"Something Intangible" - by Bruce Graham - Quannapowitt Players (Reading, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: Nathan Mabanglo-Burgett as "Leo Baxter" in a scene from Bruce Graham's "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" now playing at Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Jonathan Sachs)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“Well, if your idea of wit is a cat and mouse hitting each other in the head with brick then please, be my guest.”
- ("Tony") / Bruce Graham
The Quannapowitt Players
Presents Bruce Graham's
"SOMETHING INTANGIBLE"
Written by Bruce Graham
Directed by Andrew Boncoddo
Cast Includes: Adam Heroux as "Dale Wiston," Nick Miller as "Tony Wiston," Jenny Fielding as "Sonia Feldman," Gordon Ellis as "Doc Bartelli/Gustav Von Meyerhoff," Nathan Mabanglo-Burgett as "Leo Baxter."
Additional Creative Team:
Stage Manager - Matt Silverstein; Set Design - David Fisher; Lighting Design - Eric Jacobsen; Sound Design - Chris Brousseau; Costume Design - Anna Silva; Hair and Makeup Design - Marc Capizzi; Props - Katie Pompeo.
Performances:
March 20, 2026 through April 4, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS, 55 Hopkins Street, Reading, MA. 01867-3917
TICKETS:
Contact QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS at # 781-942-2212 or email at boxoffice@qptheater.com www.qptheater.com
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(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
The Quannapowitt Players (QP) offers up something substantial with an exceptional staging of "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" now playing in Reading.
Written by Bruce Graham and directed for QP by Andrew Boncoddo, the 2009 play is presented in two-acts on a compact but meticulously detailed set, transporting us back to 1941 and to a Hollywood movie studio just as the U.S. is on the verge of entering World War II.
The drama in Graham's story results from one man’s practical business realities and how it impacts another man’s intense artistic vision - and the result is an impasse reached between two sibling partners.
(Photo: Jenny Fielding as "Sonia Feldman," Adam Heroux as "Dale Wiston" and Nick Miller as "Tony Wiston" in a scene from Bruce Graham's "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" now playing at Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Jonathan Sachs)
People will undoubtedly note tangible similarities in "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" between the two brothers depicted and actual movie mogul brothers Walt and Roy Disney, who co-founded the "Walt Disney Company" in 1923.
However, great care has been taken in Graham’s script to ensure there is nothing directly implied to besmirch the reputation of the very real Disney brothers.
And yet, there are comments made by everyone in the QP two-act play that remind us these characters are very much products of their time.
So, don’t be surprised at some of the repugnant attitudes and phraseology used in this play taking place in a non-politically correct era.
The studio, primarily famous for animation, in particular its signature character, a cartoon dog known as “Petey Pup.”
The studio is run by the Wiston brothers, Tony (Nick Miller) and Dale (Adam Heroux) whose personalities could not be more divergent.
(Photo: Adam Heroux as "Dale Wiston," Nathan Mabanglo-Burgett as "Leo Baxter" and Nick Miller as "Tony Wiston" in a scene from Bruce Graham's "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" now playing at Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Jonathan Sachs)
Miller gives an vigorous portrayal of Tony, who is ambitious, wanting to move beyond “Petey Pup” animated shorts and is seeking inspiration, which he finds unexpectedly at a classical concert.
As he listens to a particular movement in a piece, he begins to become excited by the visions suddenly popping into his brain.
Finding his inspiration, Tony stops all other production to focus work exclusively on this new feature which, in his reaching for the brass ring, becomes an obsession for Tony as he wants his legacy to reflect that he created an artistic masterpiece.
Again, there will be those who will see obvious parallels to Walt Disney's epic animated feature "Fantasia" and rightly so.
Heroux, meanwhile, is completely engaged in his performance as the more subdued Dale, the pragmatic business half of the brothers, trying to keep the studio afloat against the tide of Tony's incessant and crazy creative ideas.
In the intense approach taken by Miller, we witness how Tony’s newfound obsession brings him to the brink of paranoia, self-doubt and self-loathing, exacerbated by substance use, evident as the story progresses.
(Photo: Jenny Fielding as "Sonia Feldman" listens to Adam Heroux as "Dale Wiston" in a scene from Bruce Graham's "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" now playing at Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Jonathan Sachs)
Heroux adeptly shows us that what may ground Dale more so than Tony is his being father to a mentally challenged son, knowing he must always have the boy’s best interests in mind.
Similarly, he tends to take the same approach with his brother as he looks out for Tony’s best interests.
And yet, what of Dale’s own best interests?
With all these mounting pressures in his life, this prompts Dale to see a psychologist, Sonia Feldman (Jenny Fielding) which, just by doing so, is a radical new concept for this time period.
Fielding is ever-present in her role as Feldman, a so-called “psychoanalyst to the stars” who always is on stage, appearing to be intently listening as Dale recounts the trouble he is having with Tony’s incessant impracticality.
Thanks to the play’s proficient staging by QP director Boncoddo, all scenes move seamlessly in and out of Dale’s therapy sessions with Feldman.
(Photo: Nathan Mabanglo-Burgett as "Leo Baxter" in a scene from Bruce Graham's "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" now playing at Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Jonathan Sachs)
Serving in his capacity as two supporting characters in a marvelously contrasting performance for QP is Gordon Ellis - first as Doc Bartelli, a no-nonsense former dentist-turned-primary backer for the brothers; and then as the morally bankrupt Gustav Von Meyerhoff, a renowned (or perhaps “infamous”) maestro tasked by Tony to bring his artistic vision to fruition.
Caught in the crosshairs of Tony’s chaos is young Leo Baxter (Nathan Mabanglo-Burgett), Tony’s closeted protégé, who idolizes all that the brothers have accomplished but aspires to be like Tony.
However, we watch as Leo emotionally crumbles from pressures both business and personal in a sensitive, internalized performance by Mabanglo-Burgett.
This is a superb little gem of a show which I encourage everyone to see, featuring completely committed performances all around but mostly thanks to the onstage chemistry witnessed between Miller and Heroux of a kindred relationship explored, expressed...and endangered.
(Photo: Adam Heroux as "Dale Wiston" and Nick Miller as "Tony Wiston" in a scene from Bruce Graham's "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" now playing at Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 4, 2026. Photo Credit: Jonathan Sachs)
Featuring a solid story, well told and with tangible talent involved, Bruce Graham's "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" continues from Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 4th, 2026.
Coming up next at Quannapowitt Players will be Peter Zachari's "THE CHESAPEAKE CHICKS" beginning May 22nd and running through June 6th, 2026.
For tickets and information, contact the Quannapowitt Players at # 781-942-2212 or email boxoffice@qptheater.com
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Approximately two hours with one intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
In Bruce Graham’s "SOMETHING INTANGIBLE" there are two very different brothers who run a Hollywood movie studio known for its’ cartoon dog, "Petey Pup."
The creative brother wants to produce a feature-length animated film set to classical music.
His loyal brother manages everything else.
Set against the backdrop of the US’s entry into World War II in 1941, this thinly veiled critique of a certain cartoon mogul highlights the tension between art and commerce as the world face and adapt to new challenges.
ABOUT THE QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS
THE QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS has provided quality community theater for over 85 years in a converted historic 1853 Little Red School House in the town of Reading, Massachusetts. The delightful black-box performance space, with intimate seating for 150 patrons, has full handicap accessibility and parking.
55 Hopkins Street
Reading, MA. 01867-3917
# 781-942-2212
