Perhaps the most serious madcap farce ever written, playwright Dario Fo made continuing revisions to his 1970 Accidental Death of an Anarchist to keep up with current events in the real case that inspired it. Italy from the late 1960s to the early 1980s was approaching internal civil war with both the far-right and the […]
Sixty years ago, a little show called The Music Man opened on Broadway, charming audiences with its wholesome comedy and folksy feel. It was not a show that offered much in the way of profound social commentary or that challenged the form of the Broadway musical; it was just a classic, feel-good show celebrating the […]
Arctic Playhouse’s newest production is a blast from the past! Butterflies Are Free by Leonard Gershe was written almost 50 years ago, but some of the themes still ring true today. The production is directed by Tony Annicone, and marks the 124th show Tony has directed. This true Rhode Island theater veteran compiled a fantastic […]
With an offering as light and breezy as the ’60s jukebox musical Beehive, it seems somewhat petty to pick apart any aspect of the production, especially one so seemingly crowd-pleasing as the current 2017 season-opener at Theatre by the Sea. Capacity houses, exuberant audience participation and crisp musical performances are something with which it’s hard […]
Twenty years after her death, Princess Diana remains a legendary figure. Playwright James Clements’ In Her Own Words: The Diana Tapes is an entrancing look at the creation of Diana: Her True Story, Andrew Morton’s best-selling book about the doomed princess. Diana was a woman who gave birth to a future king – Prince William […]
A staged reading of TRANS was held June 1 and 2 at the URI Feinstein Providence campus. Steven Pennell, coordinator of the Urban Arts and Culture Program at URI, conceived TRANS as an oral history project focusing on the lives of transgendered individuals. Playwright Frank Toti, Jr., who also directed, focuses on six characters […]
“Theatre By The Sea broke every record last year! Fastest selling opener, matinee, season, all of them. I talk about this and sometimes I think people think I’m [kidding] them!” TBTS’ proud owner enthuses to Motif about his most recent success and how the venerable performance venue is on track to smash their own records […]
From the moment evil Knight Commander Fernán Gómez (Fred Sullivan, Jr.) appears on stage eager to grab the women of the town by the pussy, there is no mistaking the contemporary relevance of this play by Spanish Renaissance master Lope de Vega. Grounded in a real historical incident that took place in 1476, Commander Gómez […]
What a difference a few years can make in the life of a theater. On March 9 of this year, Ocean State Theatre Company (OSTC) issued an upbeat press release announcing the group’s plans for their 2017-2018 season. Producing Artistic Director Amiee Turner was “thrilled” to announce that tickets were on sale for the six-play […]
Nineteenth century German Lutheran adolescents singing rock music might sound like an off-kilter premise for a musical, but throw in clever staging and universal, timeless themes, and Spring Awakening’s massive success since its opening on Broadway a decade ago is no wonder. Based on the 1891 German play of the same name by Frank Wedekind, […]