It took me a bit of time to find a connection with Jeff Danielian’s first book of poetry, Seasonal Ramblings. As I read through the first section, “Through Time & Space,” I felt like I just was reading words on a page. There were a few interesting lines here and there (“Language is about the […]
In order for a musical to work, it needs a few key ingredients. An engaging story, terrific songs, lots of dancing and interesting characters. Dirty Dancing, which opened at Providence Performing Arts Center Tuesday, is deadly dull. Based on the smash 1987 movie starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, the show is hampered by a clichéd […]
2nd Story Theatre specializes in staging dysfunctional family dramas, and its latest offering, And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little, from playwright Paul Zindel, features plenty of pathos. The show opened in previews on Apr 17 and runs until May 17. Catherine (Lara Hakeem) the heavy-drinking “Miss Reardon” in the title, shares an apartment with her […]
Playwright Lenny Schwartz continues to make a name for himself authoring and directing his unique brand of plays for Daydream Theatre. Schwartz’s work is offbeat, yet sentimental and, especially in the last few years, biographical. We’ve seen explorations of Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball and Charles Schulz, but Daydream’s latest offering (and the first new production […]
Dramatic works based upon historical events sometimes twist reality into an unrecognizable opposite well beyond what can be justified by legitimate theatrical license. No one expects what transpires on stage to be a strictly faithful account, but it is going too far to have George Washington support monarchy or Abraham Lincoln support slavery. Playwright William […]
Epic Theatre Company is presenting Three Sisters, a drama from acclaimed Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. The show opened in previews on April 10. This production, adapted by Sarah Ruhl, focuses on Olga, Masha and Irina, the “three sisters” of the title. They live together in a Russian village and yearn for their hometown of Moscow. […]
Don’t tell me that the current generation of young people has fried its collective brain with too much screen time. Don’t tell me either that teenagers spend their days playing video games, eating Cheetos and wasting time while draining their minds of good old-fashioned creativity. Well, tell me if you must, but be ready for […]
Festival Ballet Providence closes its 37th season with their popular Up Close On Hope dance series and the best way to describe this program, which leans a bit more toward contemporary dance than past programs, is “open for interpretation.” With classical ballet, even when presented in excerpts, which is generally the case for UCOH, audiences […]
You might know him as a big ball of perpetual frustration and furious anger who has a knack for telling it like it is. You might know him from his political commentary on one of the biggest talk shows on the planet. But no matter where he does it, stand-up comic Lewis Black has a […]
Though a bit dated, Ocean State Theatre Company’s current offering, Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me A Tenor, is a nod toward good old-fashioned comedy. It is loud, crass and filled with mistaken identities and is, in a word, hilarious! Then there are all the slamming doors. The room to room chases and near misses bring one […]