BOSTON – There are stars – and then there are stars who become entertainment icons. It usually coincides with the use of only a last name to identify them. Springsteen. Jackson. Streisand. Barbra… Continue reading
BOSTON – Not every musical has to be “Les Miserables” or “Phantom of the Opera.” There is still room for human-sized, smaller works, with the accent on characters, emotions and situations. So welcome… Continue reading
SOMERVILLE – It’s the kind of show only the Irish could do. It’s the kind of show that only the Irish would want to do. “The Return of the Winemaker,” a Tir Na… Continue reading
BEVERLY – Twenty-five years old? Perhaps, but this production of “A Christmas Carol” is a theatrical Christmas card that still seems new every time you open it. The North Shore Music Theatre is… Continue reading
LOWELL – Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” wasn’t a success when the film first debuted in 1946. It never came close to earning back its $6.3 million production cost. It was only… Continue reading
WATERTOWN – What to do in the holiday season if you’re a theater company? Something holiday-themed but already done to death? Or maybe something that’s seasonal in nature that can be staged during… Continue reading
STONEHAM – Listening, my beloved Susan says, is a lost art. We don’t often take the time to hone in on just what someone is saying. It was different when the radio was… Continue reading
BOSTON – Expectations were high for Nick Offerman in bringing the character of Ignatius J. Reilly to the stage in Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of John Kennedy Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces,” at… Continue reading
BOSTON – “Elf: The Broadway Musical,” like Buddy The Elf himself, desperately wants to be liked. It dances and sings its heart out on the stage of the Citi Performing Arts Center’s Wang… Continue reading
PROVIDENCE – A decade is a nice run. After twenty years, you can certainly be called a tradition. After 38 years, you’ve probably earned the right to be called a holiday institution. Trinity… Continue reading