“Talking With…,” by Jane Martin, is a well-written, engaging, and fast-paced series of monologues by or about quirky, compelling people. I can’t imagine a better production of it than the one director Holly Erin McCarthy of Theatre Under the Stairs has put together for Cotuit Center for the Arts. It runs through December 16. McCarthy’s … Continue reading »
The cast of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Corrine Minshall, as Grace Bradley, takes a bow, while Kit Palmer (Beth Bradley) and Kristina Thimme (Imogene Herdman) stand in center. The Falmouth Theatre Guild’s production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is charming, heartwarming, and full of holiday spirit. Directed by Lisa Jo Rudy, with music … Continue reading »
“Dear Liar” is the delightful story of the charming and volatile 40-year relationship between playwright George Bernard Shaw and the woman for hom he wrote the role of Eliza Doolittle in “Pygmalian,” an actress who went by the name of Mrs. Patrick (Stella) Campbell, one of the most popular actresses of her day. Campbell was … Continue reading »
At an elegant, ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tennessee, mansion, five women escape the festivities for a moment of calm in the bride’s sister’s bedroom. As the evening progresses, the women get to know each other and find they have more in common than a dislike for the bride—who seems to have everything but … Continue reading »
First of all, “Ava Gardner and the Pizza Boy,” written and directed by Larry Marsland, is only peripherally about Ava Gardner. Those who saw Marsland’s one-man show, “Night Falls on the Emerald City,” in which he channeled Judy Garland might be thinking this show is a similar examination of Ava Gardner’s life. It isn’t. “Ava … Continue reading »
“Frog: A Modern Fairy Tale” is a delightful summer entertainment for the whole family, sure to please both children and adults. Written and directed by Christopher Compton and Holly Erin McCarthy of Theater Under the Stairs, the show’s message is simple: don’t ever lose your childhood sense of imagination, but the delivery is wonderfully complex … Continue reading »
Rob Thorne as Michael and Theresa D. Cedrone as Kitty in “Happy Now?” “Happy Now?” written by Lucinda Coxon and directed by Christy Morris, at the Barnstable Comedy Club through August 26, has many good things going for it. The plot is intriguing—it is about Kitty (played by Theresa D. Cedrone), a quietly frazzled woman … Continue reading »
Come Hear the Music Play! A Review of “Cabaret” In his book on musical theater, which contains a fascinating chapter on “Cabaret,” Scott Miller quotes Walter Kerr’s 1966 New York Times review: “Cabaret,” Kerr wrote, “opens the door to a fresh notion of the bizarre, crackling, harsh and the beguiling uses that can be made … Continue reading »
Turning 60 is no reason to despair, according to “sexygenarian” Melinda Gallant, whose one-woman show, “And Then What Happened? (Or Never Wear Spanx to Fenway Park),” is at Cotuit Center for the Arts’ Black Box Theater through June 24 . “Old is the new new,” she says in her warm and funny guide to life. … Continue reading »
Glenn Wall as Lawrence, Jamie Lynne Stuart as Christine, and Alex Valentine as Freddie in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” at Cotuit Center for the Arts. Photo by Daniel Fontneau. “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” is a must-see for musical comedy lovers, especially for those who appreciate zany humor. At Cotuit Center for the Arts through July 1, it … Continue reading »
