Tag Archives: Theater

Last week The SpeakEasy Stage Company opened with their latest musical, Big Fish.  The title may sound familiar because Tim Burton made a film based on the story that starred Ewan McGregor in 2003.  The SpeakEasy Stage Company musical focuses on the relationship between a father (Edward Bloom) and his son (Will Bloom) which has become strained in recent years.  Both look to make peace with each other after the father’s health declines but will they reconcile in time?

Big Fish March 13 – April 11 – Get Your Tickets Here

The 2.5 hour musical has two acts with an intermission.  While the second act is much more emotional, it was my favorite part of the show and more than a little touching.  The final scenes had both Sergio and I silently groping for the tissues I had in my coat pocket.

Big Fish runs through April 11th at the Calderwood Theater in the South End.  For more information or to purchase tickets click on the link above.

Contemplating what to do this weekend?  Check out Boston’s local theater scene. There are so many great shows and they are a fraction of the cost of the national productions that come on tour to Boston for a few weeks.  Here is a partial list of local theater company productions you may want to check out.

The Big Meal – Zeitgeist Stage Company
BCA Plaza Black Box Theater in Boston’s South End
Buy Tickets Here

Set in a quintessential American restaurant, entire lives whiz by for a modern family whose life and loves are short-order fare. From birth to that inevitable last course a multi-generational potluck of characters live life’s major and minor moments around the dinner table.  Note: The Big Meal closes on Saturday, March 7.

Intimate Apparel – Lyric Stage Company
Lyric Stage Theater on Clarendon Street in Back Bay
Buy Tickets Here

A loving and evocative portrait of Esther, an independent but lonely African American seamstress in early 20^th-century Manhattan who earns a living sewing exquisite lingerie for wealthy socialites uptown, and women of ill repute downtown.  When Esther receives a letter from a stranger who is laboring on the Panama Canal, she begins a long-distance courtship with him, only to discover that he is not all that he seems.  Disillusioned but unbroken, Esther reluctantly returns to her sewing machine to refashion her dreams from the cloth of her life’s experiences.  Note: Intimate Apparel closes on Saturday, March 14.

Grounded – The Nora Theatre Company
Central Square Theater
Buy Tickets Here

A hot-shot fighter pilot’s career in the skies, “alone in the blue,” is ended by an unexpected pregnancy. Reassigned to a windowless trailer in the desert outside Las Vegas, by day, she hunts down terrorists, her face lit by the dull grey glow of a drone’s monitor. At night, she returns to her domestic life with husband and daughter. As she tracks a high-profile target half a world away, the pressure mounts. Note: Grounded closes on Saturday, March 22.

Support Boston’s local theater scene by attending a performance.  These shows are just a sampling of local theater company productions currently underway.

Fri, Feb 6th is The BridgeRep’s NIGHT OUT

The Bridge Repertory Theater of Boston is hosting a very special LGBT NIGHT OUT performance of Fufu & Oreos, a dynamic, one-woman show about a 20-something ‘mulitculti’ as she navigates her American lifestyle, Nigerian heritage and the loaded promise of Prozac.  The performance runs for 90 minutes and is followed by a post-show migration to join up with The Welcoming Committee.

Tickets are available on a Pay What You Can basis with just $5 minimum at the door so there really isn’t any excuse to  miss this show.  Details about the show and tickets are available here.

Gold Dust Orphans perform “Jesus Christ, it’s Christmas” at Ramrod nightclub            December 4-21, 2014

Last week’s Boston Sunday Globe Ideas section had a large editorial piece entitled Arts everywhere.  It included articles praising and supporting the city’s commitment to further invest in the arts scene.  It also included some novel concepts including a great piece by Peter DuBois, artistic director for Huntington Theatre Co who calls for more theater space for what he refers to as “fringe theaters” and I couldn’t agree with him more.

Boston’s local theater scene is in the midst of a Renaissance.  The quality of performances, the variety of shows and the depth of talent is better now than I can ever recall.  However, that ingenuity and the audacity that these ‘fringe’ theater companies provide needs to be nurtured.  DuBois suggestion that the city needs to streamline permitting to create short-term ‘pop-up’ theaters and to provide tax incentives to landlords to open up under-utilized space for makeshift art venues is spot on.  The closure of The Factory Theater (in the Piano Factory) earlier this year only highlights the plight of these smaller, edgier theater companies.

The Hub Theatre Company of Boston will close its second season next month with playwright Israel Horovitz for the Boston premiere of 6 Hotels.  Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 2:00.  The shows will run from Friday, November 7th through Saturday, November 22nd at Club Cafe at 209 Columbus Avenue in Boston.

All tickets are Pay-What-You-Can and may be purchased here.