By the end of the talk back following the Friday night performance of New and Dangerous Ideas, it became abundantly clear that the audience members who were convinced they understood the content of the play still had a long way to go on the path of enlightenment. Race is a tricky subject. Conversations about identity […]
Rhode Island has lost some killer venues. The Living Room, Perishable Theater and Black Rep/Aurora just to name a few. You’re just getting to know the place, and then, blammo; closed forever. So, it’s encouraging, if not a little unexpected, to hear about a venue making a comeback with live theater. This weekend, Epic […]
Christmas is awesome and we as a society are rightfully obsessed with it. At its core, it is the most American of holidays, a reason to spend obscene amounts of money on material things. A reason to stuff yourself with pie until you barf. A reason to get in screaming arguments with your relatives and […]
You’re new here. Haven’t had a chance to settle in and get your cultural bearings on the Ocean State. What even happens in Rhode Island? Is there life outside of Providence? It goes without saying that the food and drink scene is booming, and of course there’s a plethora of live music to sift […]
How brave are you? When was the last time you did something that wasn’t a sure thing? If you’ve been feeling a little humdrum about your entertainment options lately, there is a weird and crazy beacon of theater returning to Providence this summer to shake things up. The Providence Fringe Festival is probably one of […]
Manic Pixie Dream Girl. In popular culture, the young female character who cures the despondent male protagonist of his sadness through her sheer quirkiness. Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer, Natalie Portman in Garden State, the list goes on. Manic Pixies are kind of a problematic trope that feeds into the Nice […]
Ah, the adaptation. Sarah Ruhl’s practically made a career out of them and lately, everyone from Suzan Lori Parks to Ben Jolivet is getting in on the action. Aaron Posner’s Stupid Fucking Bird, the latest from The Wilbury Theatre Group, is touted as a ‘sort of’ adaptation of Chekov’s The Seagull. It dances between the […]
I had the opportunity to sit down with two of Rhode Island’s youngest and most prolific artistic directors: Kira Hawkridge of Out Loud and Jeff Church of Burbage Theatre Company. I wanted to find out what exactly was happening in downtown Providence — how these would-be rivals manage to cohabit the same block and compete […]
I never thought I’d get to see Davey Crockett eat out the goddess Artemis, but thanks to the magic of theater, the image is indelibly seared into my brain. I don’t know what else I expected going to a play called American Strippers. Especially a play called American Strippers by Kevin Broccoli. Epic Theatre’s latest […]
God is kind of a dick. Why does he allow so much suffering? Why all the smiting? What is his obsession with blood sacrifice? For their latest production, The Wilbury Group staged the world premiere of Ben Jolivet’s Cain + Abel, a thoughtful take on the impotence of God in a world of temptation and […]