Quannapowitt Players present hilarious ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’

25May17

By MARK SARDELLA You needn’t be a Chekhov scholar to enjoy Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” currently on stage at Quannapowitt Playhouse in Reading. Durang’s comedy may have been inspired by Chekhov, but it is 180 degrees from the dark, despairing mood that permeates Chekhov’s plays. In fact, it’s hilarious. Wakefield […]

Filed under: Art, Feature stories, Humor, Opinion, Reviews, theater   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Anton Chekhov, Ashley Skeffinton, Barbara Douglass, Christopher Durang, comedy, Dayle Ballentine, Kendall Hodder, Margaret McCarty, Mark Sardella, Nancy Curran Willis, Quannapowitt Players, theater, Tim McShea, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA

‘Bank Job’ pays off with laughs at GSC

22May17

By MARK SARDELLA Bank robbery isn’t as easy as it looks, especially when things don’t go as planned. That’s the lesson that two brothers learn early on in John Kolvenbach’s comedy The Bank Job, currently at Gloucester Stage. Fourteen million dollars is a nice haul, but it won’t do you much good if your escape […]

Filed under: Art, Humor, Opinion, Reviews, theater   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: actors, Bank Job, bank robbery, cast, comedy, Gloucester Stage, John Kolvenbach, Johnny Lee Davenport, Mark Sardella, Nael Nacer, Paul Melendy, play, production, review, Robert Walsh., Shuyi Jai, stage, theater, Wakefield Daily Item

Local woman to bike for Best Buddies

04Apr17

Comedy fundraiser Sunday, April 9 at Giggles By MARK SARDELLA When last we heard from Salem Street resident Danielle Resha, she had won a trip to Superbowl 51 by doing the most pull-ups in 95 seconds in the Live ULTRA Pull-up Challenge sponsored by Michelob ULTRA. Well, she’s back from Houston, and witnessing Tom Brady […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, News, Profiles, Wakefield   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Best Buddies, Best Buddies Challenge, bikw bicycle, Boston Militia, charity, Christine Hurley, comedy, football, Giggles, intellectual disabilities, Lenny Clarke, Mark Sardella, new england patriots, pizza, Tom Brady, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA

QP brings Horovitz’s ‘My Old Lady’ home

04May16

Directed by Nancy Curran Willis By MARK SARDELLA Israel Horovitz’s play “My Old Lady” is set in Paris but in Quannapowitt Players upcoming production there are Wakefield connections galore. Most obvious is the fact that Horovitz is a Wakefield native who grew up on Elm Street and graduated from Wakefield High School in 1956. On […]

Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Community, Feature stories, News, Profiles, theater, Wakefield   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: comedy, David Kimmelman, drama, France, Gloucester Stage, Israel Horovitz, Kevin Kline, Kim Anton Myatt, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lake Quannapowitt, Liz Robbins, Maggie Smith, Mark Sardella, My Old Lady, Nancy Curran Willis, play, playwright, Quannapowitt Players, theater, viager, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA

Wakefield Public Access TV: the Dark Ages

17Dec15

This month, Wakefield Community Access Television celebrates its 25th anniversary as Wakefield’s public access television operation. It’s hard to believe that WCAT has been around for a quarter century. What’s even harder to believe is that public access television has been around in Wakefield, MA for even longer than that. WCAT was formed in December […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Feature stories, History, Humor, Opinion, Television, Wakefield   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Betamax, Bob Lazarus, Bob Seibel, cable TV, Chance Langton, Charles Laquidara, Charlie Brooks, Charlie Golub, comedy, Gary Stewart, Janeane Garofalo, Lisa J, Massachusetts, Mr. Ed, Rich Ceisler, Tony V, Topsfield Fair, TV, video, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Access Television, Wakefield Tonight, Warner-Amex Cable, WBCN, WCAT

Horovitz brings ‘Gloucester Blue’ home

18Sep15

by Mark Sardella (The Wakefield Daily Item) “Gloucester Blue is a comic thriller and has often been compared to a Coen Brothers movie,” says Wakefield native Israel Horovitz about his new play, which opens this week at Gloucester Stage. “I can see why,” he says. “It’s a comedy, but quite dark. The final moments of […]

Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Feature stories, Profiles, Reviews, theater, Wakefield   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Coen brothers, comedy, drama, Esme Allen, Francisco Solorzano, Gloucester Blue, Gloucester MA, Gloucester Stage, Israel Horovitz, Mark Sardella Wakefield Daily Item, Massachusetts, play, playwright, Robert Walsh., theater, theatre, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, working class

A Fun Ride in “Becky’s New Car”

12Nov13

Entertaining romantic comedy at Quannapowitt Players “When a woman says she wants a new car, she really wants a whole new life,” middle-aged Becky Foster (played by Barbara Douglass) muses in the opening scene of “Becky’s New Car.” The highly entertaining romantic comedy by Steven Dietz is currently on stage at Quannapowitt Players in Reading […]

Filed under: Art, Reviews, Wakefield   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Becky's New Car, comedy, drama, J. Mark Baumhardt, Mark Sardella, play, Quannapowitt Players, Reading MA, stage, Steven Dietz, theater, theatre, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA