Events:

Terry Shea

Terry Shea has been involved in RI Theater since 1986 and graduated with a BA in Theater Performance from Rhode Island College in 1992. Since then, he has been working in Theater, TV and Radio on a regular basis and co-created the RI Theater review website, MoreTeeth, in 2010. Reviewing for Motif since November 2012, Terry is still (mostly) active as an actor, director and sound designer and also as a voiceover talent for 990WBOB internet radio. Sometimes he brings his kids to the shows to keep his reviews from being too jaded, but they're more cynical than he is. | tbshea@hotmail.com | 413-429-1872|

Theater

For Mature Audiences Only

For medical reasons, it’s common (and legal) practice to provide warnings to theatergoers if there will be strobe effects or flashing lights in a theatrical production. That courtesy then extended to warnings in the lobby that the play you are about to see contains the sound of gunshots or other sudden noises that may startle […]

Theater

A Little Theater’s Awakening

Roughly once a year, somebody in the area trots out Duncan Sheik’s musical adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s late-1800s seminal (pun intended) work, Spring Awakening. Often banned and/or censored in its original form, the oh-so-German play (with the subtitle A Children’s Tragedy), deals with the sexual repression of the early 20th century and the subsequent fallout. […]

Theater

On the Fringe

As July hits the midway mark, the RI summer theater season starts to think Fringe. On the heels of PVDFest, Olneyville takes center stage with the Wilbury Theatre Group-sponsored FringePVD, taking place July 23 – 27. This year marks the sixth appearance of RI’s answer to Edinburgh and New York with a festival that celebrates […]

Theater

Head Trick Puts Queen Margaret Center Stage

Lost in sea of testosterone-filled heroes, Shakespeare’s women often get short shrift. And while everyone can conjure up the Kates and Ophelias and Juliets, how often do we hear about Shakespeare’s largest female role? Queen Margaret is a larger part than some of Will’s famous men, but it’s split up among so many plays that […]

Theater

The Band’s Visit Visits PPAC

The delightfully offbeat and heartwarming The Band’s Visit launches its National Tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center on June 25th. Winner of ten 2018 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, as well as grabbing the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album (Brown University alum David Yazbek gets credit for a blend of jazz […]

Theater

Merry Wives in PVD

It’s Shakespeare in the Park season and, as our Summer Guide indicates, there are a slew of offerings all over the state from which to choose. It wouldn’t be summer in Providence, however, without Bob Colonna’s TRIST performing a Bard classic in Roger Williams National Memorial Park (282 N Main St). This year, TRIST gives […]

Theater

Waiting in the Wings: Summer is set to take the stage

Summertime is a changing of the guard in theater. Many companies call it quits for the season, or substantially shift their programming away from mainstage offerings while others are only getting started once the days are at their longest. With the dizzying array of choices available in RI theater, it’s a daunting task to figure […]

Theater

TBTS Opens the Season with Love and Other Fables Premiere

Fans of musical theater are often hard-pressed these days to find new offerings that aren’t based on movies, television shows, other plays or someone’s Greatest Hits collection. It’s understandable, given the time and financial effort required to stage an untested prospect at the professional level, that producers will tend to shy away from new work. […]

Theater

No Simple Answers in Counter-Productions’ Gidion’s Knot

“We watch the war and we write about the great deeds done or the horrors done. And that is how God remembers you – the way we write you. And no other way.” Johnna Adams, Gidion’s Knot The term “Gordian Knot” is commonly used to describe a complex or unsolvable problem that is resolved with […]

Theater

At War with God

“What I keep hearing from so many people is that we need a healing space, and that’s what I hope to bring with Marisol,” says Emmy-award winning director Brian Mertes. Trinity Rep’s upcoming production of playwright José Rivera’s dystopian, absurdist fantasy aims for intimacy among the nightmarish scenario of a world literally at war with […]