By Nick A. Zaino III Globe correspondent, Updated February 7, 2024, 1:40 p.m.
SOMERVILLE — Funny. Dark. Smart. Great. Those are the attributes that Deby Xiadani, the new artistic director of the Rockwell, wants audiences to note. They are the pillars of her philosophy for making the Davis Square space something special in the months and years to come. She figures if a performance is funny, dark, and smart, it’s probably going to be great.
Funny is important, whether it’s music, a play, or something explicitly comic like a stand-up act, because it helps the performer get into deeper subjects with an audience.
Dark, Xiadani says, can mean “grotesque” or “taboo,” but also something more personal. “It doesn’t have to be morbid — ‘dark’ is the stuff that doesn’t really get to see the light of day very often.”
