A MENAGERIE GONE MAD–IN THE BEST WAY
Boston Court has never been a company to play it safe, and John Anthony Loffredo‘s world premiere of Frou-Frou: A Menagerie of Sorts is no exception. Inspired by The Glass Menagerie, it starts with Tennessee Williams’ delicate world of longing and repression—then gleefully smashes it to bits, rebuilding the pieces into something wild, surreal, X-rated, and entirely its own.
Simone Brazzini, Patrick Reilly, and Reiko Aylesworth
Simone Brazzini and Patrick Reilly
At the heart of this audacious fever dream is a long green table—designed by Samuel Keamy-Minor—so absurdly massive that it makes Citizen Kane’s infamous dining setup look like a child’s tea party. Around it, a fractured family circles, connives, and crumbles under the weight of their own illusions.
Patrick Reilly and Ryan Imhoff
Ryan Imhoff and Reiko Aylesworth
The familiar elements of Menagerie are all here: Mamma (Reiko Aylesworth), the overbearing Southern matriarch who desires nothing but marriage for her daughter; the fragile dreamer is L (Simone Brazzini), a non-binary stoner, social misfit, and internet blogger; and Harold (Patrick Reilly) is the queer son who is content to prance around the house in a light-pink leotard. But here, their carefully drawn tensions unravel into something wilder, sharper, and more unpredictable when a rough-hewed Man (Ryan Imhoff) appears out of nowhere to force this household into transformation.
Ryan Imhoff and Patrick Reilly
Reiko Aylesworth
The first half crackles with sharp-tongued wit and high-energy farce, keeping the audience on their toes. But three-quarters of the way through, the show begins to sag—not for lack of ideas, but because its final act takes an extreme turn. The arrival of the gentleman caller (though “gentleman” is a stretch) begins as an almost-hopeful provocateur who will shatter the family’s precarious balance, but when he drags the trio from a transformation based as farcical believability into one of truly absurd proportions, it loses any hope for an emotional connection with viewers. It’s a bold move, but one that might take you out of the play.
Patrick Reilly
Patrick Reilly, Reiko Aylesworth, and Ryan Imhoff
Still, under Zi Alikhan‘s direction, Frou-Frou is brazen, inventive, and exactly the kind of theater Boston Court thrives on—not a show to sit back and watch passively, but one that demands you lean in, hold on, and embrace the madness. It’s not always graceful, but it’s never boring—and in a theatrical landscape littered with the predictable, that’s something worth celebrating.
Patrick Reilly and Reiko Aylesworth
photos by Brian Hashimoto
Patrick Reilly
Frou-Frou: A Menagerie of Sorts
Boston Court Performing Arts Center
70 N. Mentor Ave. in Pasadena
Thurs-Sat at 7:30; Sun at 2
105 minutes with no intermission
ends on March 30, 2025
for tickets, call 626.683.6801 or visit Boston Court
Simone Brazzini
