Hibernian Hall Archives - Madison Park Development Corporation

On City Biz: Abilities Dance Boston to Showcase Original Compositions at The Music of Abilities Dance Boston Concert

Kelly Lydon — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 22:36:04 +0000

Event to Feature 10 Original Works Performed by a 13-piece Live Orchestral Ensemble at Hibernian Hall

Abilities Dance Boston, a dance company committed to centering artists with disabilities and expanding access and representation in Greater Boston’s performing arts space, announced today that it will showcase the original works of its composers with a special concert at 8:00 p.m., Friday, November 7^th at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury.

The Music of Abilities Dance Boston concert will celebrate the creative collaborations that have shaped the company’s recent works, bringing a spotlight to the original music behind several past dance performances. The in-person-only event will feature approximately 10 original compositions performed by a live 13-person ensemble, conducted by Music Director Andrew Choe. With pieces written by Choe, as well as composers Robert Gross and Erin Rogers, the original works will be presented together for the first time in this celebratory evening guided by artistry and inclusion.

Read the entire article on City Biz here.

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On Boston.com: Events will celebrate history of ‘Roxbury Black Wall Street’

Kelly Lydon — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 21:07:07 +0000

By Madison Lucchesi

A free four-day conference, Sept. 23 to 26, will commemorate the history and significance of Roxbury‘s Black Wall Street.

“The Way We Were: Roxbury Black Wall Street 1900-1965” will feature “exhibits, stories, and youth programs to honor legacy and inspire the future,” according to the Eventbrite listing.

Each event, taking place at various locations each day between 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., will explore a different aspect of Roxbury’s Black Wall Street.

“Roxbury’s Black Wall Street is more than history—it is a legacy of resilience,
brilliance, and community pride that our youth, residents, and community as a whole should embrace. This conference is a celebration of the past and a call to action for the future,” said event organizer Marie Firmin in a statement.

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On WBUR: 27th Roxbury International Film Festival centers community and connection

Kelly Lydon — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 17:06:43 +0000

Sean Burns

But Silvera’s first love was the theater. A member of The Actors Studio, he once co-starred as the Italian father to characters played by Ben Gazzara and Anthony Franciosa in the Broadway play “A Hatful of Rain,” where he was said to have saved the job of a mouthy young understudy named Steve McQueen. In 1955, Silvera started the Theatre of Being Workshop, using his television and movie earnings to fund productions starring Black actors. After his passing in 1970, friend Morgan Freeman co-founded the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop. A close colleague of Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier, Silvera was a mentor to many. But Lisa and Alison Simmons, the artistic directors and programmers of the Roxbury International Film Festival, knew him as Uncle Frank.

Frank Silvera (Courtesy RoxFilm)

“He was family. Isn’t that cool?” said Lisa Simmons over the phone from RoxFilm headquarters. “As you go about your life and your career, you do things because you’re passionate about them. Then you’re like, ‘Oh wait, my relatives did this like 50 years ago!’ Uncle Frank’s focus was supporting Black actors and I guess we’re following in his footsteps.”

That’s why this year’s 27th annual Roxbury International Film Festival will be holding a tribute to Silvera on Thursday, June 26 at MassArt, with the actor’s daughter (and the Simmons sisters’ cousin) Linda Silvera in attendance. It’s one of the dozens of events, panels, workshops and hangouts over the 10 days from Thursday, June 19 through Friday, June 27 showcasing more than a hundred shorts and features at an array of venues including Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Dudley Street’s historic Hibernian Hall and Roxbury’s Haley House. As always with RoxFilm, the emphasis is on community and interaction. Every evening ends with a filmmaker hangout, where artists, friends and fans can rub elbows, ask questions and foster fellowship — a commodity that feels especially precious in these tempestuous times.

“There’s so much that just hurts my heart,” Simmons said. “We talk a lot about arts as activism. How can you use arts and culture to help people understand and get connected to certain issues? I think film is a great way to do that. We always talk about film as a catalyst for conversation and we have built into the festival opportunities to have deeper discussions around these film screenings. We’re bringing in people from organizations that are doing work in these spaces to do Q&As with the community.”

A still from director Emmai Alaquiva’s film “The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Mortality.” (Courtesy RoxFilm)

RoxFilm’s much-loved “Dinner and a Movie” program returns this year to Haley House with a screening of “The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Mortality” (June 23), followed by a conversation with maternal health professionals. “I think we need to be constantly talking about this issue, especially when we’re looking at cuts in health care and the loss of hospitals and health centers,” explained Simmons. “This is very much an issue that’s front and center for Black and brown people, and this is a great film narrated by Viola Davis that talks about ways in which people are trying to counter this terrible situation.”

They’ve also brought back last year’s hugely successful Senior Lunch Screening (June 24). “This was my sister Alison, the co-director’s brainchild. We would get questions about bringing these films to the senior communities, so she asked, ‘Why don’t we do a free lunch for the seniors in Boston? Anyone really can come, but the focus is to provide an opportunity for senior citizens to come out and have a discussion and we’ll provide box lunches for them,” Simmons said. “It was a great success last year. The filmmaker was over the moon having this audience.”

Read the entire story as it originally appeared on WBUR here.

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On Boston Rocks 92.9: 5 Film Festivals and Series to Experience This Summer

Kelly Lydon — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:20:08 +0000

Michael Vyskocil

This summer, screens across New England will light up with films as six major festivals screen movies between June and August. From Boston to Martha’s Vineyard, members of the public can catch more than 300 film screenings this season.

See the entire list on Boston Rocks 92.9 here.

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In Cambridge Day: ‘Night Side Songs’ review: For the most part, ‘communal music-theater’ experience works

Kelly Lydon — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 17:29:12 +0000

Nile Scott StudiosBrooke Ishibashi and Jonathan Raviv embrace in “Night Side Songs.”

By Madeleine Aitken

In “Night Side Songs,” the American Repertory Theater’s latest commission, audience participation is key.

The “communal music-theater experience,” as it’s called, is directed by Taibi Magar and is performed not only for, but with, the audience. Written by brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour, the play explores a young woman’s cancer diagnosis and the way it affects her community.

By including the audience in its songs, “Night Side Songs” seeks to create a space for having a “collective healing experience,” said A.R.T. artistic director Diane Paulus in her welcome.

It’s a touring show in its weekend at the Cambridge performances are on at the Masonic Temple; stating April 9, the show is at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury.

The play centers around Yasmine (Brooke Ishibashi), a young woman diagnosed with cancer. The rest of the ensemble play doctors, family members and lovers. Yasmine’s story is interspersed with three visions, each looking at cancer at a different times. There’s one set in the 1200s, when a suggestive British innkeeper named Prudence (Mary Testa) feels a lump in her breast, another in the 1960s, as doctors are developing chemotherapy and a third in the future about a songwriter named Harris (Jordan Dobson) who refuses treatment and writes his own obituary before he dies.

Read the entire article as it originally appeared in Cambridge Day here.

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In Playbill: Watch: Jordan Dobson Previews World Premiere Lazours Musical Night Side Songs With ‘Santa Cruz’

Kelly Lydon — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:43:52 +0000

The American Repertory Theater-Philadelphia Theatre Company co-production begins March 27 in Massachusetts.

By Logan Culwell-Block

Jordan Dobson (Bad Cinderella, & Juliet) offers a preview of the world premiere musical Night Side Songs, by The Lazours, in a newly released video. Watch Dobson perform the song “Santa Cruz” above.

The work is debuting with a co-production between American Repertory Theater and Philadelphia Theatre Company, running March 27-April 6 at The Cambridge Masonic Temple and April 9-20 at Hibernian Hall, both in Massachusetts.

The musical celebrates the resilience of the human spirit, giving voice to doctors, patients, researchers, and caregivers. The piece’s title draw’s inspiration from Susan Sontag’s quote that “illness is the night side of life.” Daniel Lazour and Patrick Lazour (We Live in Cairo) have written the work, and Taibi Magar (We Live in Cairo) is directing.

Along with Dobson, the cast includes Robi Hager, Brooke Ishibashi, Jonathan Raviv, and Mary Testa. Casting is by Taylor Williams.

The production also features scenic design by Matt Saunders, costume design by Jason A. Goodwin, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, sound design by Justin Stasiw, and music direction and piano arrangements by Alex Bechtel. Elizabeth Emanuel is production stage manager, and Olivia McQuerry is assistant stage manager.

Visit AmericanRepertoryTheater.org for tickets.

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In The Harvard Crimson: ‘Night Side Songs’ Preview: Interactive Theater’s Approach to Caregiving and Catharsis

Kelly Lydon — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 18:36:02 +0000

Mary Testa, Taylor Trensch, Jonathan Raviv, Brooke Ishibashi, and Jordan Dobson in the Under the Radar Under Construction performance of the A.R.T./PTC production of “Night Side Songs.” By Courtesy of Maggie Hall / Nile Scott Studios

By Thomas A. Ferro, Crimson Staff Writer

March 25, 2025

“Night Side Songs” centers itself on a quote by the esteemed American writer Susan Sontag: “Illness is the night side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick.”

It is with these words in mind that every audience member enters what is ultimately not a standard theater experience but an interactive one full of grief, healing, and catharsis. Constructed with the meticulous attention of director Taibi Magar, “Night Side Songs” offers an intimate evening meditating on the tragic, yet universal themes of illness and caregiving.

Written by siblings Daniel and Patrick Lazour and having already completed a full run at the Philadelphia Theatre Company earlier this year, this new production will be performed at two of the American Repertory Theater’s venues this spring: first at the Cambridge Masonic Temple in Porter Square from March 27 through April 6 and later at Hibernian Hall in Nubian Square from April 8 through April 20.

“Night Side Songs” takes interactive theater to another level, expanding from simple audience participation to the creation of an atmosphere in which everyone — audience and cast members alike — can sing and be together. This interactive experience allows one to grapple with, confront, and appreciate difficult themes in a collective and honest manner.

“It’s an interesting, I think, mixture of communal singing and a communal grieving event in some ways, but also a communal celebration of life and togetherness,” Brooke Ishibashi, who plays Yasmine in the show, said in an interview with The Crimson.

This effect is amplified by the production’s design and technical elements. For instance, the play is performed partially in the round, the house lights remain on throughout most of the show, and some of the dialogue is spoken in direct address to the audience. These features strip away typical methods of distancing set by standard theater productions and offer, as a result, a very different experience.

“You can’t hide; You’re part of the story, whether you like it or not. And, on the other hand, you see people across from you singing. It kind of gives you permission to sing, to participate,” Jonathan Raviv, who plays Frank, said.

“Night Side Songs” offers a glimpse into the world of illness through the eyes of the caregiver, an often undertold perspective, according to Ishibashi. With the house lights on for most of the show, the cast can see the audience just as clearly as the audience can see them, allowing the theme of caregiving to extend outside of the plot.

“We are caretaking for the audience. We are caretaking for each other, as performers. We’re caretaking for the crew. We’re caretaking for the staff of the theater,” Ishibashi said.

Read the entire article as it originally appeared in The Harvard Crimson here.

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In The Boston Globe: In ‘Night Side Songs,’ finding ways to talk about illness through song

Kelly Lydon — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 18:25:28 +0000

Mary Testa, Taylor Trensch, Jonathan Raviv, Brooke Ishibashi, and Jordan Dobson in the Under the Radar Under Construction performance of the ART/PTC production of “Night Side Songs.”Nile Scott Studios and Maggie Hall

By Chris Wallenberg Globe correspondent

Daniel and Patrick Lazour, the award-winning sibling songwriters who grew up in Boylston, outside of Worcester, sheepishly acknowledge that their new experimental musical “Night Side Songs” might be a tough sell for some audiences. Not only does the show delve into the experience of illness and living with cancer, but it also features communal singing (audience participation is encouraged but not obligatory).

“At first blush, you’re like, ‘A musical about cancer? Can’t wait to try to sell that!’ When you tell people about it, they’re like, ‘Oh, boy. No thank you,’” agreed the show’s director Taibi Magar, with a chuckle. “And then you’re like, ‘But it’s a sing-along!’ And they’re like, ‘Absolutely not.’”

But the Lazours insist that something magical occurs when audience members move past their inhibitions and engage. The results can be surprising. Their challenge, Daniel said, was: “How do you make a show that involves audience participation approachable and effective?”

“Night Side Songs” debuts in the Boston area this month, produced by the American Repertory Theater in association with the Philadelphia Theatre Company (where it ran earlier this month). The show will be performed at the Cambridge Masonic Temple from March 27-April 6, before moving to Hibernian Hall in Roxbury, from April 9-20. The cast includes veteran Broadway star Mary Testa (“Xanadu,” “Oklahoma!”) along with Jordan Dobson (“Hadestown”), Brooke Ishibashi (“Into the Woods”), Jonathan Raviv (“The Band’s Visit”), and Robi Hager.

Read the entire article as it originally appeared in The Boston Globe here.

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On MySouthEnd.com: ‘The Piano Lesson’ Strikes Perfect Notes in Wilson’s Family Discord

Kelly Lydon — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 20:09:36 +0000

by Jules Becker

From left: Jade Guerra, “ranney,” Jonathan Kitt and Omar Robinson in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” Photo courtesy of Nile Scott Studios.

The Piano Lesson, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, performed in partnership with Hibernian Hall, through February 23. 617-241-2200 or ActorsShakespeareProject.org

Actors Shakespeare Project has been artfully orchestrating the masterful music and stagecraft of August Wilson in recent inspired revivals of “Seven Guitars” and “King Hedley II” at Hibernian Hall. Now the auspicious partnership of company and venue continues with a superbly conducted staging—under the sharp direction of Christopher V. Edwards–of the 1987 (1990 Pulitzer Prize) play “The Piano Lesson.” Arguably Wilson’s most disarming yet powerful work, “The Piano Lesson” proves even timelier in an age when revisionism and intensified hatred threaten both the legacy and dreams of many African-Americans.

Set as with all of Wilson’s 20th century play cycle in Pittsburgh, “The Piano Lesson” plays out its dramatic sibling point-counterpoint in the kitchen and parlor of the house—kudos to Jon Savage for a well-detailed design—where uncle Doaker Charles (a railroad cook) lives with his widowed niece Berniece and her 11-year- old daughter Maretha. Right from the start, a kind of human storm erupts as Berniece’s talkative and impulsive brother Boy Willie enters determined to sell watermelons he has brought from Mississippi with his relatively taciturn partner Lymon. Boy Willie also means to sell the family’s strikingly ornate antique piano—carved by an enslaved ancestor—and use the money to buy the land where the family’s ancestors were enslaved. Doaker—who often seems to act as a mediator—reminds Boy Willie constantly that half of the piano belongs to Bernice. For her part, Berniece refuses to sell the piano and sees the unique carvings as a priceless connection to the family’s past.

Throughout the play, the sister-brother stand-off not only represents a kind of familial civil war but also a focal battle between past and future. Wilson artfully weaves the sibling conflict into a rich tapestry of vivid personal stories—some overlapping in their spirit and some very different in their dreams and perceptions. Will the past and future find a meaningful middle ground? Will Maretha discover a true lesson in her own connection with the family piano? Wilson brings the play’s conflicting points of view to an arresting resolution that respects both the lessons of the past and the promise of the future.

In the production playbill, director Edwards asks theatergoers to “let Wilson’s words wash over you like a song you didn’t know you needed to hear,” and the superb ASP ensemble richly renders the play’s compelling dramatic and comic music. Omar Robinson has all of Boy Willie’s unrelenting determination and fire, while Jade Guerra smartly captures Berniece’s understated but adamant demeanor in defending ancestry and memory. Jonathan Kitt makes the most of Doaker’s curious impartiality and the telling train-centered philosophy that Wilson gives him. As fellow sage Wining Boy, “ranney” is a standout in both moments of wisdom and musical rendition. Anthony T. Goss catches Lymon’s adventurousness and his sweet attraction to Berniece. The sequence in which Wining Boy sells Lymon a silk suit and two-tone if tightly fitting shoes is an individual highlight. Daniel Rios Jr. has all of Avery’s expansive feeling for Berniece and his serious if sometimes amusing intensity as a preacher. Ariel Phillips catches Maretha’s innocence, and Brittani J. McBride is properly spirited as impatient date Grace.

Near the end of the play, Avery is called on to do a lot of blessing for the rival siblings. One thing is certain at Hibernian Hall. The fully absorbing ASP staging of “The Piano Lesson” is a blessed rendition of Wilson’s music-rich insights.

To read the article as it originally appeared on MySouthEnd.com here.

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In The Irish Echo: Lost Gaels Book Tour Begins

Kelly Lydon — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 20:07:25 +0000

by Anthony Neeson

Lost Gaels – Remembering the Members of the GAA killed during the conflict in Ireland, was published by Merrion Press in November last year.

Ahead of the tour, a spokesperson for the Ancient Order of Hibernians said: “These events provide a meaningful chance for the Irish community to unite, celebrate our heritage, and honor the resilience of Irish history and culture and the unifying power of sport. All events are free to attend.”

The events will take place in Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland and Chicago between Thursday, February 20 to Tuesday, March 4.

The dates: Thursday, February 20, 2025 – Boston, MA – Hibernian Hall; doors open 6 p.m.; Friday, February 21, – Albany, NY – Irish American Heritage Museum; doors open 6 p.m.; Saturday, February 22, – Glastonbury, CT – Irish American Home Society; doors open 1 p.m.; Sunday, February 23, – Orangeburg, NY – Rockland GAA; doors open 1 p.m.; Tuesday, February 25, – New York, NY – American Irish Historical Society; doors open 6 p.m.; Wednesday, February 26, – Middletown, NJ – Bayshore Catholic Center; doors open 6 p.m.; Thursday, February 27, – Philadelphia, PA – Commodore John Barry Arts and Cultural Center; 6 p.m. Friday, February 28, – Baltimore, MD 223 South Central Avenue, time TBD. Saturday, March 1, – Pittsburgh, PA – Mullaney’s Harp & Fiddle Irish Pub; doors open 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, – Cleveland, OH – West Side Irish American Club; doors open 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, 2025 – Chicago, IL – Irish American Heritage Center; doors open 6 p.m.

Read the article as it originally appeared in The Irish Echo here.

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