I am going to admit something here, and once it’s in print, it is here forever — I really like Mamma Mia! And no, I’m not a closet ABBA fan. In fact, I turn ABBA off if it happens to find its way to whatever station I’m listening to. And, as a general rule I […]
Hamlet is a great way to show off your spine. Artistic directors usually only program it when they have a surefire actor to take on the lead role and an audience that’s been conditioned to appreciate the Moby Dick of theater. It’s a show you have to cross off your bucket list if you want […]
WomensWork Theatre Collaborative opens its 2019/20 season with a touching production of Julie Jensen’s Last Lists of My Mad Mother, the first in a series of three plays chosen to “examine the ways madness manifests itself in women’s lives,” says creative director Lynne Collinson. The season is being mounted at and with the support of […]
No matter what side of the political aisle you prefer, I think everyone would agree that we’re living through a truly astonishing moment right now. With partisanship, populism and acrimony coursing through every single day, it certainly feels like our country is facing truly unprecedented challenges, and it’s understandable to wonder if it can withstand […]
“Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic-book industry.” – Fredric Wertham The now defunct Comic Code, established in 1954 as a measure of self-censorship by many of the major comic book publishers of the time, served as both a stamp of reassurance for retailers and the […]
Laugh-out-loud funny one moment and tear provoking the next, Visiting Mr. Green is a study of our universal need for redemption and empathy. Arctic Playhouse’s production is an enchanting surprise. Too often in attending the theater we stay to the safe bet, the known entity. When choosing what to attend we might say, “Oh, let’s […]
Community theater truly is an animal entirely unto itself. Each show is the result of a handful of passionate and dedicated amateurs giving their spare time and energy – over and above the hours they put into work and family – to mount a production for their friends, family and members of their town and […]
Shirley Jackson’s gothic horror novel, The Haunting of Hill House, is considered one of the best ghost stories published in the 20th century. Jackson was inspired after reading the reports of a group of psychic researchers’ study of a supposedly haunted house. It was not, however, the paranormal happenings the researchers described, but the researchers […]
On Friday, October 11, at the Academy Players theater, Radioactive Theatre Company is hosting a fundraiser, called Fight Like a Girl, for Erin Megin, a Radioactive Theatre supporter who is being treated for breast cancer. The fundraiser will include raffles, vocal performances and stage readings of three new plays written by teacher, actor, director and […]
In a note that’s found in the program for The Players’ new production of The Producers, director Christopher Margadonna expresses some hesitation about mounting this production in our current political climate. “Will the jokes land? Will people think this is too offensive?” he wonders. I found myself thinking a similar thing as I took my […]