Category Archive: Reviews

Gentle humor helps ‘The Cake’ to go down easy

  BOSTON – When dealing with thorny issues, you can rely on great good humor to help you say what you want to say. With “The Cake,” playwright  Bekah Brunstetter  has taken on… Continue reading

Spruced-up staging puts a new face on ‘Cats’

BOSTON – Sometimes, as the real estate people tell us, it’s all in the staging. The national touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats,” based on the 2016 Broadway revival, arrived at… Continue reading

Enjoy this ‘White Christmas’ in a cozy theater

BOSTON – In most years, we would welcome some snow right before Christmas. But this December, having already endured what one TV channel called “bitter blasts,” perhaps you’d consider a reasonable facsimile –… Continue reading

ART’s ‘Moby Dick’: Will the Pequod sail again?

CAMBRIDGE – “Thar she blows!” Whales are not seen in Cambridge, which sits astride a river and not the ocean, but perhaps the most storied and legendary whale hunt in history – three… Continue reading

This ‘Carol’ will warm you, restore your faith

BEVERLY – It is back to warm the cockles of your heart and restore your faith in the goodness of your fellow man. The North Shore Music Theatre’s 29th edition of its adaptation… Continue reading

Dolly does Dickens: An Appalachian ‘Christmas Carol’

BOSTON – It’s Charles Dickens, Appalachian-style. Dolly Parton’s “Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol” adheres closely to the Dickens tale “A Christmas Carol”  in many ways, but  it most certainly at times has the feel… Continue reading

‘The Wickhams’: Austen’s characters enchant again

LOWELL  — They’re back. Who? Jane Austen’s iconic characters from “Pride and Prejudice” are back in Lowell for the holidays in the person of “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley,” the companion piece by… Continue reading

Bobbitt’s ‘Oliver!’ makes for strong New Rep debut

WATERTOWN – Charles Dickens was a master storyteller who celebrated the abilities of his characters to overcome extreme adversity and emerge triumphant in the end. The best example might be his novel “Oliver… Continue reading

On the ‘Orient Express,’ a deadly tale well told

BOSTON – Sometimes, the most fun comes from the telling of the tale rather than the tale itself. That’s the case with the Lyric Stage Company of Boston’s production of Agatha Christie’s “Murder… Continue reading

The classic ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ holds up well

STONEHAM – If you’ve never had the chance to do it, it should be on your bucket list. Start your walk at the venerable Macy’s Herald Square Department Store in the heart of… Continue reading