Saturday, May 6, 2017 Christ Church
Dane Street, Kennebunk 7:00 pm
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Wells High School Auditorium
200 Sanford Road (Rtes. 9 and 109), Wells 3:00 pm
The concert will include much loved spirituals as well as music from familiar Broadway productions (Godspell, Ragtime, Rent, Sister Act, West Side Story and more) and movies (Shrek and Working Girl). There will be two performances, the first on Saturday evening, May 6th, at Christ Church in Kennebunk; the second on Sunday, May 7th, at the Wells High School Auditorium at 3:00 pm.
Tickets are available through Seaglass [at] gwi [dot] net ; via phone at 207.985.8747; and at Morse Hardware on Post Road in Wells. Tickets are also available at the door.
In The Roberts Studio Theatre At The Stanford Calderwood Pavilion At The Boston Center For The Arts
From May 6 – June 3, 2017, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the Boston Premiere of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, a lush, lyrical musical by Tony Award-winners Marsha Norman (book) and Jason Robert Brown (music & lyrics), based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller.
Winner of two 2014 Tony Awards including Best Original Score, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY tells the story of Francesca Johnson, a beautiful Italian woman who married an American soldier to escape the war, and now leads a simple but dispassionate life on an Iowa farm. On the day her family departs for a trip to the 1965 State Fair, she is surprised by Robert Kincaid, a ruggedly handsome National Geographic photographer who randomly pulls into her driveway seeking directions. A quick ride to photograph one of the famed covered bridges of Madison County sparks a soul-stirring affair for the couple, whose lives are forever altered by this chance meeting.
M. Bevin O’Gara returns to SpeakEasy to direct THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. Her previous SpeakEasy credits include directing the New England Premieres of appropriate, A Future Perfect, Tribes (Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for Best Production), and Clybourne Park.
Ms. O’Gara’s artistic team includes Music Director Matthew Stern, a recent IRNE nominee for his work on SpeakEasy’s productions of Violet (2016) and The Scottsboro Boys; and Choreographer Misha Shields, a Boston Conservatory graduate now working extensively in both New York and Boston.
Norton Award-winner Jennifer Ellis will play Francesca Johnson, and Wisconsin-native and Boston University alumnus Christiaan Smith will play Robert Kincaid.
Featured in the cast are Peter S. Adams, Rachel Belleman, Christopher Chew, Kerry A. Dowling, Katie Elinoff, Will McGarrahan, Taylor Okey, Ellen Peterson, Nicolas Siccone, Edward Simon, and Alessandra Valea.
The design team is Cameron Anderson (scenic); Mark Nagle (costumes); Annie Wiegand (lighting), David Reiffel (sound), and Garrett Herzig (projections).
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY will run for five weeks, from May 6 through June 3, in the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End.
Ticket prices start at $25, with discounts for students, seniors, and persons age 25 and under.
For tickets or more information, the public is invited to call the box office at 617.933.8600 or visit www.SpeakEasyStage.com .
“New Repertory Theatre is delighted to present the Boston-area premiere of one of playwright Lydia R. Diamond’s earliest works,” says Artistic Director Jim Petosa. “When I first approached her about a project, she suggested a revival of The Gift Horse. The result is a heartfelt and funny play that shines with Lydia’s unique humor and wit.”
“As our season comes to a conclusion, I’m pleased to welcome back several New Rep favorites,” says Managing Director Harriet Sheets. “Lewis D. Wheeler and Maurice Emmanuel Parent both return after many appearances on our stage, Cloteal L. Horne first worked with New Rep’s educational touring program Classic Repertory Company, and Obehi Janice performed in our Next Voices New Play Reading Series last spring. And I’d like to welcome Zachary Rice and Alejandro Simoes to New Rep for the first time!“
A humorous and introspective Boston-area premiere, The Gift Horse follows Ruth, a successful teacher and artist, whose quick and easy wit masks a painful childhood. With the support of her best friend Ernesto and therapist Brian she finally confronts her tumultuous past in a play infused with nationally-acclaimed playwright Lydia R. Diamond’s distinctive voice.
newrep.org 617.923.8487 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown
Directed by James Seymour
April 27 – May 7
Carling-Sorenson Center at Babson College, Wellesley, MA
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler, presents BECKETT IN BRIEF – Rough for Radio II • The Old Tune • Krapp’s Last Tape, directed by James Seymour, featuring Will Lyman, Ken Baltin and Ashley Risteen. The production, presented by BabsonARTS, begins performances on April 27 and runs through May 6 at the Carling-Sorenson Center at Babson College, 19 Babson College Drive, Wellesley, MA.
Performance dates: April 27, 28, 29, May 3, 4, 5, 6 at 7:30PM; April 30, May 6 and 7 at 3:00PM
Among Samuel Beckett’s most autobiographical works, Rough for Radio II, The Old Tune, and Krapp’s Last Tape explore universal questions of creativity, memory, aging, sex, friendship, and the proximity of death. These plays from his mid-career are traditionally viewed as individual statements, but the three provide a wealth of impressions when placed in conversation with one another, giving us a better understanding of the legendary playwright’s intellect, passion, and temperament.
Ken Baltin (Cream/Fox)’s credits in the Boston area include Death of a Salesman, Glengarry Glen Ross, Lost in Yonkers, Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Lyric Stage); Kite Runner, Eurydice, Waiting for Godot, American Buffalo (New Repertory); Deported-a dream play, King of the Jews, Permanent Whole Life (Boston Playwrights); Operation Epsilon (Nora Theatre); Copenhagen, A Screenwriter’s Daughter (Vineyard Playhouse); Oleanna (Merrimack Repertory) Brooklyn Boy (SpeakEasy); Last Night of Ballyhoo, I Ought to be in Pictures, Yom Kippur in Da Nang (Jewish Theatre of New England). He teaches acting and directs at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Will Lyman
Will Lyman (Krapp/Gorman) was recently seen as Junius Brutus Booth in CSC’s production of Our American Hamlet at The Carling- Sorenson Center at Babson College, is well known to Boston audiences for his work with CSC, of which he is a founding Board Member (King Lear, Prospero, Claudius, Brutus); Israeli Stage (Oh God, Ulysses on Bottles); the Huntington Theatre (All My Sons, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Dead End); New Rep (Long Day’s Journey into Night, Exits and Entrances, Clean House, Ice Breaker); SpeakEasy Stage Company (The Dying Gaul); Wheelock Family Theatre (To Kill a Mockingbird); Boston Playwrights’ Theatre (The Wrestling Patient in collaboration with SpeakEasy Stage Company, King of the Jews, A Girl’s War); and The Nora Theatre Company (Equus, Operation Epsilon). He is a multiple recipient of the Norton and IRNE Awards and was honored with the Howard Keel Award for service to the Screen Actors Guild. He was given 2013’s Norton Award for Sustained Excellence and 2015’s NETC Award. Television credits include “Crossbow,” “Threat Matrix,” and “Commander in Chief.” Movies for television include Meltdown, Our Fathers, Three Sovereigns for Sarah, and George Washington; he appeared in the films A Perfect Murder, The Siege, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Mystic River, Little Children (narrator), What Doesn’t Kill You. Mr. Lyman has been the narrator of the PBS public affairs program “Frontline” since its second season and has appeared as himself on The Simpsons.
Ashley Risteen (Stenographer) was last seen by Boston audiences in Gloucester Stage Co.’s Man in Snow, which moved on to a run at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre in Manhattan this past November. Her previous Boston credits include Speakeasy Stage Co.’s Appropriate, Zeitgeist Stage Co.’s Neighborhood Watch, Big Meal, Cakewalk, and Hub Theatre Co.’s 6 Hotels. A native of the North Shore, she has been active in the Newburyport theatre community for many years, notably in the Firehouse Center’s The 39 Steps, and the Actor’s Studio’s Speed-The-Plow.
James Seymour (Director) has appeared in leading roles on Broadway (I Love My Wife), Off-Broadway (Small Craft Warnings, Moonchildren), on television (“Kate and Allie”) and at major regional theatres, including The Long Wharf Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, and Portland Stage. Directed productions include All the Way Home at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Road at The Marymount Manhattan Theatre, I Love My Wife at Detroit’s Birmingham Theatre, The Bacchae at UNC-Chapel Hill, and over twenty-five productions for The Island Theatre at the University of Guam. He has also taught Theatre, English Composition, Film, and Literature at Marymount Manhattan College, Queens College, CUNY, The Colorado College, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His play Two Lovers (A Taotaomona Tale and I Domino) was produced in Guam. Currently a lecturer in English and Film at the University of Maine, Jim was raised in New Jersey and spent most of his life in New York City, after receiving his BFA from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and Ph.D. from the Graduate Center at The City University of New York.
Jerry Izenberg has been covering boxing for sixty-five years, forty-five of which have been spent with the Newark Star Ledger. He has also covered fifty Kentucky Derbies, and has attended and reported on all fifty Super Bowls. In his latest book, Once There Were Giants, he looks back at what he calls The Golden Era of Heavyweight Boxing, the period that began with Sonny Liston’s destruction of Floyd Patterson and ended when Mike Tyson decided to make a dinner out of Evander Holyfield’s ear.
Mr. Izenberg covers a lot of ground in his book in which he discusses the many characters that populate the world of boxing. I had the opportunity to talk with him by phone from his home in Henderson, Nevada.
The 86 year old veteran sports writer still sounds strong and sharp as we begin our conversation. In his book Mr. Izenberg gives a brief but detailed history of mob involvement in the sport. I assumed he kept his distance from these rough characters. He tells me “Not always. I wasn’t a partner. I used them as much as I could. Their information was much more reliable.”
I mention Cus D’Amato, the man who proclaimed himself to be the White Knight riding into town to clean out the crooks from the sport . That is proving to be a myth as Mr. Izenberg points out in his book and reiterates in our conversation. “Cus was mobbed up as well. That’s what was so ludicrous. He would say ‘I’m fighting the mob, I’m fighting the mob’.” “Well, what about Charlie Black whose real name was Charles Antonucci? He was the cousin of Fat Tony Salerno who would become the boss of the Genovese Crime family. Any foreign fighter had to have an agent when he came over to fight in this country Charlie Black would act as one.”
As Mr. Izenberg points out this was useful for Cus when he brought over Brian London and Ingemar Johansson to fight Patterson. Fat Tony Salerno also served as protection for D’Amato. In contrast to what Cus wanted people to believe he was just replacing one mob with another.
I bring up the point that boxing was more competitive when the old mob was running it. “Frankie Carbo who was a murderer and a thug nevertheless would have been a great commissioner. He never could lose and on that basis he picked the fights he wanted. He had the winner no matter what.” This often resulted in great fights.
D’Amato used his power to protect his fighters from tough opponents making for much less competitive matches. Cus was worse? “Well he was different. He was so crazy, he was absolutely nuts. This facade of fighting the mob ruined the best part of Jose Torre’s career. He would have been one of the great middleweights of all time if given the chance to fight better opponents.”
Mob control of boxing ended about the time Liston won the title. Scandals and investigations had pretty much broken the back of organized crime in the sport. “There were still mob guys who had fighters, but there was no cabal. That’s why the era was so good. You could fight whomever you wanted to fight.”
There was another reason the era was so good: Mr. Izenberg asks rhetorically, “Look, how many good trainers are left? Show me somebody who could go through school without a teacher. That’s what is at the heart of the problem.”
Ali And Jerry
We move on to the subject of the second Ali/Liston bout that was originally scheduled to take place in Boston but was canceled three days before when Ali was diagnosed with a strangulated hernia. “ Liston was in shape for that fight. I would have picked him. I don’t think he’d ever been in better shape then he was for that fight and it was impossible at his age to get back into that shape, he couldn’t do it”
The match was rescheduled for Lewiston, Maine and now lives on in infamy. I ask Mr. Izenberg what happened up there. “He (Ali) could have shoved him. He could have hit him with a middle finger and he would have gone down because he was so off balance. He made a decision when he was down. He looked up and saw this maniac who wouldn’t go to a neutral corner standing over him and he thought ‘If I get up he’ll kill me’.”
Jumping ahead a number of years we turn to the rivalry between Ali and Joe Frazier. When it comes to the verbal abuse Frazier took from Ali, the name calling and insults such as “Uncle Tom” and calling him a Gorilla. Mr. Izenberg tells me “It never healed. They had a phony reconciliation but it never healed.” On the anniversary of the Manilla fight Mr. Izenberg contacted a number of people involved with the fight to do a “then and now” story. In Mr. Izenberg’s conversation with Ali, the former champ told him, “I was just trying to sell tickets. Tell him if I offended his family I’m sorry.”
When Mr. Izenberg called Frazier to discuss the fight he mentioned Ali’s apology. Joe’s response: “He said that to you? Tell him to take his apology and stick it up his ass.” It is also interesting that Frazier mentioned the famous story about the young Cassius Clay first going to a boxing gym because his new bicycle was stolen. Joe said to Mr. Izenberg “He got a bicycle. I was working in the fields when he got that bicycle. I never had a bicycle.”
Mr. Izenberg tells me Beaufort, SC was named the Hunger Capitol of America. “It really (Ali and Frazier) was a case of the Black Middle Class and the Black Poverty Class.”
Some thoughts on other Ali fights: “Ali/Frazier II was a terrible fight that could have gone either way.” The Ali/Shavers fight: “I think it was the worse beating he (Ali) ever took. He admitted to me he was unconscious on his feet. Ali was too tough for his own good.” The Thriller in Manilla: “They were fighting for the championship of each other, and it was never settled.” And on Ali staying in the game too long, “I always thought he should have quit after Zaire (the Foreman bout).”
As we wind down our conversation he tells me “You can’t find better stories in the universe than in boxing. You have to write it for the names. Names like Goodtime Charlie Friedman and Willie The Beard Gilzenberg.”
I agree that boxing is the most colorful sport to write about, and Jerry Izenberg has lived through it’s best times. He tells me “This is the first, last, and only boxing book I will write.” I hope he is like most fighters who tell us they are retiring and don’t. I am sure that in addition to the wonderful stories he has included in Once There Were Giants, he has many more tales to tell.
Huntington Theatre Company
Calderwood Pavilion, South End
Through May 7th
Reviewed by Bobby Franklin
Aila Peck and Rom Barkhordar (Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson)
There is something special happening on the stage of the Calderwood Pavilion. The Who & The What, by Ayad Akhtar and directed by M. Bevin O’Gara, is the story of Afzal (Rom Barkhordar) and his two daughters Mahwish (Turna Mete) and Zarina (Aila Peck). Afzai is from Pakistan and has made his home in the United States where he has raised Mahwish and Zarina. He lost his wife to cancer a few years earlier and misses her deeply but has an upbeat outlook on life. He has worked hard and become successful moving from driving a cab to owning 30% of the taxis in Atlanta. Wth his success he has provided his family with a good life. He is a loving father and wants only the best for his offspring. Afzai is also a conservative Muslim who has raised his daughters in the faith.
Rom Barkhordar and Joseph Marrella (Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson)
Mahwish is studying nursing and Zarina has graduated from Harvard and is now writing a novel about “women and Islam”. Afzal is taking a rather unique approach in the culture of arranged marriages by opening an account on muslimlove.com with Zarina’s profile and meets with prospective suitors for his daughter. This results in a very funny meeting at the local coffee shop wth Eli (Joseph Marrella) an American convert to Islam. While this certainly is a great intrusion into the life of Zarina you can’t help but be taken by the devotion Afzai has for both his daughter and his religion.
The Who & The What is a must see play.
While Zarina is devoted to her religion she is also questioning it. Her reading of the Koran is at odds with Afzai’s and this results in some heated, and quite humorous discussions on the subject. Compromises are made and Zarina does fall in love with Eli. All seems well until her novel entitled The Who & The What is published. In it Zarina questions many of the interpretations particularly the requirement by many that women wear a veil. This creates a conflict between Zarina and her father who is unable to accept these views and feels it reflects negatively on the family and may result in a loss of faith as well as exposing them to danger.
Zarina and Mahwish are devoted to each other and their father, which makes it painful to watch as this rupture occurs in the family as well as the strain placed on Eli and his relationship with Zarina.
Rom Barkhordar is simply outstanding as Afzai.
This is a play that very easily could have slipped into political correctness and sermonizing, but it certainly does not. It is an honest look at the conflicts, sometimes very deep, that can drive wedges between family members. Yes, this is a funny play, but it is also deep and moving. It is also very human. Rom Barkhordar is simply outstanding as Afzai. His rich voice and emotion fill the stage. His humor is natural and wonderfully delivered. And while audience members may cringe at some of Afzai’s views about the roles of men and women, Mr. Barkhordar leaves us with no doubt about the decency and love this man possesses.
The Who & The What is not a play that preaches to the audience. Ayad Akhtar does not give us the Ozzie and Harriet version of a Muslim family. He is honest and open about the conflicts that take place in a modern Muslim family that has assimilated into American culture without losing their identity. It is something people of all religions can be touched by. I know I certainly was.
In Boston, a city rich in good theatre, The Who & The What is a must see play. You will leave the theater happy that you spent time with this at times crazy but very interesting, warm, and touching family. Don’t miss it.
THE 2017-2018 SEASON INCLUDES THE DEFINITIVE PRODUCTION OF AN ACCLAIMED SONDHEIM REVIVAL, A RE-INVIGORATED 17th CENTURY COMEDY, A MAJOR REVIVAL OF A CARYL CHURCHILL CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC, AND MORE, TO BE PERFORMED AT THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE THEATRE AND CALDERWOOD PAVILION AT THE BCA
(BOSTON) – Huntington Theatre Company, Boston’s leading professional theatre, announces its 2017-2018 season. The Huntington has long been an anchor cultural institution of Huntington Avenue, the Avenue of the Arts, and will remain so on a permanent basis. The Huntington’s upcoming season will include productions in the Huntington Avenue Theatre (known as the BU Theatre through June 30), and plans are underway to convert the theatre into a first-rate, modern venue with expanded services to audiences, artists, and the community. The 36th season will include four plays at the Huntington Avenue Theatre, as well as three plays at the Wimberly Theatre and one special event in the Roberts Studio Theatre, both located in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA in the South End.
The season will comprise of world-class productions of classics made current and exciting new work created by the finest local and national talent. The lineup features a definitive production of a legendary Stephen Sondheim musical, directed by the acclaimed actor-director Maria Friedman; a new play by Huntington Playwriting Fellow Ken Urban about chance encounters and redemption; a brilliant classic by Molière directed by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois; a revival of one of 2016’s Best Plays of the Year by Huntington Playwright-in-Residence Melinda Lopez; a riveting and timely new play from Dominque Morisseau; Liesl Tommy’s fresh interpretation of a Caryl Churchill contemporary classic; and from a renowned Hollywood reporter, the world premiere play about famed playwright Arthur Miller and the son he refused to acknowledge; plus one show to be announced soon.
“I woke up the morning after the election and knew the 2017-2018 season needed to be full of theatrically bold, smart, and politically-minded work. I also knew we would all need several laughs and to be reminded of our common humanity,” says Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois. “The world-class artists we have assembled to tell these timely, human stories are some of the best in the country and beyond, and as always the Huntington experience will leave audiences equal parts inspired, transported, and entertained.”
THE 2017-2018 SEASON LINEUP
· Merrily We Roll Along: Director Maria Friedman recreates her stunning London production of Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical for Boston audiences; winner of the Olivier Award for Best Musical; at the Huntington Avenue Theatre, September 8 – October 15, 2017
· A Guide for the Homesick: a powerful chance encounter between two strangers offers the possibility of connection and redemption in this arresting new drama by Huntington Playwriting Fellow Ken Urban; directed by Colman Domingo; at the Wimberly Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, October 6 – November 5, 2017
· Tartuffe: devious Tartuffe charms Orgon and his household – will they see through the con in time? Molière spins hypocrisy into high comedy in this hilarious and biting satire, one of the world’s great plays; directed by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois; at the Huntington Avenue Theatre, November 10 – December 10, 2017
· Skeleton Crew: a makeshift family of auto workers gather in the breakroom of the last small auto plant in Detroit in this riveting and timely new play from Dominque Morisseau; at the Huntington Avenue Theatre, March 2 – March 31, 2018
· Top Girls: career-driven Marlene has just landed the top job at a London employment agency in Caryl Churchill’s dazzling contemporary classic about the sacrifices required to be a “top girl” in a man’s world; directed by Huntington favorite Liesl Tommy (A Raisin in the Sun, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ruined); at the Huntington Avenue Theatre, April 20 – May 20, 2018
· Fall: renowned Hollywood reporter Bernard Weinraub explores the fascinating untold story of celebrated American playwright Arthur Miller and the son he refused to acknowledge; directed by Huntington Artistic Director Peter DuBois; at the Wimberly Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, May 18 – June 17, 2018
PLUS A SPECIAL EVENT:
Mala, a powerful personal drama written and performed by Huntington Playwright-in-Residence Melinda Lopez (Becoming Cuba, Sonia Flew) and named the Best of 2016 by The Boston Globe and WBUR’s The ARTery when it premiered at ArtsEmerson; directed by David Dower; at the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, January 6 – January 28, 2018
One more show in the 2017-2018 season will be announced soon.
Carling-Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College
Wednesday, April 5 at 7:00P
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler, is pleased to present its annual Shakespeare and Leadership series, focusing this spring on the historical drama Richard II. The event will take place at the Carling-Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.
The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are recommended since space is limited. To reserve a seat log onto https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/967285
The series features a script-in-hand reading of one of Shakespeare’s plays performed by renowned business, government, and community leaders alongside actors. The plays are cut down to run about 60 minutes. The reading is followed by a panel discussion by the participants addressing leadership questions and themes raised in the text. This year, the title will be Richard II, Shakespeare’s history play that focuses on disruption and the transition of leadership. Although the struggle for England’s throne was never simple, the kingdom lasted for over three hundred years before the sovereignty passed outside a direct familial line. But when an inept ruler – indecisive, frivolous and vain – angered the established nobility, one man interceded and cast doubt over the legitimacy of England’s leadership for generations to come.
Participants in the reading and discussion of Richard II will include Dr. Kerry Healey, President of Babson College; Jeff Gonneville, Chief Operating Officer of MBTA; Jon Abbott, President and CEO of WGBH; Harriet Cross, British Consul General in Boston; Donna Latson Gittens, CEO and Founder of MORE Advertising, Dennis Hong, Founder and CEO of ShawSpring Partners, and Yehuda Yakoov, Consul General of Israel. The event will be directed by CSC Associate Artistic Director Adam Sanders, and moderated by CSC Artistic Director Steven Maler.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC), best known for its annual free performances on Boston Common, is a non-profit theater organization founded in 1996, dedicated to presenting vital and contemporary productions of William Shakespeare and other dramatic works to the people of Greater Boston, and to exploring Shakespeare’s work with youth in innovative and creative ways. CSC’s Free Shakespeare on the Common has served over one million audience members over its 22-year history, and has become a beloved summer tradition enjoyed by nearly 75,000 people annually. In 2013, CSC became the Theatre-in-Residence at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and has been able to expand its offerings beyond the annual Boston Common production. Starting this season, CSC will present fully staged productions in Babson’s Sorenson Center, as well as readings and other events. CSC fulfills its educational mission with actor-training programs for pre-professional and professional actors through the summer Apprentice program and CSC2.
To learn more about these programs, visit commshakes.org.
Bobbie Steinbach (Photo: Andrew Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures)
The New Rep Theatre production of Golda’s Balcony playing through April 16th at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown is simply outstanding. The story about the life of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir that centers on the events surrounding the 1973 Arab-Israeli War also delves into the life of Golda Meir and the history of how Israel came into being.
If ever there was an actor suited for a role it is Bobbie Steinbach as Golda Meir.
The one person play directed by Judy Braha with Bobbie Steinbach in the title role relates Ms Meir’s journey from Russia to Milwaukee, where she married and became a school teacher, to her move to Israel where she was elected that country’s only female Prime Minister. It is a story of struggle and determination that is also filled with much humor. It is also a reminder of how close Israel came to being destroyed in 1973, and how Golda Meir through guts, determination, and hard nosed negotiations with the United States was able to secure the weapons needed to defend her country against its aggressors and prevent World War III. The philosopher Eric Hoffer once said “As it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us.” After watching this production there is little doubt about the truth of those words.
Bobbie Steinbach (Photo: Andrew Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures)
If ever there was an actor suited for a role it is Bobbie Steinbach as Golda Meir. She is outstanding from start to finish, moving about the stage telling the story and recreating conversations. To say this is a riveting performance would not be an overstatement.
Golda’s Balcony with Ms Steinbach has everything you could want in an evening of theatre. A fine actor playing an amazing woman whose historical significance is not to be overlooked. The pain, the tears, the laughter, and conflict that comes when, as Ms Meir asks “What happens when idealism becomes power?”
It is a story that should be heard by all, and you won’t find a better telling of it than the one now playing at the New Rep. Don’t miss Bobbie Steinbach in Golda’s Balcony.
Golda’s Balcony
Playing through April 16th
The New Repertory Theatre at
The Mossesian Center For The Arts
Watertown
617.923.8487 newrep.org
Our American Hamlet
The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
Reviewed by Bobby Franklin
The world premiere of Our American Hamlet now playing at the Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College in Wellesley is a fascinating and intriguing look at a family that would have been remembered more for producing two of the greatest Shakespearean actors of the 19th Century, had it not been for actions of John Wilkes Booth who gained infamy by assassinating Abraham Lincoln. His words “Sic semper tyrannis”, shouted on the stage at Ford’s Theater that April night would become one of the most remembered lines in theatre history. It would also cast a shadow over the Booth name, one that had survived scandals but nothing compared to this horrible deed. It is against this backdrop the play unfolds, and it is an interesting one.
Our American Hamlet is an evening of wonderful theatre and should not be missed.
In Jake Broder’s play we get to see all of the Booths in their greatness, their near madness, and their rivalries. It is a complicated story that Mr. Broder makes easy to follow by using the character of Adam Badeau, which he plays, as the narrator and as a friend of Edwin’s. He is very effective in keeping everything in perspective.
Jake Broder Photo Credit: Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots
The play opens with Mr. Broder taking the stage next to a ghost light. He sets the action with a speech that is reminiscent of the opening scene of Henry V. We then see Edwin Booth as he is preparing back stage for his first performance since his brother’s infamous deed. Much of the play takes place backstage as the action moves to the past and the family history is told.
Jacob Fishel and Will Lyman Photo Credit: Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots
The Booth story is both fascinating and intriguing, one of great success and much pain. Junius Brutus Booth, the family patriarch, is a man with a love for his liquor who appears to be bordering at times on madness. He is played by Will Lyman who takes the role to the edge without allowing it to slip into caricature. Mr. Lyman, who is one of Boston’s great actors, lives up to his reputation in this role.
Jacob Fishel Photo Credit: Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots
As I watched Jacob Fishel in the role of Edwin Booth I was thinking what a challenge it must be to portray a man who is considered to be one of the greatest actors of all time. Mr. Fishel does not appear to be at all intimidated by this and is a joy to watch. The back and forth between Edwin and Junius is sprinkled with lines from Hamlet that are never overplayed and always appropriate to the action. Edwin spent years dealing with his father’s mood changes and alcoholism as well as verbal abuse. He also spent this time observing his father and learning the craft of acting. When the opportunity arose he was ready. Mr. Fishel and Mr. Lyman are at times intense in their roles opposite each other, an intensity that drives the action.
Joe Fria Photo Credit: Nile Hawver/Nile Scott Shots
Joe Frias brings us a John Wilkes who has much youthful confidence but is lacking in the talent his brother and father possess. Mr. Frias does a fine job in showing the bitterness that develops as John becomes frustrated and then made to feel inadequate by Edwin who not only overshadows him on the stage but also has a penchant for making him feel inferior. How much all of this played into the madness that drove him to assassinate the president is something we will never know.
Brother June (Kelby Akin), sister Asia (Lucy Davenport), and mother Mary Ann Holmes (Maureen Keiller) are the rest of the family. June owns a theatre in California, Asia marries the owner of a theatre not for love but because it will help advance Edwin’s career, and Mary encourages John in his desires to make a career on the stage while at the same time throwing guilt onto Edwin.
The voices of the actors in this production are like music.
Steven Maler has done a fine job directing this original piece of theatre. It is interesting to have scenes where we, the audience, get to sit backstage looking out at a theater while the actors perform scenes from Shakespeare and watch from behind as they take their bows or have their breakdowns. There is even a bit of Our American Cousin performed. The final scene is a wonderful piece of theatre that overlaps the Hamlets and the Booths. It is very interesting to see.
Our American Hamlet is an evening of wonderful theatre and should not be missed. You will enjoy, learn much, and leave asking many what if questions. The voices of the actors in this production are like music. They are clear and resonant. A joy to hear.
Putting on a new play is a risk for any theatre company and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is to be commended for staging this work. I highly recommend Our American Hamlet, you will not be disappointed.
Our American Hamlet
By Jake Border
Directed by Steven Maler
Through April 2nd at the Sorenson Center for the Arts
Babson College, Wellesley, MA
781.239.5660
www.commshakes.org
A note: Wellesley is not on another planet. The Sorenson Theater is very easy to find using GPS. There is plenty of free parking, and the theater is very comfortable with plenty of leg room. The Commonwealth Shakespeare has partnered with Babson College and is now able to stage productions all year long in addition to their free Shakespeare on the Common every summer.
Saturday, May 6, 2017 Christ Church
