Reviews Archives

Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Rosé: The Pirates of Penzance Kill it at Cape Rep Theater

August 1, 2024

Take a musical written to satirize society in 1880 Cornwall and transport it to 2024 Cape Cod—which is still in for its own share of satire—and you have Cape Rep Theater’s new production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. And it is...

P-town, Inc. Theme Park and CEO Jay Critchley present “A River to the Sky: The Life of Water”

July 31, 2024

P-town, Inc. Theme Park and CEO Jay Critchley Present: “A River to the Sky: The Life of Water” An Experimental Narrative Performance by Innerworkings Theater’s Arvid Tomayko and Wyona Gene Tourmaline On tour from New Orleans/Pittsburgh, this...

Let’s Do The Time Warp Again! Rocky Horror Wows at the Provincetown Theater

July 21, 2024

Fifty years is a long time to stay edgy, but there’s nothing stodgy about Provincetown Theater’s new production of The Rocky Horror Show; in fact, it feels as fresh and absurdly funny—and possibly even more fun—as the first time any of us saw it. For...

Screen Name, Please: “Grindr Helpdesk: The Musical” at the Post Office Cabaret

July 16, 2024

Let’s start with the basics for those who don’t know: Grindr is an app used by gay men to connect. It’s not a dating app per se; it’s not about sharing your love of sunsets, or your appreciation of Proust, or your desire to someday visit Australia....

Bon Appétit! My Dinner with André: Harbor Stage Again Delivers Magic

July 15, 2024

The setting is French bistro: dark red wallpaper, ornate mirrors, not-too-bright sconces, and an intimate table for two. It could feel claustrophobic, using just this one small part of the stage; but it doesn’t—the ideas exchanged in the Harbor Stage...

It’s One Toke Over the Line at WHAT with Reefer Madness: The Musical

July 8, 2024

Before it became an iconic cult hit, Reefer Madness was a well-intentioned (and unintentionally hilarious) cautionary tale entitled Tell Your Children that had its début as a film in 1936. Or… sort-of well-intentioned. Re-examining it in 2024 with the...

Finding Your Way Home: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

July 6, 2024

It’s the lights you notice, first. Finding your seat in Fishermen Hall in Provincetown for Peregrine Theatre’s production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, you immediately feel part of the set: bright stage lights are rotating, à la police-cruiser strobes,...

Passion & Provocation: Selected Poems by Judith Partelow

June 30, 2024

I don’t often review books of poetry—even though themes are deliberately called out or emerge when reading, I’m always trapped by the individuality of each poem itself and find it difficult to speak of the work as a whole. So it’s with that caveat in...

Betrayed Again! Pinter at the Harbor Stage Company

June 16, 2024

It was tempting to think, “Oh, I saw this last year already, I know what to expect from Betrayal.” And indeed last fall, the play was staged at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater as an inaugural co-production between WHAT and the Harbor Stage Company....

“Smart” at WHAT: Beautifully Chilling and Brilliantly Provocative

June 9, 2024

At a time when there are almost-daily reports of new and different ways artificial intelligence can change—and challenge—the way we live, I looked forward to the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater’s new production of Mary Hamilton’s Smart to issue a wry...