Speakeasy Stage Company

REVIEW:  Going to extremes in SpeakEasy Stage’s somber ‘Job’

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Talk about the dark web.

A woman on the edge and a man is barely keeping it together…at gunpoint.

Such is the opening of SpeakEasy Stage’s intense thriller Job, a two hander production that is at times, a nail biter and other times, a deep dive into a woman’s unfiltered thoughts, observations and teetering panic with a startling twist that holds a grievous and agonizing truth. 

Directed with raw candor by Marianna Bassham, SpeakEasy Stage continues its 35th season with Max Wolf Friedlich’s searing psychological thriller, Job through Saturday, February 7 live and in person at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts.  This fast paced production contains strong language and adult themes running approximately 80 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

From left: Josephine Moshiri Elwood and Dennis Trainor Jr. Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

Set in downtown San Francisco in 2020, set designer Payton Tavares with Amanda E. Fallon’s moody lighting depicts a warmly lit and detailed therapist’s office in muted colors that features a leather couch, desk, several paintings and few family photos.  Intense, hollow and at times creepily deafening, Lee Schuna’s carefully orchestrated sound design signals several significant moments during the production.

Job is not unfamiliar territory for director Marianna Bassham who starred in her Elliot Norton award-winning and indelible portrayal as Nina in SpeakEasy Stage’s People, Places and Things in 2022.  While People, Places, and Things dives into the deep chasm of an addict, Job takes a different approach to trauma and addiction in Jane in a visceral performance by Josephine Moshiri Elwood.  Having recently performed as idyllic Emily in Lyric Stage’s Our Town, Elwood shows her broad range depicting a deeply wounded, distressed, controlling and flawed individual wearing haphazard loungewear with a colossal chip on her shoulder.  Jane condescends, snipes, is obstinate and shows narcissistic tendencies, but the why of it all will soon rise to the surface while Dennis Trainor Jr. skillfully portrays an alarmed yet seemingly mild mannered therapist Loyd who does what he can to temper this unpredictable situation. 

Josephine Moshiri Elwood Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

Elwood and Trainor Jr. hint at a battle of wits rapport and both are guarded in their own way which only allows glimpses into their true nature.  It is fascinating to see how the conversation shifts as they learn more about one another.

From left: Dennis Trainor Jr. and Josephine Moshiri Elwood Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

Job kicks off at an eleven and keeps its dialogue crisp. Much of this swiftly moving production tackles the nature of panic and anxiety and spans a number of scenarios real and imagined.  It also takes a raw look at the dangers and the dark crevices of the digital age.  It is a powerful production, but its potent content while gripping, may not appeal to everyone.  It was a lot for me and could possibly conjure up some complex feelings for you as well.   The production delivers pop culture references, politics, and contemporary issues while striving at lighter hearted moments in its occasional dark and dry humor, but the escalating situation may not leave much room for laughter.

From left: Josephine Moshiri Elwood and Dennis Trainor Jr. Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography

SpeakEasy Stage continues its 35th season with Max Wolf Friedlich’s tense psychological thriller, Job through Saturday, February 7 live and in person at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

Sleepless Critic’s Top Ten Performances 2025

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Of the performances the Sleepless Critic has reviewed, here are the Top Ten favorite Performances:

The National Touring Company of PARADE, photo by Joan Marcus
Members of the Passengers company in performance. Credit: Grace Gershenfeld
David Castillo as Kenneth in SpeakEasy Stage’s ‘Primary Trust’ Photo by Benjamin Rose Photography
Jade A Guerra and Patrice Jean-Baptiste in Central Square and Front Porch Arts ‘s Collective ‘Her Portmanteau’ Photo by Maggie Hall Photography

REVIEW:  A lively cast highlights SpeakEasy Stage Company’s ‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’

It is a popular expression that will hold profound meaning to a group of designers in Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.

Today is a special day in this Harlem salon.  The store owner, Jaja is getting married and before MaConnia Chesser as charismatic and outspoken Jaja makes her grand entrance, this salon buzzes with excitement, commotion, confiding, gossip, venting and conflict as steamy July temperatures show no sign of cooling off and the air conditioner hits a snag.

From left: Dru Sky Berrian, MarHadoo Effeh, Kwezi Shongwe, and Crystin Gilmore Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Directed with pizzazz by Summer L. Williams, SpeakEasy Stage Company continues Jocelyn Bioh’s dramedy Jaja’s African Hair Braiding through Saturday, May 31 at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts.  This production is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

Set in 2019, behind these vividly painted graffiti double doors emblazed with ‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding’ holds an impressive salon by Janie E. Howland featuring an array of identical salon chairs and overhead lights and includes meticulous details such as hazy steam fogging the mirrors, torn posters, and litter collecting out the doors.       

While Jaja makes her big plans, this group of West African immigrant designers are holding down the salon and making plans of their own.  Dru Sky Berrian makes a captivating entrance as Jaja’s anxious and cheerful daughter Maria who comically vents about already having a day of all days before the shop even opens.  Maria helps out at the salon and although Jaja envisions Maria’s life in a lucrative profession, Maria has set her sights on other dreams.  Well intentioned and earnest, sympathetic Berrian is the heart of the show.

From left: Dru Sky Berrian and MaConnia Chesser Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Crystin Gilmore portrays veteran designer Bea who has an ax to grind, particularly with younger designer, Ndidi, portrayed by Catia, who is there temporarily because the shop that Ndidi worked at burned down.  Bea is appalled and claims Ndidi is stealing her customers. Catia is cool and collected as Ndidi who relishes this opportunity to grow her business.  Gilmore’s Bea is glamorous, feisty, candid and frank as she shares the know-it-all vision she had of running this salon…if her plans had not gone awry. 

From left: (foreground) Crystin Gilmore, Dru Sky Berrian, and Catia. (Background) MarHadoo Effeh, Hampton Richards and Kwezi Shongwe Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Customers and designers alike confide their stories and struggles as hair braiding is quite an extensive process handled expertly under Williams’ meticulous direction.  This animated group holds compelling conversations, support each other, dance joyously, share juicy gossip, fight over the television remote and quietly tolerate what it is to be in customer service. 

From left: Catia and Yasmeen Duncan Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Ashley Aldarondo and Yasmeen Duncan champion multiple roles as customers, each distinctive and range from delightfully gleeful to intolerably fussy as designers force a smile across their lips and a poker face in numerous relatable scenarios.  It was particularly wonderful to watch Duncan pose and twirl teasingly in the mirror with her new Beyonce braids.  Joshua Olumide encapsulates various roles from diligent socks salesman to turning up the charm as a promising love interest and a philandering husband.

From left: MarHadoo Effeh and Hampton Richards Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Vivid pinks, oranges and greens are only a fraction of costumer Danielle Domingue Sumi’s bold tones and stylish African patterns lending to each character’s vibrant personalities.  Although these characters shine as individuals, the most fascinating moments come from their collective reactions from playful and horrified looks to synchronized cheers as this important day unfolds.

The cast of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding has its share of twists and turns, tackling societal and community issues including up to date matters of immigration.  However, is also hopeful production that demonstrates the tight bond among this lively cast offering unwavering support, especially in the face of immense challenges.

SpeakEasy Stage Company continues Jocelyn Bioh’s Jaja’s African Hair Braiding through Saturday, May 31 at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts.  This production is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: SpeakEasy Stage Company and Front Porch Arts Collective’s introspective ‘A Strange Loop’ clever from the start

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

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.

Kai Clifton (center) and the company of A STRANGE LOOP. Photo by Maggie Hall Photography

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.

Kai Clifton (center) and the company of A STRANGE LOOP. Photo by Maggie Hall Photography

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 company of A STRANGE LOOP. Photo by Maggie Hall Photography

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. 

Kai Clifton (center) and the company of A STRANGE LOOP. Photo by Maggie Hall Photography

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.

REVIEW:  The risk of depending on one another in SpeakEasy Stage Company’s tender ‘Cost of Living’

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

‘It’s just unfortunate that some people have already lived a lot of life before they meet other people.’

This introspective observance is one of several pearls of wisdom from Martyna Majok’s insightful and perceptive script focusing on four struggling individuals in two parallel and intersecting stories as SpeakEasy Stage presents Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Cost of Living live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, March 30.  Sensitively directed by Alex Lonati, this thought provoking production contains strong language, adult themes, and runs 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

Scenic director Janie E Howland’s muted colored set includes blocks of windows stacked in various sizes as shadows of individuals glow in pastel illumination by lighting designer Amanda E. Fallon.  We are the observers of these two pairs of individuals and Fallon infuses subtle and colorful lighting on Howland’s muted colored set seemingly to illustrate not only the other tenants in the building, but the art of observing. 

Lewis D. Wheeler as Eddie in ‘Cost of Living’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Cost of Living focuses on the journey of living itself including the kindnesses and the sufferings people can endure externally and internally.  These four individuals have been through different degrees of hardship and find themselves having to depend upon one another for some relief as they each attempt to make a new start in life.  With easygoing demeanor and insightful charm, Lewis D. Wheeler is mesmerizing as a recovering alcoholic and unemployed truck driver Eddie.  Wheeler’s engaging opening and personable monologue pulls the audience into his consuming thoughts and complicated heartache.  Tough talking yet with penetrating vulnerability, Stephanie Gould movingly depicts Eddie’s estranged wife Ani who suffers from a shattered spinal cord as a result of a devastating accident.  Both lonely individuals in North Jersey, Gould’s dark wit with a dash of satirical humor as Ani blends intriguingly well with Eddie’s ease and their sporadically humorous banter and relatable conversations sharing their innermost thoughts, dreams, hopes, and fears reflect the nature of their longevity together.  Their tense familiarity is apparent even in their physical interactions.  As Anna Drummond’s adsorbing sound design delivers Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie in the background, this familiarity is exemplified in a rush of emotions as Eddie and Ani discuss the therapeutic power of music. 

Gina Fonseca as candid yet secretive Princeton graduate and immigrant Jess struggles to make ends meet in Brooklyn, NY and is being considered to care for Sean Leviashvilli as steadfast, cautious, and wealthy graduate student John who has cerebral palsy.  John needs someone who as he states ‘will keep me handsome’ such as shower and shave him daily.  Jess is driven and insistent that she is the person for the job, but John is hesitant because he has had other caretakers who have not worked out.  Fonseca as Jess and Leviashvilli as John share a chatty and awkward tension as they discover nuances about each other and at times strike up endearing camaraderie.

Stephanie Gould as Ani and Lewis D. Wheeler as Eddie in ‘Cost of Living’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Martya Majok’s Cost of Living not only explores surviving financially, but the risk and agony of putting trust in another person.  This show tackles some difficult and heartrending topics with a resonating message delivered with eloquence, humor and sincerity as unpredictable as life itself. 

SpeakEasy Stage Company presents Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Cost of Living live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts through March 30.   Sensitively directed by Alex Lonati, this thought provoking production is 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW:  Fueled by a mesmerizing soundtrack, witness The Huntington and SpeakEasy Stage Company’s quietly stirring ‘The Band’s Visit’

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Imagine longing for a phone call from a loved one or the act of just mustering up enough courage to speak to a girl.  Imagine welcoming a group of strangers to your table and into your private home for the night because they are in need of a place to stay.  Think about that kind of selflessness and hospitality freely given without a second thought.  These seemingly small acts of kindness make a big impact in The Band’s Visit.

Cast of The Band’s Visit; Photo by T Charles Erickson

Directed warmly by Paul Daigneault with mesmerizing music direction by Jose Delgado, The Huntington with SpeakEasy Stage Company presents The Band’s Visit by Itamar Moses through December 17.  The show is 90 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

The Band’s Visit made its Broadway debut in 2017 with Tony Shaloub as Tewfiq and went on to win multiple Tony Awards.  Much of this acclaimed show hinges on its eclectic and spellbinding music soundtrack which ties the band and the locals together, particularly essential when they are feeling misunderstood.  This multi-talented onstage band certainly can jam especially for the numbers Soraya and Haj-Butras and receives some additional hidden accompaniment which is delightedly revealed in an unexpected way.

Cast of The Band’s Visit; Photo by T Charles Erickson

Set in 1996 in a small Israeli town located in the middle of the Negrev Desert where nothing unusual ever seems to happen, the townsfolk are dazzled by a traveling and stranded Egyptian band wearing distinguished powder blue uniforms by Miranda Kau Giurleu.  The Band’s Visit is an unconventional and unassuming musical that quietly and most assuredly will open hearts and minds to the little things in life that are sometimes overlooked.

The Band’s Visit unveils heartache and hope in such a remote land that the locals may sometimes feel forgotten.  Many aspects of Jimmy Stubbs and Wilson Chin’s nostalgic scenic design fondly rewinds the clock using iconic pieces of nostalgia while also evoking the isolated nature of the town which includes a towering lamp post, a phone booth richly and authentically detailed with fingerprints and grime on its plastic cover, and a deserted blue street with yellow stripes.  One of the most memorable scenes recreates a retro roller skating rink equipped with multicolored lights, disco ball and DJ. 

Jennifer Apple, Brian Thomas Abraham; Photo by T Charles Erickson

This production delivers many surprises and this intriguing cast is no exception.  Brian Thomas Abraham wonderfully portrays modest orchestra leader Tewfiq.  Abraham’s reserved Tewfiq expresses his art with charisma, but offstage, he is a man of few words.  Guarded and mysterious, Abraham shares fascinating chemistry with Jennifer Apple, a natural as feisty divorcee Dina especially for the beguiling numbers Omar Sharif and Something Different.  Stunning in a gorgeous red flowing burgundy frock, Apple captures Dina’s resilience and yearning for happiness beyond what this small town can offer but something is holding her back.  Apple’s bright smile and intensity is particularly notable in a scene stealing incident slicing watermelon in It is What it Is.

Marianna Bassham, Andrew Mayer, Robert Saoud, James Rana, Jared Troilo; Photo by T Charles Erickson

Mariana Bassham, who has a history of impactful roles including a starring role in SpeakEasy Stage’s People Places and Things from 2022, is impressive alongside Jared Troilo as Iris, Itzik’s long suffering and resentful wife.  Even in an uplifting scene involving household instruments, Bassham’s vacant expression and fatigue is the picture of indifference and discontented heartache as she stares into the abyss of a life unfulfilled.  Troilo’s Itzik is warm and helplessly optimistic despite his family’s circumstances.  Troilo has a powerful voice which is understated for this particular performance for a quietly tender Itzik’s Lullaby. 

Noah Kieserman, Mac Ritchey, Jared Troilo; Photo by T Charles Erickson

The Band’s Visit also offers a mix of lighthearted comedic moments.   Jesse Garlick shines as awkward and bewildered Papi for the zany number Papi Hears the Ocean as Josephine Moshiri Elwood as self effacing Julia looks on.  Kareem Elsamadicy is much more than meets the eye as Haled in the smooth and lovely rendition of Haled’s Song about Love.  Emily Qualmann as Anna and Fady Demian as Zelgar make an entertaining pair of partiers and Noah Kieserman delivers gorgeous vocals with the cast for the enthralling number, Answer Me.

Cast of The Band’s Visit; Photo by T Charles Erickson

Directed warmly by Paul Daigneault with mesmerizing music direction by Jose Delgado, The Huntington with SpeakEasy Stage presents The Band’s Visit by Itamar Moses through December 17.  The show is 90 minutes with no intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: Embrace SpeakEasy Stage Company’s illuminating ‘English’

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Learning a new language brings all kinds of emotions to the surface.   One is swept out of one’s own element and that can be as exciting as it is daunting. It can also become a long and awkward struggle to capture the essence of a new culture while steeped in a new language. Though one is gaining something new, one might also be losing a bit of themselves.

Thoughtfully directed by Melory Mirashrafi, Speakeasy Stage Company continues Sanaz Toossi’s English at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts live and in person through Saturday, November 19.  The performance reviewed was audio described and one hour and 45 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and tickets.

The company of English. From left: Deniz Khateri, Josephine Moshiri Elwood, Lily Gilan James, Zaven Ovian, and Leyla Modirzadeh. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

One of the most fascinating messages in SpeakEasy Stage Company’s English is the realization that one can learn many languages, but can only know one. That one native language is the foundation for all the rest.  In learning to speak a new language, it can reshape what comes naturally.

English delves into the lives of four students living in Iran who are learning the English language for TOEFL, a standardized test that stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. The production is mostly in the English language with no subtitles.  It takes a moment to catch on, but Mirashrafi cleverly depicts when characters are speaking in their native tongue.

Leyla Modirzadeh as Roya in SpeakEasy’s production of English. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

This multi-generational cast has various and deep seated reasons for learning English and this production resonates universal truths of having to learn a new language whether by choice or necessity. English does explore the political climate of learning English in Iran, but what is most memorable are the hardships, victories, competitiveness, and the often flustered frustration of learning a peculiar new facet of life.  Each individual demonstrates a different degree of longing to belong. It is not difficult to relate to this small and dynamic cast in their obstacles, earnestness, but most importantly, in the strength in who they are.  Deniz Khateri depicts complicated Marjan, who seems to firmly place herself in the world of the language she teaches. In a multi-layered performance, Khateri as Marjan is engaging and encouraging, but also firm and mysteriously guarded.  She lends to the show’s tension and subtle humor and has unique chemistry with each student. Lily Gilan James portrays wide-
eyed and optimistic Goli with effervescent candor. She stands on her own mistakes while earnestly articulating the nature of her wishes. 

The company of English. From left: Deniz Khateri, Josephine Moshiri Elwood, Lily Gilan James, Zaven Ovian, and Leyla Modirzadeh. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Leyla Modirzedeh as wise and headstrong Roya is strongly urged to learn English to communicate with new members of her long distance family.  A sympathetic character, Modirzedeh powerfully evokes Roya’s sincerity and her struggle between her heritage and this new way of communicating.   Zaven Ovian depicts Omid with easygoing charm and he shares some compelling scenes with Khateri as Marjan and with witty, outspoken and understandably frustrated Elham, a standout performance by Josephine Moshiri Elwood.  Elham is a complex individual who is as compassionate as she is bold and is often hardest on herself.

Josephine Moshiri Elwood as Elham in SpeakEasy’s production of English. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Nina Vartanian’s culturally sound and vivid costumes pop in Janie E Howland’s realistic classroom staging and enhanced by an elegant, multicolored portrait in teal, orange, red, brown, and beige.   

English is an honest, straightforward, warmly funny, and universally relatable journey of discovering a new language and in all of its difficulties, deciding whether or how to embrace it.  See English and embrace its life lessons. 

Deniz Khateri (left) and Zaven Ovian in SpeakEasy’s production of English. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

SpeakEasy Stage Company presents Sanaz Toossi’s English live and in person at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, MA through Saturday, November 19.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: SpeakEasy Stage Company reveals Adam Rapp’s raw, gripping, and gritty ‘The Sound Inside’

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Two peculiar overachievers meet.  One is a precocious, well-read, well versed and outspoken college student and another a well versed, well-read and well-spoken middle-aged Yale professor.  It is a meeting of the minds as they surprisingly challenge each other when seemingly the only thing that challenges each of them comes in literary form.

Jennifer Rohn in SpeakEasy Stage’s production of ‘The Sound Inside.’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Immediately engaging, shrewdly written, and oftentimes bleak, The Sound Inside is quite capable of rendering the audience speechless.  It is jarring, reflective, and moving and from what is learned about these characters, one cannot help but hope for the well being of these two lost souls.

Directed by Bryn Boice, SpeakEasy Stage Company opened their new season with Adam Rapp’s Tony-nominated play The Sound Inside continuing at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts in Boston through Saturday, October 16.  Presented for the first time in Boston, The Sound Inside contains mature themes and some difficult topics.  It is 90 minutes without an intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

Jennifer Rohn and Nathan Malin in SpeakEasy Stage’s production of ‘The Sound Inside.’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Much of The Sound Inside is about hope.  It’s about looking for hope when the light is dim and the quest for finding hope is rarely a comfortable journey. 

Cristina Todesco’s minimal set does well creating depth and dimension, but does not take away from the primary focus of this character driven study.  Devorah Kengmana’s lighting lends to each character’s loneliness as shadows are created at pivotal moments.

Jennifer Rohn as prominent Yale professor Bella Baird unleashes a no holds barred look into her psyche.  She is an avid reader which seems to help her escape past trauma and the crisis she is currently facing.  Her keen intellect is immediately obvious and she is unfiltered, blatantly unfettered, and undeterred as she shares her life up to this point.  Rohn is as captivating a storyteller as she is in exhibiting Baird’s loneliness.

Jennifer Rohn and Nathan Malin in SpeakEasy Stage’s production of ‘The Sound Inside.’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

Set in the fall in New Haven, Connecticut, Baird has a surprising encounter with Christopher Dunn, portrayed with a mix of arrogance, intuitiveness, and inquisitiveness by Nathan Malin, and they share a distinct, intangible connection.  With similar dry senses of humor, a shared love of the written word, and a mutual social awkwardness, they understand and encourage each other to live life boldly. However, Rapp’s script is full of detours and twists that don’t always land perfectly, but lead to a tense and incalculable ending. Just when the show seems to tow the line, the tables turn.

Jennifer Rohn in SpeakEasy Stage’s production of ‘The Sound Inside.’ Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

SpeakEasy Stage Company presents The Sound Inside at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston through Sunday, October 16.  Click here for more information and tickets.  Click here for upcoming events and more at the SpeakEasy Stage Company.

REVIEW: Led by powerhouse vocals, SpeakEasy Stage Company’s engaging ‘Songs for a New World’ a memorable musical experience

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

We are all hearing soon.  Soon we will be back together in the theatre for a wonderful live theatrical experience.  How it has been missed! 

However convenient it is sitting in front of a computer for a virtual show, there is nothing quite like the anticipation of live theatre in person with an audience in a shared experience.  SpeakEasy Stage Company’s remarkable concert musical benefit show, Songs for a New World, accomplishes quite a bit in its hour and a half runtime.  Through clever cinematography that still adheres to Covid guidelines, SpeakEasy Stage Company recreates the thrill of seeing actors together onstage and it is easy to see each cast member’s excitement through their own extraordinary performances.  We’re not quite there yet, but this is getting ever closer.

‘A New World’ featuring the entire company Video courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

Directed by Paul Daigneault and musically-directed by Jose Delgado, SpeakEasy Stage Company continues their 30th anniversary season with John Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World streaming through June 8.  The show was filmed onstage at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts.  Click here for more information and tickets.  Discount tickets are also available.  Click here for more information on SpeakEasy Stage Company’s recently announced 2021-22 season.

It is difficult to describe the anticipation of seeing SpeakEasy Stage Company’s concert musical benefit, Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World.   The last Jason Robert Brown musical I witnessed was a film adaptation of The Last Five Years.  It was a glorious, resonating tear jerker featuring reliable talents Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick. 

Songs for a New World explores a variety of characters that are faced with the ultimate, sometimes humorous and other times harrowing life-changing decisions and deciding what to do next.  With simple staging and an onstage band conducted by Jose Delgado, Songs for a New World has humor and heartache enhanced by some of Boston’s most recognizable vocal powerhouses.

Rashed Al Nuaimi sings ‘She Cries” Video courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

From the inspiring, tremendous, and relatable opening number, A New World featuring powerful, upbeat harmonies between Dwayne P. Mitchell, Davron S Monroe, Mikayla Myers, Rebekah Rae Robles, Alexander Tan, Victor Carillo Tracey, Laura Marie Duncan and Rached Al Nuaimi, this production proves to be something to behold.  A New World/Time to Fly gives the audience a glimpse into the shared experience of what each character is feeling and the hope their decisions will turn out right.

Songs for a New World is full of powerful performances and each song is as strong as the last, but here are a few highlights.  One standout performance is a tender and stirring rendition of On the Deck of a Spanish Ship, 1492 as Monroe exclaims, “Have Mercy Lord” while the cast embarks on a harrowing, life-changing journey.  Dressed in a long fur coat, Laura Marie Duncan is wildly entertaining as a scorned woman in an extreme situation in Just One Step.  Duncan’s expressive personality and her sheer energy drive this amazing performance. 

‘I’d Give it All for You’ Jennifer Ellis and Dwayne P Mitchell Video courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

Jennifer Ellis performs some vocal gymnastics as Mrs. Claus for Sweabaya Santa, reimagining Santa as an absent, judgmental husband whose love is as fleeting as his sleigh.  Dwayne P Mitchell literally rises from the ashes of his childhood in this boastful, self-assured rendition of The Steam Train.  Ellis and Mitchell have sweet chemistry in a beautiful duet about the complexity of love in I’d Give it All for You.

Rached Al Nuaimi demonstrates zany, emotional turmoil and building frustration in She Cries and Jennifer Ellis delivers a bold and anguished performance in The Flagmaster, 1776.

SpeakEasy Stage Company’s Songs for a New World also boasts an incredible finale not to be missed with Hear My Song.  Glad to add John Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World as another memorable musical experience. 

SpeakEasy Stage Company continues streaming Songs for a New World through June 8. Click here for more information, tickets, and how to support the SpeakEasy Stage Company.

REVIEW: SpeakEasy Stage Company’s ‘TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever’ a striking satire

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

It’s hard to miss the message behind TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever, a bold, semi-interactive satire that takes a deep dive into prominent social issues such as racism and sexual harassment by putting a contemporary spin into troubling pieces of history.  Taking cues from Dear White People, TJ and Sally 4 Ever is anything but a love story and highlights the frustration evident within each of its characters as they attempt to convey their own point of view.

Directed by Pascale Florestal, SpeakEasy Stage Company presents TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever virtually through Thursday, May 13.  The show run 1 hour and 35 minutes without an intermission and is not suitable for children. Viewer discretion is advised.  Click here for more information and tickets.  Resources for this production can also be found on speakeasystage.com and a panel discussion is available here after seeing the production.

Jared Troilo and Tah-Janay Shayone in ‘TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever’ Photo courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

Speakeasy Stage Company’s TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever heeds social distancing guidelines through some careful blocking and innovative technology.  Though a couple of frames look a little awkward, the majority of the show flows naturally.

Sally, portrayed with levelheaded wit by Tah-Janay Shayone, portrays a college student who is starting a job under obnoxious, egotistical, controlling (and much more) Dean Jefferson.  Flailing about with a subversive glint in his eye, Jared Troilo delivers an unabashed, grimly humorous performance as Dean Jefferson.  Dru Sky Berrian as Pam and Sadiyah Dyce Stephens portray Sally’s caring, protective, and partying sorority sisters and Jordan Pearson as blunt and tenacious Harold will do just about anything for change.

Jared Troilo and Jordan Pearson in ‘TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever’ Photo courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

Though this satire at times misses its mark, TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever’s unconventional premise and delivery distinctively portrays Sally and the cast’s exasperation as they bring to light the hypocrisies and arrogance within our society as each try to forge a path toward a brighter future.  Choreographed cleverly by Kira Cowan Troilo, a particular highlight involves a dance sequence between Pearson and Troilo that quite literally drives home the scene’s inherent message.  Rachel Padula-Shufelt’s colorful and detailed costume design from Sally’s symbolic outfit to a scene featuring colonial gowns enhances the production’s strong and serious subject matter.

Left to Right: Dru Sky Berrian, Tah-Janay Shayone and Sadiyah Dyce Stevens in ‘TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever’ Photo courtesy of SpeakEasy Stage Company

The show effectively takes a hard, long look tying in the past, present, and is ultimately optimistic for a compassionate future.  Speakeasy Stage Company’s TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever continues virtually through Thursday, May 13.  Click here for more information, tickets, and how to support the SpeakEasy Stage Company.