Ocean State Theater Company has served up a summertime treat with Damn Yankees, a good-natured and highly entertaining musical directed with a lot of style by Amiee Turner. Joe Boyd (John Costa) is a devout baseball fan who wants his team to defeat the dreaded New York Yankees. One day Joe is visited by a […]
“Imagine a big bag of dicks spilling all around!” I never thought I’d see so many boners together at once, never mind IRL. That’s one for the performing arts! …But in all seriousness, let me tell you about the all-at-once outrageously funny, comforting and avant garde experience that is The Bedroom Plays. The […]
Years ago I stage-managed a production of Neil Simon’s farce Rumors. We had this great big proscenium arch stage that we filled with a two-level home, the setting for Charlie and Myra’s 10th anniversary party. The set had plenty of doors, and of course stairs, as the script makes mention of the stairs multiple times. When I […]
You can now vote on the 2016 Motif Theater Awards. Thank you for participating and supporting our theater community. More details on the awards show itself will come to this space soon. For now, please vote and pass this link on to your friends! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SWF29KL NOMINEES: OVERALL Improv / Audience Participation Bring Your Own Improv, […]
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 Academy Players of RI artistic director Rita Maron. Kevin Broccoli: At a time when so many theaters are trying to entice […]
Manic Pixie Dream Girl. In popular culture, the young female character who cures the despondent male protagonist of his sadness through her sheer quirkiness. Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer, Natalie Portman in Garden State, the list goes on. Manic Pixies are kind of a problematic trope that feeds into the Nice […]
The latest production of West Side Story at Theatre by the Sea features some terrific singing and dancing, as well as a wonderful score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. This is a good-looking show, featuring terrific costumes and sets. Unfortunately it feels too by the numbers, as if the creative team were merely […]
Plays that tackle political commentary face the challenge of staying relevant in a constantly shifting world. The world of 1992, when AR Gurney’s The Fourth Wall first appeared on stage, is very different from the one in which we live today. Thus, when Roger Williams University decided to put on the play to kick off […]
Bill Hanney’s Theater by the Sea continues its summer 2016 season this week with their second offering, West Side Story, the classic American musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set amidst the backdrop of interracial gang warfare and urban strife. Those only familiar with the multi-award winning film are often surprised at the subtle differences […]
Living in the big city, like Providence, can be fun. But sometimes, it’s good to get away from the city, especially in the summer. The Theatre Company of Rhode Island, at the Purple Cat Winery in Chepachet, presents the play Angel Street (Gaslight), through June 26. It’s the story of a husband versus his […]