Boston

TERRIFIC, RADIANT, AND HUMBLE An age-appropriate exploration of death and the life-saving power of words Based on E. B. White’s beloved children’s book of the same title and adapted by Joseph Robinette, the staged version of Charlotte’s Web offers many points of entry for children. Themes of friendship, death, persistence, problem-solving, and diversity all play…

NO ECSTASY TO BE FOUND An effort to portray religious transcendence lacks focus and context Treehouse Collective describes itself as an ensemble-based theater company “dedicated to producing rarely performed works.” In the case of Mariette in Ecstasy, I suspect there is a reason the work is rarely performed. The play takes place in a convent,…

DARK VICTORY  Disability transformed in a gripping and tension-filled noir Director Weylin Symes provides unerring direction of the classic thriller Wait Until Dark at the Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham, Massachusetts. This modern adaptation of the 1966 Broadway play by Frederick Knott enjoys superb sound (Caroline Eng) and lighting design (Jeff Adelberg) to transform…

WE WON’T KNOW WHAT WE’VE GOT ‘TIL IT’S GONE An exploration of what it means to be human through the consciousness of the machines we created SpeakEasy Stage presents the New England premier of Jordan Harrison’s The Antiquities in a groundbreaking, thought-provoking, and poignant production directed by Alex Lonati. Nine actors take on more than…

LITTLE PATIENCE FOR LITTLE WOMEN Girls interrupted, potential unrealized Actors’ Shakespeare Project is an esteemed local theater company here in Greater Boston and frankly one of my favorites. Kate Hamill, one of the most produced living playwrights in the United States, is also one of my favorite playwrights. Not everyone loves the way she applies…

A PRESSURE COOKER OF A PRODUCTION A thriller that examines the effects of social media Josephine Moshiri Elwood (Jane) and Dennis Trainor Jr. (Loyd) pull out all the stops in Job, an 80-minute intermission-free exploration of the effects of social media on those who produce it and those who consume it. Jane has been sent…

NO LYIN’ ABOUT THIS ADORABLE LION A story about rules and when it is right to break them The four-year-old I took to the Adam Theater production of Library Lion at the Calderwood Pavilion in the Boston Center for the Arts was terrified when he saw the picture of the lion’s large and expressive face…

WONDER OF WONDERS! A musical that refuses pity and earns its hope American Repertory Theater’s world premiere of the musical adaptation of R. J. Palacio’s best-selling Wonder and the eponymous 2017 film, is, indeed, filled with wonders. The children’s novel is not only the story of a boy with a facial difference, though that is…

GO TELL IT! There are many ways to celebrate the holiday season on Boston-area stages, ranging from dance interpretations of The Nutcracker to performances and revisions of Dickens, to the ever-new traditional Revels and shows that use the Christmas season as a backdrop for stories of joy and even hilarity. None get so deeply to…

AN OMINOUS AND DISORIENTING THRILLER A meticulously staged interrogation that tightens its grip minute by minute In theater and in life, some risks are worth taking. Others may not be worth the cost. Reality Winner, a U.S. Air Force veteran and a contractor for the National Security Agency, took a risk in May of 2017…

WELCOME YULE! In keeping with its Scandinavian theme, this year’s Midwinter Revels presents a smorgasbord of stories, songs, and dances in Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre. The very foundation of the Revels experience is something of a smorgasbord, in fact. Revels has evolved from the Christmas Revels to the Midwinter Revels since its founding in 1971….

DICKENS IN AN IRISH PUB ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ The New England premiere of An Irish Carol by playwright Matthew Keenan offers a fresh take on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, a familiar and much-performed holiday classic that holds out, again and again, a secular interpretation of the renewal…

TRIED AND TRUE ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ Annie is an excellent choice for Boston University Wheelock Family Theatre’s holiday offering this year. True to the mission of Wheelock Family Theatre (to create professional theatre and educational experiences for artists and audiences of all ages), the audience last night included…

MORE NAUGHTY THAN NICE, WITH PLENTY OF SPICE ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ As they have for the past thirty years, Ryan Landry’s Gold Dust Orphans honor the saturnalian origins of Christmas with a holiday burlesque. This time the target of the spoofing crew of shamelessly talented punsters, dancers, singers,…

THE KEYS OF KNOWLEDGE What can I say about a show that offers one moment of delight after another while holding the anguish of parental narcissism, the joy of discovering one’s own identity, and the power of creative expression to transform grief? One thing I can say is this: anyone within commuting distance of downtown…

A TRAGEDY FORETOLD — AND STILL SHOCKING Blood Brothers exposes the cruel divide of class and destiny I walked into the BCA Plaza Theatre in the South End neighborhood of Boston — and left shaken. To start, the lights come up to reveal two bodies lying before me, so close I could reach out and…