also program Jazz on 89.7 FM on the weekends and weekend overnights. For the past five years, we’ve had a series of about eight GBH Music Presents concerts at the Fraser Performance Studio or Calderwood Studio here at GBH. In person, streaming, and recorded performances are used on other platforms. Obviously they stream and may end up as an In Concert production.
Classical.org is the website for the radio station and a rich source of multimedia content about classical music, social media channels, and two newsletters which is one on jazz and one on classical and so much more.
From the GBH music perspective, we recently launched GBH Jazz Nights which are once a month performances at the GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. We’ve teamed up with JazzBoston to present jazz music the second Thursday of every month from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. It’s a free event and we want to capture people after work to stop by for an hour or two and get a beer and listen to music. It’s really to raise the profile of everything that we are doing in jazz. For the past few years we have done these studio jazz shows about four a year and we are looking have four again in the spring. We’ll have four in the spring to help us build up an audience, the excitement, and the anticipation for that and we feature a great lineup of performers.
Beyond December, we will be looking at a series of jazz performances at Fraser Performance Studio. Fraser is gorgeous and really the jewel of the production facilities at GBH. Antonio Oliart is our recording engineer on the GBH Music Team and he had a hand in designing the space and it’s his home along with Téa Mottolese who is our other recording engineer.
Antonio recorded an album at Fraser with violinist Hilary Hahn which was just named the Gramophone record of the year. It’s a huge honor and I think he’s won three or four Grammys from records he’s produced in that space. We host a lot of these GBH jazz and classical music events at Fraser and you’re really sitting with maybe 90 or 100 people in a multi-camera shoot in an acoustically perfect music space.
Ulysses Quartet perform at an event celebrating the leadership of Tony Rudel, General Manager GBH Music on October 1, 2024 at GBH Headquarters in Brighton, Mass. Photo by Meredith Nierman/GBH
The Boston Symphony Chamber Players came and recorded this beautiful video show in Fraser and then we streamed. It was in person and it will also become a radio broadcast in a week or two. Somebody came up to me after the performance and told me they have known this musician their whole life and have never seen this person up close playing like this.
SC: Oh, I love those experiences.
SB: That’s the real benefit of this space. You get a sort of intimacy with the music that you don’t really get in any other venue in Boston because of the size and how it is structured. It’s also how we host shows. Brian McCreath, the host of the BSO broadcasts, hosted this program. He’s a proxy for the audience and brings the audience into the stories behind the music in such a unique way.
SC:We know each other from the Boston Pops. What piqued your interest from the Boston Pops to make the transition over to GBH? I know it all starts with classical music.
SB: That’s a great question. I was a publicist at the BSO for about 10 years and started at the box office selling tickets. I was just looking for the next step in my career and there’s such a crossover between the GBH audience and the Boston Symphony audience and in an effort to sort of promote other types of content and other stories, I was drawn to the work in public media and found a happy home for the last six years working quite closely with the newsroom here. Of course the GBH Music team was my other main client here and pulled it back into the beauty, power and the rich, artistic life of classical music and jazz. That’s how I found myself working even more closely with the GBH Music Team.
SC:You must also find yourself working with some famous musicians. Which particular person stands out for you that you couldn’t believe you were working with them?
SB: There are countless people, but recently opera bass-baritone Davóne Tines. We had someone scheduled for the Getting into Opera program and it was a wonderful event open to the public. We are eventually going to turn it into a series for YouTube. We’ve done two of these before and we have another one coming up. We unfortunately lost the soprano who was scheduled to host this master class. The concept here is people get into opera by seeing how great vocal performances are shaped. So it’s a master class between a master teacher and a student.
The star soprano who was supposed to lead the performance had to cancel about 36 hours before. Davóne Tines came in and I had the opportunity to pick him up in a car and drive him over quickly before the performance was about to begin.
I was blown away how even at the last minute, he wanted to reshape what we were doing to put the artists in the center and focus on them as humans and people before he got to hear them sing or work with them as a coach. So, there are countless examples of artists I have met and been star struck or really moved by, but this one recently is just one of the benefits everyone on this team has which are these really close encounters with musicians as people and then get to share their stories with broader audiences. It’s of interest to any type of consumer of any media, but I think music in particular because it can be abstract and one of things we specialize in is sharing an artist’s story behind the music.
SC:How do you think your prior experience has prepared you for what you are doing now?
SB: Two of the trends in my career have been music and communications and I think they will be thoroughly employed in this role. Being so new to it, I can already tell one of the real joys of this role is working with all the people on this team. I think anyone in a leadership position is responsible for supporting the team’s work. It is really exciting to come to work every day with people who are ready to pitch new and creative ideas and try to find ways for those little seeds of ideas to grow to support the work of a lot of creative professionals. So, I suppose having a lot of experience as a communicator, in public relations, and then in public media has put me in a good position to help the team bring all this creativity to the forefront and to find things that resonate with audiences. I’m excited to see how we can keep growing this incredible foundation here.
SC:Music is the connection to everything.
SB: I agree with you.
SC:Speaking of which, what is your favorite music and kinds of artists you like to listen to for GBH?
SB: I think from a very early age, I’ve always loved orchestral music. I will just say broadly classical music encompassing classical, romantic, and baroque. We play on CRB Classical 99.5 over 500 years of this incredible compendium of artistic styles. It’s just so easy to get deeply lost in it and imagine your own stories.
It’s funny because I have certainly listened to all sorts of music. My wife and I went to the Weezer concert in Boston. It was great fun, but I also had this experience where we were all the way up in the nosebleed section. I don’t know what the capacity of TD Garden about 20,000 and it was a wonderful performance and I was thinking if I can just get one percent of these people to turn on CRB and find this intentional listening experience in the genres we promote, I think everyone would grow so tremendously. A lot of what we program on this station is intentional to capture people who find a familiar sound in what we do and discover that they like classical music. For example, Renaissance pieces that would be four minutes long and to someone who is just tuning in, it could sound like a folk song. There could be an energy to Telemann perfect for driving down the road. I’ve always loved orchestral music. The challenges and the fun of this role is to just to find people in this vast swath of people and find out who might want to come and join us and be part of this tribe.
SC:Classical is the foundation of so many other genres of music. The epic Clair de Lune is a famous classical piece you know that you don’t know that you know.
SB: I agree with you and I think there is also a willingness that there wasn’t ten or fifteen years ago to cross between genres and like what they hear without knowing what the label is. I just find there is a tremendous opportunity to turn more people into classical music and such growth potential there. I’m glad we’re focused on that central part of it and our goal is just to spread that out and make people fall in love with it.
One of CRB’s next events will be the GBH Music Holiday Spectacular taking place at Calderwood Studio. Be the first to learn about GBH’s upcoming music events through classical newsletter The Note and GBH’s Jazz newsletter.
Having been invited to see this show years ago when a friend was in it, the title and premise lacked a certain initial appeal. Yes, the show is about what the title suggests, but as narrator or maybe more like ringmaster Anthony Pires Jr as Officer Lockstock insists, ‘The setting is not Urinetown, just the name of this musical comedy.’ Janie E. Howland’s set is dingy in various shades of brown and littered with broken toilets and grime as undefined shapes pepper the stage.
Anthony Pires, Jr and Paige O’Connor in Lyric Stage’s ‘Urinetown: The Musical’ Photo by Nile Hawver
And yet….
The set is a ruined landscape as one would imagine it would be for a musical comedy called Urinetown, but Mark Hollmann’s piano-infused music is suspenseful, foreboding, urgent and bright and Deb Sullivan’s mood-induced lighting design stands out. As serious as some of the issues the show addresses are in a story about urination becoming a privilege for the rich and not a human right, the production’s satirical tone sits somewhere between not to be taken too seriously and a cautionary tale of oppression, corruption and more.
With thought provoking direction by Courtney O’Connor with lively choreography by Christopher Shin, The Lyric Stage Company opened its 50th anniversary season with musical parody Urinetown: The Musical live and in person at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, Massachusetts through October 20. The action is not limited to the stage and run two hours with a 10 minute intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
The cast of Urinetown: the Musical Photo by Nile Hawver
Taking place in an unknown city that suffers from a severe water shortage, Anthony Pires Jr as narrator and Officer Lockstock, Gabriel Graetz as Officer Barrell, and Lisa Yuen as rigid and business minded Penelope Pennywise, must enforce that each city resident pay a fee to urinate passed down by Christopher Chew as President and Owner of Urine Good Company’s Caldwell B. Cladwell. When an incident takes place involving Remo Airaldi as Joseph “Old Man” Strong, Kenny Lee as Strong’s idealistic and determined son Bobby decides to do something about it.
Urinetown boasts a wealth of powerful vocals including Yuen’s stellar rendition of It’s a Privilege to Pee capped off by an astounding finale belt. In rubber boots, fanny pack, and pigtails, Yuen brings depth to Pennywise who is caught between a rock and a hard place not unlike another survivor she portrayed earlier this year in Reagle Music’s South Pacific. Pennywise must do what she thinks she must in fear of the alternative.
Lisa Yuen, Anneke Angstadt and James Turner in Lyric Stage’s ‘Urinetown: The Musical’ Photo by Nile Hawver
Anthony Pires Jr is charismatic, engaging and a lifeline as Officer Lockstock who alternates between law enforcement and narrating the plot at various interludes. Pires Jr’s self aware humor and sharp comedic timing adds levity to this bold satire that delivers its share of dark moments in a way that does not feel as heavy with Pires Jr at the helm. The Cop Song, a duet with Graetz and Company, offers an inside look of what it’s like to enforce the law here to a cheerful beat.
Kenny Lee and Elliana Karris in Lyric Stage’s ‘Urinetown: The Musical’ Photo by Nile Hawver
Elliana Karris depicts Cladwell’s rich, beautiful, compassionate, and idealistic daughter Hope who believes in change and shares an endearing rendition of Follow Your Heart with Bobby. They are goofy, giddy and share each other’s wide eyed optimism and determination. Kenny Lee is instantly likeable and impressive as Bobby who also longs to make a difference. Paige O’Connor is excellent as precocious, street smart and conflicted Little Sally who shares some funny and fascinating scenes with Lee and Pires Jr throughout the production.
Christopher Chew and the cast of ‘Urinetown: The Musical’ Photo by Nile Hawver
With commanding vocals, Christopher Chew depicts threatening yet humorous adversary Caldwell B. Cladwell. Chew strikes a delicate balance between scathing and corrupt with comic wit. Cladwell could have easily delved into cartoon villainy, but Chew brings enough manipulative chutzpah to songs like Mr. Cladwell and Don’t Be the Bunny to make him a credible and worthy foe.
Musically directed by Dan Rodriguez, Urinetown features not only a number of songs in an array of styles, but also a variety of musical references which includes The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story and Les Miserables. The cast’s moving rendition of Run Freedom Run and the seemingly peppy I See a River are both memorable. As the band plays above the stage, it sheds some light as this skillful production delves into themes such as oppression, socialism, corporate greed, fear, corruption and freedom. It’s also a strong metaphorical satire about something one would hopefully never have to go through.
If you can get past that, The Lyric Stage Company continues Urinetown: The Musical at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, Massachusetts through October 20. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Embarking on a new journey into experimental theater after the hilarious and frenetically urgent Stand Up if You’re Here Tonight, The Huntington delivers another unique work where anything is possible.
Eloquently directed by Omar Elerian and featuring a different guest for every performance, The Huntington presents Nassim Soleimanpour’s Nassim live and in person at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, October 27. This fascinating and semi-interactive production runs 75 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
With nothing but a sealed box containing an unseen mysterious script sitting on a table labeled only with the guest’s name, the anticipation is high and this particular guest admits that he is terrified as a mysterious person quips, ‘No panic on the Titanic.’
Being the first guest performer on opening night of a production that can virtually go anywhere should come with understandable trepidation. GBH’sJared Bowen stepped out on the stage not knowing what was in store for him and the audience. This particular performance was deemed the 478th time this production has ever been performed and Jared had to be ready for spontaneity, plenty of improvisation and game for virtually anything.
What occurred was genuinely humorous, personal, heartfelt, and revealing. Nassim contains several moments of moving subtlety and unpredictability that is engrossing from start to finish watching this particular story unfold. It is also communal, eye opening, educational, and contains compelling experiences that are both simple and challenging, but above all meaningful.
Sound designer James Swadlo and Lighting Designer Rajiv Pattani seamlessly set the tone to this original and spontaneous production that varies from moment to moment. It is also best not to know what to expect, but to experience it as the story unfolds knowing that each moment of this production serves a profound purpose about connection and much more.
Jared thrived through this engaging theatrical experiment and some of the future guest performers include Mike Gorman, Keith Lockhart, Marianne Bassham and Nael Nacer. Nassim is a distinct and creative exploration into the unexpected and it was exciting to take a chance on something new. It was absolutely worth it.
The Huntington presents Nassim Soleimanpour’s ‘Nassim’ live and in person at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, October 27. This fascinating and semi-interactive production runs 75 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Flanked with brass and crystal embellishments, a gorgeous Vienna apartment is festively adorned as a beautiful upper class family celebrates Hanukkah….and then Christmas and the Nativity. It is subtle at first, but there lies a divide in this extended Jewish family reaching further than 1899. Over the stretch of 56 years through war, strife, turmoil, heartache and tragedy lays a growing divide that impacts generations and it only gets more complicated.
Directed conscientiously by Carey Perloff, The Huntington and Shakespeare Theatre Company presents Tom Stoppard’s epic Tony Award-winning production of Leopoldstadt live and in person at The Huntington in Boston, Massachusetts through October 13. This multi-generational production is two hours and twenty minutes plus one 15 minute intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Left to right: The cast of Leopoldstadt b. Forefront (L to R): Brenda Meaney and Rachel Felstein Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt; directed by Carey Perloff September 12 – October 13, 2024 at The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Photo by Liza Voll
The Huntington has recently been presenting family multi-generational productions which include The Lehman’s Trilogyalso directed by Perloff about the Lehman Brothers spanning a 163-year period before exploring the world of the Salomon family in Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic spanning almost 70 years.
Leopoldstadt is inspired by Stoppard’s own family experiences which span a pivotal time from 1899 to 1955. The show has a large cast which explores resilience, identity, grief, survival, fear, hate, and the struggle with one’s own faith in the face of growing darkness.
The cast of Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt; directed by Carey Perloff September 12 – October 13, 2024 at The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Photo by Liza Voll
Scenic designer Ken MacDonald impressively reflects transformation over time starting with the opening of the production in an opulent Vienna apartment with built-in bookshelves packed with various selections, a large decorated window with a stellar view of the city, a feast at the dining room table with a real Christmas tree lit with live burning candles. The Merz-Jacobovicz family is decked out in their best in colorful embroidered gowns and classic patterns in velvet and lace as the men dress in timely suits by costumer Alex Jaeger. A portrait of a family celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day as Phyllis Kay, in a dual role as Eva and here as fascinating Grandma Emilia, uses terms seemingly lightly such as ‘Christianized’ and presenting the tree ‘for the papists.’
Left to right: The cast of Leopoldstadt b. Foreground (L to R): Brenda Meaney, Nael Nacer Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt; directed by Carey Perloff September 12 – October 13, 2024 at The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Photo by Liza Voll
This extended family is its own melting pot of beliefs and heritage which is often explored through deep discussion between Brothers Nael Nacer as textile manufacturer Hermann and Firdous Bamji as mathematician Ludwig. The conversations intensify as the show progresses between Hermann as a Jew converted to Catholicism and Jewish Ludwig as they explore politics and their stirring reasons behind their demeanors and beliefs as time and turmoil takes hold through two world wars and as a new generation enters the world.
Left to right: Holden King-Farbstein, Joshua Chessin-Yudin, Quinn Murphy, Firdous Bamji Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt; directed by Carey Perloff September 12 – October 13, 2024 at The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Photo by Liza Voll
Another key figure in the production is Brenda Meaney in a nuanced depiction of Hermann’s complex wife Gretl who is Catholic yet enamored with Jewish tradition and takes part in a scandalous and unpredictable storyline. Samuel Adams is also memorable in a dual role as egotistical and shrewd Officer Fritz and English journalist Percy. However, Mishka Yarovoy is haunting in a dual role as devastated soldier Jacob and Leo who are both replete with loss.
Left to right: Mishka Yarovoy, Nael Nacer, Brenda Meaney Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt; directed by Carey Perloff September 12 – October 13, 2024 at The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Photo by Liza Voll
This historically significant and symbolic production takes some time to build as does the nature of fascism in its escalating subtlety and the revelations in this production are deep and impactful. The show’s affecting familial layers unfurl with resonance and familiarity as startling details take shape about these critical years including a riveting depiction of The Night of Broken Glass in 1938 infusing Jane Shaw’s stunning sound design, Robert Wierzel’s evocative lighting and Yuki Izumihara’s astonishing projections sure to stay with you long after the production has ended. Leopoldstadt is a timeless and cautionary piece of theatre not to be missed.
The cast of Leopoldstadt Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt; directed by Carey Perloff September 12 – October 13, 2024 at The Huntington Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Photo by Liza Voll
Directed conscientiously by Carey Perloff, The Huntington and Shakespeare Theatre Company presents Tom Stoppard’s epic Tony Award-winning production of Leopoldstadt live and in person at The Huntington in Boston, Massachusetts through October 13. This multi-generational production is two hours and twenty minutes plus one 15 minute intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Down in Wynwood, Miami, Florida, Mari is in a panic.
On the eve of one of the most important events of her art career, Mari’s gallery Studio 6 has been robbed.
However, those surrounding Mari are not reacting in quite the same way. Uptight, stressed and just about at her wit’s end, Rebekah Rae Robles as Mari is determined to get to the bottom of it and somehow salvage the event. In braids and silky loungewear, Luz Lopez as intern Caro and Daniel Rios, Jr. as Caro’s boyfriend Officer Jaun take note of what is happening, but seem a little more interested in each other.
Rebekah Rae Robles, Daniel Rios Jr. and Luz Lopez in SpeakEasy Stage’s ‘Laughs in Spanish’
Rebekah Rae Robles, Brogan Nelson, Luz Lopez and Daniel Rios Jr. in SpeakEasy Stage’s ‘Laughs in Spanish’
Rebecca Glick’s stylish costumes feature bold colors and vibrant patterns indicative of each character’s personality and especially prevalent of Robles as Mari in a serious gray suit. Alexis Scheer boasts a refreshing script with good pacing, surprising revelations, and a wild dose of complicated family dynamics as well as a comical cast with crackling chemistry. Robles as Mari seems as wound about as tightly as her celebrity, model, and movie star mother Estella is vivacious and carefree. Making quite the grand and unconventional entrance, dramatic, spectacular, and self-centered Paola Ferrer as Estella appears to revel in her role as the adventurous life of the party. Quick thinking, reposed and resourceful, there is much more to Ferrer’s Estella who delivers a standout performance embellished by a poignant and heartfelt monologue later on in the production. Robles and Ferrer share a natural, relatable and yet complicated mother and daughter dynamic as these seeming opposites humorously searching for common ground. Lopez as intern Carol and Rios Jr. as Officer Juan are adorable and genuinely funny as they bicker and flirt attempting to help Mari, but finding themselves in complications of their own.
Paola Ferrer and Rebekah Rae Robles in SpeakEasy Stage’s ‘Laughs in Spanish’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios
With an uplifting Latin-inspired dance soundtrack, Laughs in Spanish boasts a multipurpose split set by Erik D. Diaz featuring an array of tropical greenery with wicker-infused furniture adorned with twinkling lights on one side and a pristine white and mustard colored studio with missing canvases, modern furniture and soft lighting on the other setting a sophisticated yet festive city tone. This split set doubles the laughs as action often occurs simultaneously on both sides, especially in a notable performance by Brogan Nelson as Estella’s giddy and awkward assistant Jenny in a memorable solo piece of silent, physical humor as cast members converse in the other room.
Rebekah Rae Robles and the cast of ‘Laughs in Spanish’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios.
If you are looking for an upbeat, playful, and lighthearted piece of theatre with some interesting twists, modern pop references and a bit of mystery and family dysfunction with Latino flair, SpeakEasy Stage delivers plenty of Laughs in Spanish.
The cast of SpeakEasy Stage’s ‘Laughs in Spanish’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios
Directed exuberantly by Mariela Lopez-Ponce and in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, SpeakEasy Stage Company continues Alexis Scheer’s lively comedy Laughs in Spanish continuing live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, October 12. This quick witted production has strong language and is 90 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
