A rousing 'Ain't No Mo'' poses a provocative question

I’m unsure if I’ve ever been as moved, devastated and simultaneously entertained as when I watched Front Porch Arts Collective and SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of Jordan E. Cooper’s “Ain’t No Mo’” (through Feb. 8).

The play starts with a spirited sermon delivered by Pastor Freeman behind a kente-striped podium. It’s 2008, and Barack Obama has been elected president of the United States. The pastor, an excellent De’Lon Grant, tells church mothers donning bejeweled hats — cooling themselves with paper fans — that on account of the election, things are changing. He is giving a sermonic eulogy of sorts for the funeral of Brother Righttocomplain. Now that Obama is president, there will be no more “discrimination, holleration or hateration,” he explains. Read more.

Gold Dust Orphans apply their trademark touch to a horror classic

A frightening horror film might not be the first thing that comes to mind when conjuring up theatrical holiday fare to share onstage, but theater company the Gold Dust Orphans and writer, actor, and cofounder Ryan Landry aren’t keen on doing what’s typical. Year after year, the Orphans crew takes on classic tales and reinvents them using their distinctive brand of shtick. This year’s feature, “Rosemary’s Baby Jesus,” adapted from the popular 1968 Roman Polanski movie “Rosemary’s Baby,” is no exception. Landry and the Orphans have pulled out all the stops to create a hilarious extravaganza with numerous costume changes, musical numbers, and backdrops. Read more.

In a London pub, ‘The Wife of Willesden’ isn’t holding back

There’s a feeling that British actress Clare Perkins gets when she reads an intriguing role, a “fire” of sorts that makes her want to take part. So when she learned of the character Alvita, the leading lady of author and essayist Zadie Smith’s book and first play, “The Wife of Willesden,” which the American Repertory Theater is presenting Feb. 25-March 17, Perkins knew it would be “a good character to bring to the stage.”

Alvita, a Jamaican woman in her mid-50s, is Smith’s adaptation of Alison, the “Wife of Bath” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales.” And though Chaucer’s Alison, a European woman who talked of her desires and multiple husbands, and Smith’s Alvita appear to be quite different at first glance, “the spirit is the same,” Smith writes in the book’s introduction. Read more

10 winter theater productions that urge us to take action

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.

ART’s ‘The Arboretum Experience’ is the balm

Park-goers at the Arnold Arboretum sat cross-legged on the grass, hovered over the seats of bikes, and rested beneath the trees across from the arch of the Bradley Rosaceous Collection rose garden on a recent Saturday. The crowd and curious passersby stopped to hear the multicultural musical group Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys, whose dark lyrics outlining pain and dreams of death seem to belie their cheerful presence.

The concert was part of “The Arboretum Experience,” a months-long venture between the American Repertory Theater and the Arnold Arboretum that aims to activate the park with audio plays, meditation and movement, and pop-up performances. The work aspires to center wellness, healing, and resilience. What resonated most with me is that the availability of the plays and meditation maps allowed me to explore, wander, and discover the park in ways I hadn’t before. Read more.

Netflix Soars To The Top With August Wilson's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'

It’s clear within the first few minutes of "Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom" that two alphas are jockeying for the spotlight: Viola Davis’ Rainey and the late Chadwick Boseman’s Levee, a cornet player in her band. The film quickly takes viewers from a tent show in Barnesville, Georgia to The Grand in Chicago where Rainey and her band are performing. As soon as there’s a pause, Levee, looking for his turn in the sun, steps into the spotlight, sparking the legendary blues singer’s anger. Read more

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.