Tag Archives: Theater

An evening at the Four Seasons

Posted on October 3, 2010 | 10 comments

Last night’s gala at the Four Seasons was beautiful. I’ve included a few photographs Sergio snapped on his i-phone. Much thanks to Jeff Smith for inviting us to join him at his table and James, his partner, for being an excellent host introducing us to their friends. It was a fantastic evening from start to finish. Thanks to some aggressive bidding from Sergio we’re now the proud owners of a new painting from the Brazilian-born, Boston artist, Fernando de Oliveria.

Jeff’s attention to detail was evident through out the program; even down to the exquisite table settings and dramatic centerpieces.

After dinner and the evenings’ heroes were recognized the program concluded with a surprise appearance from cast members of Wicked, which is currently in Boston. Elphie and Glinda performed three numbers accompanied by only the baby grand piano at their side. After the performance they were gracious enough to pose with me for a quick picture.
After the event, we went down to the Bristol Lounge, and had a nightcap. Steve A. was good enough to come and join us rather than meeting at Club Cafe.

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Free Shakespeare on the Common performances in Boston start next week

Posted on July 22, 2010 | 2 comments
The Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. performances of Othello will start one week from tonight on Wednesday, July 28th. More than 75,000 people are expected to attend one of the 16 free performances, which will take place by the Parkman Bandstand on the Common.

The Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. consistently turns out excellent performances for everyone to enjoy and I’m looking forward to see this year’s production. Othello is one of my favorite dramas. Its themes of racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal always keep me on the edge of my seat.

I hope even more than the projected 75,000 people come to enjoy an evening of Shakespeare under the stars.  Bostonians are lucky to have so many great cultural events that are free and so accessible.  Just a few weeks ago the Boston Pop’s 4th of July Celebration and fireworks garnered national attention.  Now Bostonians can come to the Common to see the Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. performances, which run July 28 – August 15 (Tuesday thru Saturday @ 8pm – Sunday @ 7pm).

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Posted in Free Stuff

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Margaret Cho – coming to Boston

Posted on June 10, 2010 | 2 comments

Good news for Margaret Cho fans living in Boston. According to her website and local ads that I’ve seen in the paper, The Cho Dependent Tour will be rolling into Boston this fall on Thursday, October 28th at the Wilbur Theatre.  Tickets go on sale starting this Friday at Ticketmaster.

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Posted in People say the funniest things

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Blithe Spirit playing at The Lyric Stage Co.

Posted on May 19, 2010 | 3 comments
I just purchased tickets from The Lyric Stage Company to see the Noël Coward play, Blithe Spirit on Friday.  According to Wikipedia the play is about an English socialite and novelist who invites an eccentric clairvoyant to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The scheme backfires and he becomes haunted by the ghost of his annoying first wife who makes continual attempts to disrupt Charles’s current marriage to his second wife. Sounds like it is good for a few laughs, right? If you’ve seen this production or one from another theater company, please let me know what you thought.

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The Great American Trailer Park Musical

Posted on May 14, 2010 | 2 comments
Tonight I’m off to see The Great American Trailer Park Musical from the SpeakEasy Stage Co. at the Calderwood Pavilion.  According to the website, the show is about agoraphobia, adultery, spray cheese, road kill, hysterical pregnancy, kleptomania, flan and disco. When Pippi, a stripper on the run, comes between Dr. Phil-loving, agoraphobic Jeannie and her toll-collector husband, neighbors Betty, Lin and Pickles team up to save their friend’s marriage.

Sound like something you would enjoy? Grab tickets online here or call the Boston Theatre Scene box office at 617-933-8600, but do it quickly as the show is only here until Sunday, May 30th.

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"The Gulls" opening weekend

Posted on May 8, 2010 | Leave a comment
This is the opening weekend for Ryan Landry and the Gold Dust Orphans’ latest show, The Gulls. Although I’ve yet to see the play – you can be sure that they will have an interesting (and thoroughly modern take on) Hitchcock’s “The Birds”.  

If you happen to catch the show at the “Ramrod Performing Arts Center”, I’d love to hear from you.  In recent years’ Ryan and his troupe have become a tour de force in local theater showcasing their creativity and ability to push the envelope.  If you’ve never been to one of the Gold Dust Orphans shows, check it out.

More about the Gold Dust Orphans here.
Tickets are $35 – $45 and can be purchased online here.

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The Boston Conservatory

Posted on April 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

The city of Boston conjures different images for everyone, but eventually education and more specifically colleges and universities come to mind.  I have no idea, but I would guess there is not another city with as many institutions of higher education. Even someone like me who has lived in or near Boston for most of my life can not keep track of all the schools that call Boston home.

Last week I was sipping drinks with friends at Rocca when I was chatted up by two guys sitting next to me (make that yet another example of myth busting Boston’s cold reputation).  As it turns out these friendly guys work at The Boston Conservatory.  Now I’m familiar with several of Boston’s higher education institutions that are dedicated to The Arts, but this was one I was not.

Both guys rolled their eyes when I admitted this and suggested I check out the school’s website which I did today. The school is located in the Fenway and has all sorts of interesting programs the public (THAT’s YOU) can attend at little or no cost.  Ever the one to identify Free Stuff to do in town, I thought I’d give The Boston Conservatory a huge shout out. You can check out their event calendar here.

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Entertaining Mr. Sloane

Posted on March 27, 2010 | Leave a comment
Tonight I’m off to see my first show of the year, Entertaining Mr. Sloane at the Boston Center for the Arts. The play was written by the English playwright Joe Orton back in 1964. 

About the show:
The charming, enigmatic Mr. Sloane arrives to rent a room from Kath, a lonely, delusional landlady, in the junkyard house she shares with her declining father. A handsome opportunist, Sloane quickly ingratiates himself, entering into seductions offered by both Kath, and her estranged brother Ed, who soon employs Sloane as his driver.  Sloane’s past misdeeds and dueling affections within the family soon collide, leading to a desperate act that proves the limit of his charms, and reveals the ruthless and cunning strategies that Sloane’s ‘victims’ will engage in to preserve their unique arrangement.

Should be interesting and I’m hoping it will prove to distract me from the work which has dominated my attention now for too long.  I hope you have a nice weekend filled with pleasant distractions too.

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Boston’s Paramount Theatre opens Saturday

Posted on March 3, 2010 | 1 comment
The Paramount Theatre which first opened in 1932 as a movie house will re-open this Saturday according to an article in today’s Boston Globe “Paramount Theatre regains its grandeur”. 
According to the article, the renovation which has been years in the making, has a 7,000-bulb marquee that will light up Washington Street, and a new LED wall next door is being programmed as a video art installation.
The Boston Globe includes a pretty cool 1:00 minute video showcasing the LED Wall which is worth watching.
http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/16977198001?isVid=1&publisherID=245991542
It is hard to imagine that this nearly 600-seat theater and just two doors down the beautiful Opera House have been so meticulously restored in what was once Boston’s red-light district known to locals as The Combat Zone.

Photo by Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe

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The lion sings tonight

Posted on February 18, 2010 | Leave a comment
On Monday, March 1st at 7:00pm the cast of Disney’s Lion King will be performing at Club Cafe in Boston. Tickets cost $25.00 and all proceeds will go to benefit The AIDS Action Committee of MA.  You can purchase tickets online HERE.
Rumor has it that Verna Turbulence (drag queen extraordinaire) will be hosting the program “The Lion Sings Tonight” so in addition to raising money for a very worthwhile charity, having fun singing along (or like me just listening), and laughing at Verna’s course sense of humor – it is sure to be far more interesting than your typical Monday night.  Fight off the winter blues by warming up with friends at the Club Cafe benefit for the AIDS Action Committee of MA.

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Gold Dust Orphans

Posted on February 6, 2010 | Leave a comment
Phantom of the Oprah
February 26th – March 28th

The Gold Dust Orphans Theatrical Company is doing what they do best – making a parody of pop culture by using well known and respected storylines as their source of inspiration.  In this latest production, PHANTOM OF THE OPRAH, Ryan has reached out to and is starring Varla Jean Merman.

I’m excited to see how the classic musical and iconic Winfrey will be interpreted in this latest production.  I have yet to get my tickets, but will certainly pick a night to go with friends.  If you’ve never attended a Gold Dust Orphan play – it is quite the experience and I would encourage you to check it out.  For more information call (617) 265 6222.

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"Othello" on the Common this Summer

Posted on December 18, 2009 | 2 comments
Hub Arts blog has mentioned that Commonwealth Shakespeare Company will offer “Othello” as its 15th annual Shakespeare on the Common production in July and August 2010. I know that this is quite a ways off, but Othello is one of my all time favorite plays by Shakespeare and dreaming of a warm summer night out on the Common is a great way to escape the bitter reality that it is absolutely freezing in Boston just now.

Exact dates and casting for the performances this summer have not been scheduled, but I’ll be certain to write more about this as the time approaches.  Until then, I’ll use this trusty promo from the 1995 production which starred Lawrence Fishurne as Othello and Kenneth Branaugh as the despicable Iago.

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Posted in Free Stuff

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All About Christmas Eve

Posted on December 17, 2009 | Leave a comment
On Friday I’m heading to see the Gold Dust Orphans show “All About Christmas Eve” This was an hilarious show that Ryan Landry initially premiered in December 2008, and I initially wrote about this last year in my post, “All about Christmas Eve.” The show spoofs one of the best Bette Davis movies of all times, “All about Eve”.
Through Ryan’s twisted (albiet supremely creative imagination) the show is set in Boston at Christmas time in 1950. The story starts by introducing the audience to an aging actress named Margo Channing (sound familiar?) If you live in the Boston area, check out the play. It is well worth the money and by going you will be supporting local theater. 

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Attention theater queens

Posted on October 6, 2009 | Leave a comment

I last saw AvenueQ in Boston at the Opera House in March of 2008. Sadly, I won’t be able to see the show this time around since I’ll be out of town, but I would strongly encourage you to consider purchasing tickets to see this Tony Award winning musical, which I can only describe as Seasame Street meets NYC. 

The story line is very entertaining, the music catchy (i.e. “The internet is for porn”) and the storyline compelling. Earlier this year AvenueQ ended its amazing run on Broadway so this is the first time the show is coming to Boston since the lights have dimmed in NYC.  Here is a clip from one of the songs, “If you were gay”, which is more entertaining to watch in person, but still worth watching.

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The comedy of errors opens

Posted on August 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

This was the opening weekend for Shakespeare on the Commons, an annual tradition put on by The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. This year’s play is The Comedy of Errors, a tale of mistaken identity among two sets of twins.

Each year these free performances introduce a new generation to a classic play from William Shakespeare and offer families and friends a fun and affordable evening out in the city. I wish the weather in New England offered more opportunities like this.

Show your support for Boston’s local theater scene and bring a friend or two with you to enjoy this performance. The Commonwealth Shakespeare Co. deserves their accolades, but it is the crowds that come each year, which makes all their toil worthwhile. Performances run through August 16th; Tuesday thru Saturday at 8pm and Sunday’s at 7pm.

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