Performing Arts

12 Plays And Musicals That Mattered In Boston This Year

From "Cambodian Rock Band" at Merrimack Rep to "Dragon Cycle" at the A.R.T., critics Carolyn Clay and Ed Siegel take a look at the year in theater.

Moonbox Productions Marches Out An Impressive, Impassioned 'Parade'

The haunting if relentless show directed by Jason Modica recounts the true story of the unauthorized execution of factory overseer Leo Frank who was convicted of raping and killing a...

Boston Children's Theatre Choir Sings Final Show As Organization Goes Bankrupt

This group watched its beloved BCT dissolve under an investigation into its top leadership over the past few months. Despite the scandal, the young people raised their voices in harmony...

Roxane Gay Tweets Praise For A.R.T's 'Jagged Little Pill' And We're Here For It

Have you ever stayed calm or seated when you heard, “And I’m here to remind you of the mess you left when you went away?” The answer is no. It’s...

In The A.R.T.'s Musical 'Moby-Dick,' The Whale Is An Extraordinary Sum Of Diverse Parts

The musical is an epic undertaking: a three-and-a-half-hours-long, singing and dancing riff on the Pequod as a stand-in for America when our melting pot is captained by a megalomaniac.

10 Years On, An Open Mic For LGBTQ People Of Color Still Fills A Void In Boston

"You don't have to call yourself an artist to be in our space," the series founder Jha D said. "You just have to be able to communicate however you communicate...

Jane Fonda Wants You To Think Of Her As An Activist

No amateur when it comes to activism, the 81-year-old has been calling attention to the climate change crisis before preparing to film the final season of "Grace and Frankie."

Boston Children's Theatre Files For Bankruptcy And Cancels Productions

The organization has been in the midst of tremendous upheaval after the resignation of former executive artistic director, Burgess Clark, last month.

The Huntington Presents A Don Quixote For Our Times, Muchas Gracias

"Quixote Nuevo" is an entertaining and engaging update of the Cervantes classic, says critic at large Ed Siegel.

Boston Theater Needs To Start Offering Something No Screen Could Match

Lately I’ve been enjoying going to the movies a lot more than going to the theater, writes critic-at-large Ed Siegel. As the fall theater season winds down, he says he's...

Boston Children's Theatre And Executive Director Part Ways Amid Investigation Into Artistic Director

A Friday afternoon email also said that the theater is suspending the planned production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas."

This Dance Responds To The Objectification Of Women In American Culture

KAIROS Dance Theater is presenting the world premiere of "OBJECT." later this week at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Through Community Ritual, 'What To Send Up When It Goes Down' Responds To Racist Violence

The performance employs repetition to capture the exhaustion of years of microaggressions, violence and white people calling the police on black people just for existing.

Boston Children's Theatre Parents React To Allegations Against Former Artistic Director

The Boston Children's Theatre board of directors hosted a town-hall style meeting for parents Sunday night to address allegations of inappropriate behavior against the theater's now-former executive artistic director, Burgess...

The ARTery

Nov 11, 2019

The cast of "Choir Boy" with the audience on #BlackOutBoston night. (Courtesy Todd McNeel)

For Once, I Experienced Theater With A Lot Of Other Black People In Boston

#BlackOutBoston could've turned out badly, soured by poor or inauthentic execution that rendered it a gimmick to capitalize on Black dollars. But I was stunned by the energy in the...

The ARTery

Oct 30, 2019

“For a lot of artists, this means a loss of a significant source of community and affordable work space,” said Tarikh Campbell, who taught hip-hop and ran his dance company through Green Street Studios. (Jenn Stanley for WBUR)

As Green Street Studio Gets Priced Out Of Central Square, City Offers Possible Solution

The studio’s closure has served as yet another flashpoint in a narrative of artist displacement in the Boston area that has intensified in the last couple of years.

The ARTery

Oct 29, 2019

Michael Kaye, Nathan Malin and Maureen Keiller in SpeakEasy Stage's Production of "Admissions." (Courtesy Maggie Hall Photography)

At SpeakEasy, 'Admissions' Roasts White Liberals Over The Coals Of A Hot Topic

White people, hold on to your hats. I think mine may have just blown off, buoyed by the torrential, abrasive wind of Joshua Harmon’s “Admissions” at SpeakEasy Stage Company, writes...

The ARTery

Oct 29, 2019

Peter Sipla, Eileen Doan, Matthew Yee, Aja Wiltshire and Greg Watanabe in "Cambodian Rock Band." (Courtesy Liz Lauren/Victory Gardens)

At Merrimack Rep, '70s Pop Meets The Killing Fields In Powerful 'Cambodian Rock Band'

The show has been described as “part mystery, part history lesson and part unabashed jukebox musical concert.” But the most urgent reason to see it is the intense, ingeniously unfolded...

The ARTery

Oct 28, 2019

Boston Ballet members in Lia Cirio's "Sta(i)r(e)s" in 2018. (Courtesy Liza Voll/Boston Ballet)

In 'BB@home: ChoreograpHER,' The Women Of The Boston Ballet Show Ingenuity And Talent

Choreography is overwhelmingly dominated by men. With this program, the Boston Ballet is trying to strike a more even balance.

The ARTery

Oct 25, 2019

Jesse Hinson as Jaxton, Amanda Collins as Logan, Grace Experience as Alicia and Barlow Adamson as Caden in "The Thanksgiving Play." (Courtesy Glenn Perry/Lyric Stage Company of Boston)

At Lyric Stage, 'The Thanksgiving Play' Knocks The Stuffing Out Of Pilgrims And Performative Wokeness

In Larissa FastHorse’s play, four white teachers set out to “devise” a theater piece that will both celebrate Thanksgiving and pay tribute to Native Americans, but the group is too...

The ARTery

Oct 22, 2019

Previous Page Next Page

BBC Newsday

12 Plays And Musicals That Mattered In Boston This Year

Moonbox Productions Marches Out An Impressive, Impassioned 'Parade'

Boston Children's Theatre Choir Sings Final Show As Organization Goes Bankrupt

Roxane Gay Tweets Praise For A.R.T's 'Jagged Little Pill' And We're Here For It

In The A.R.T.'s Musical 'Moby-Dick,' The Whale Is An Extraordinary Sum Of Diverse Parts

10 Years On, An Open Mic For LGBTQ People Of Color Still Fills A Void In Boston

Jane Fonda Wants You To Think Of Her As An Activist

Boston Children's Theatre Files For Bankruptcy And Cancels Productions

The Huntington Presents A Don Quixote For Our Times, Muchas Gracias

Boston Theater Needs To Start Offering Something No Screen Could Match

Boston Children's Theatre And Executive Director Part Ways Amid Investigation Into Artistic Director

This Dance Responds To The Objectification Of Women In American Culture

Through Community Ritual, 'What To Send Up When It Goes Down' Responds To Racist Violence

Boston Children's Theatre Parents React To Allegations Against Former Artistic Director

For Once, I Experienced Theater With A Lot Of Other Black People In Boston

As Green Street Studio Gets Priced Out Of Central Square, City Offers Possible Solution

At SpeakEasy, 'Admissions' Roasts White Liberals Over The Coals Of A Hot Topic

At Merrimack Rep, '70s Pop Meets The Killing Fields In Powerful 'Cambodian Rock Band'

In 'BB@home: ChoreograpHER,' The Women Of The Boston Ballet Show Ingenuity And Talent

At Lyric Stage, 'The Thanksgiving Play' Knocks The Stuffing Out Of Pilgrims And Performative Wokeness