The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Babson-sponsored Commonwealth Shakespeare Company to present Romeo & Juliet on the Boston Commons

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Shakespeare on the Common

 

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company presents Free Shakespeare On the Common:
Romeo & Juliet, by William Shakespeare
Directed by Allegra Libonati
July 19 – August 6
Parkman Bandstand on the Boston Common
Sponsored by Babson College

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company is pleased to present its 22nd production of Free Shakespeare on the Common: William Shakespeare’s immortal drama Romeo & Juliet, directed by the brilliant up-and-coming director Allegra Libonati. Performances are free of charge, and will take place on the Boston Common, near the Parkman Bandstand.

One of Greater Boston’s most beloved traditions, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s Free Shakespeare On the Common takes up residence once again with Shakespeare’s drama of doomed teenage love, Romeo & Juliet. The Capulet and Montague families have been engaged in a multi-generational feud, causing much distress and havoc in the city of Verona; but when young Romeo, son of the Montagues’, meets Juliet, the daughter of the Capulets’, their immediate love blossoms and accepts no barriers, with tragic results.

Performance dates: July 19 – August 6. Tuesday – Saturday performances at 8pm; Sundays at 7pm (Off Mondays). There will be one 3pm matinee performance on Saturday, August 5.

Performances are free and open to the public. A limited number of “Friends’ Section” reserved chairs are available for $60-75 donation per chair. For more information and to reserve chairs visit commshakes.org or call 617-426-0863.

The Commonwealth Shakespeare Company staff is equipped to assist patrons of all abilities. A limited number of tall chairs, accessible seating areas, assisted-listening devices, and Braille & large print programs are available at each performance. Dates for ASL-Interpreted, Audio-Described, and Open-Captioned performances will be announced closer in July. Anyone needing special accommodations is encouraged to contact CSC in advance. These requests should be emailed to Audience Services Manager Stephen Reinstein at [email protected] or call CSC’s main line during regular business hours at 617-426-0863.

Shakespeare on the Common<

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Theater review: Wellesley Repertory Theatre’s Sonia Flew

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Wellesley Repertory Theatre presents Sonia Flew. Pictured: Christine de Jesus Ahsan (left), and Mariela Lopez-Ponce

First off, the last thing a mom should ask a nineteen-year-old young man hell-bent on joining the Marines in response to the 9/11 attacks is, “What do you know about how the world works?” And she certainly shouldn’t ask it with a world-weary air, making it clear that she is the one in the room who knows such things. Another suggestion: don’t follow it up by telling him, “You have such a limited understanding of these things.”

But that’s just real-world advice. For an opening scene in Melinda Lopez’s play, Sonia Flew, at Wellesley Repertory Theatre through June 25, an exhibition of such motherly disdain is the perfect way to set a tone of conflict and move the action forward. As the Elliot Norton Award-winning play opens, Sonia (Mariela Lopez-Ponce, on the edge of a nervous breakdown), Zak’s mom, has conveniently forgotten that in her early 1960s teenage past, becoming involved with Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution seemed like the perfect antidote to her controlling parents, a way to provide her life with purpose and and a sense of being part of something bigger than herself. The adult Sonia never sees — or refuses to see — the parallels between her former teenage self, ready to join the Revolution, and her current teenage son, on a fast-track to the Marines as his way of avenging the 9/11 attacks.

[Read more…]

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LINX Theater to present Disney’s The Lion King JR.

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Disney’s The Lion King JR. is playing at The Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick starting on Wednesday, June 14th through Friday June 16th. The 60-minute musical, designed for middle-school aged performers, is based on the Broadway production
directed by Julie Taymor and the 1994 Disney film. Each cast contains LINX Theater performers led by LINX Theater Directors Katie Schiering or Todd Morse.

The Lion King JR. tells the story of the epic adventures of a curious cub named Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destiny as king.  The Lion King JR. features classic songs from the 1994 film such as “Hakuna Matata” and the Academy Award-winning “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”.

Performances:

Wednesday, June 14th at 6:30pm

Thursday, June 15th at 6:30pm

Friday, June 16th at 5:30pm and 7:45pm

Order tickets here

The Lion King JR

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Zip on over to Wellesley HS for performance of Zap

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Zap, Wellesley High School

This 90-minute play known for its boisterous humor uses a “remote control” to juxtapose seven different dramatic genres, and take the audience on a ride across theater history with spoofs on life and social conflict. A remote control “zaps” the audience viewers between “shows” that are clips and parodies of famous theatrical styles such as the Shakespearean history of Richard III, Anton Chekhov’s brooding dilemmas, Agatha Christie’s suspenseful mysteries, Tennessee Williams’ psychological dramas and Neil Simon’s popular comedies.

General admission tickets available online. Price: $15 adults, $10 students/seniors

ZAP Director: Brian McManimon
Student Directors: Anna Macek ’17, Nadine Richardson ‘17
Stage Manager: Audrey Hill ’19

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Wellesley Repertory to present Sonia Flew in June

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Sonia Flew at Wellesley Repertory Theatre

Wellesley Repertory Theatre presents Sonia Flew By Melinda Lopez  and  Directed by Lois Roach
June 1 – 25, 2017 | Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre
Preview Thursday June 1 ~ Opening Night  Friday June 2 @ 7pm

To protect their daughter from the Communist regime, Sonia’s parents sent her to the United States during the Cuban revolution. She never saw them again. Thirty years later and living in the Midwest, Sonia, a fiercely devoted mother of two, has created a home that embraces her own cultural traditions along with her husband’s Jewish religion. However, after her son decides to join the army three months after 9/11, Sonia combats grief and terrifying feelings of abandonment through political forces that once again threaten to shatter her family. Set in Minneapolis in 2001 and Cuba in 1961, Sonia Flew questions parental sacrifice, familial responsibility and patriotism in times when worlds collide.

Sonia Flew won the Elliot Norton Award for “Best New Play” and the IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England) for “Best Play” and “Best Production.” It has been produced at the Huntington Theatre, Coconut Grove Playhouse, the Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Laguna Playhouse, the Summer Playwrights Festival in New York, the Milagro Theatre and the Steppenwolf Theatre.

WRT is proud to present company members: Nancy Tutunjian Berger, Woody Gaul, Zack Georgian, Luis Negron, Ed Peed, and Mariela Lopez-Ponce to perform with Wellesley College students Christine Ahsan, Brigitte Demelo and Karina Ithier.  The company has been in residence at Wellesley College since 1998. Together with: Lois Roach (Director), Janie Howland (Set Design), David Towlun (Production Manager),  Chelsea Kerl (Costumes), Jack Staid (Sound) and Becky Marsh (Lighting), the cast and crew bring this story to life!                                                    

Performances

Thurs.@7pm, Fri. @ 7pm,

Sat. @ 2pm & 7pm*, Sun. @ 2pm

*There is no evening performance on Saturday, June 3 @ 7pm

Tickets

$20 General Admission | $10 seniors & Students

To make a reservation call the Box Office at (781)-283-2000

Wellesley College – Alumnae Hall – Ruth Nagel Jones Theatre

The theatre is handicap accessible.  For disability services questions:  [email protected]Sonia Flew at Wellesley Repertory Theatre

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