Unique one-man show at Stoneham Theatre

Antoine Feval is a small play. That is to say, it’s short—-barely an hour and twenty minutes long, with no intermission. It also has a cast of one, which is about as small as it gets.

Currently on stage at Stoneham Theatre, Antoine Feval is a one-man show performed by Tom Souhrada. The show was written by British comedian Chris Gibbs, and to date had been performed by Gibbs as a stand up act. The Stoneham production is the first attempt by anyone other than Gibbs to perform the work, and it is the first fully staged production.
Continue reading ‘ANTOINE FEVAL BLENDS STAND UP COMEDY & THEATER’


Now that the New Hampshire Primary is over, we in Massachusetts may get a very short break from the barrage of “approved messages” on Boston TV and radio stations that have been aimed primarily at voters in the Granite State. Any respite will be short lived, however, with the Massachusetts primary less than a month away.

If you followed any of the coverage of the Iowa caucuses, you might have thought that it was all over but the general election. In a classic act of wishful thinking, on the day after the Iowa vote National Public Radio all but inaugurated Barack Obama. Talk about the Audacity of Hope.
Continue reading ‘WHO WILL BE THE PRESIDENT OF MySpace?’


I like vanity license plates in the same way as I like weddings and children. They’re lots of fun as long as they’re not my own.

I would never have a vanity license plate on my car. It’s not just that I’m too cheap, although that’s part of it. And it’s not because of an undersupply of vanity, although I’ve never yet come close to wearing out a mirror.

The main reason I wouldn’t have a vanity plate is the same reason that their owners want them: they attract attention. The last place that I want to attract attention is when I’m in my car. Once people associate you with your license plate, any hope of blending in is lost.
Continue reading ‘YOU’RE SO VAIN’


The whole silly story broke in the middle of November.

A middle school in Winchester planned a December 19 field trip to Stoneham Theatre where 7th graders would be treated to a professional theatrical performance of the Christmas classic, Miracle on 34th Street. But then the principal abruptly cancelled the school trip after receiving complaints from parents.

In an email to parents, McCall Middle School Principal Evander French, Jr. cited “the objectionable nature of the content,” according to published reports. Exactly what part of the content was objectionable? Hint: he has a white beard and wears a red suit.
Continue reading ‘NO ‘MIRACLE’ TRIP FOR WINCHESTER STUDENTS’


Classic Christmas tale at Stoneham Theatre

The historic Stoneham Theatre re-opened as a professional regional theater in December, 2000 with A Christmas Carol as its very first production. After bringing Dickens’ classic back for the next several seasons, in 2005 and 2006 Stoneham Theatre staged adaptations of a more modern classic, A Christmas Story.
Miracle on 34th Street
Whatever the show, Stoneham Theatre has established a tradition of providing high caliber, wholesome family entertainment at Christmas time. This year is no exception, as another American holiday classic now graces the Stoneham stage.

Miracle on 34th Street tells the story of a cheerful old man with a trim white beard named Kris Kringle (played by William Gardiner). He is forced to give up his room at the Maplewood Home in New York City because the board of directors believes he is mentally unstable. Kris, it seems, believes that he really is Santa Claus.
Continue reading ‘MIRACLE ON 34th STREET HIGHLIGHTS MAGIC OF BELIEVING’


Hundreds attend local Veterans’ Day observance

“Being a veteran and being a patriot are not the same thing,” keynote speaker John Carney told the audience at yesterday’s local Veterans’ Day observance. “You need not be a veteran to be a patriot.”

In one of the best attended Veterans’ Day ceremonies in recent memory, hundreds of Wakefield citizens and patriots filled the Galvin Middle School auditorium yesterday morning to hear Carney and others pay tribute to those who have served in the armed forces of the United States.

Carney, a Vietnam Era U.S. Army veteran and a current member of the Board of Selectmen, told of being drafted just months after graduating from Wakefield High School. Carney contrasted that era and today’s state of affairs.
Continue reading ‘WAKEFIELD STEPS UP TO HONOR VETERANS’


Then and now…

06Nov07

I have several boxes of old family photos, from both sides of the family. A few date to the late 19th century, but most of the photos that interest me now are from the first half of the 20th century.

In a sense, we all think that the world began around the time when we became aware of it. Of course, we know that isn’t literally true. But subjectively, what’s real to us is what we can remember. Everything that pre-dates our own memory is just history.

Lately, I’ve been most interested in the years just before I was born and the generation that has been called “The Greatest Generation.” As years go on and this generation slips away, I find myself more and more intrigued by their world, the one that gave birth to the world as I have known it.

Old photos provide a window into their world.
Continue reading ‘Then and now…’


November 11 is Veterans’ Day, an opportunity for Americans who support our troops, past and present, to gather together and champion the men and women in uniform who serve and defend the United States.

Wakefield’s 2007 Veterans’ Day ceremonies will take place on Sunday, November 11 at 11 a.m. in the Galvin Middle School Auditorium.

Attendance at last year’s local Veterans’ Day exercises was sparse at best, and some observed that Wakefield can and should do better when it comes to honoring veterans, especially at a time when the country is at war.

It’s true. Veterans’ Day is not about “other people.” Every one of us has a family member or relative who served or is currently serving in the armed forces. They are our brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents. We should all be willing to give one hour a year to honor them.
Continue reading ‘VETERANS DESERVE BIG TURNOUT ON NOV. 11’


About 10 minutes into Marilyn: Forever Blonde I caught myself thinking that I was watching the real thing. That’s how convincingly actress Sunny Thompson channels Marilyn Monroe in her one-woman show, at Stoneham Theatre through November 11, 2007.

Thompson is no mere look-a-like or Marilyn impersonator, although in full makeup and costume she is a dead-ringer for the mid-20th century Hollywood icon. But Thompson has the moves too-—the walk, the sleepy bedroom eyes and all of the mannerisms and poses that are so familiar from the movies and still pictures of Monroe.

Thompson also nails the voice and the inflection down to a T, literally. She has studied and mastered Marilyn’s speech patterns, including the slightly breathless, exaggerated enunciation of every syllable and the emphasis on the hard consonants (i.e., “My Heart Belongs to Dad-dee”).
Continue reading ‘HOLLYWOOD LEGEND COMES TO LIFE IN MARILYN: FOREVER BLONDE’


East Coast premier stars Sunny Thompson

“Who would want to be compared to Marilyn Monroe?”

That was actress Sunny Thompson’s initial reaction when her husband, Greg Thompson, asked her to read for the one-woman show he had written about one of Hollywood’s most iconic figures. “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” is set to make its East Coast premier this week at Stoneham Theatre.

The one-woman play finds Marilyn Monroe in 1962, in the midst of one of her final photo shoots. She’s 36 years old, and while still beautiful, she’s lost some of the girlish charm that made her Hollywood box office gold in the mid-20th century. She’s tired of the “sex symbol” label and wants to be respected as an actress and loved for the person she really is.
Continue reading ‘MARILYN: FOREVER BLONDE COMING TO STONEHAM’