Share

Theatre

  • Two Men of Florence at Huntington Theatre Co.

    Richard Goodwin's Science vs. Religion Smackdown

    By: Mark Favermann - Mar 13th, 2009

    Like some sort of metaphorical wrestling match, Richard Goodwin has dramatized the science versus religion controversy of Galileo and Pope Urban VIII as an ongoing dispute between the logic of science and the emotion of religion. However, Galileo is very emotional about his science, and this Pope feels very logical about his religion. The wrestling is a verbal torrent interestingly framed. Even though we side with one over the other intellectually, the problem is whether are not we are made to really care about who actually wins.

  • The Big Daddy of Boston's Resident Theatres, Spiro Veloudos

    Lyric Stage Hits New Heights Under His Leadership

    By: Larry Murray - Mar 07th, 2009

    Spiro Veloudos has been a fixture on the Boston theatre scene for more than thirty years, and is currently Producing Artistic Director of Lyric Stage. In a revealing conversation, he gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run a Boston theatre company.

  • Shakespeare & Company 2009/ 2010 Season

    Most Ambitous Schedule Ever for 32-year-old Berkshire Instititution

    By: Charles Giuliano - Mar 04th, 2009

    For her final season as Artistic Director of Shakespeare & Company, Tina Packer has pulled out all the stops for a dense and intense 2009/ 2010 season. Mostly Packer aspired to fully book the first season of the new Evelyn P. Bernstein Theatre. Tony Simotes takes over day to day operation on June 1 and Packer informed the media that "I can't wait." She anticipates a new phase of her career as an actor, writer, teacher and director.

  • Blackbird Roosts at Boston's SpeakEasy Stage Company

    An Unsettling Exploration of Underage Sex, Secrets and Lies

    By: Larry Murray - Mar 03rd, 2009

    Fifteen years ago Ray and Una had a passionate love affair. She was twelve and he was an adult. He went to jail. She lost her innocence. David Harrower's "Blackbird" was first commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival in 2005, played London's West End in 2007 and debuted later that year in a Manhattan Theatre Club production. It now receives its Boston premiere at the SpeakEasy Stage Company.

  • Elizabeth Aspenlieder: Save the Date

    Last Chance to See Shakespeare & Company Hit

    By: Charles Giuliano - Mar 01st, 2009

    Shakespeare & Company took a chance that has really paid off by offering an extended production, January through March 8, of the Theresa Rebeck one woman play "Bad Dates" starring the brilliant actress Elizabeth Aspenlieder.

  • Beckett's Elusive Endgame at American Repertory Theatre

    Stunning Play Features a Brilliant Cast

    By: Mark Favermann - Feb 25th, 2009

    Samuel Beckett was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th Century. His work is about ambiguity and the human condition. The current production of Endgame at the ART is both skillfully presented and intellectually embracing. The fabulous performances of the four ensemble cast members are among their best ever. This Post Modern play is simply magnificent.

  • Cat On A Hot Tin Roof At Lyric Stage

    Sizzling Tennessee Williams Classic

    By: Mark Favermann - Feb 15th, 2009

    Tennesee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof inhabits a Mississippi Delta plantation world of hypocrisy, greed and mendacity. A disfunctional wealthy family celebrates the birthday of its patriarch in a destructive way. Maggie the Cat, Brick, and Big Daddy all portray a human firestorm caused by addiction to the bottle, desperation to conceive a child, and not so ambiguous feelings toward a late best friend.

  • Berkshire Theatre Festival Plans Enticing 2009 Season

    Randy Harrison, David Adkins Among Favorites to Return this Summer

    By: Larry Murray - Feb 14th, 2009

    With eight productions and principal casting announced for the Summer 2009 Season, the Berkshire Theatre Fetival continues to deliver a satisfying banquet of comedy, drama and music under the steady leadership of Kate Maguire.

  • Williamstown Theatre Festival 2009

    A Shortened 55th Season

    By: Charles Giuliano - Feb 13th, 2009

    Given the poor economy, artistic director, Nicholas Martin, has reduced the number of Nikos Stage productions from five to three plays and shortened the seaon (July 1 through August 23) by two weeks. By making these cuts he has avoided any compromise of the quality of productions for one of the nation's most renowned theatre companies.

  • Randy Harrison e Stato Fortunato in Aspettando Godot

    Coverage of Berkshire Theatre Festival Production Proves Sticky

    By: Charles Giuliano - Feb 04th, 2009

    Our coverage of Randy Harrison in last summer's production of "Waiting for Godot" at Berkshire Theatre Festival has proved to be "sticky" on the web. Here we present the review translated into Italian.

  • Bread & Puppet Theater's Sourdough Philosophy

    Boston Center for The Arts Cyclorama Hosts

    By: Mark Favermann - Jan 27th, 2009

    With its creative and politicized winds blowing from the far left, The Bread & Puppet Theater is literally a force of nature. Now celebrating its third year at the Boston Center for the Arts, the Vermont-based multiarts group is led by Peter Schumann with roots in the 1960's. It is still a magical, layered and thought-provoking visual, musical and theatrical experience. And there are the giant puppets and freshly baked bread as well.

  • Change of Command at Shakespeare & Company

    Tony Simotes to Assume Role of Artistic Director

    By: Larry Murray - Jan 22nd, 2009

    Tony Simotes co-founded Shakespeare & Company with Tina Packer and other dedicated artists in 1978. Packer has led the noted company for thirty years as Artistic Director, and now he will take the helm. Packer will continue to guide the company's long term growth, which includes building a reproduction of the Elizabethan-era Rose Theatre in Lenox.

  • Elizabeth Aspenlieder Sparkles in Bad Dates at Shakespeare & Company

    Buoyant Theresa Rebeck Comedy a Perfect Antidote for the Midwinter Blues

    By: Larry Murray - Jan 19th, 2009

    Not to be missed is this one-waman show showcasing the extraordiary talents of Elizabeth Aspenlieder. The rollicking comedy about dating is directed by Adrianne Krstansky and plays at Shakespeare & Company's Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre through March 8.

  • The Seagull Startling At American Rep

    A New Perspective on a Modern Classic

    By: Mark Favermann - Jan 17th, 2009

    Not your expected Chekhov's usual fare, this version of The Seagull is quite contemporary and dreamlike. The American Repertory Theatre's edginess works in unexpected ways with a modern classic. This Seagull brilliantly flies its own unpredictable course.

  • Barrington Stage Company Plans Exciting 15th Anniversary

    Carousel, Sleuth, Streetcar on Mainstage, World Premiere on Stage 2

    By: Larry Murray - Jan 16th, 2009

    Barrington's Main Stage will feature audience favorites Carousel, Streetcar Named Desire and Sleuth, while on Stage 2 Mark St. Germain's Freud's Last Session will receive its world premiere, followed by Glen Berger's off-Broadway hit, Underneath the Lintel. Bill Finn's Musical Theatre Lab will be back with two workshops, as will the Barrington Stage Company's Youth Theatre presenting Disney's High School Musical 2.

  • Charming The Corn Is Green at Huntington

    Kate Burton Shines in Spirited Portrayal

    By: Mark Favermann - Jan 15th, 2009

    The Corn is Green is a delightful play about hope and redemption. Set in a Welsh coal mining village, the narrative follows an eccentric spinster's journey of educating the children of the area in spite of community opposition and personality quirks. Her unsophisticated star pupil has the ability to gain a scholarship to Oxford, but fate and love raise their hands.

  • Bad Dates at Shakespeare & Company, Take Two

    Elizabeth Aspenlieder prepares for the role of a lifetime

    By: Larry Murray - Jan 11th, 2009

    Bad Dates by Theresa Rebeck examines the subject of relationships with humor and irony. Elizabeth Aspenlieder stars and Adrienne Krstansky directs. This second look examines the timeless themes underlying a bittersweet comedy.

  • Actor Paul Benedict Dead At 70

    Character Actor Dies on The Vineyard

    By: Mark Favermann - Jan 07th, 2009

    Paul Benedict was one of those actors that always brought a smile. He had a distinctive and unusual face and a strange British accent though he was born in New Mexico and raised in Massachusetts. He appeared often with distinction in theatre, film and television. Perhaps not a giant in the world of entertainment, he was certainly a super supporting star. Often he was cast as an eccentric, a looney or an oddball. He was an American original.

  • Elizabeth Aspenlieder to Star in Bad Dates

    Shakespeare & Company Stages Theresa Rebeck Play

    By: Charles Giuliano - Dec 19th, 2008

    We dropped in on Elizabeth Aspenlieder and the director Adrianne Krstansky as they were rehearsing the one woman play "Bad Dates" by Theresa Rebeck. It runs through March 8 at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. It's the first winter production in the new Evelyn P. Bernstein Theatre.

  • Berkshire Theatre Festival Announces Adventurous 2009 Season

    World Premiere of Red Remembers with David Garrison

    By: Larry Murray - Dec 18th, 2008

    BTF promises a fast paced 2009 with Broadway show tunes, "Peter Pan" and "Candide." A world premiere of "Red Remembers," a play about baseball and Red Barber starring David Garrison. The regional premiere of the disturbing play Sicko, plus Neil Simon, Ibsen and Brian Friel.

  • Greetings from Nicholas Martin

    Williamstown Theatre Festival Looks Forward to 2009 Season

    By: Nicholas Martin - Dec 17th, 2008

    By every account, from a strong box office, the enthusiasm of the audience, and rave reviews from critics, the first season of Nicholas Martin as artistic director of the renowned Williamstown Theatre Festival was an unqualified success. The world, however, has changed, and not for the better, since we last heard from him at the end of the summer season. Here Martin updates us with some reassurances for the coming season that will not compromise on its remarkable artistic standards.

  • August: Osage County at the Music Box

    2008 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award Winner

    By: Charles Giuliano - Dec 14th, 2008

    The play by Tracy Lotts "August: Osage County" premiered with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2007. On Broadway it won the 2008 Tony Award as Best Drama as will as a Pulitzer Prize. In addition to New York the play is currently running in London and a US tour will start this summer.

  • Surrealism at American Repertory Theatre

    Charlie Chaplin's Granddaughter Performs Magically

    By: Mark Favermann - Dec 11th, 2008

    A bit magical, a bit dance, even a bit dreamlike and a whole lot entertaining, Aurelia's Oratorio is a surprisingly beautiful holiday performance present from ART. Aurelia Thierree is a lissome limbed , gifted performer whose personality shines in sometimes spectacular ways performing an art that is part imagination and part athleticism.

  • Vermont's Weston Playhouse and Dorset Theatre Festival Summer Schedules

    Two gems nestled in the Northeast Kingdom

    By: Larry Murray - Dec 09th, 2008

    As winter descends on New England, it is the perfect time to plan for the joys of Summer, 2009. Here a sneak preview of what is planned for the Weston Playhouse and Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont.

  • Steve Cuiffo Is Lenny Bruce at Mass MoCA

    Yaddee, Yaddee, Yadda

    By: Charles Giuliano - Dec 07th, 2008

    By the time he overdosed on drugs in 1966 Lenny Bruce was broke and wasted. He was routinely busted for obsenity and few if any club owners would book him. Also on any given night you never knew which Lenny would show up, the hilarious stand up comic, or the sincere but not really funny crusader and social commentator. Cuiffo presented more of the latter than the former.

  • << Previous Next >>