Of the performances the Sleepless Critic has reviewed, here are the Top Ten favorite Performances:
Sundays are Abasiama’s good day.
It is on a Sunday that Jade A. Guerra as Iniabasi arrives to New York from Nigeria to reunite with family she has not seen in many years. However with a misunderstanding from the start, reconnecting will prove to more of a challenge than anyone could have imagined.
Profoundly directed by Tasia A. Jones, Central Square Theater with Front Porch Arts Collective continues the world premiere of Mfoniso Udofia‘s Her Portmanteau, the fourth production in the Ufot’s nine-play family cycle which features three Ufot Nigerian-American family generations, live and in person at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Saturday, April 20. This intense bilingual production in English and Ibibio runs 90 minutes with no intermission. It is fascinating to see how these families progress over these nine plays, but you can witness and enjoy one without having seen the others. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Scenic designer Shelley Barish emphasizes family with an Ufot personal touch displaying framed family photos and gold embellishments around Adiaha’s New York City apartment in January 2014. Having seen Ufot’s second production The Grove, it was wonderful to see the progression in the Ufot Family from the earlier production in 2009 evident in the set such as Kimberley’s portraits lying by the door. This stylish apartment is enlivened with splashes of vibrant color in the kitchen and living room as well as gold ropes surrounding it as if symbolically anchoring it in place. Arshan Gailus’s urgent and at times roaring scenic design emphasizes the family’s building tension, making their surroundings occasionally overwhelming. However, the family silences are more deafening that any outside activity. Enclosed in this city apartment, the past is bound to come out.
Her Portmanteau continues to build Udofia’s rich characters in each piece and from the moment Jade A. Guerra as serious and direct Iniabasi appears, though she is in the same room as her mother and half sister, they seem continents away. At first, you wonder if this is due to a language barrier or something more. Iniabasi is as short, awkward and defensive as Lorraine Victoria Kanyike as Adiaha is thoughtful, chatty and earnest in making Iniabasi comfortable. Kanyike and Guerra share some notably humorous moments as they struggle to understand each other sharing quips and slights comparing their contrasting upbringing. With an occasional nervous chuckle, Kanyike’s Adiaha exhibits anxious and yet it is interesting to witness charisma and confidence in Adiaha who has clearly come into her own while Patrice Jean-Baptiste depicts Abasiama, their loving yet complicated mother.
Family tension and strain is palpable right from the start and it is intriguing to watch this impressive cast try to break it in a mix of humorous, intense, and painfully relatable moments. Jean-Baptiste exhibits a carefully executed mix of excitement, curiosity and apprehension as she searches for avenues of reconnection while still dealing with her own struggles and trauma with quiet and harrowing strength. Patricia Jean-Baptiste and Guerra share stirringly complex scenes in their strained conversations and Udofia’s moving dialogue. Rooted in love, anger, brokenness and resentment, they misunderstand each other in vast and impactful ways searching to a sense of belonging speaking from different worlds and yearning for middle ground.
Her Portmanteau is a remarkably moving chapter about family. It contains struggles and conflict as well as surprising and heartwarming discoveries that were simply wonderful to watch unfold.
Central Square Theatre with Front Porch Arts Collective continues the world premiere of Mfoniso Udofia ‘s Her Portmanteau live and in person at Central Square Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Saturday, April 20. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Diane’s world looks different and although it seems like an ordinary day, she is on the brink.
One would never know what Sherée Marcelle as Diane is going through at first glance. It seems a typical day in the lives of The Goodman family as they roam around the house, caught up in an average school morning. The mundane and stressful routines do not hint of what is in store for Diane during the bustling and humorous number, Just Another Day. However, this particular day will be different and it will affect everyone around her.
Astutely directed and symbolically choreographed by Pascale Florestal with excellent musical direction by Katie Bickford, Central Square Theater co-produced by Front Porch Arts Collective continues the Pulitzer Prize-winning and multiple Tony Award-winning rock musical, next to normal live and in person at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Sunday, June 30. This fascinating production contains adult themes and is approximately two hours and 20 minutes with one intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
With significant Easter eggs floating above Erik D. Diaz’s meaningful and multi-tiered set connected notably by a spiral staircase and a central door, most of the scenes take place inside the Goodman household with the exception of the living room that doubles as an office space. Mark Clark Wonson’s evocative lighting pulses and radiates on this production’s veering emotional journey and Kiara Escalera’s vibrant costumes often complement each other in stripes, patterns and shades between Anthony Pires Jr. as Dan and Marcelle and most notably in shades of blue later depicted between Cortlandt Barrett as Natalie and Dashawn McClinton as Henry.
Next to normal is a well paced and revealing musical journey about a troubled family who hides it well. It delves into dysfunction and disorders with a bittersweet and relatable gusto and Brian Yorkey’s thought provoking script with dynamic and captivating music by Tom Kitt work together to unravel the nature of Diane’s illness and how each character is affected in Diane’s struggle. I have seen quite a few great performances lately, but helmed by Sherée Marcelle as Diane, this is a powerhouse. Each one of the next to normal cast delivers compelling performances with the vocal chops to prove it while conscientiously revealing their unique way of managing the complexity of their lives.
With glassy eyed confusion and shaking fingers, Sherée Marcelle as Diane is overwhelmed by her life. Marcelle evokes the anxiousness, disillusionment, trauma, and the submersion Diane faces as bipolar and her yearning vocals unleash the suffering she endures living in her head searching for relief in I Miss the Mountains. Marcelle is amazing as Diane who feels trapped wherever she is. Numb or overdrive where reaching for normal never feels quite right.
The catchy and dark satirical parody, Who’s Crazy / My Psychopharmacologist and I paints and infuses humor into a reeling picture of her battle while also providing a peek into how this affects those around her like her concerned grounded husband portrayed charismatically and sympathetically by Pires Jr. as Dan whose patience is quickly unraveling in his search for answers. Ricardo “Ricky” Holguin in a dual role is hilarious as a deadpan doctor, wild, then later poignant full of compassion and concern.
Pires Jr. and Marcelle is an enthralling pair mastering complex and rhythmic harmonies as well as visceral emotions with zeal and intensity. In one of the production’s lighter moments and next to normal contains as much humor as it does drama, Pires Jr. nails the giddy and quick-paced number It’s Gonna Be Good in helpless wonder and perfect harmony with the rest of the cast.
Cortlandt Barrett’s impressive vocals expel a painful cadence as the struggling, often neglected and perfectionist daughter, Natalie. Barrett and Marcelle share their frames of mind in Wish I Were Here and with the cast in an absorbing Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling. Barrett also shares warm chemistry with Dashawn McClinton as persistent and earnest Henry who is instantly lovable in an intriguing rendition of Perfect for You. Diego Cintrón is lively and memorable, especially in an eerie rendition of There’s a World and with Marcelle and Barrett for a poignant and revealing rendition of Superboy and the Invisible Girl.
Next to Normal has a few bombshell revelations and the production not only paints an authentic and educational picture of mental illness, but love’s carefree but oftentimes arduous journey with humor, heart and hope. Mental illness makes it difficult to escape from inside one’s head so it shuts people out. As the daughter of a person with depression, it was eye-opening to see a reflection of these challenges within the family and to witness someone so well loved struggling for the strength to see beyond the pain and find the other side.
Astutely directed and symbolically choreographed by Pascale Florestal with excellent musical direction by Katie Bickford, Central Square Theater co-produced by Front Porch Arts Collective continues the multiple Tony Award-winning rock musical, next to normal live and in person at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts through Sunday, June 30. This fascinating production contains adult themes and is approximately two hours and 20 minutes with one intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
A Strange Loop’ is quite the existential crisis in one serious brainstorm.
Usher dreams of becoming a musical theatre writer. In hopes of brighter prospects, Usher works as an usher on Broadway for Disney’s The Lion King musical but feels stuck. Stuck in a pattern and flooded with self loathing and self defeatist thoughts over the pressure to be brilliant and accepted, Usher needs to overcome a great deal in order to create something great.
With Maurice Emmanuel Parent’s versatile direction and David Freeman Coleman’s complex music direction with expeditious choreography by Taavon Gamble, SpeakEasy Stage Company in co-production with Front Porch Arts Collective continues Michael R. Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winning dark musical comedy satire A Strange Loop though Saturday, May 25 live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts. This unique and multifaceted production has explicit language, adult themes, and runs 100 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
To say this production is multi-layered is an understatement. It focuses on a queer black writer writing a musical about a queer black writer writing a musical about a queer black writer. Usher, in a vivid, poignant and moving portrayal sung beautifully by Kai Clifton, is not only dealing with writer’s block but is overwhelmed by unpredictable, wild, unhinged, uninhibited, and punishing thoughts and it doesn’t take long to realize how brutal and undeserving these thoughts are for Usher’s wellbeing. Kai Clifton’s Usher is reserved, shy, and nonconfrontational on the outside, but suffers from inner turmoil and loneliness. Usher’s perspective of reality is a landscape of discouragement and the desire to be someone else, but also the desire to be free to be accepted for who Usher really is.
These frenzied thoughts, composed of Grant Evan, Davron S. Monroe, Jonathan Melo, Aaron Michael Ray, De’Lon Grant, and Zion Middleton, are compartmentalized cleverly into black stage lit cubes by John Savage and lighting designer Brian J. Lillienthal which act as a compelling metaphor for one’s tendency to compartmentalize inner thoughts and feelings. With powerful vocals and animated velocity, these actors master the gravity of quick changes in mood, personality, and roles seamlessly and with precision.
Some of the individual thoughts pop into multiple roles in Usher’s perception of reality as well. In the comically guilt-ridden number, We Wanna Know, the cast wears identical housedresses and represents Usher’s pushy, religious and gossipy mother in various ways. Clifton lets loose with Inner White Girl before taking a darker turn with the evasive yet telling Didn’t Want Nothing reflecting Usher’s strained relationship with Usher’s father.
The loops in this production are not restricted to Usher’s thoughts but exist in circular conversations with parents, critics and others that have their own ideas of what Usher should write about and what they are comfortable with and if this production is being done right, the audience is anything but comfortable. It also explores the psychological and frustrating journey of a writer and the pressure to write what is popular or safe rather than writing from the heart. The notably well staged and satirical numbers Tyler Perry Writes Real Life and Writing a Gospel Play are both powerful, humorous and delve into some of these themes.
A Strange Loop runs the gamut of raw emotions including fear and painful regret in the conflicted and sympathetic number Boundaries, gripping Memory Song, and the stirring title track. It is humorous, but is also a harsh, shocking and challenging production. Michael R. Jackson has noted that this Pulitzer prize-winning production is fiction, but perhaps emotionally autobiographical in its musical theatre style collection of original, evocative, and thought provoking songs that drives the show to its striking conclusion.
With Maurice Emmanuel Parent’s versatile direction and David Freeman Coleman’s complex music direction with expeditious choreography by Taavon Gamble, SpeakEasy Stage Company in co-production with Front Porch Arts Collective continues Michael R. Jackson’s dark musical comedy satire A Strange Loop though Saturday, May 25 live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts. This distinctive and multifaceted production has explicit language, adult themes, and runs 100 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Whether in a kingdom or a small town, rumors still fly.
However, at this small town barbeque and with the audience as small town witnesses, Juicy has to overcome more than a Fat Ham to make things right within his wild and dysfunctional family.
Based partially on Shakespeare’s classic production Hamlet and conscientiously directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, the Huntington Theatre in association with Alliance Theatre and Front Porch Arts Collective presents James IJames’s semi-interactive dramedy Fat Ham through Sunday, October 29 live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, MA. This Pulitzer prize-winning show is 90 minutes with no intermission and contains mature themes and strong language. Click here for more information and tickets.
What is refreshing about this contemporary iteration of Hamlet is not only is it much more of a comedy than a tragedy, but it also roots itself far more into the family dynamic than even Shakespeare portrayed. Watching Hamlet, one assumes that the king and his son had a traditional and loving father-son relationship. What if it everything was far more complicated? What if the father is not the model dad that a child grows to admire? Fat Ham bears a resemblance to the classic production in key plot points, but then flips the script and transitions into its own entity that delves into the cycle of intergenerational trauma swinging from ruthless, creepy and suspenseful to not taking itself too seriously.
Rather than Hamlet standing for Juicy, the metaphorical star of this production is just what one roasts during a barbecue, a fat pig as a grill takes center stage. However, there is a struggle of who is king of this house as Juicy’s father has just died and Juicy’s uncle suspiciously soon after marries Juicy’s mom, Tedra.
Fat Ham is humorously set in ‘Virginia or Maryland or Tennessee’ and in a small town where gossip travels fast. Luciana Stecconi’s working class set design boasts tiny, multi-functional and mood setting white lights that adorn a large tree on a dilapidated back porch strewn with arbitrary clothes hanging on a disheveled clothesline. Baby shower balloons, a tire swing, grill and a fire pit surround a half decorated picnic table and chairs. Costume designer Celeste Jennings leans on frenetic colors and patterns to accentuate the essence of each character. Aubrey Dube’s rich sound design, Xiangfu Xiao’s sharp lighting, and Evan Northrup’s amazing illusion design all team up to illustrate some startling, eerie, foreboding, and pivotal revelations.
In some key ways, Fat Ham’s cast improves on the Shakespeare’s classic play and Ijames diligently exposes the hypocrisy of each character. The casting is also particularly astute as Juicy, depicted with timid and burdened inquisitiveness by Marshall W. Mabry IV and Lau’rie Roach portrays lively and wisecracking cousin Tio who buries insightfulness in raunchy humor. Ebony Marshall-Oliver as self centered Tedra still shares a nurturing and sympathetic rapport with Mabry while flaunting spicy swagger with Vincent Ernest Siders as Rev/Pap. A particular scene in which Marshall-Oliver and Mabry both shine is a dynamic musical interlude that shows off their individual charisma and prowess.
Vincent Ernest Siders stepped in as Rev/Pap and punctuates his performance with a domineering sneer as well as savage and manipulative taunting. Victoria Omoregie as Opal and Thomika Marie Bridwell as Rabby deliver a relatable and hilarious mother-daughter relationship while Amar Atkins bears his own burdens as Opal’s seemingly straight laced brother Larry.
Sometimes it takes something big for life to change. Fat Ham explores overcoming betrayal and one’s supposed lot in life against all odds to forge a new path in a crazy world.
Based partially on Shakespeare’s classic production Hamlet and conscientiously directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, the Huntington Theatre in association with Alliance Theatre and Front Porch Arts Collective presents James IJames’s semi-interactive dramedy Fat Ham through Sunday, October 29 live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, MA. This Pulitzer prize-winning show is 90 minutes with no intermission and contains mature themes and strong language. Click here for more information and tickets.
‘Family is a loaded word.’
Spoken by one of the characters in Chicken and Biscuits by Douglas Lyons, this statement perfectly encompasses the essence of this spirited family dramedy. The holidays tend to bring out family dysfunction in rare form and Front Porch Arts Collective has it covered with Chicken and Biscuits delivered just in time for the holidays on December 9.
Judgment is passed at every angle and tensions run high as one family must reunite for a funeral honoring the family patriarch. As Jacqui Parker as Baneatta’s opening scene suggests, the power of prayer may be the only way for this family to get through this complicated day.
Hosted by Suffolk University, Front Porch Arts Collective ventured into their first solo show in residence with The Huntington with Chicken and Biscuits at the Modern Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through January 8. Directed reflectively by Lyndsay Allyn Cox, Chicken and Biscuits is one hour and 45 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Everyone is part of the congregation in Modern Theatre’s modest sized theatre without a bad seat in the house. Set inside a sunlit church in Connecticut, one of the beautiful highlights of Erik D. Diaz’s transformative set design include the tree lined and then colorful stained glass windows with authentic hanging sanctuary lamps. Anna Drummond’s dynamic sound design lent to the heart and humor of the production while M. Berry’s exceptional lighting varied from somber to uplifting and every mood in between as revelations unfold. With fine details by Earon Chew Neasley, Zoe Sundra’s striking costumes which includes dignified hats varying from elegant to over the top, embellish each character’s distinct personalities. Prop master Lauren Corcuera’s intricate details completed the hospitable atmosphere, especially those homestyle chicken and biscuits.
Though this production delves into grief and family dysfunction, it also delivers a wealth of high spirited comedy and stirring moments from a cast of vibrant characters. It does not take long to grasp that Father and Grandfather Bernard Jenkins was the glue that held this family together. His loss has touched each family member in a unique way while a few of the family members have their own unique ideas on how to celebrate his life.
Filled with quiet consternation, Jacqui Parker portrays compelling Baneatta who is just barely holding it together as she and her optimistic and charismatic husband Robert Cornelius as Reverend Reginald Mabry prepare to attend the service. Baneatta has a unique effect on each family member and Parker carries that aura with a certain gravitas. Though she and her husband appear to be opposites, Cornelius and Parker are impressive as a longtime married couple comfortable with each other’s idiosyncrasies. Cornelius has a natural charisma and delivers a particularly noteworthy and powerful performance as easygoing Reginald, especially as he addresses the congregation with a rousing sermon.
From her razor red fingernails to her curve hugging blue dress, Thomika Bridwell depicts outrageous and outspoken hairstylist Beverly Jenkins with Lorraine Kanyike as La’Trice Franklin, Beverly’s smirking aspiring rapper daughter, not far behind. Bridwell and Kanyike’s snappy comedic dialogue and chemistry make for some ludicrous and entertaining moments as they proudly march to the sound of their very own drummer. Fiercely protective and flirtatious, Beverly’s scene stealing personality is a force to be reckoned with while Kanyike, in a pleather vest and revealing pants, exudes La’trice’s confident, attention seeking demeanor which also contains a grain of insightful teenage wisdom.
Mishka Yarovoy delivers an empathetic and endearing performance as Logan, who longs for as little as the family getting his name right and Adrian Peguero as conflicted Kenny mourns a grandfather who understood him best. However, Sabrina Lynne Sawyer stands out in a stellar performance as serious, distinguished, and multi-faceted Simone who struggles and strives for perfection.
Anxiety, gossip, bickering, and a few surprises are inevitable at most family gatherings whether it is on a holiday, a family reunion, or even at a family funeral. Chicken and Biscuits, named after Bernard’s favorite meal, can also provide comfort, grace, and love as long as everyone can sit together, take a breath, and listen.
Hosted by Suffolk University, Front Porch Arts Collective ventured into their first solo show in residence with The Huntington with Chicken and Biscuits at the Modern Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts through January 8. Click here for more information and for tickets.
The setting could be anywhere. However, that feeling of impending doom cannot be shaken as SpeakEasy Stage Company and Front Porch Arts Collective presents the twist-filled, semi-interactive, and award-winning Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu continuing through Sunday, February 2 at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts. This show is not appropriate for young children for explicit language and adult themes. Pass Over is an hour and a half with no intermission. Click here for more information and tickets.
Directed cleverly by Monica White Ndounou, Pass Over is part absurdist drama that tackles a number of social issues including racism and police brutality and weaves them together into a culturally meaningful narrative. Its theatre-in-the-round and semi-interactive setting helps pull the audience into the drama and never lets go.
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Hubens “Bobby” Cius and Kadahj Bennett in SpeakEasy Stage’s production of ‘Pass Over’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios
This suspenseful tale comes with simple staging by Baron E. Pugh and Wooden Kiwi Productions with only a nondescript lamp post and chain link fencing. Anything more than that would be distracting. Costume designer Chelsea Kerl keeps Kitch and Moses local with Red Sox caps and Celtics gear.
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Hubens “Bobby” Cius and Kadahj Bennett in SpeakEasy Stage’s production of ‘Pass Over’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios
Lewis D. Wheeler’s over-the-top performance enhances the palpable tension in this production. As Mister, he plays an intricate part and takes on more than one role in this thought provoking tale. In a beige suit and panama hat while carrying a wicker basket, Mister’s back story faintly resembles little red riding hood as he creates an impossible situation.
Lewis D. Wheeler in SpeakEasy Stage’s ‘Pass Over’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios
Without being preachy, Pass Over delivers a powerful message while exploring some of the darker, hypocritical sides of human nature and treats its serious themes with sensitivity.
SpeakEasy Stage Company and the Front Porch Arts Collective present Pass Over through Sunday, February 2 at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in the South End of Boston, Massachusetts. Click here for more information and tickets and here to learn more about the Front Porch Arts Collective. The Children and Bright Star still coming up as part of SpeakEasy Stage Company’s 2020 season.
‘The Three Musketeers‘ stands the test of time for a reason. Full of swashbuckling adventure, revenge, humor, and romance, ‘The Three Musketeers’ has a universal appeal, a historical tale of three not-so-flawless defenders of the crown in dangerous 17th century Paris, a time where an ambush could take place at any moment.
Many different versions of this classic tale have taken over the stage and screen over the years and that is no surprise. It’s a pliable tale with lots of room for creativity.
The Greater Boston Stage Company, in collaboration with The Front Porch Arts Collective, creates a re-imagined adaptation for their final production of the season. This time, from fights to music to storyline to breaking the fourth wall, ‘The Three Musketeers’ weaves in the classic with the contemporary presenting a new twist of how this story could have played out.
Adapted by Catherine Bush from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, Greater Boston Stage Company continues ‘The Three Musketeers’ through Sunday, June 30 in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Click here for more information and tickets. Click here for more on the Front Porch Arts Collective.
The Three Musketeers cast Photo courtesy of Greater Boston Stage Company
The last time the Sleepless Critic reviewed a show featuring the Front Porch Arts Collective, it was in collaboration with the Lyric Stage Company for the critically-acclaimed musical, ‘Breath and Imagination’ back in December. It was a brilliant, dramatic piece with an incomparable performance by Davron S. Monroe as opera great Roland Hayes.
The Front Porch Arts Collective shows its lighter side with ‘The Three Musketeers.’ Though Alexandre Dumas’s novel can be a heavy read, the films and stage productions have always been an exciting romp with some adaptations better than others. The Greater Boston Stage Company weaves together a wealth of elements, including stylized action sequences, a good dose of humor, eclectic, bolder costumes, and creative casting, but stays pretty faithful to the classic storyline otherwise.
‘The Three Musketeers’ follows Marc Pierre as a fresh-faced country boy named D’Artagnan who wishes to offer his services to the disheveled, world-weary Musketeers. Pierre portrays D’Artagnan with a love struck charm, wide-eyed wonder, and transparency. He’s an easy character to root for.
Teaching the ropes. Tonasia Jones as Madame de Treville and Marc Pierre as D’Artagnan Photo courtesy of Greater Boston Stage Company
Instead of women as primarily damsels in distress, some of the damsels are the Musketeers themselves. Paige Clark as Aremis and Lyndsey Allen Cox as Athos prove they are more than up to the challenge, showing prowess and agility in their perspective roles. Cox as witty and sardonic Athos has some great lines in this show and one of the most memorable is “Love is a lottery whose prize is death.” Along with James Richardo Milord, who gives gravitas to goofy, selfish, but well-meaning Porthos, this trio has good chemistry as they embark on new adventures.
Maurice Emmanuel Parent as Cardinal Richelieu Photo courtesy of Greater Boston Stage Company
The humor is there, especially from Maurice Emmanuel Parent, the Executive Director of Front Porch Arts Collective, as dastardly Cardinal Richelieu. From his raised, mischievous eyebrow to his magnificent, resonating laugh as he occasionally lets the audience in on an elusive inside joke, he steals the show. Tonesia Jones also gives a charismatic and commanding performance as Madame de Treville. Her interaction with the Musketeers lands with drive and heart.
Margaret Clark is a spellbinding spitfire as M’Lady while J.T. Turner, wearing an eye patch, portrays shrewd and creepy Rocheford as he lurks in the shadows.
What also stands out in this production is the exciting action and stellar fight scenes, led by fight director Angie Jepson. From barrooms to the king’s court, the battles are fought valiantly with a good dose of comedy and high jinks. This show takes a lot of modern liberties in a good fight and takes a more serious turn in the second half, so like a Musketeer, be prepared for anything.
Adapted by Catherine Bush from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, Greater Boston Stage Company, in collaboration with The Front Porch Arts Collective, continues ‘The Three Musketeers’ through Sunday, June 30 at 395 Main Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Click here for more information and tickets and here for a closer look at Front Porch Arts Collective.
It often takes a village to become great. In Daniel Beaty’s Breath and Imagination: The Story of Roland Hayes, lyric tenor and composer Roland Hayes embarks on a tremendous journey from a shy, sulky church boy to the trials and sacrifices that were made in order for him to become an established singer. He was often plagued by insecurity and faced backlash in many forms, but the heart of this piece lies in the ones who believed in him even when he wasn’t sure how to proceed, ultimately proving, as the production proclaims, “pain and promise make you great.”
Co-produced by Front Porch Arts Collective, directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent, and musically directed by Asher Denburg, Lyric Stage Company proudly presents this interactive, uplifting musical helmed by a stellar cast, Daniel Beaty’s Breath and Imagination: The Story of Roland Hayes continuing through Sunday, December 23 at 140 Clarendon Street in Boston, Massachusetts. This is a 90-minute musical with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Music Director Asher Denburg and Davron S. Monroe Photo courtesy of Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Packed with impressive performances, Breath and Imagination is an important musical, especially fitting for Boston since Roland Hayes is the first soloist of color to perform at Symphony Hall. Accompanied by a grand piano sitting in front of an illuminated, sliding paneled backdrop, this interactive, concert musical draws the audience into the performance with its small and mighty cast.
If I thought Davron S. Monroe was terrific in Lyric Stage’s Kiss of the Spider Woman or on the Company Theatre stage in the powerful musical, Ragtime, nothing could quite prepare me for the magnificent performance he delivers as lyric tenor and composer Roland Hayes. Not only does Monroe beautifully depict Roland Hayes’s journey as he matures from a humble childhood in a wool cap to adulthood in bow tie and tails, he also shows Hayes’s progressive vocal maturity, his powerhouse vocals rising to new, complicated heights as he masters everything from spiritual hymns to internationally-renowned classical works.
Guiding him on this audacious journey is his no nonsense, strict, and faith-filled mother, Angel Mo’, portrayed by Yewande Odetoyinbo in a captivating performance that makes it easy to see where Roland Hayes gets his inspired vocal chops. Odetoyinbo as Angel Mo’ is fierce yet humble, a quick witted woman in a shawl who shows Hayes what is truly important in life and song. She reflects the pain of her past and the weight of the immense obstacles in front of her, but consistently holds her own with faith and love.
Davron S. Monroe as Roland Hayes, Yewande Odetoyinbo as Angel Mo.’ and Nile Scott Hawver Photo courtesy of Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Odetoyinbo and Monroe teamed up earlier this year in Lyric Stage’s spring musical, The Wiz and their sweet chemistry make it no surprise they are collaborating again. Much of this musical tackles the highs and lows of their relationship as he makes his way into the world.
Rounding out this stellar cast is Doug Gerber as Mr. Calhoun and Nile Scott Hawver, who portrays multiple roles seamlessly from a preacher to a teacher, his enthusiasm makes way for some exciting, touching, and humorous moments.
Asher Denburg, Doug Gerber, Nile Scott Hawver, Davron S. Monroe and Yewande Odetoyinbo Photo courtesy of Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Enjoy the Lyric Stage Company and The Front Porch Arts Collective’s compelling musical, Breath and Imagination: The Story of Roland Hayes at 140 Clarendon Street in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, December 23. Click here for more information and tickets. Follow The Lyric Stage on Twitter and Facebook for their upcoming productions and more.