This week, WGBH News' Arts Editor Jared Bowen reviews three new plays in the Greater Boston area.
“Spamilton: An American Parody,” presented by the Huntington Theatre Company through April 7.
Get ready for a revolutionary mashup of Broadway mockery in “Spamilton: An American Parody.” Created by Massachusetts native Gerard Alessandrini, “Spamilton” is a parody of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s iconic “Hamilton” that tweaks the musical’s most iconic songs to hilarious effect. With virtuosic prose and a versatile performance from the show’s seven actors, nothing on Broadway is safe from this uproarious musical parody.
“'Spamilton' is hilarious and fun,” says Jared, “but it succeeds because it approaches the heights and skill of the original mocked material. In other words, it’s a spoof well up to the challenge.”
“Who is Eartha Mae?” Presented by Bridge Repertory Theater through Feb. 23.
A world premiere presented by Bridge Repertory Theater examines the life of famed actress and performer Eartha Kitt. Created and performed by Jade Wheeler, “Who is Eartha Mae?” is a one-woman show that looks at Kitt’s life behind the scenes, tracing her journey from the Jim Crow South to national fame and sold-out performances in Europe and around the world.
Jared describes “Who is Eartha Mae?” as “a fascinating biography made entrancing by Jade Wheeler’s fully realized and burnished performance.”
“The Little Foxes,” presented by Lyric Stage Company through March 17.
A Lillian Helman classic has been revived at the Lyric Stage Company. Directed by Scott Edmiston, “The Little Foxes” takes audiences into the grand home of the Giddens, a wealthy family in the post-Civil War South who scheme against and con family in a relentless pursuit of fortune and a corrupt vision of the American dream.
“Under the debasing spell of cash,” says Jared, “this is the American family scraped bare and raw in a production that’s perfectly unrelenting in its intensity. It’s our fortune that director Scott Edmiston has revived this scorching drama.”
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