Performing Arts

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Not so great

San Francisco's Nutcracker on PBS
Way back in 1977, PBS gave us a Nutcracker with a difference: Mikhail Baryshnikov as an electrifying Nutcracker/Cavalier and willowy Gelsey Kirkland as an older-than-usual Clara, as the Sugar Plum Fairy.
By JEFFREY GANTZ | December 02, 2008

Smaller is better

Boston Ballet's Nutcracker at the Opera House
Next fall, Boston Ballet will move all its performing operations to the Opera House from Citi Performing Arts Center's immense and unfriendly Wang Theatre.
By MARCIA B. SIEGEL | December 02, 2008

Dance, Monkey: Rich Ceisler

We put a comic on the hot seat. This week's victim...
Rather than hunting animals, she should be hunting all of the young men that are after her underage daughters.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | November 26, 2008

Triumph of the will

2nd Story's stirring Miracle Worker
It's easy enough— unavoidable, actually — to admire and be amazed by the accomplishments of Helen Keller, but it took the account by playwright William Gibson for the remarkable work of her teacher, Annie Sullivan, to be so widely appreciated.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | November 26, 2008

Who Says Jim Gaffigan Isn't Sexy?

Oops. We did.
Jim Gaffigan dubbed his latest traveling venture "The Sexy Tour," and he's bringing it to Boston this weekend.
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | November 19, 2008

Timeless treat

It's hard not to enjoy a rousing production of Oklahoma!, for more reasons than any musical needs in order to get audiences smiling and humming afterward. URI Theatre is pleasing those familiar with the classic and winning new fans with a production (through November 23) that just can't stop moving.
URI heads to Oklahoma!
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | November 19, 2008

Wallowing

Lockerbie overdoes the melodrama
Playwright Deborah Brevoort looked at the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, shook her head, and reduced the tragedy to its effect on one family and one town in The Women of Lockerbie , being staged by Roger Williams University Theatre (through November 22).
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | November 19, 2008

Dynamos

Philadanco at the ICA
The four pieces on the program that Philadanco brought for its Boston debut last weekend at the Institute for Contemporary Art were all-dance numbers showcasing a troupe of highly polished, supercharged dancers.
By MARCIA B. SIEGEL | November 18, 2008

Sympathy for the Devil

Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll at the Huntington; McPherson's The Seafarer at SpeakEasy
Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll at the Huntington; McPherson's The Seafarer at SpeakEasy
By CAROLYN CLAY | November 24, 2008

Steps . . . and more steps

Boston Conservatory and BoSoma make dance work hard
Martha Graham’s Steps in the Street doesn’t look anything like a dance of the 21st century, but at the end of Boston Conservatory’s fall program last weekend it fit right in.
By MARCIA B. SIEGEL | November 17, 2008

Power play(1)

The Gamm's An Ideal Husband
At this time of renewed political idealism in the country, director Judith Swift has labeled the London setting of An Ideal Husband , at the Gamm through December 7, as "inspired by the 19th century, set in the 20th century, reflected in the 21st century."
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | November 12, 2008

Higher calling

Fusionworks contemplates spirituality
Although the annual fall concert by Fusionworks Dance Company has not been given a title that ties the dances together, director/choreographer Deb Meunier has noticed a theme emerging from the repertory pieces and premiere works that will be presented.
By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ | November 12, 2008

Intimate moves

Festival Ballet’s “Up CLOSE, on HOPE”
What began as a way to give audiences a closer look at its dancers and choreographers an opportunity to showcase new work has become an integral part of Festival Ballet Providence’s season: the “Up CLOSE, on HOPE” series.
By JOHNETTE RODRIGUEZ | November 05, 2008

Right on target

AIRE’s Lonesome West hits home
Under Tony Reilly’s direction, the American Irish Repertory Ensemble makes rich, wicked, and poignant work of the brothers’ murderous one-upmanship.
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | November 05, 2008

Hop to it

Where to do the Lindy

By CHRIS FARAONE AND SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | November 05, 2008

Lindy city

It takes two to tango, but apparently only one to lead a good Lindy Hop
Guys just start dancing, and gals — no matter how many women's-studies classes they took in college — have to counter with appropriate reflexes.
By CHRIS FARAONE AND SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | November 14, 2008