Kerry A. Dowling

Life is full of challenges. It is impossible to make it throughout the day without facing some sort of challenge. It can be as small as you’ve run out of cream for your morning cup of coffee or as large as you’ve become addicted to alcohol and/or drugs. In PEOPLE, PLACES, & THINGS, Duncan Macmillan explores what it means to struggle with addiction.

In recognition of its 30th Anniversary Season, SpeakEasy Stage will hold a special digital concert – Celebrating 30 Seasons of Groundbreaking Theatre - premiering Thursday, November 19th at 7:30PM, and streaming through Monday, November 23rd. 

Producing Artistic Director Emeritus Spiro Veloudos is in the director's chair for AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS and stages Ken Ludwig's adaptation with distinct shadings of film noir and a who's who of Lyric Stage Company veterans (and a couple of newbies) on board to play the rogue's gallery of characters. If you already know whodunnit, the fresh take on telling the story will be worth the fare, and if you don't know who commits the dastardly deed, you're in for more than a few juicy surprises.

The Greater Boston Stage Company presents the U.S. premiere of a new musical by Amiel Gladstone and Veda Hille, based on the poem by Pushkin and the opera by Tchaikovsky. The pop rock score takes flight, but the sung-through libretto doesn't rise to the same lofty level as the music. Depending on your point of view, ONEGIN pays homage to NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 and HAMILTON, or borrows from both.

SpeakEasy Stage Company presents Boston premiere of Bess Wohl's 2015 Off-Broadway comedy with a stellar cast of locals under the masterful direction of M. Bevin O'Gara. A play with limited dialogue challenges the actors to bare their inner personae, while requiring that the audience listen harder and sit with the awkward experience. The reward is tons of fun and, perhaps, enlightenment? A great start for the 2019 theater season.

From January 4 through February 2, 2019, SpeakEasy Stage will proudly present the Boston Premiere of the hit Off-Broadway comedy SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS by Bess Wohl.  

Theater Uncorked returned to the First Church Cambridge this past weekend for two performances of a staged reading of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, a 1963 play by Dale Wasserman, based on the novel of the same name by Ken Kesey. Lest the inmates run the asylum, the strong directorial hand of Bobbi Steinbach kept the chaos under control, presumably in a kinder, gentler way than Nurse Ratched's managerial style. Her staging made it feel like so much more than a reading, especially in the group scenes, where the bonding and banter among the patients rang true. There was nary a weak link in the ensemble, and the leading players were so strong in their characterizations that my mind drew a blank when trying to imagine anyone else as Ratched (Kerry A. Dowling), Randle P. McMurphy (Gene Dante), or Chief Bromden (Pedro Figueroa).

What happens when you take an Oscar Wilde classic play from the Naughty Nineties, add about a dozen original musical numbers, and update the story and setting to London's swinging Carnaby Street in the sixties? Well, if you put it in the hands of Director/Choreographer Ilyse Robbins and Music Director Steve Bass, you get a rom-com that is heavy on both the romance and the comedy, a ride in the wayback machine, and an afternoon (or evening) delight at the Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham.

Greater Boston Stage Company opens its 19th Season with Being Earnest, Paul Gordon and Jay Gruksa's irrepressible musical interpretation of Oscar Wilde's classic, The Importance of Being Earnest. Directed and choreographed by Elliot Norton and IRNE Award-winner Ilyse Robbins, performances run September 13 - October 7, 2018. The Press Opening is Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 3:00pm.

Greater Boston Stage Company is proud to announce $15,000 in donations raised during the run of Calendar Girls to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Greater Boston Stage Company has lined up a dream ensemble for their season finale, CALENDAR GIRLS, based on the 2003 Miramax motion picture. Under the direction of Nancy E. Carroll, a formidable actor in her own right, Maureen Brennan, Sarah deLima, Mary Potts Dennis, Kerry A. Dowling, Karen MacDonald, and Bobbie Steinbach tastefully disrobe for a photo shoot to produce a calendar for charity. Cheryl McMahon, Kathy St. George, Jade Guerra, Michael Kaye, Sean McGuirk, and Nael Nacer keep their clothes on, but add to the fun.

Calendar Girls is a delightful, heartfelt comedy based on the true story of eleven English Ladies Club members who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukemia Research Fund. Made famous by the hit 2003 movie, this is a play about friendship, determination and hope; about loss in many forms; about the importance of acceptance; and about knowing when to let go. Directed by Nancy E. Carroll, Calendar Girls boasts a star- studded cast. Performances run May 31 - June 17, 2018.

SpeakEasy Stage Company's Boston premiere of Marsha Norman's (Book) and Jason Robert Brown's (Music and Lyrics) adaptation of Robert James Waller's novel is elevated by the luminescent Jennifer Ellis and hunky Christiaan Smith. The libretto wobbles, but the leads and ensemble warble Brown's soaring score beautifully. Bring tissues.

From May 6 - June 3, 2017, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the Boston Premiere of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, a lush, lyrical musical by Tony Award-winners Marsha Norman (book) and Jason Robert Brown (music & lyrics), based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller.

Two powerhouse American musicals, THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS and THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY;  two acclaimed contemporary plays, GRAND CONCOURSE and SIGNIFICANT OTHER; and the riotous Broadway comedy HAND TO GOD will each enjoy their New England premiere as part of SpeakEasy Stage Company's 2016-2017 Season, the company's Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault announced today.

SpeakEasy Stage Company presents the New England premiere of Harvey Fierstein's 2014 Tony Award nominee for Best Play. CASA VALENTINA invites and initiates the audience into a world where normal is in the eye of the beholder when a group of heterosexual men meet secretly to release the girl within. Scott Edmiston directs a strong ensemble cast, with breakout performances by Eddie Shields and Greg Maraio.

SpeakEasy Stage Company presents Harvey Fierstein's CASA VALENTINA, directed by Scott Edmiston in its New England premiere, running now through November 21, 2015. Opening night is set for tomorrow, October 27, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

On Monday November 9, SpeakEasy Stage will proudly present THE SWELLTIME VARIETY HOUR, an evening of "songs, sketches, soaps, stars, surprises, and serviceable banter," written in the style of an old-time radio show by the company's own in-house playwright Walt McGough.

The score to Scott Frankel and Michael Korie's Off-Broadway musical FAR FROM HEAVEN may be less than memorable, but gorgeous visuals and a superb performance by Jennifer Ellis as Cathy make SpeakEasy Stage's 2014-15 season opener unforgettable.