Nunsense 2: The Second Coming is like an endurance test for the audience. If you can survive two hours of corny puns, cheap gags and forgettable songs, then you deserve some sort of award. The original Nunsense, which I have not seen, was a huge international hit. The plot of Nunsense 2 is as threadbare as […]
Director Alfred Hitchcock once said he enjoyed playing the audience like a piano. That quote came to mind while watching the Players’ new production of A Murder Is Announced. Based on an Agatha Christie potboiler, this twisty thriller toys with the audience like a finely tuned musical instrument. Letitia Blacklock (Becky Minard) is shocked when […]
You’ve got to hand it to the creative team behind A Midsummer Night’s Dream: They obviously went all out to create a show with tremendous beauty and style. Featuring a cast of talented thespians from Brown University, this latest incarnation of the Shakespeare classic works best as a meditation on love and desire. A series […]
Rose’s Money is a comedy-drama about a downtrodden family fighting over an inheritance. After Rose dies, $87,000 is discovered in her hope chest. Rose didn’t leave a will, so who gets the money? There’s Billy (Rudy Cabrera), a recovering drug addict with a pregnant fiancee, Sarah (Kerissa Rodrick). Rhonda (Danette Briggs), a highly insecure woman, […]
Frost/Nixon, which focuses on interviews British journalist David Frost conducted with President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, is a fascinating look at a very flawed man. In 1974, Nixon resigned from office following the Watergate scandal. The break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices and his administration’s cover-up of the crime led to congressional hearings […]
A group of women share an unconventional narrative of their recollections in Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Writers Delia and Nora Ephron have crafted a series of monologues based on a book by Ilene Beckerman. At Beckerman’s request, the actresses performed a staged reading of the play. The tales the women share are alternately […]
Pippin is sheer perfection — a show filled with dazzling acrobatics, energetic dancing, romance and a wacky, offbeat sense of humor. It is also a heartfelt coming of age tale, as Pippin (Brian Flores), son of King Charles, struggles to find his purpose in life and considers joining a roaming group of circus performers, presided […]
The Hunchback of Seville is a semi-satirical look at life in Spain in the early 16th century. It was a time of religious persecution, as anyone who was not Spanish or Catholic found themselves tortured and murdered in the name of Catholic fundamentalism overseen by the ruling classes. Maxima (Phyllis Kay), the hunchback, is living […]
Pippin, the smash Broadway musical, is making the latest stop on its national tour at Providence Performing Arts Center, from February 16 through the 21st. With music and lyrics from famed composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), the show promises to thrill audiences with dazzling acrobatics and spectacular choreography. The show premiered on October 23, 1972, and […]
2nd Story Theatre’s artistic director, Ed Shea, likes to take audiences places they have never been before, and his latest opus, Hysteria, is no exception. This is a very odd play, a cross between a zany farce and a chilling drama. What’s remarkable is that under Shea’s capable direction, it all works so brilliantly. Shea […]