Imagining a better world or fearing a markedly worse one is often at the center of sci-fi narratives both onstage and off. As the omicron variant continues to spread in this nearly two-year-long pandemic, many of us might find ourselves imagining what it’s like to be free of it. Recently, the variant’s impact has forced theaters, locally and beyond, to suspend some new productions and hasten the end of the runs of a few existing ones. It’s apropos then that this winter season, many companies — some who still have virtual options in addition to in-person — will continue to host panels centering important conversations and feature stories that contend with the issues that plague us, from climate change to identity, disease, and dystopian futures. Here are 10 productions that aspire to push theatergoers to consider cultivating new ways of thinking and spur them to action. Read more.
arts
Get Under The Covers Or Crawl Into The Closet — It's All Part Of A Gripping 'Baby Jessica' Play
Curled beneath my dining room table in the dark, I listen to a montage of news stories. The news — and accompanying music — centers on 18-month-old Jessica McClure who fell into a well in Midland, Texas. More than 30 years ago, the toddler, dubbed “Baby Jessica,” became trapped 22 feet below the surface. The nation prayed for Jessica, donated money to her family and watched hourly updates about her harrowing encounter. Jessica’s fall and 58-hour rescue is the inspiration behind WalkUpArts’ “Baby Jessica’s Well-Made Play,” an experimental, ambitious show that packs an emotional wallop. Hours after I participated in it, I was still thinking about it.
The interactive play is a five-act conversation about fear, hope, culture, and memory that begins the moment Jessica falls into the well. Due to COVID-19, instead of a stage, costumes, lighting and onlookers, “Baby Jessica’s Well-Made Play,” relies solely on the actor and the audience — an audience of one. The entire show by playwright and WalkUpArts co-founder Philip Santos Schaffer is performed for one person at a time over the phone. Taking place over two nights, the show includes audio, live performances and a mysterious fifth act. Read more.
Imagine There's No Virus — The Huntington's Radio Plays Look To The Future In 'Dream Boston' →
in reviews
If you close your eyes and listen, local spots like the Boston Public Library, MIT’s Great Dome and the North Bridge in Concord come to life in the lushly layered soundscapes of the Huntington Theatre Company’s new audio micro-plays, "Dream Boston." Four of the area's leading playwrights answer the Huntington’s call to “imagine their favorite locations, landmarks and friends in a future Boston, when we can once again meet and thrive in our city.” There are footsteps, cannons, cheering and other elements of Valentin Frank's rich sound design that help set the scenes.
Kate Snodgrass and Brenda Withers tackle loss from different angles, and Melinda Lopez looks to the past only to push us to think more about the future. Read more.
Read More
With 'I Am A Man,' Castle Of Our Skins Rewrites The Narrative Of Black Masculinity →
Fed up with low wages and poor working conditions, more than a thousand black sanitation workers flooded the streets of Memphis on Feb. 12, 1968. The men, pushed to the breaking point by the death of their colleagues, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, who were “crushed by a malfunctioning truck,” went on strike. They protested with bold signage that decried "I AM A MAN."
That declaration demanding dignity and equality is at the center of Castle of Our Skins’ (COOS) latest project, “I AM A MAN 2019,” premiering June 2. Through music, film, history and more, “I AM A MAN 2019” examines that historical moment through the lens of contemporary concerns of black masculinity and humanity. Read more