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Boston Globe
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
She went from being a scientist to taking the stage. Now she's starring in ‘Hello, Dolly!'
Parent, a celebrated Boston actor and director who also leads the Front Porch Arts Collective, recalls how Doherty captured her character's improvisational personality during her audition, in a scene that unfolds at Dolly's beloved Harmonia Gardens restaurant, where she hasn't been since the death of her husband. With his assistant director Thomas W. Grant (below), director Maurice Emmanuel Parent keeps an eye on rehearsal of "Hello, Dolly!" at the Lyric Stage Boston. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff Advertisement 'Every time she did the scene, it was slightly different, and she was playing with different things. I was like, 'That's what Dolly needs to feel like. She's a woman who has a clear end goal, but she's figuring out things in the moment.'' At one point, Parent says, Doherty approached the audition table where Parent and Lyric co-artistic director Courtney O'Connor were sitting and whispered to them with a conspiratorial air, ''Hey, are you two together?' I said 'no,' and she rips off a piece of her [script excerpt] with her number on it, hands it to us and says, 'Call me.' Then she walks away and did the rest of the scene. She was already in character, already matchmaking!' That sealed the deal for Parent. He knew he had found his Dolly. 'I think an actor who makes bold choices informs a director in their choices,' he says. 'And her choice really informed how I'm structuring the piece. There is no fourth wall. So at any moment, it should feel like Dolly could say to an audience member, 'Hey, I have this wonderful person for you. Here's my card.'' Indeed, Parent is leaning on the Lyric's thrust stage setup and playing into the intimacy that can foster. The theater's four aisles and two tunnels will be utilized to full effect with the 16 performers. When Doherty decided to audition for the show, featuring music and lyrics by the legendary Jerry Herman and book by Michael Stewart, she wasn't sure if she was ready to play Dolly yet, but Parent said to show them what she had. Advertisement 'So I went in there and had fun and just aimed for the fences, and it was freeing because I didn't expect that I had much of a shot at it. Those auditions where you can keep the pressure off are usually the ones where you're the most playful, the most loose, and the most free to be yourself.' While Doherty has won two Elliot Norton Awards for her performances in 'On the Town' and 'Into the Woods' and been nominated for several others, her work has hit new heights in recent years. She cites playing 'I gave myself permission to not always be nice and likable. I wanted people to like me all the time, but with [Sally], I just decided that, yeah, she's selfish and childish at times, and people can be that way, and I need to just show it and not worry about alienating the audience. I've got to just trust that they will not give up on her and will still root for her.' Choreographer Ilyse Robbins at rehearsal for "Hello, Dolly!" Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff With Dolly, there's little chance that the audience won't be rooting for and charmed by the people-pleaser from the minute she sashays onstage. She'll also break your heart. In the show, set in 1890s New York City, Dolly is a matchmaker with several other side gigs and chutzpah to spare. She's been mired in grief, her life frozen after the death of her husband Ephraim years before. Her latest job is to find a wife for grumpy Horace Vandergelder (Joshua Wolf Coleman), a wealthy-but-miserly merchant in Yonkers. But on this day, Dolly has an awakening and decides that she finally has to get off the sidelines of life and join the parade before it passes her by — and schemes to marry Horace herself. Advertisement 'She's always rearranging other people's lives, but what first struck me is how much [Dolly] is stuck herself,' Doherty says. 'She needs to live her life now. She needs to let go of grief and move on and forgive herself for doing that.' Several stories of young love intersect with Dolly's. Horace's wide-eyed shop workers Cornelius (Michael Jennings Mahoney) and Barnaby (Max Connor) head to New York and fall for plucky hat shop proprietor Irene Molloy (Kristian Espiritu) and her assistant, Minnie Fay (Temma Beaudreau). Then there's Horace's overprotected niece Ermengarde (Sophie Shaw) and the young artist, Ambrose (Stephen Caliskan), who she yearns to marry against her uncle's wishes. A "Hello, Dolly!" rehearsal last week at Lyric Stage Boston. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff Similar to some of her previous roles, Dolly is what Doherty dubs a 'boss babe.' 'She's very smart, and she's working within the constraints on women's roles at that time and using whatever she's got,' Doherty says. 'And I always gravitate towards those [characters] who are loud and opinionated and a little sexy and unabashedly themselves, but they're working against the system that doesn't believe a lady is supposed to be a business owner or a mover and shaker.' Doherty can relate to Dolly making a leap of faith to transform her life. Growing up in Walpole and Bellingham, Doherty took tap, jazz, and ballet as a kid and did her high school's production of 'Grease,' but never considered studying acting or becoming a performer. After carving out a successful career as an environmental scientist, helping to clean up oil spills and hazardous waste sites, she began doing community theater on the side. Advertisement Aimee Doherty, as Dolly Levi, is lifted by cast members during a dance number. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff Then in 2004, she landed a part in a SpeakEasy production of Sondheim's 'Company' — and never looked back. She started acting all around town. A few years later, when she got laid off from her job, she made a permanent transition. 'It was just a happy accident. I don't know that I would've ever had the courage to walk away from a career that I had for 15 years to say, 'I'm just going to dedicate my time and my heart to acting full time.' Parent says that Dolly's vow to 'rejoin the human race' and re-engage with life in a new and hopeful way is an inspiring message that reminds audiences, 'Even when we're down and out, you're still alive and you still have an opportunity to live your dreams and your life to the fullest.' HELLO, DOLLY! Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart. At: The Lyric Stage Company, May 16-June 22. Tickets from $25 ; 617-585-5678;
Boston Globe
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
The Ufot Family Cycle comes away with 18 Elliot Norton Award nominations
American Repertory Theater landed 19 nominations, including three in the new script category, for Kate Hamill's 'The Odyssey,' Martyna Majok's 'Gatsby,' and Ayodele Casele's 'Diary of a Tap Dancer.' They'll compete in that category against Zoë Kim's 'Did You Eat? (밥먹었니?),' as well as Udofia, who's nominated for 'The Grove.' Other companies earning multiple nominations for one show include SpeakEasy Stage, whose ' Advertisement The ceremony will also honor Kathy St. George with the 2025 Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence, for her body of work, including productions in Boston and on Broadway. She also appeared in Daigneault's 'A Man of No Importance.' For tickets to the ceremony and more information, visit Outstanding Play, Large 'The Grove,' The Huntington 'Leopoldstadt,' The Huntington in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company 'Sojourners,' The Huntington 'Toni Stone,' The Huntington 'The Winter's Tale,' Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Outstanding Play, Midsize 'Ain't No Mo',' SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective 'Her Portmanteau,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective 'The Hombres,' Gloucester Stage and Teatro Chelsea 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project 'Romeo and Juliet,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Outstanding Play, Small 'Did You Eat? (밥먹었니?)' CHUANG Stage and Seoulful Productions 'The Dybbuk,' Arlekin Players Theatre 'My Dinner With André,' Harbor Stage Company 'Tartuffe,' Hub Theatre Company of Boston 'Touching the Void,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Outstanding Musical 'Diary of a Tap Dancer,' American Repertory Theater 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater 'A Little Night Music,' Sullivan Rep 'A Man of No Importance,' SpeakEasy Stage 'Next to Normal,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Large Jennifer Mogbock, 'Toni Stone,' The Huntington Nael Nacer, 'Leopoldstadt,' The Huntington in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company Joshua Olumide, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Advertisement Abigail C. Onwunali, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Abigail C. Onwunali, 'Sojourners,' The Huntington Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Midsize Jade Guerra, 'Her Portmanteau,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective Ricardo 'Ricky' Holguin, 'The Hombres,' Gloucester Stage and Teatro Chelsea Karen MacDonald, 'Pru Payne,' SpeakEasy Stage Bill Mootos, 'Network,' The Umbrella Stage Company Omar Robinson, 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, Small Andrey Burkovskiy, 'The Dybbuk,' Arlekin Players Theatre Sehnaz Dirik, 'The Lion in Winter,' Theater UnCorked Parker Jennings, 'Hedda Gabler,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Robert Kropf, 'My Dinner With André,' Harbor Stage Company Patrick O'Konis, 'Touching the Void,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Large Asha Basha Duniani, 'Sojourners,' The Huntington Kate Hamill, 'The Odyssey,' American Repertory Theater Patrice Johnson Chevannes, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Joshua Olumide, 'Sojourners,' The Huntington Valyn Lyric Turner, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Midsize Grant Evan, 'Ain't No Mo',' SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective Arthur Gomez, 'The Hombres,' Gloucester Stage and Teatro Chelsea Anthony T Goss, 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Jade Guerra, 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project 'ranney,' 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, Small Lauren Elias, 'Tartuffe,' Hub Theatre Company of Boston Kody Grassett, 'Touching the Void,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Deb Martin, 'The Dybbuk,' Arlekin Players Theatre Brooks Reeves, 'Tartuffe,' Hub Theatre Company of Boston Laura Rocklyn, 'Tartuffe,' Hub Theatre Company of Boston Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical Ayodele Casel, 'Diary of a Tap Dancer,' American Repertory Theater Sherée Marcelle, 'Next to Normal,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective Advertisement Paul Melendy, 'The Drowsy Chaperone,' Lyric Stage Boston Jeremy Radin, 'Fiddler on the Roof,' North Shore Music Theatre Eddie Shields, 'A Man of No Importance,' SpeakEasy Stage Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical Cortlandt Barrett, 'Next to Normal,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective Diego Cintrón, 'Next to Normal,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective Aimee Doherty, 'A Man of No Importance,' SpeakEasy Stage Alaina Mills, 'Fiddler on the Roof,' North Shore Music Theatre Solea Pfeiffer, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Outstanding Musical Direction KB Bickford, 'Next to Normal,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective Wiley DeWeese and Kimberly Grigsby, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Milton Granger, 'Titanic,' North Shore Music Theatre Paul S. Katz, 'A Man of No Importance,' SpeakEasy Stage Jenny Tsai, 'A Little Night Music,' Sullivan Rep Outstanding Choreography Rachel Bertone, 'An American in Paris,' Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston Ayodele Casel, 'Diary of a Tap Dancer,' American Repertory Theater Larry Sousa, 'The Drowsy Chaperone,' Lyric Stage Boston Sonya Tayeh, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Ebony Williams, 'Toni Stone,' The Huntington Outstanding Director, Large Rachel Chavkin, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Kevin P. Hill, 'Titanic,' North Shore Music Theatre Carey Perloff, 'Leopoldstadt,' The Huntington in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company Dawn M. Simmons, 'Sojourners,' The Huntington Awoye Timpo, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Outstanding Director, Midsize Paul Daigneault, 'A Man of No Importance,' SpeakEasy Stage Christopher V. Edwards, 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Pascale Florestal, 'Next to Normal,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective Armando Rivera, 'The Hombres,' Gloucester Stage and Teatro Chelsea Dawn M. Simmons, 'Ain't No Mo',' SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective Advertisement Outstanding Director, Small Bryn Boice, 'Tartuffe,' Hub Theatre Company of Boston Danielle Fauteux Jacques, 'Hedda Gabler,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Danielle Fauteux Jacques, 'Touching the Void,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Igor Golyak, 'The Dybbuk,' Arlekin Players Theatre Kiki Samko, 'Rosemary's Baby Jesus,' Gold Dust Orphans Outstanding Scenic Design, Large Jason Ardizzone-West, 'Sojourners,' The Huntington Jason Ardizzone-West, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Yuki Izumihara and Ken MacDonald, 'Leopoldstadt,' The Huntington in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company Junghyun Georgia Lee, 'The Triumph of Love,' The Huntington Mimi Lien, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Outstanding Scenic Design, Midsize or Small Justin Lahue, 'Tartuffe,' Hub Theatre Company of Boston Joseph Lark-Riley, 'Touching the Void,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Saskia Martinez, 'The SpongeBob Musical,' Wheelock Family Theatre Afsoon Pajoufar, 'Network,' The Umbrella Stage Company Jon Savage, 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Outstanding Lighting Design, Large Reza Behjat, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Alan C. Edwards, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Maximo Grano De Oro, 'The Winter's Tale,' Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, 'The Odyssey,' American Repertory Theater Robert Wierzel, 'Leopoldstadt,' The Huntington in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company Outstanding Lighting Design, Midsize or Small Jeff Adelberg, 'The Dybbuk,' Arlekin Players Theatre Isaak Olson, 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Karen Perlow, 'A Man of No Importance,' SpeakEasy Stage Deb Sullivan, 'Romeo and Juliet,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Lawrence A. Ware, 'The SpongeBob Musical,' Wheelock Family Theatre Outstanding Sound Design, Large Alex Berg, 'Titanic,' North Shore Music Theatre Michael Bodeen and Rob Milburn, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Lucas Clopton and Aubrey Dube, 'Toni Stone,' The Huntington Tony Gayle, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Sharath Patel, 'Diary of a Tap Dancer,' American Repertory Theater Outstanding Sound Design, Midsize or Small Advertisement Gage Baker and Peter DiMaggio, 'The SpongeBob Musical,' Wheelock Family Theatre Arshan Gailus, 'The Fig Tree, and the Phoenix, and the Desire to Be Reborn,' Boston Playwrights' Theatre Jesse Hinson, 'Romeo and Juliet,' Actors' Shakespeare Project Joseph Lark-Riley, 'Touching the Void,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Fedor Zhuravlev, 'The Dybbuk,' Arlekin Players Theatre Outstanding Costume Design, Large Fabian Fidel Aguilar, 'A Christmas Carol,' Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Alex Jaeger, 'Leopoldstadt,' The Huntington in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company Junghyun Georgia Lee, 'The Triumph of Love,' The Huntington Rachel Padula-Shufelt, 'The Winter's Tale,' Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Sandy Powell, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Outstanding Costume Design, Midsize or Small Sasha Ageeva, 'The Dybbuk,' Arlekin Players Theatre Seth Bodie, 'The Drowsy Chaperone,' Lyric Stage Boston Johnny Cagno and Brian Simons, 'South Pacific,' Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston Chloe Moore, 'The SpongeBob Musical,' Wheelock Family Theatre Rachel Padula-Shufelt, 'A Man of No Importance,' SpeakEasy Stage Outstanding Solo Performance GiGi Buddie, 'Where We Belong,' The Umbrella Stage Company Parker Jennings, 'Every Brilliant Thing,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Zoë Kim, 'Did You Eat? (밥먹었니?)' CHUANG Stage and Seoulful Productions Cristhian Mancinas-García, 'Cada Cosa Maravillosa,' Apollinaire Theatre Company Jenece Upton, 'Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill,' Merrimack Repertory Theatre Kathryn Van Meter, 'The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,' Merrimack Repertory Theatre Outstanding New Script Ayodele Casel, 'Diary of a Tap Dancer,' American Repertory Theater Kate Hamill, 'The Odyssey,' American Repertory Theater Zoë Kim, 'Did You Eat? (밥먹었니?),' CHUANG Stage and Seoulful Productions Martyna Majok, 'Gatsby,' American Repertory Theater Mfoniso Udofia, 'The Grove,' The Huntington Outstanding Ensemble 'Ain't No Mo',' SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective 'Diary of a Tap Dancer,' American Repertory Theater 'Fiddler on the Roof,' North Shore Music Theatre 'Leopoldstadt,' The Huntington in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company 'A Man of No Importance,' SpeakEasy Stage 'Next to Normal,' Central Square Theater and Front Porch Arts Collective 'The Piano Lesson,' Actors' Shakespeare Project 'Tartuffe,' Hub Theatre Company of Boston 'Titanic,' North Shore Music Theatre 'Toni Stone,' The Huntington Lisa Weidenfeld can be reached at
Boston Globe
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Her Portmanteau' grapples with the pains of separation and connection in family
Advertisement In the Ufot Cycle's second drama Advertisement But what about Iniabasi? For the past 36 years, as we learn in 'Her Portmanteau,' Iniabasi (Jade A. Guerra, 'The Piano Lesson') has been living in Nigeria with her father, and hasn't seen her mother in person in more than 20 years. She has a 6-year-old son of her own, Kufre. But her father has now died, and she's arrived in the States looking for help—and a connection—with her mother, Abasiama (Patrice Jean-Baptiste). Dawn Simmons, co-artistic director of the Front Porch Arts Collective, at rehearsal for "Her Portmanteau." Nile Scott Studios Tasia A. Jones, the play's director, says Abasiama had resolved to return to Nigeria, but life got in the way. Before she knew it, she was putting down roots. 'Abasiama's intention was always to go back or bring her child back with her. It was not meant to be a forever departure from each other, and she's been struggling for the last 36 years to find her way back to her daughter.' While Abasiama has kept in touch with Iniabasi and has been sending her money after Ukpong's passing, she's also dealing with a strained marriage due to Disciple's deteriorating mental state. The Cycle's third play 'runboyrun,' to be released as a podcast this spring, chronicles Disciple's unraveling and its roots in a traumatic childhood in war-torn Africa. ''Runboyrun' is Disciple's backstory, which helps you understand what makes a man like this,' Udofia said in a Zoom interview. 'You'll wonder where your empathy lies with him and where your boundaries are with him.' Udofia, who grew up in Southbridge and went to Wellesley College, was mulling over the idea of birthright in writing 'Her Portmanteau.' 'What is each woman owed?' she asks. 'What does each woman think they know about history and the history of their family?' Advertisement Indeed, Iniabasi has no idea of the challenges Abasiama endured when she was pregnant with her, alone in a foreign country with an absentee husband. Even Adiaha, who's now in her early 30s, can't fathom 'the emotional reality of what it means to be in Abasiama's position,' Udofia says. 'So these three women are sitting on narratives and assumptions and histories that need to be drawn out. And they're duking it out about who has first position, who has primacy, and what does it mean to have two eldest daughters. So that they can then go, 'Well, how do we take a step forward?' Set inside Adiaha's New York City apartment, the play finds the three women together for the first time in more than two decades. The story heaves with subtext and barely concealed pain, anger, resentment, and sadness. 'There's so much happening underneath the surface with these three people,' Jones explained, 'so much unspoken history between them and unanswered questions, all of this stuff that's just hanging in the air that they're not talking about. Then when they finally do start to talk about it, it can be explosive.' The title's dual meaning refers to both the old-fashioned red suitcase that Iniabasi totes with her to America and the combination of Abasiama's two 'eldest daughters,' whose lives shaped her own and gave it meaning and remain at the heart of their blended family. For Lorraine Victoria Kanyike ('Chicken and Biscuits'), who plays Adiaha in 'Her Portmanteau,' 'There's a lot of push and pull between the two of us of who's really in charge here, who's really the eldest daughter in Mom's eyes.' Advertisement In 'The Grove,' Kanyike pointed out, Abasiama tells her, 'You are the 'Adiaha' I could keep here.' I had to send my other one away.' So I think Abasiama is reckoning with all of her life choices.' Indeed, a through-line through all of the Ufot Cycle plays, Kanyike said, is 'the theme of sacrifice and the rewards or the consequences of your sacrifices. Iniabasi is both a reward and a consequence but also a person that Abasiama holds a lot of shame and pain around.' Meanwhile, Jones explained, Inibiasi, 'is hurting, and she doesn't know how to express the hurt. So she lashes out a little bit. She doesn't know how to express what she's been feeling for so many years.' With 'Her Portmanteau' and 'runboyboy,' which was presented in two recent public readings, the Ufot Cycle is now moving beyond the Huntington mothership. Five more plays are still to come over the next year and a half. Lee Mikeska Gardner, artistic director of Central Square Theater, says a project of this scope could only Advertisement The Ufot Cycle also has the potential to boost the Boston theater scene's profile nationally. Simmons says she's heard from playwrights around the country that there's buzz about this major citywide undertaking. 'They're like, 'Whoa, this is epic.' What does it mean for the future that an entire community can rally behind a writer like this? This is a big opportunity.' HER PORTMANTEAU By Mfoniso Udofia, co-produced by Central Square Theater and the Front Porch Arts Collective. At: Central Square Theater, March 27-April 20. Tickets: from $25; 617-576-9278;
