As a theater critic, my aim is always to be fair, kind, and honest. I have been reviewing plays and musicals for the Theater Mirror since 2019. I also catalog my reviews on Instagram (@ReviewsByJulie).
A Thoughtful Retrospective On a Friendship Found and Lost
The simplicity of Summer, 1976 makes it easy to minimize its value. Like most women we know, Diana and Alice are deeply flawed, laden with loneliness, and longing for more.
‘Hang Time’ is a Searingly Powerful Call to Action
Hang Time forces you to bear witness, to lean in, to confront. It is a reckoning and a powerful call to action. It demands that you think about the lives these Black men deserved but didn’t get to have.
A.R.T.’s ‘300 Paintings’ Brings Humor to Harrowing Story of Mental Illness
What Kissajukian didn’t know at the time was that he had been living with bipolar disorder, and he was about to enter into a brutal six-month manic episode that would completely sever him from reality.
‘Common Ground, Revisited’ Asks Us to Look Back to Move Forward
Common Ground, Revisited offers a sharp, clear-eyed perspective of a challenging part of Boston’s history and in doing so gives insight into the city’s present problems.
‘The Inheritance’ is a Beautifully Realized Production of an Ambitious & Imperfect Play
The play’s title refers to the many traits and experiences that our LGBTQ+ elders have passed on to successive generations. The story is as much about the inheritance of love, culture, and resilience as it is about inheriting the weight of shame, trauma, and oppression.
Arlekin Players’ ‘Witness’ Details the Jewish Experience
Set on a ship that travels through time, Witness explores the seemingly endless migratory experiences of Jewish people throughout history.
Speakeasy’s ‘The Children’ Asks the Hard Questions
What are we willing to give up to help others in need? What is our responsibility to future generations? …How do we – as Rose puts it – “learn to live with less”?
Huntington’s ‘Sweat’ Shows The Dark Side of American Dream
Director Kimberly Senior masterfully builds, suspends, and expands the tension throughout the play with moments of stillness and breathlessness followed by rapid action and rampant activity.
It’s a Mad Victorian World in CST’s ‘Vanity Fair’
Vanity Fair tells the story of two young women who are thrown into a mad, unforgiving world full of scoundrels, villains, and thieves; people who are selfish, jealous, money-grubbing and power-hungry– a world not so different from our own.