Since 2016 David has been reviewing theater for the Boston-based ArtsFuse.
Read his 2025 reviews here:
Midwinter Revels 2025 — Aglow with Music, Magic, and Hope
Midwinter Revels: A Scandinavian Story for Christmas by Debra Wise, Patrick Swanson, and Nicole Galland, dramaturg. Inspired by Gregory Maguire’s Matchless. Directed by Debra Wise. Music direction by Elijah Botkin; assistant musical direction and children’s music direction by Sarah Higginbotham; choreography by Tom Roby; lighting design by Jeff Adelberg; set design by Jeremy Barnett; costume design by Heidi Hermiller; sound design by Brian McCoy. Staged by Revels, Inc at Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, through December 28. After that, available online through January 11.
Arts Remembrance: In Memoriam — Tom Stoppard
Remembrance essays by Tim Jackson and David Greenham
“I feel overestimated,” Tom Stoppard told Time magazine back in 2007.
In fact, the multiple Tony- and Olivier-award winning playwright, who also picked up an Oscar for his Shakespeare in Love screenplay, is probably underappreciated.
“Summer, 1976” Revisits Simpler Times—A Poignant Portrait of Friendship and Change
Summer, 1976 by David Auburn. Directed by Paula Plum. Scenic design by Kristin Loeffler, costume design by Sydney Hobasse, lighting design by Deb Sullivan, projection design by Justin LaHue, property design by Lauren Corcuera, and sound design by Aubrey Dube. Staged by Central Square Theater, Cambridge, through November 30.
“Madame Mozart, The Lacrimosa” — A Comic Requiem About Genius and Survival
Madame Mozart, The Lacrimosa, a play with music by Anne Undeland. Directed by Myriam Cyr. Music direction by John Churchwell. Set and lighting design by Len Schnabel. Audiovisual and sound design by Kosmo Hayes. Costumes and graphic design by Cat Stramer. Staged by Punctuate4 Productions at the Natti-Willsky Performance Center in conjunction with Gloucester Stage Company, Gloucester, through October 19.
“Eleanor” — Personal Turmoil Overshadows Political Legacy
Eleanor by Mark St. Germain. Directed by David Ellenstein. Scenic and costume design by Anita Stewart, lighting design by Mary Lana Rice, sound design by Seth Asa Sengel. Produced by Portland Stage Company, Forest Avenue, Portland, Maine, through October 19.
“Our Town” — An American Classic That Still Holds Up
Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Directed by Courtney O’Connor. Scenic design by Shelley Barish. Costume design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt. Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan. Sound design by Andrew Duncan Will. Produced by The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, at 140 Clarendon Street, through October 19.
“Silent Sky” Celebrates the Pioneering Women Who Charted the Heavens
Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Sarah Shin. Choreography by Peter DiMuro. Scenic design by Qingan Zhang. Costume design by Leslie Held. Lighting design by Eduardo M. Ramirez, sound design and composition by Kai Bohlman, properties design by Julia Wonkka, projection design by Michi Zaya. A Catalyst Collaborative@MIT production, produced by Central Square Theater, Cambridge, through October 5.
“Deep Blue Sound” — The Everyday Tragedy of Inaction
Deep Blue Sound by Abe Koogler. Directed by Dave Register. Scenic design by Daniel Prosky, lighting design by SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal, sound design by Seth Asa Sengel, costume design by Anya Criden-Clark, prop design by Adam Corriveau. Produced by the Portland Theater Festival and staged at the Baxter School for the Deaf on Mackworth Island, Falmouth, Maine, through September 14.
“The Heron’s Flight” — Double Edge Theatre Soars
The Heron’s Flight. Conceived and directed by Jennifer Johnson and Travis Coe. Created with the Double Edge Theatre Ensemble and Company. Music composition by John Peitso with Amanda Miller and Manuel Uriona; choreography by Milena Dabova and Victor Rafael Figueroa; aerial choreography by Cariel Klein and Stacy Klein; design and scenography by Stacy Klein; costume design by Tadea Klein; lighting design by John Peitso; sound design by Manuel Uriona and John Peitso. Staged by Double Edge Theatre at the Double Edge Farm Center, Ashfield, through August 3.
“The Garbologists” — What a Fine Mess We Are In
The Garbologists by Lindsay Joelle. Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw. Scenic design by Kristin Loeffler. Costume design by Jen Greeke. Lighting design by Anshuman Bhatia. Sound design by Julian Crocamo. Produced by Gloucester Stage at the Natti-Willsky Performance Center. Gloucester, though July 26.
“Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)” — A Confectionary Romance
Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan. Directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson. Music direction by Jeffrey Campos. Scenic and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Jack Knowles, sound design by Tony Gayle and Cody Spencer. Produced by American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge, through July 13.
“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” — Honoring a Sacred Space for Black Women
Jaja’s African Hair Braiding by Jocelyn Bioh. Directed by Summer L. Williams. Scenic design by Janie E. Howland. Costume design by Danielle Domingue Sumi. Lighting design by Christopher Brusberg. Sound design by Aubey Dube. Hair and wig design by Nadja Vanterpool. Props coordinator Andrew Reynolds. Intimacy choreography by Paulina Martz. Dialect coaching by Debora Crabbe. Produced by Speakeasy Stage Company at the Calderwood Pavilion, Tremont Street, through May 31.
“Night Side Songs” — A Powerful Musical About the Kingdom of the Sick
Night Side Songs, words and music by Daniel and Partrick Lazour. Directed by Taibi Magar. Music direction and piano arrangements by Alex Bechtel. Scenic design by Matt Saunders, costume design by Jason A. Goodwin, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, sound design by Justin Stasiw. Produced by American Repertory Theater in association with Philadelphia Theatre Company, presented at the Cambridge Masonic Temple, 1950 Mass Ave, Cambridge through April 6 and at the Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley Street, Roxbury, April 8 through 20.
“The Odyssey” — From a Woman’s Point of View
The Odyssey by Kate Hamill, based on the epic poem by Homer. Directed by Shana Cooper. Puppetry directions by and design by Kate Brehm. Movement direction by Stephanie Martinez. Fight direction by Ted Hewlett. Scenic design by Sibyl Wickersheimer. Costume design by An-Lin Dauber. Lighting design and projection design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew. Sound design and music composition by Paul James Prendergast. Staged by the American Repertory Theater at the Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge, through March 16.
“Ain’t No Mo’” — Racism as a Surreal Farce
Ain’t No Mo’ by Jordon Cooper. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Choreography by Juanita Pearl, fight and intimacy choreography by Brandon G. Green. Scenic design by Mac Young, costume design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt, lighting design by Aja M. Jackson, sound design by Aubrey Dube, props design by Isaac West. Produced by SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective. Performed at the Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, Tremont Street, Boston, through February 8.
Read the 2024 reviews here.
Creative Problem Solving and Organizational Development 