Andrew Iacovelli News

Burbage Theatre Company opens their sixth season with 'Desdemona: a play about a handkerchief' a feminist retelling of William Shakespeare's 'Othello'by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel, directed by Allison Crews, which opens previews Friday September 16.

Burbage Theatre Company opens their sixth season with 'Desdemona: a play about a handkerchief' a feminist retelling of William Shakespeare's 'Othello' by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paula Vogel, directed by Allison Crews, which opens previews Friday September 16.

One might argue that Titus is the perfect kind of play for a bold young company like Burbage Theatre Company. Willing and able to take risks, to go places other theater companies might not be so interested in going. And while there are some high points for Burbage and their production, it seems that they've fallen into the trap of focusing too much on one thing, to the detriment of other important aspects of Shakespeare's work. Primarily, they seem to have spent most of the time perfecting all of that carnage, all the blood and gore, while not spending enough time on perfecting the actual text, the words and language that make up the work and create its true life. As a friend and Shakespearean scholar noted to me, “That's always the danger with Titus, I'm afraid,” and her fears would have been realized in this production.

After their sold-out run of 'Happy Birthday, Wanda June', Burbage Theatre Company presents the Rhode Island Theatrical Premiere of TITUS ANDRONICUS, the first tragedy written by William Shakespeare, directed by Jeff Church, which is the second and final play in the Burbage Theatre Company's winter series, This Winter's War. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the company onstage below!

After their sold-out run of 'Happy Birthday, Wanda June', Burbage Theatre Company presents the Rhode Island Theatrical Premiere of 'Titus Andronicus' the first tragedy written by William Shakespeare, directed by Jeff Church, which opens previews tonight, February 18, as the second and final play in the Burbage Theatre Company'swinter series, This Winter's War. 

After their sold-out run of 'Happy Birthday, Wanda June', Burbage Theatre Company presents the Rhode Island Theatrical Premiere of 'Titus Andronicus' the first tragedy written by William Shakespeare, directed by Jeff Church, which opens previews February 18 as the second and final play in the Burbage Theatre Company'swinter series, This Winter's War. 

There's a moment in the play Stupid F#%*ing Bird, currently playing at The Wilbury Group, where a character talks about how contemporary theaters adapt and reimagine Shakespeare. Certainly, it's always a tricky proposition, reconfiguring a classic work and attempting to bring it into the current era while maintaining all the aspects, themes and characteristics that made it great. Or, at least, finding a way to reshape it so it will hold up in front of today's audiences, keeping them engaged and entertained within of our modern-day context. As written by Aaron Posner, adapted from the classic Anton Chekhov play The Seagull, Bird is a play that more than holds its own as a thought provoking, entertaining and hilarious modern take on a theatrical classic.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE the only play by the great American satirist Kurt Vonnegut Jr, directed by Wendy Overly, begins previews January 7 as the first play in the Burbage Theatre Company's winter series, This Winter's War. Happy Birthday, Wanda June runs through February 5 at Aurora Providence, 276 Westminster Street, Providence, RI. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Some great musicals are great because they take us to another time, another place, perhaps another world entirely, one unrecognizable and filled with magic and fantasy. Others are great because they offer us a realistic and recognizable image of our own lives, a mirror in which we see our struggles, hopes, joys, failures and successes. The really great ones do so while offering an audience a captivating story, deeply developed and universally human characters, stunning music and unforgettable songs with amazing lyrics. One such musical is Next To Normal, now playing as the final show in The Wilbury Group's current season.

The Burbage Theatre Company presents a new take on 'The Taming of the Shrew' by William Shakespeare, for a limited run of seven performances at the William Hall Library in Cranston, RI. Burbage Theatre Company. Artistic Director Jeff directs this whimsical farce about how we fall in love and the consequences that come with who we end up with. Check out a first look at the cast below!

Stories of religious coflict and controversy have been around as long as...well...religion. Today, we are indundated with stories about the way religion continues to change, shape, impact and effect us and our world. Religious fanaticism, especially, has come to the forefront in recent years and now dominates the news we read and hear. Religious themes are also presented in artistic and creative works, including movies, books, tv shows and plays, including This Beautiful City, the first show of the season at The Wilbury Group. And while the play's life started with a interesting concept, the final product is mostly a rehash of religious stories we have heard many times before, told in more compelling and relatable ways.

The Wilbury Theatre Group opens Season 5 with the New England premiere of This Beautiful City, written by Steven Cosson and Jim Lewis, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Wilbury Group Founding Artistic Director Josh Short directs with music direction by the team of Brien Lang and Milly Romanzi, this fascinating a new documentary-style play with music that details the explosion of America's evangelical Christian movement. This Beautiful City runs tonight, September 18 through October 12 at The Wilbury Theatre Group, 393 Broad Street, Providence RI.

The Wilbury Theatre Group opens Season 5 with the New England premiere of This Beautiful City, written by Steven Cosson and Jim Lewis, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Wilbury Group Founding Artistic Director Josh Short directs with music direction by the team of Brien Lang and Milly Romanzi, this fascinating a new documentary-style play with music that details the explosion of America's evangelical Christian movement. This Beautiful City runs September 18 through October 12 at The Wilbury Theatre Group, 393 Broad Street, Providence RI.

Burbage Theatre Company is proving to be a gem of a small company. Last season's "The Liar" was one of the funnier, tighter, and most professional shows I saw all of last year, and this Spring's production of "Orson's Shadow" by Austin Pendleton is every bit as good. The show is the 2nd in a shortened, 3-play season BTC is staging at the Artists' Exchange in Cranston, bookended by the recently closed "Doctor Cerberus" and the about to open "The Bald Soprano," by Eugene Ionesco.

There are those plays that, one way or another, rest primarily on the shoulders of a single actor. It's true that no play, unless it's a one-man or woman show, is completely about just one person, one character. On the other hand, there are plays where everything is so tightly connected to a single character that they are the show's life, breath and blood. A play like Hamlet, for example, Streetcar Named Desire or A Doll's House. You simply must have the right actor playing Hamlet, Nora and Stanley to make those plays become what they might be. Unfortunately, 2nd Story Theatre's current production of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan just doesn't have what it needs at its center, in the all-important title role.

A recent converstion with a friend included the topic of just how much theater there is right now in Rhode Island. There's no denying that theater lovers have many excellent choices, with many plays and musicals of almost every kind. One of the many great aspects of this phenomenon is the fact that even with so much theater happening, there are so many talented performers in this area that the product is not watered down or less enjoyable just because there is so much of it.Take 2nd Story Theatre, for example. They have not one, not two, but three shows opening and running during November. The first one to open, the second show of the DownStage season, is a perfect example of how even with so many shows running, audiences can still see a fantastic ensemble of actors working together perfectly.

Stephen Karam's explosively funny comedy about the extreme suffering of a Lebanese family distantly related to Kahlil Gibranis playing DownStage at 2nd Story from October 25 - November 24, 2013. Check out a first look below!

Among other things, playwright Tennessee Williams is known for plays which fit into the category of "southern gothic." His works are often set in the south and tell steamy, sordid tales of love, sex, power and death. One such play, The Rose Tattoo, is set in a small town on the gulf coast, where everybody knows everybody else's business and where secrets and passions run as deep as the humidity is high. Less often produced than Williams' other plays, Rose Tattoo is currently on the stage at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren.

Peter Shaffer's fictionalized tale of the rivalry between Court Composer Antonio Salieri and musical wunderkind Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has garnered rave reviews and is playing to standing room only crowds. To meet the demand for tickets, four additional performances have been added to the run at 2nd Story Theatre: Thursday, February 21 at 7PM, Friday, February 22 and Saturday, February 23 at 8PM, and Sunday, February 24 at 3PM.

Peter Shaffer creates an intriguing piece of historical fiction by recognizing that the most forceful and compelling of human foibles often emerge clearly in situations of artistic rivalry.