It’s 2003, Thursday afternoon, in a quiet little town called Eberndorf, in the deep south of Austria, surrounded by fields, trees, and medieval churches; 10-year-old me is in my parents’ living room, glued to the...
Photo by Cat Laine. The logistics, physical, and emotional demands of the production are mind-boggling – one actor spending 80 minutes morphing among 12 characters with unique accents and mannerisms while delivering lines almost non-stop and,...
Henry Nwaru in SAME DIFFERENCE at Wilbury Theatre Group. Photo by Erin X. Smithers. It’s 1993 in Providence. A gang leader from Harlem lands at his ex-girlfriend's apartment in the middle of the night — wounded,...
A reimagined production of the international, award-winning musical The Bodyguard will arrive at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), October 23 – 25, 2026, as part of the Theatre’s 2026/2027 *Encore Series. Based on the 1992...
All photos by Lillian MK Photo. RI Battle of the Bands had a smooth run this year, every performance dodging the monsoons that have plagued past iterations. The year started out with 16 highly accomplished, but...
Okee dokee folks… I mentioned this in my column a few months ago and now it is coming close to being (IS) a major issue. GASOLINE. Before the mango moron started his war of distraction...
We all know that women were the first to make beer, right? It was discovered by accident when grains were used to make other foods digestible. Dried grain was stored and used to make bread....
Haunted Attractions 1. Factory of Terror Terror experience for all ages, including a variety of imaginative themes and thorough design. 120 Pearl Street, Fall River, MA 774-415-0153 factoryofterror.com 2. Scary Acres Fall festivities with the main attraction - a three-part terror experience...
Cover artist Nilton Cárdenas of Cranston refuses to stand still. “I am constantly moving, and creating art,” he says in an interview at Sharks Peruvian Cuisine on Broad Street in Central Falls. And when he’s not...
Photos by the author. Magda León is more than a multidisciplinary artist; she is an immigrant woman who uses art to explore her identity, her roots, and her connection to community. When I asked her how...
Photo by Scott Lapham. For the Rhode Island artist, educator and muralist, creativity has become a way to open doors, strengthen community and help others discover possibilities within themselves. For Nilton Cárdenas, giving back does not begin...
Every Hispanic Heritage Month, we are given an opportunity to look back.We celebrate the pioneers who came before us, the traditions they preserved, the institutions they built, and the sacrifices they made so generations that...
Photo by Dave Cantelli. Ever rummaged through your spouse’s sweater drawer expecting to find argyles, yet instead stumbling across a secret fetish so utterly demented that it immediately sent you bolting toward a new life? Deftly...
Rachael Warren as Clare. Photo by Mark Turek. If there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, The Getaway Driver at Trinity Repertory Company is it. The world premiere of the two-person play...
Photo by Jesse Dufault. Hark, spectators of the realm! If thy soul doth hunger for a "reverent irreverence" turning a 77-seat black box into a roaring arena of wretched romance, get thee to the Burbage Theatre...
RI Music Hall of Fame plaque honoring Rudy Cheeks/The Fabulous Motels/The Young Adults. (Photo: Michael Bilow) Much has already been written on the passing Sep 18 at age 76 of Bruce McCrae, who used the stage name...
Crook Point Brewing Company, 65 Massasoit Ave., East Providence; photo credit: Sean Carlson Over the past year, The Grind has gleamed as one of Rhode Island’s coffee gems. Set up at Crook Point Brewing Company (65...
Natasha Hodgson in the Broadway Company of Operation Mincemeat. Photo by Matt Crockett. The Tony Award® and Olivier Award®-winning musical launches the North American leg of its world tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center September...
Hunter Brown, Allie Seibold, and Seth Eliser in You've Still Got a Friend, playing at Bill Hanney's Theatre By The Sea from August 20 - September 13, 2026. Photo by Michael Derr Okee dokee folks… Tonight, at Theatre By The...
Photo by Steve Ahlquist. The unionized workers of the Community Libraries of Providence have been without a contract for two years now. Their patience, which had been wearing thin, was stretched to the breaking point by...
Photo: L-R: Pénélope Rose, Manya Glassman, Emeline Easton, and K. Elisa Garcia. by Mike Ryan. The Rhode Island International Film Festival, also known as Flickers, took place August 4 through August 9, bringing filmmakers, actors, industry...
I think museums and the culture around them have historically gotten a bad rap. When you think of museums, you might associate them with classism, inaccessibility, and wealthy donors and patrons. There’s also the issue...
As the leaves change to amber hues, so do fall beers. Our local brewers are excited about the opportunity to offer these loved styles of craft beer. If you are looking forward to cozy sweaters...
Illustration by Sadie Levine. 1. Adams Farm (pumpkins, hay rides, corn mazes) Plus: Variety fall farm stand 158 Burnt Swamp Road, Cumberland 401-714-4425 2. Appleland Orchard (apples) Plus: Cider, wine, and donuts 135 Smith Avenue, Greenville 401-949-3690 3. Barden Family Orchard (apples, pumpkins) Plus: Farmers...
Okee dokee folks… I just realized that I have been attending concerts for 50 years now. In that span of time I have seen countless shows. I honestly have no idea how many I have...
Moon Leone didn’t set out to make your run-of-the-mill pop songs. They build whole worlds, embodying different characters and using visuals to tell stories that ultimately help people heal from trauma. Performing as YourFriendM00n, they...
On August 12, Motif cohosted a forum on the Arts in Providence featuring Democratic Primary Mayoral candidates Brett Smiley and David Morales. In Providence, the real election typically happens in the primary. The winner will go...
Every election cycle, Motif brings you the candidates in their own words so you can try to compare apples to apples. It’s our way of contributing to the political process while not having the fact-checking...
Environmental Organizations Endorse Foulkes for Governor PROVIDENCE — The Providence Streets Coalition, a grassroots activist organization devoted to increasing funding, safety, and reliability in the state’s transit network, announced July 21 that it is backing former...
For the cover of Motif’s Fall Guide, painter and muralist Nicholas “Niko” Tolentino of Cranston drew inspiration from his childhood days, he relates in an interview at White Electric Coffee Co-Op in Providence. Roger Williams Park...
Dylan Columbare is just 20 years old, yet he’s achieved the status of bar manager at Massimo restaurant in Providence. Not too shabby, considering nothing was handed to him. He is not family, but works for the family establishment. He started at Pane E’ Vino, Massimo’s sister restaurant farther down Atwells Avenue, and worked as […]
WED 16 Halloween Horror Story Hour: Scary stories for adults. 7pm. Stillwater Books, 175 Main St, Pawtucket. fb.com/pg/stillwaterbooksri Venture Café Providence FoodBev Connect: Connect with Rhody’s unique culinary ecosystems at this crossing of culinary and entrepreneurial streams. 4pm. Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, 60 Rhodes Pl, Cranston. venturecafeprovidence.org/foodbevconnect SAT 19 Battle of the Patriarchy Showcase: Five […]
I sometimes wonder if I survived the drop. It’s a drop that never happened, but could have– Maybe it did. Years ago, I was standing on a rooftop in downtown Providence on a date that was going poorly, and the guy suggested we go out onto the roof, which seemed like a romantic strategy for […]
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 […]
Okee dokee folks… “Wastin’ away AGAIN in (the audience of, Escape to) Margaritaville.” That is a phrase that I hope to never utter. Unfortunately I cannot say that I did not waste away in the audience of Escape to Margaritaville once already. The other night I was in attendance for Jimmy Buffet’s musical, Escape to […]
Okee dokee folks… Thursday night the enduring duo Indigo Girls performed a show, accompanied by Francisco Noya and the RI Philharmonic, to an enthusiastic audience of about 2,300 at Providence Performing Arts Center. The Indigo Girls dominated the Newport Folk Festival during the early ’90s and were a fan favorite for most of that decade. […]
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 […]
THU 10 Sweet Little October Show: Feminist, anti-racist, queer-positive and body-positive cabaret. 8pm. Askew, 150 Chestnut St, PVD. fb.com/Askewprov SAT 12 – MON 14 Scituate Art Festival: Three days of juried selected arts, crafts and food. 10am. Village Green, 554 Greenville Rd, North Scituate. scituateartfestival.org SAT 12 Hari Kondabolu: Political comedy. 7:30pm & 10pm. 39 […]
Hey all you freelancers, telecommuters, authors and entrepreneurs. Let’s admit it: It’s hard for us Providence café enthusiasts to find a nice place to write a blog that will launch us to stardom, pen the next great American novel or iron out a million-dollar business idea that isn’t completely overrun by copycats trying to do […]
When I left RI for the Far East in the last week of September, they had just sprayed for mosquitoes in East Providence. There was a great concern over Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), as states throughout the Northeast were having an unusually active season, and it a problem worthy of concern. EEE is a disease […]
