BroadwayWorld Boston Awards December 5th Standings
It's December, and the first standings of the month have been announced as of Tuesday, December 5th for the 2023 BroadwayWorld Boston Awards! Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!
BWW Review: Sunny, Sublime THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Dazzles at The Gamm
Pawtucket's Gamm Theatre opens its season with Oscar Wilde's comedic masterwork THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, and the company delivers an utterly superlative production. Everything about this EARNEST is absolutely right in every way. The Gamm's cast is magnificent, the stagecraft of the finest quality, and the direction flawless. If there is one theatrical experience not to be missed in Rhode Island this year, the Gamm's EARNEST is it.
BWW Review: Power to the People of FUENTE OVEJUNA
Like Sheep to Water, or Fuente Ovejuna, by Lope de Vega, was written in the early 1600s, but has been largely unproduced in the United States. Similar to a Shakespearean history, it's based on actual events that occurred in the Castilian region of Spain in 1476. This production was translated and adapted by Trinity Rep Artistic Director Curt Columbus, and manages to stir up plenty of emotion while injecting much-needed moments of comic relief. While the production, costumes and performances are excellent as they always are at Trinity Rep, the play itself is somewhat underwhelming despite containing classic themes of romance and triumph over oppression.
BWW Review: Powerful and Unexpectedly Timely INHERIT THE WIND
Ocean State Theatre Company Artistic Director Amiee Turner introduced Friday night's production of INHERIT THE WIND by saying that she was somewhat surprised and saddened that a play about what's appropriate to teach in public schools, written in 1955 but based on events of the 1920's, is still so timely today. Indeed, this script may be a Baby Boomer, but this production isn't showing its age at all, and is scarily relevant. One of the biggest tells of an older play is often the length, and this script may have been edited down a bit, but the pacing is absolutely perfect. Director Fred Sullivan Jr. fills the moments of brief set changes with appropriate moments of song, which may seem like an odd choice for a play of this nature, but it works perfectly. Some of the songs are in the original script, but a few seem to have been added for this show. The songs also give the actors a chance to trot out their vocal chops including men singing in four part harmony, and violin and ukulele performances.
BWW Review: Complicated APPROPRIATE at Trinity Rep
APPROPRIATE is a show that manages to be both genuinely funny, but also somewhat hard to watch. At its core, it's about family, legacy and secrets, but it manages to become something much larger and more complicated and messy than that. Author Branden Jacobs-Jenkins manages to punctuate moments of extreme discomfort with the perfect injection of levity to avoid this turning into something that is exclusively difficult to watch, and excellent performances from Trinity resident actors Phyllis Kay, Fred Sullivan Jr. and Angela Brazil keep the dark narrative compelling even when it's squirmingly uncomfortable.
Photo Flash: First Look at Anne Scurria, Phyllis Kay and More in HOUSE & GARDEN
From the author of Absurd Person Singular comes the theatrical event of the season: a pair of interlocking comedies that take place simultaneously, with one cast performing both shows in two different theaters at the same time. Directed by resident company member Brian McEleney, the shows open in previews on May 16 and then run simultaneously through June 30 in both the Chace and Dowling Theaters. Tickets are on sale now at the Trinity Rep box office, 201 Washington St.; by phone at(401) 351-4242; and online at www.trinityrep.com. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the production shots below.
Dallas Theater Center Presents KING LEAR, Now thru 2/18
Dallas Theater Center will conclude its four-year Shakespeare cycle with one of the playwright's greatest tragedies King Lear, a co-production with Trinity Repertory Company and directed by DTC artistic director Kevin Moriarty. King Lear opens for previews tonight, January 18 and runs through Sunday, February 18.
Gamm Theatre Presents RED, Now thru 12/16
The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) stages Red, John Logan's passionate play about the celebrated abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko. Logan's stunning two-person play fictionalizes Rothko's artistic and emotional journey as he creates a series of highly lucrative murals commissioned for Manhattan's newest, most exclusive restaurant, but at what personal cost?
BWW Reviews: BOOM at The Gamm
Fred Sullivan, Jr. directs this clever little comedy which had its original workshop right here in Rhode Island and plays at the Gamm through April 8, 2012