Terry Shea

Wilbury Theatre’s recent epic production of Blasted showed us what confrontational and controversial theater in Rhode Island can be like. To move from a tale of dystopian cannibalistic sexual assault and mayhem to a fairly well-known gem in the musical theater canon may seem like an absurd leap, but Cabaret is not light fare and, […]

Celebrated filmmaker Roman Polanski has endured horror and suffering in his lifetime. A Holocaust survivor who made a life for himself in America, Polanski was victimized again as his wife, Sharon Tate, was brutally murdered by the Manson family in 1969. He persevered, channeled his  anguish through his work and continued on to become one […]

In 1914, absinthe was officially banned in France, ending an era (albeit a short one) and creating a legend surrounding the milky green liquid that supposedly fostered creativity, hallucinations and madness. The only true part of that legend, of course, was the fact that the spirit was erroneously made illegal in many countries for about […]

At the end of every Lenny Schwartz show, just as the house lights come up, one inevitably hears, “Well, that was different!” Opening night of Daydream Theatre’s latest Schwartz original, Newcastle, was certainly no exception. Known for his biographical extravaganzas (i.e., Lucy, The Brothers Marx), Schwartz also pens originals that both entertain and bewilder as his bizarre […]

“Personally, I think it is a shocking play, but only in the sense that falling down the stairs is shocking — it’s painful and makes you aware of your own fragility, but one doesn’t tend to be morally outraged about falling down the stairs.” – Sarah Kane Any production of Sarah Kane’s epically difficult Blasted […]

“Who am I to judge?” That phrase catapulted the current pope into a realm of celebrity coveted but rarely attained. Pope Francis’ growing cult of adoration stems not from the mere fact of his presence, but from his apparently limitless depths of empathy and willingness to call out the more spurious aspects of the faith. […]

Restaurants, like hotels, have ghosts. People meet, fall in love, fall out of love, gather, pray, eat, reunite, talk business and sometimes even pass away at these establishments built solely to offer rest and sustenance to the paying public. And while a hotel play (of which there are plenty), takes advantage of the various ways […]