Charlestown Working Theater

The Charlestown Working Theater was an experience that I recommend to all. Let me start off by saying that I am not a theater buff. I generally only attend larger-​scaled shows, if any at all, so I was not sure what to expect from a smaller theater. I took my sister and brother-​in-​law while I was in town to visit. I originally thought to get tickets to a larger production somewhere, but I thought maybe we could try something different and go to a more intimate performance.
The location is in a cute part of Charlestown. I don’t know Boston that well, so I only recognized Charlestown from The Town, and was not sure if it was in a rough part of town… its not. The building itself seems to be a reworked commercial space of old and it works perfectly. It is small enough to maintain the intimate charm I was looking for, and spacious enough to hold a respectable play and seat a reasonable audience: maybe around 75 – 100 people (100 might be tight) tops. When we went on a Wednesday night, however, there was only about 20 guests, and that made it even more charming.
The performance, Our Country’s Good, was very well done. The acting went without a hiccup and the direction was done to perfection. The space could be difficult to work around without curtains or a backstage, but with a few artistic ingenuities and an exemplary cast I hardly noticed. The play itself was excellent, but I am using this review to comment on the Theater though, so please find reviews on Our Country’s Good elsewhere (they are all equally impressed btw).
The last thing I will note is the Pay What You Want ticket structure. Basically, you can pay what you want (go figure) and choose between $ 15 and $ 35. They give you guidelines, without telling you how much you should pay. $ 25 covers the cost of the play…$ 15 is their suggested student fare… and $ 35 provides a little extra (because you can afford it and you care about the arts). I think I underpaid a little and the quality of the performance warranted an additional $ 20 at the end of the show. Pay what you want though :)
Overall thanks for the great performance and novel Wednesday night!

My first time coming to this theatre was to see my sister’s fiancé and one of her friends in the show Mojo. Let me tell you something i wish this show was running longer or that more people could see it because it was brilliantly directed. I’m guessing the acts that come through this theater have a ton of future potential because what i saw in Mojo was very very good and promising! Anyone reading this review look up the info on the show and then see if you can find the actors in some other shows. They are worth the price of admission, i promise you that!
The theater itself is not anything to extravagant, its small but well kept and nice. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Loved the set up they had for the show and during the intermission they provided snacks and beverages. Then since it was the last show at the «wrap party» they provided food, beverages, and beers. Talk about taking care of the customer. Looking forward to seeing another show here when i visit again.

Now playing is King John
Small theaters like this are a lot of fun. Free bottle of water on a table as you enter, friendly staffspeople, comfy seats, reasonable prices.
I saw Lucia’s Chapters of Coming Forth By Day this past summer, with the incredible Maribou Mines as James Joyce’s daughter in old age. A troubling play about the institutionalized daughter of Joyce. Did he have incestuous relations with her? Was she really schizo, or was she embarrasing and simply locked away? (More embarrassing than Dad? I wondered.) Nobody really knows, or maybe a few do, but they’re guarding the loot… just lots of intriguing suppostion for the rest of us.
The theater is in an old Victorian firehouse at the bottom of Bunker Hill (the side closer to Sullivan Sq) and is just the kind of hip little theater you’d think would border the yuppie section of Charlestown. As long as they continue to keep it real in the theater, right? ;) (It’s where I grew up, so I can have attitude right back at them! lol!)