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American Repertory Theater

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), located in Cambridge, is one of the country's most celebrated resident theatres and the winner of numerous awards, including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. It was recently named the third best theatre in the country by Time magazine. Over its twenty-nine-year history the A.R.T. has welcomed major American and international theatre artists whose singular visions generate and define the theatre's work, presenting a varied repertoire that includes new plays, progressive productions of classical texts, and collaborations between artists from many disciplines. The A.R.T. has toured its productions all over the US and worldwide. The local season runs from September to June, both at the Loeb Drama Center on Brattle Street and at the A.R.T.'s second space, OBERON at the corner of Arrow Street and Massachusetts Avenue. both near Harvard Square. Directions and Parking LOEB DRAMA CENTER (64 Brattle Street) -From North or South, take Route I-93 to the Storrow Drive exit, following signs for Cambridge. Storrow Drive becomes Soldier's Field Road. -From West take Massachusetts Turnpike to exit at Allston tolls. Follow signs to Cambridge, and enter Storrow Drive/Soldier's Field Road. Exit Soldier's Field Road at Harvard Square, turn right onto John F. Kennedy Street (indicated on map as JFK St.) and cross the river and Memorial Drive. Turn left onto Eliot Street, left again onto Bennett Street, continue past the Charles Hotel on your left and turn left onto University Road; the entrance to the Charles Square Garage will be immediately on your left, underneath the Charles Hotel. The entrance to the University Place Garage will be on the right. Walking to the Loeb Drama Center from the Charles Square or University Place Parking Garage: exit onto University Road, turn left onto Mt. Auburn Street, proceed for one block, and then turn right onto Hilliard Street. The theatre is one block ahead on the left, at the corner of Hilliard and Brattle. OBERON (corner of Massachusetts Avenue & Arrow Street) -From North or South, take Route I-93 to the Storrow Drive exit, following signs for Cambridge. Storrow Drive becomes Soldier's Field Road. -From West take Massachusetts Turnpike to exit at Allston tolls. Follow signs to Cambridge. and enter Storrow Drive/Soldier's Field Road. Exit Soldier's Field Road at Harvard Square, turn right onto John F. Kennedy Street (indicated on map as JFK St.) and cross the river and Memorial Drive. Turn left onto Eliot Street, left again onto Bennett Street, continue past the Charles Hotel on your left and turn left onto University Road; the entrance to the Charles Square Garage will be immediately on your left, underneath the Charles Hotel. The entrance to the University Place Garage will be on the right. Walking to Zero Arrow Theatre from the Charles Square or University Place Parking Garage: exit onto University Road, turn right onto Mt. Auburn Street, proceed across John F. Kennedy Street (indicated on map as JFK St.), bear left on Bow Sreet, turn left on DeWolfe Street, and immediately right on Arrow Street. MBTA: Take the MBTA Red Line to the Harvard Square (T) stop.

• At-a-
  Glance

  • Contact Info

    American Repertory Theater

    64 Brattle Street
    and Zero Arrow Street
    Cambridge, MA 02138

    Phone: 617-547-8300

    Fax: 617-495-1705

    Email

    Official Website

• Current &
  Upcoming Events

  • Current Events

    08/31/10- 10/09/10

    CABARET by Kander and Ebb CABARET by Kander and Ebb Presented by American Repertory Theater August 31-October 9, 2010 Avg. Event Rating (2.0 Stars): Take your seat at the Kit Kat Klub, the perfectly marvelous cabaret where singer Sally Bowles meets writer Cliff Bradshaw. As the two pursue a life of pleasure in Weimar Berlin, the world outside the Klub begins to splinter. Presiding over it all is singer, songwriter, and former Dresden Doll Amanda Palmer as the Kit Kat Klub's magnetic Emcee, with Aly Trasher as Sally Bowles and Matt Wood as Cliff Bradshaw. The cast also includes Remo Airaldi as Herr Schultz, David Costa as Ernst Ludwig,...

    06/18/10- 05/29/11

    The Donkey Show Oberon The Donkey Show Presented by American Repertory Theater at Oberon June 18, 2010-May 29, 2011 Avg. Event Rating (3.3 Stars): From its six-year run in New York City to a world tour from London to Seoul, the celebrated smash hit The Donkey Show now takes Boston by storm, bringing the ultimate disco experience – a crazy circus of mirror balls and feathered divas, of roller skaters and hustle queens. Come party on the dance floor to all the 70s disco hits you know by heart as the show unfolds around you. The Donkey Show tells the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream through the great 70s...

  • Upcoming Events

    09/18/10- 10/09/10

    Alice vs. Wonderland based on stories by Lewis Carroll, remixed by Brandon Shea Loeb Drama Center Alice vs. Wonderland based on stories by Lewis Carroll, remixed by Brandon Shea Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center September 18-October 9, 2010 This fantastical update of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass seamlessly blends the lyrical whimsy of Alice with pop culture, high-octane physical theater, and the dynamic vision of acclaimed Hungarian director János Szász. The result is a fresh, funny, and emotional remix of Carroll's classic coming-of-age tale. Adapter Brendan Shea explains his work: “The Alice of my generation is older than Lewis Carroll’s— she’s a...

• Past
  Events

  • Past Events

    05/21/10- 05/29/10	A History of American Film Loeb Experimental Theater A History of American Film Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Experimental Theater May 21-May 29, 2010 The American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater Institute for Advanced Theater Training presents the last production of the 2009-10 season, A History of American Film by Christopher Durang, directed by Thomas Derrah, and performed by the Institute Class of 2010. The production is presented in the Experimental Theater of the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge. Poor orphan Loretta Moran finds herself as the accidental tour guide through a technicolor...
    05/16/10- 07/11/10	Johnny Baseball Loeb Drama Center Johnny Baseball Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center May 16-July 11, 2010 Avg. Event Rating (4.6 Stars): After the Red Sox’s stunning collapse in the 2003 playoffs, a baseball-obsessed team of musical theater writers (one long-suffering Sox fan and two smug yet oddly sympathetic Yankees fans) began searching for the source of Red Sox’s infamous Curse. Their journey yielded surprising conclusions and a clever new musical. Johnny Baseball is an exhilarating blend of fact, fiction, and the mystical power of the game. It traces the origin of the Curse to a collision of three orphaned...
    05/16/10	Vicious Dogs on Premises Oberon Vicious Dogs on Premises Presented by Emerging America Festival at Oberon May 16, 2010 Vicious Dogs on Premises Created by Witness Relocation The A.R.T. joins forces with the Huntington Theatre Company and the Institute of Contemporary Art to create Emerging America, an annual festival of performance and readings devoted to supporting and launching the new American voices of tomorrow. Experience the energy, imagination, and creativity of some of the country's hottest emerging performers, writers, companies, and directors during a weekend filled with excitement and...
    05/16/10	Festival Celebration Party Featuring Decode Oberon Festival Celebration Party Featuring Decode Presented by American Repertory Theater at Oberon May 16, 2010 Festival Celebration Party Featuring Decode Created by Salvatore LaRussa Dance Theatre The A.R.T. joins forces with the Huntington Theatre Company and the Institute of Contemporary Art to create Emerging America, an annual festival of performance and readings devoted to supporting and launching the new American voices of tomorrow. Experience the energy, imagination, and creativity of some of the country's hottest emerging performers, writers, companies, and directors during a...
    05/15/10	Mrs. Smith Presents... Oberon Mrs. Smith Presents... Presented by American Repertory Theater at Oberon May 15, 2010 Mrs. Smith presents...a Benefit for the Carlyle Foundation Empowerment School for People and Cats with Severe and Persistent Challenges Created by David Hanbury and Michael Goldfried Starring David Hanbury, featuring Ryan Landry The A.R.T. joins forces with the Huntington Theatre Company and the Institute of Contemporary Art to create Emerging America, an annual festival of performance and readings devoted to supporting and launching the new American voices of tomorrow....
    05/15/10- 05/16/10	Live From the Edge Oberon Live From the Edge Presented by American Repertory Theater at Oberon May 15-May 16, 2010 Live from the Edge. Created by Universes The A.R.T. joins forces with the Huntington Theatre Company and the Institute of Contemporary Art to create Emerging America, an annual festival of performance and readings devoted to supporting and launching the new American voices of tomorrow. Experience the energy, imagination, and creativity of some of the country's hottest emerging performers, writers, companies, and directors during a weekend filled with excitement and drama. For...
    05/15/10- 05/16/10	Particularly in the Heartland Oberon Particularly in the Heartland Presented by American Repertory Theater at Oberon May 15-May 16, 2010 Particularly in the Heartland Created by The TEAM The A.R.T. joins forces with the Huntington Theatre Company and the Institute of Contemporary Art to create Emerging America, an annual festival of performance and readings devoted to supporting and launching the new American voices of tomorrow. Experience the energy, imagination, and creativity of some of the country's hottest emerging performers, writers, companies, and directors during a weekend filled with excitement and...
    05/15/10	Post-Living Ante-Action Theater (Club Remix) Oberon Post-Living Ante-Action Theater (Club Remix) Presented by American Repertory Theater at Oberon May 15, 2010 Post-Living Ante-Action Theater (Club Remix) Created by My Barbarian The A.R.T. joins forces with the Huntington Theatre Company and the Institute of Contemporary Art to create Emerging America, an annual festival of performance and readings devoted to supporting and launching the new American voices of tomorrow. Experience the energy, imagination, and creativity of some of the country's hottest emerging performers, writers, companies, and directors during a weekend filled with...
    05/15/10	Late Night The Donkey Show and Celebration Oberon Late Night The Donkey Show and Celebration Presented by Emerging America Festival at Oberon May 15, 2010  The A.R.T. joins forces with the Huntington Theatre Company and the Institute of Contemporary Art to create Emerging America, an annual festival of performance and readings devoted to supporting and launching the new American voices of tomorrow. Experience the energy, imagination, and creativity of some of the country's hottest emerging performers, writers, companies, and directors during a weekend filled with excitement and drama. For more information on this particular show,...
    03/19/10- 03/27/10	The Skin of Our Teeth Oberon The Skin of Our Teeth Presented by American Repertory Theater at Oberon March 19-March 27, 2010 The American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater Institute for Advanced Theater Training presents The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder, directed by Scott Zigler, and performed by the Institute Class of 2010. Join George and Maggie Antrobus, happily married 5,000 years, as they survive Ice Ages, Great Floods, and Apocalypses by the skin of their teeth. Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer prize-winning philosophical comedy reminds us that, in spite of ecological or economic disaster, humankind...
    02/27/10- 03/20/10	Paradise Lost Loeb Drama Center Paradise Lost Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center February 27-March 20, 2010 Avg. Event Rating (2.0 Stars): The American economy is on the edge of catastrophe and futures are at risk. The Gordon family, losing all they have worked for, strive to preserve their trust in each other and in the promise of their nation. Written by one of the greatest twentieth-century playwrights, Paradise Lost is a poetic, humane, and distinctly American drama that examines the impact of money and greed on family, business, and love. First produced by the Group Theatre in 1935, the play voices the suffering, hope, and...
    01/07/10- 02/06/10	GATZ by Elevator Repair Service Loeb Drama Center GATZ by Elevator Repair Service Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center January 7-February 6, 2010 Avg. Event Rating (4.5 Stars): One morning in the low-rent office of a mysterious small business, an employee finds a copy of The Great Gatsby in the clutter of his desk. He starts to read it out loud, and doesn’t stop. At first his co-workers hardly notice. But after a series of strange coincidences, it’s no longer clear whether he’s reading the book or the book is doing something to him and his colleagues. An audacious theatrical tour de force performed in two parts, Gatz is not a stage...
    11/21/09- 01/03/10	Best of Both Worlds Loeb Drama Center Best of Both Worlds Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center November 21, 2009-January 3, 2010 Avg. Event Rating (3.6 Stars): Bursting with the sounds of R&B and gospel, Best of Both Worlds is a soulful re-envisioning of The Winter’s Tale, Shakespeare’s timeless story of heartbreak and redemption. Clap your hands, jump out of your seat, and feel the power of love with this holiday treat for all ages. Best of Both Worlds takes us on a journey through the rich musical tapestry of R&B, rediscovering Shakespeare’s characters with smooth sounds and funky beats. When jealousy rips apart...
    10/08/09- 02/07/10	"Sleep No More" by Punchdrunk The Old Lincoln School "Sleep No More" by Punchdrunk Presented by American Repertory Theater at The Old Lincoln School October 8, 2009-February 7, 2010 Avg. Event Rating (5.0 Stars): The award-winning British theater company Punchdrunk makes its U.S. debut with Sleep No More, an immersive production inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, told through the lens of a Hitchcock thriller. An extraordinary, unexpected location will be exquisitely transformed into an installation of cinematic scenes that evoke the world of Macbeth. The audience will have the freedom to roam the environment and experience a sensory journey as they choose what to watch and where...
    10/01/09- 10/03/09	A.R.T./MXAT Institute presents The Winter's Tale Loeb Drama Center A.R.T./MXAT Institute presents The Winter's Tale Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center October 1-October 3, 2009 The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in conjunction with the Moscow Art Theater Institute for Advanced Theater Training presents The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, its first production of the 2009-2010 season. From the savage world of Sicilia to the comic country life of Bohemia, this bold, slimmed-down production takes audiences on an exhilarating journey through one of Shakespeare's last plays.
    07/22/09- 08/02/09	Aurelia's Oratorio Loeb Drama Center Aurelia's Oratorio Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center July 22-August 2, 2009 Avg. Event Rating (3.7 Stars): This ideal family treat played to sold-out houses this winter. If you weren't able to get a ticket then, now is your chance! Reserve your tickets early - this strictly limited engagement runs for only two weeks! Behind the red velvet curtain lies a topsy-turvy world of surreal surprises, tricks, and transformations, where dreams come to life and the impossible happens before your very eyes…. Aurélia Thierrée was first seen on the A.R.T. stage as a young...
    06/11/09- 06/28/09	The Duck Variations and Sexual Perversity in Chicago Zero Arrow Theatre The Duck Variations and Sexual Perversity in Chicago Presented by American Repertory Theater at Zero Arrow Theatre June 11-June 28, 2009 A double bill from David Mamet, dealing with male relationships early and late in life, parables on sex and aging. The Duck Variations presents George and Emil, two elderly friends, sitting on a lakeshore bench watching ducks and telling tales. Their conversation skirts around the issues of friendship and the fear of being alone. Their younger counterparts in Sexual Perversity make feeble attempts at romantic relationships that threaten their own friendship.
    05/29/09- 06/06/09	Seriously Funny Zero Arrow Theatre Seriously Funny Presented by American Repertory Theatre at Zero Arrow Theatre May 29-June 6, 2009 Part of "Sex, Satire, Romance, and Ducks: A David Mamet Celebration" at the A.R.T. An evening of short comedies by David Mamet and his friends and frequent collaborators Harold Pinter, and Shel Silverstein. Featuring the graduating actors of the A.R.T. Institute under the helm of actor, director, and longtime Mamet collaborator Jim Frangione. The following short plays by David Mamet will be performed: L.A. Sketches 1-5, Australia, A Life with No Joy in it, Sunday Afternoon, and...
    05/09/09- 06/07/09	ROMANCE by David Mamet Loeb Drama Center ROMANCE by David Mamet Presented by American Repertory Theatre at Loeb Drama Center May 9-June 7, 2009 Avg. Event Rating (4.3 Stars): A Jewish chiropractor, a Catholic defense lawyer, a gay prosecutor, and a pill-popping judge walk into a courtroom..." It's ROMANCE...Mamet-style. Lawyers and judges, Jews and Christians, homosexuals and chiropractors no one gets off easy in Mamet's madcap skewering of the American legal system. As a Mideast Peace Conference convenes nearby, an ambiguous court case is persistently interrupted by domestic squabbles, ethnic slur-slinging, and a hallucinating judge. The noble practice of...
    03/28/09- 04/22/09	Trojan Barbie Zero Arrow Theatre Trojan Barbie Presented by American Repertory Theatre at Zero Arrow Theatre March 28-April 22, 2009 Avg. Event Rating (3.0 Stars): Lotte Jones, a doll repair expert, needs a vacation. She books herself on a cultural tour for singles and travels with them to modern-day Troy, where she finds more of a change of scene than she'd bargained for in the midst of an attack by the Greek army threatening to destroy the last fragments of a mighty civilization. Part contemporary drama, part homage to Euripides' Trojan Women, Trojan Barbie tells the perpetually moving tale of Priam's widow, Hecuba, and her defenseless family,...
    02/14/09- 03/15/09	Endgame by Samuel Beckett Loeb Drama Center Endgame by Samuel Beckett Presented by American Repertory Theatre at Loeb Drama Center February 14-March 15, 2009 Avg. Event Rating (4.0 Stars): Spare, enigmatic, and absurdly funny, Endgame is one of the greatest dramas of the modern age. Both an existential comedy and a domestic tragedy, it charts a day in the life of a family fallen on mysteriously hard times - blind and chair-bound Hamm, his beleaguered servant Clov, his parents Nagg and Nell, who live in two ashbins and long for sugar-plums, and a black toy dog with a missing leg. Beckett's language is honed to a distilled beauty, and his archetypal characters achieve a...

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  • Media Reviews

    • Event Name: The Donkey Show
      Dream in "Donkey Show" is Shakespearean
      The Boston Globe - Sep 16, 2009
      By Don Aucoin

      "Riveting...so visceral that words seem almost beside the point.. Paulus is off to a strong start at ART". Expand

      "Riveting...so visceral that words seem almost beside the point.. Paulus is off to a strong start at ART". Collapse

    • Event Name: The Donkey Show
      Get Your Kicks at The Donkey Show
      Boston Herald - Sep 16, 2009
      By Jenna Scherer

      "Guys, have you heard about this new club in Harvard Square? It’s swankier than Redline, and it beats the pants off of the Hong Kong. It’s called Oberon, and I think there used to be a theater there or something. Oh wait, it’s still a theater, y… Expand

      "Guys, have you heard about this new club in Harvard Square? It’s swankier than Redline, and it beats the pants off of the Hong Kong. It’s called Oberon, and I think there used to be a theater there or something. Oh wait, it’s still a theater, you say?
      
      In case you couldn’t tell from the crowds of glittery young things swelling on the corner of Arrow Street and Massachusetts Avenue, “The Donkey Show” isn’t business as usual at the American Repertory Theatre." Collapse

    • Event Name: The Donkey Show
      Disco Ball - The Donkey Show gets its kicks at the ART
      The Boston Phoenix - Sep 16, 2009
      By Carolyn Clay

      C-dust pinch-hits for fairy dust in The Donkey Show, Diane Paulus & Randy Weiner's disco-set riff on A Midsummer Night's Dream. Forget the juice of "a little western flower" with which fairy king Oberon and hench-sprite Puck mix up the… Expand

      C-dust pinch-hits for fairy dust in The Donkey Show, Diane Paulus & Randy Weiner's disco-set riff on A Midsummer Night's Dream. Forget the juice of "a little western flower" with which fairy king Oberon and hench-sprite Puck mix up the libidos of the hormone-drenched characters charging through Shakespeare's Athenian wood. In the Studio 54–inspired environs of Club Oberon (formerly Zero Arrow Theatre), where this theatrical dance party unfolds through October 31, Dr. Wheelgood, a gold-lamé-clad Puck on roller skates, lures human quarry into a curtained-off corner from which they emerge staggering and tumbling, a residue of white powder on upper lips and fake moustaches. And did I mention that the androgynous principals are played by women, whereas fairy queen Tytania's posse is a quartet of buff young men in tight boy shorts, glitter, and not much else?
      Before you go running for Harold Bloom and the sheriff, let me add that this energetic marriage of disco, Dream, and Tijuana tourist entertainment may be the most alive, immersive piece of theater I've ever been dunked in. Collapse

• Member
  Reviews

  • Member Reviews

    • Event Name: CABARET by Kander and Ebb
      "not as powerful as I had hoped"
      Review posted by: Sam O from Cambridge MA, Sep 02, 2010
      

      I was graced with opening night balcony tickets and really thought I would enjoy myself (being a HUGE fan of Oberon shows and Amanda Palmer - how could I go wrong?) but I found the production quite... Expand

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      I was graced with opening night balcony tickets and really thought I would enjoy myself (being a HUGE fan of Oberon shows and Amanda Palmer - how could I go wrong?) but I found the production quite long and fraught with technical issues. I actually found I was more into the pre-show performers (who were VERY enthralling! Oberon do MORE of this please!) than the actual show because I was so distracted by mics not working and people shouting back stage. an accent coach would have helped ma. Palmer Also if the ending had stopped when the last door opened - it would have been very powerful - I was awestruck (not in a good way) that they used the particular device of the prayer in that way - the play didn't mange to make me believe they deserved to use that ending - it looked like someone else entirely choreographed that ending Thomas Derrah as Fraulein Schneider - BEST part of the production - his performance alone is worth seeing, but only just... Collapse

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    • Event Name: Johnny Baseball
      "Worth Your Time!"
      Review posted by: JMS from Wellesley, MA, Jul 05, 2010
      

      This was a wonderful show - great music, lyrics, acting. The staging is compelling and the humor is infectious! All of the actors are terrific. I want to especially commend the lead actress, who... Expand

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      This was a wonderful show - great music, lyrics, acting. The staging is compelling and the humor is infectious! All of the actors are terrific. I want to especially commend the lead actress, who sustained a foot injury the day before but in true "the show must go on" fashion, she was seated on stage and played and sang her way to a standing ovation. The fact that she was "sidelined" actually added to the essence of the racism theme in the play. Run, don't walk, to catch this show before it ends on the 11th. Collapse

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    • Event Name: Johnny Baseball
      "Really great"
      Review posted by: dc from Boston, Jul 05, 2010
      

      A terrific show, combining the fanaticism of the Red Sox Nation with a look at the city's history and reputation with the player community.

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      A terrific show, combining the fanaticism of the Red Sox Nation with a look at the city's history and reputation with the player community.

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    • Event Name: Johnny Baseball
      "Amazing production!!"
      Review posted by: newtonma from Newton, MA, Jul 05, 2010
      

      Johnny Baseball was a broadway quality production. On the surface it's a great musical for any baseball lover, especially a Red Sox fan. But it goes much deeper than that, looking at race issues in... Expand

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      Johnny Baseball was a broadway quality production. On the surface it's a great musical for any baseball lover, especially a Red Sox fan. But it goes much deeper than that, looking at race issues in the history of baseball. My son thoroughly enjoyed it and learned something about recent American hostory as well. I was so pleasantly surpised with the wonderful seats I got through Artsboston! Collapse

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    • Event Name: Johnny Baseball
      "Great show!"
      Review posted by: Marianp from Newton, MA, Jun 21, 2010
      

      What a wonderful show! The actors were top notch and their singing was wonderful. The actor playing Babe Ruth practically stole the show! My favorite tune I think was the two young players singing Mr.... Expand

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      What a wonderful show! The actors were top notch and their singing was wonderful. The actor playing Babe Ruth practically stole the show! My favorite tune I think was the two young players singing Mr. Wyatt/Mr. Mays. Highly recommended. Collapse

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    • Event Name: The Donkey Show
      "Donkey Show Date Night"
      Review posted by: donald from whitman ma, Jun 10, 2010
      

      Do you love disco and dancing...like a little Shakespeare....Head out on a date to the donkey show and you will have a fun sexy night that will last all weekend...there will be glitter everywhere

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      Do you love disco and dancing...like a little Shakespeare....Head out on a date to the donkey show and you will have a fun sexy night that will last all weekend...there will be glitter everywhere

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    • Event Name: Johnny Baseball
      "Johhny Baseball Scores a win"
      Review posted by: marybeth crowley from newton ma 02459, Jun 10, 2010
      

      A.R.T does it again with another great production. This play about the Red Sox Curse is a must for any Red Sox, baseball or musical fan. The music is great and you will fall in love with Johnny,Babe... Expand

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      A.R.T does it again with another great production. This play about the Red Sox Curse is a must for any Red Sox, baseball or musical fan. The music is great and you will fall in love with Johnny,Babe and the whole cast. A real grand slam! Collapse

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    • Event Name: Johnny Baseball
      "Total crowd pleaser"
      Review posted by: Emily from Somerville MA, Jun 08, 2010
      

      This was such a great show. I went with another avid theatre enthousiast and three who don't see much (by choice). We all loved it! The story line was great for big sox fans those not into the sport... Expand

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      This was such a great show. I went with another avid theatre enthousiast and three who don't see much (by choice). We all loved it! The story line was great for big sox fans those not into the sport would still love it. This show had momentium and captivated all ages. The beer and hot dog carts were really cute thematic additions. Collapse

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    • Event Name: The Donkey Show
      "Absolute fun!"
      Review posted by: Glen Kewley from Boston, MA, Jun 07, 2010
      

      One of the best things to happen to Boston nightlife in years. The show is fun, upbeat, and shakes the cobwebs off puritanical and provincial Boston. A.R.T. has another great adaptation of a... Expand

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      One of the best things to happen to Boston nightlife in years. The show is fun, upbeat, and shakes the cobwebs off puritanical and provincial Boston. A.R.T. has another great adaptation of a traditional story; in the same genre as "The Isle of Slaves" several seasons back. Collapse

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    • Event Name: Johnny Baseball
      "The A.R.T. Team Pitches a Perfect Game!"
      Review posted by: Al Chase from Cambridge, MA, Jun 04, 2010
      

      In a wonderful case of art imitating life, the doubleheader dramas of two perfect games played themselves out last evening in two venerable American cities. In Detroit, an imperfect call spoiled a... Expand

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      In a wonderful case of art imitating life, the doubleheader dramas of two perfect games played themselves out last evening in two venerable American cities. In Detroit, an imperfect call spoiled a perfect baseball game being pitched by the Tigers' young hurler, Armando Galarraga. With two outs in the 9th inning, first base umpire, Jim Joyce, erroneously signaled safe as Indians' hitter Jason Donald touched the first base bag a split second after Galarraga had tagged the sack with his foot. In a perfect world, the umpire would have gotten the call right and Galarraga would have completed the 21st perfect game in Major League Baseball history. A Greek tragedy, to be sure. Meanwhile, 700 miles to the east, a perfect game was being tossed by the team that created and presented the new musical "Johnny Baseball" - a play that deals with some of the darkest and most imperfect chapters of baseball history. I wrote earlier about a preview performance that I had seen on May 22. Prior Blog Piece about the Preview Performance Last evening was the official Press Opening night, and I was pleased to be able to attend and to see the differences in the two performances. I had really enjoyed the preview performance. In a sense, it was like being invited into an artist's studio to watch the painter add the last few brush strokes to a canvas that would eventually be proclaimed a masterpiece. Last night, the masterpiece was complete, framed, signed by the artists, hung in the most appropriate gallery, and perfectly lighted to show off all of the masterpiece's chiaroscuro nuances and subtleties. And the results were perfetto! The crowd that gathered for the unveiling of this freshly-minted work of art had a buzz and electricity that rivaled that which one feels in the stands at Fenway just before the first pitch of a Red Sox-Yankees game. The creative team that conceived of this project and midwifed it through its long gestational period have clearly treated this show as a labor of love. What comes across and sparkles like diamonds is the artists' love for the theater, for baseball, for the Red Sox, for justice and for the miracle that occurs when a perfectly told tale reaches out and grabs the hearts of the audience. That miracle occurred last night in my heart, and if the telltale streaks of tears running down the cheeks of the men and women sitting around me are a reliable barometer, I was not alone in experiencing a transcendent evening. Richard Dresser and Willie Reale wrote the story, with Willie also supplying the lyrics to the songs; Willie's brother, Robert Reale, wrote the music. Diane Paulus, Artistic Director for the American Repertory Theater, directed this production. The result of the blending together of these singular talents is a collaboration as smooth as the legendary double-play combination of Tinkers-to Evers-to Chance. This team was backed up brilliantly with a set designed by Scott Pask that helped to transport the audience alternately to the fabled Green Monster at Fenway Park and to a North End bordello where patrons were encouraged to pay out their money to "fall in love for an hour." Lighting effects by Donald Holder made me think of the film, "The Natural." The baseball sounds and crowd noises, designed by Acme Sound Partners, added to the air of verisimilitude that permeated the performance space. Period costumes by Michael McDonald evoked just the right sense of nostalgia. Let me talk about the cast - the starting line-up for this championship team. In my previous piece, I highlighted three of the principals: "Burke Moses looks just like a young Babe Ruth, and when he runs around the bases, he channels the Babe's mincing steps with uncanny precision. Colin Donnell, as Johnny 'Baseball' O'Brien, is an Irish Tenor who could have walked right out of central casting or off the sands of the L Street Beach in South Boston. Stephanie Umoh as Daisy Wyatt is a delight - iridescent in beauty and incandescent in talent." Let me also mention the fine work turned in by Charl Brown as the young Negro League pitcher, Tim Wyatt. Charles Turner as "Fan #9" (to say more about his character's identity would be to give away a wonderful plot twist) was paired throughout the show with Robby, played by Newburyport's own Erik March as a young and remarkably knowledgeable and prescient young Red Sox fan. This unlikely pair - Black and White, winter and springtime, innocent and jaded, hopeful and resigned - provide the narrative backbone for the telling of this story. The scenes unfold as Fan #9 tells Robby the real story of the curse that has prevented the Red Sox from winning a World Series for 86 years. This play is at its core an ensemble piece, with fans in the stands functioning as a Greek Chorus with the most pitch-perfect Boston accents ever to grace a stage. Usually, an ensemble is lumped together when accolades are being given. If you will indulge me, I would like to single out each of them, beginning with the Casting Director, Stephen Kopel. Seldom do I feel that a cast is "perfect," but in the case of "Johnny Baseball," the removal of any one of these ensemble characters would leave the show bereft of a key ingredient. In addition to their roles as fans in the stands, each ensemble member portrays multiple characters with wonderful versatility and agility. Jeff Brooks - Throughout the show, this obsessive-compulsive Red Sox fanatic bargains with God: "If only You let us score one more run, I will go back on my diet." Joe Cassidy - A Mike O'Malley look-alike, Fan #4 has had Red Sox season tickets for years. Having lost his money and his marriage to his gambling addiction at the race track, the divorce settlement forced him to give one of his seats to his ex-wife. The bad chemistry between the two of them is both hilarious and poignant. Paula Leggett Chase (no relation that I know of to The White Rhino) - Fan #8 sings a memorable and brilliant song, "Not Rivera," about her guilty pleasure as a Red Sox fan of being in love with Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera. Kaitlyn Davidson - As Fan #6, she conducts a running feud with her mother. As Babe Ruth's nurse in the hospital in 1948, fending off his amorous advances, she is the foil for one of the show's most memorable lines. The Babe, emaciated from cancer and suffering from pneumonia, tells Daisy Wyatt, "It's not easy to coax a dame into a death bed." Carly Jibson - As Fan #5, she is the bitter ex-wife who taunts her ex seemingly with every pitch being thrown from the mound at Fenway. As a breathlessly out-of-shape Worcester Booster cheerleader, she is hilarious, finally collapsing into the audience. In last night's performance, she ended up at the feet of some special guests - legendary Red Sox left hander, Bill Lee, and his wife, Diana. To say that Bill and Diana loved the show would be an understatement, but I digress! Robert McClure - Despite the actor's New Jersey roots, he plays a wonderful Red Sox Fan #3, simultaneously embracing his desire that "The Curse" be broken, and holding at bay his matrimonially-minded girlfriend of seven years who pleads for "hardware on her hand." Kirsten Wyatt - Fan #7 wants nothing more than for "The Curse" to be broken so that her commitment-averse boyfriend will finally "take a knee" and pop the question. Alan H. Green - Among other characters, Green portrays Willie Mays. His duet with Tim Wyatt, "See You in the Big Leagues," is one of the show's highlights. Each ensemble member brings his own individual quirkiness or her own charming foibles. Together, they are pure magic. Perfect in every way. The Reale brothers have outdone themselves with the music and lyrics. There are some singable and memorable melodies. There are no "throw away" songs. The combination of solos, duets and ensemble singing is offered in an ideal blend. Each musical number advances the narrative in a significant way, which speaks to great writing and great direction. Some of the lyrics are brilliant. The songs that still play in my head hours after the curtain fell include "Eighty-Six Years," "All I Have to Do," "Daisy Darling Why," Color Me Blue" and "Daisy's Letter." The musical numbers that really moved me and gripped my heart like a pitcher grasps a four-seam fastball are "Circle in a Diamond," "Errors" and the finale, "The Game of Baseball," a paean to America's game. Have I convinced you that I loved the show? My fellow audience members were clearly transformed into fans, roaring their approval and jumping to their feet the moment the curtain calls began. See this show, which will run through June in Cambridge at the A.R.T.'s Loeb Theater. "God bless the Boston Red Sox!" God bless "Johnny Baseball" Perfect! Al Collapse

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