Tony award winning Kinky Boots is at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) thru June 14, and it’s a fast, funny and heartwarming show about the importance of being yourself. Charlie Price inherits from his father a shoe factory — a set beautifully designed by David Rockwell — and finds himself in way over his head. […]
Jukebox musicals are the theatrical equivalent of the mix tape. Sometimes, it’s just a collection of songs tossed in randomly for pure enjoyment and sometimes the songs are intended to flow together and attempt a narrative, an expression of intent using the songwriter’s words to convey something other than the original tune’s meaning. Mama Mia […]
The newest offering closing out the 51st season at Trinity Rep is, in a word, beautiful. Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical is the latest world-premiere from award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl and talented composer Todd Almond. Almost completely sung-through, the play is not what one would typically think of when one hears the word “musical” — or […]
I often say that RI theater is more than a community, it is a family. Well that is literally true at the Newport Playhouse. Newport Playhouse has been a staple on the island since 1983, and this family-run business does everything possible to make sure each patron feels special. The host with the most, Jonathan Perry, […]
Many things remind me of summer. Del’s, the window at Newport Creamery, the Rustic, and Shakespeare in the park. It’s not summer without these things! The Rhode Island Shakespeare Theater (TRIST) has been giving Rhode Islanders free Shakespeare shows under the direction of Bob Colonna since 1971. This summer, with the beautiful city as their […]
Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers is a play about family and kindness. I have never seen a production of this play that emulated that theme from the moment you stepped in the door — from the set construction, which was a family affair, to the lovely family created onstage — until I saw Rhode Island […]
Epic Theatre Company’s production of Orlando, based on the novel by Virginia Woolf, questions our view of the sexes with stunning efficiency. Written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Kira Hawkridge, Orlando is a parody of a biography. The book was inspired by Woolf’s admiration for the author and aristocrat Vita Sackville-West, to whom it is dedicated. […]
In what will likely be the biggest cultural event of the year in Rhode Island, the city of Providence is teaming up with FirstWorks to present the Providence International Arts Festival (PIAF). If you’re a fan of, well, pretty much anything, you’re going to want to check this out. Providence is known for putting on […]
Since 1933 (with a few off years), Theatre by the Sea has been delivering “Broadway in a Barn” to Rhode Island residents and tourists alike. From the golden years when stars such as Marlon Brando and Mae West strolled its lawns, to the resurgence under Artistic Director Tommy Brent in the second half of the […]
The Wilbury Group has produced a powerhouse performance of the 2009 Tony Award and 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning musical Next to Normal, now playing at the Southside Cultural Arts Center in Providence. Next to Normal is a rock musical, yes, but this is not Grease. No, ladies and gentlemen, this is modern, grown-up musical theater piece […]