For my money, the Underground Railway Theater’s presentation of “Vanity Fair, An (Im-)Morality Play,” at Central Square Theater through February 23, couldn’t be a more timely and engaging burlesque of the surplus of hypocrisy and disguised cruelty that runs just below even the most distinguished of civilizations. In this case, the narrative is based on novelist William Makepeace Thackery’s mid-19th century novel, “Vanity Fair," which, judging from this dramatic adaptation, looked minutely and scathingly at an England nearing the height of an empire so globally broad that upon it, “the sun never sets.” The directing and the acting were, in this reviewer’s perception, superb. It was a delight to see hypocrisy so fully inflated with its own pomposity it seemed to float like a gas-filled balloon across the narrow stage with only its tiny, well-shod feet showing — the more pleasure to … [Read more...] about VANITY FAIR, AN (IM-)MORALITY PLAY AT CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER
Theater
THEATER REVIEW: THE SEVEN FINGERS PRESENT PASSENGERS AT EMERSON CUTLER
Once again, Arts Emerson has hosted “The Seven Fingers,” a perennial favorite from Canada, most recently for the United States premiere of “Passengers” at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre. The Seven Fingers troupe must be named for the acrobatic finesse with which they navigate the on-stage ropes, wires and poles which the contemporary circus movement summons for small stage presentations — small stage, that is, in comparison to the “death-defying” heights of the traditional ‘Big-Top” circus tents of my youth. I didn’t much miss the dizzying heights of those days, since these performers were able to demonstrate their breath-taking expertise at more accommodating distances — almost eye-level in some acts. Looking at the cover of “Passengers” program I see again but still don’t quite believe how Conor Wild uses the Chinese pole so deftly for his acrobatics — levitating and … [Read more...] about THEATER REVIEW: THE SEVEN FINGERS PRESENT PASSENGERS AT EMERSON CUTLER
THE CRUCIBLE AT CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER
After seeing Arthur Miller’s classic drama “The Crucible” at the Central Square Theater, I was hunting in my mind for an image which would summarize and elucidate its frenetic action when I found myself standing under a study, old Poplar tree in a local park. A breeze suddenly swept through the park, not only swaying the tree’s long sturdy branches, but also setting every leaf on the Poplar shifting from its light to its dark side. I remember reading once that the stem of each Poplar leaf is so peculiarly attached to the main body of the leaf as to enable this unique and striking shiver or trembling in the wind. William Bradford, fresh off the Mayflower, described Massachusetts in 1620 as “a hideous and desolate wilderness full of wild beasts and wild men.” Not a promising prospect. And yet, Bradford tackled his fears head-on. After a reportedly terrible first winter, Bradford was … [Read more...] about THE CRUCIBLE AT CENTRAL SQUARE THEATER
WALT MCGOUGH’S BRAWLER AT THE BOSTON PLAYWRIGHT THEATRE
by James Foritano BOSTON, MA--It’s an unimposing facade and a small stage inside the Boston Playwrights’ Theater at 949 Commonwealth Avenue, so if you take your cues from looks and size, you’re not prepared at all for the tragic grandeur of “Brawler,” authored by Walt McGough, and directed in a world premiere collaboration with Kitchen Theatre Company by M. Bevin O’Gara. Tragedy, rightly understood, doesn’t seem to appeal to us anymore, the way it did to the ancient Greeks or to Shakespeare. We cherish our “innocence” and bad things just seem to happen to innocent people without their connivance — like extreme weather and ambushes with heavy weapons. Very bad luck, in other words, but unavoidable. The four characters in “Brawler” are, to different degrees, anything but innocent, in spite of the fact that they are all more or less dedicated to nothing more harmful than … [Read more...] about WALT MCGOUGH’S BRAWLER AT THE BOSTON PLAYWRIGHT THEATRE
THE WHITE CARD AT THE EMERSON PARAMOUNT CENTER
by James Foritano BOSTON, MA--Claudia Rankine’s The White Card, playing through April 1 at the Emerson Paramount Center on the Robert J. Orchard Stage, is about both the privileges of whiteness in a multi-racial society and the enervating struggles of a family in conflict and confrontation. Either one of these themes is huge enough to be handled alone, but both at once, however deftly explored, seemed, to this reviewer to overwhelm rather than enlighten. “Charles,” Daniel Gerroll’s character, is a prosperous developer of everything between and including the polar opposites of hospitals and private prisons, trying to live down the conflict between the nurturing and punishing aspects of these institutions by establishing a foundation which aspires to collect and forefront black art and artists. “Charlotte,” played by Karen Pittman, is a black artist invited for dinner … [Read more...] about THE WHITE CARD AT THE EMERSON PARAMOUNT CENTER
JENNIFER VINEGAR AVERY: A PRETTY PARADOX
12 FOR OUR 12TH JENNIFER VINEGAR AVERY FOR MORE INFORMATION: JENNIFERLAVERY.COM by J. Fatima Martins Jennifer Vinegar Avery is an intellectually formidable artist; the joie de vivre and zaniness seen in her art is not contrived entertainment. The name itself, Vinegar, is not a moniker — it’s real, and is a push-back against the “sugar and spice and everything nice” cliché applied to girls. “Clap your hands and say, Jennifer,” she wrote, “clap your hands and say Vinegar, it’s the same thing! A pretty paradox. Avery means wisdom of the elves and it lends itself to emphasis and intensity.” At the time of this writing, Vinegar was living her usual duality, perfectly blended: joy (luxury) and sorrow (imperfection). She was invited to install and perform the theatrical piece “Pupa, Poubelles et Les Bêtes/The Beast Boutique” at the Maison Hermes Le Forum art space in … [Read more...] about JENNIFER VINEGAR AVERY: A PRETTY PARADOX