There is so much theater out there that when you come across a show that has that ever lasting endurance, you know you’ve stumbled upon a classic — an iconic play. Wicked is one of those plays. I remember when it first hit Broadway how I desperately wanted tickets (and how they were one of the […]
This continues a series of interviews where Epic artistic director Kevin Broccoli interviews other ADs in the area to create a more in-depth conversation about theater in Rhode Island. This month’s interview is with 2nd Story’s artistic director Ed Shea. Kevin Broccoli: 2nd Story produces theater year-round. Is it difficult not being able to take […]
Einstein and the Polar Bear is an offbeat play filled with eccentric characters in a rural setting. Bill Allenson (Christian O’Brien) is a former author in a home in the quaint hamlet of Spider Lake. He runs a used book shop out of his home, so the living room is crammed wall to wall with […]
Trinity Rep’s production of Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage is a lot more fun than the average high school English class, and there won’t be a quiz afterward. The catchy rock-opera style of the book and lyrics by Jason Craig and music by Dave Malloy is a very modern take on an epic poem […]
When I’m not writing articles for Motif, I can be found in a classroom teaching high school English classes. I feel as passionate about teaching as I do about theater. In fact, it is because of my love of theater that I returned to college to become a teacher at an age where most people […]
Best selling mystery novelist Agatha Christie sold millions of books by sticking to a tried and true formula: stick a colorful batch of characters together, murder someone and then bring in a brilliant sleuth like Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot to solve the crime. Christie wrote Black Coffee as a play, which assembles members […]
Theatre by the Sea is ending their season this year with Sister Act. This was my first time visiting the venue this summer, and the first thing I have to say is, “Holy AC!” (Pun fully intended.) Those uncomfortable nights in the balcony are a thing of the past, thanks to the theater’s new air […]
While August gives way to September, area dance companies are busy preparing for their 2016/2017 season. Leading the way is Providence’s resident professional ballet company Festival Ballet Providence. Their season gets underway Halloween weekend with the popular “chatterBOXtheatre,” a dance series geared toward children, with an encore presentation of the “spooky Hansel and Gretel.” This […]
The 2016/2017 Artistic Icons Series launches at The Vets on October 29 at 7:30pm with Cirque Mechanics’ “Pedal Punk,” a steampunk spectacle of stunning circus arts featuring a dazzling whirl of acrobats, cyclists and mind-blowing, one-of-a-kind machines. Other featured entertainers include the renowned Rennie Harris Pure movement, igniting the stage with the art and […]
We’re skeptical that any theatrical event this fall could possibly come close to grabbing the public’s attention quite like the epic comedy (or is it a tragedy?) that is our current presidential campaign unfolding on the political stage. That being said, theaters in our state have scheduled a mix of plays and theatrical events to challenge, […]