Steve Underwood News

Good Theater rings in the New Year with the Maine premiere of David Javerbaum's hit Broadway comedy, An Act of God. The production opens January 16 and runs through February 10. Good Theater is the professional theater in residence at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland. For tickets and information call 207-835-0895 or go to the company's website, www.goodtheater.com.

It is the winter doldrums here in North Country, but what better way to combat those blues than to take in an entertaining, moving, or inspiring evening at one of Maine's fine theatre companies? And if not in winter, why not plan ahead by subscribing to some of these companies or buying seats for one of the many exciting upcoming events for 2019? To assist you in your planning, BWW offers these picks of the ten productions and company repertoire to which we look forward most.

Good Theater rings in the New Year with the Maine premiere of David Javerbaum's hit Broadway comedy, An Act of God. The production opens January 16 and runs through February 10. Good Theater is the professional theater in residence at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland. For tickets and information call 207-835-0895 or go to the company's website, www.goodtheater.com.

In what has become a delightful Portland holiday tradition, the Good Theater presented its annual musical revue, created and directed by Brian P. Allen, starring an incandescent Valerie Perri, together with Daniel Patrick Smith and a fine ensemble of Maine talent. The program, which featured twenty-nine musical theatre classics as well as lesser-known songs of the 1980s, was woven together by Allen with his comprehensive knowledge of the repertoire and his customary wit and performed with relish and commitment by the entire ensemble.

Maine seems to be enjoying a theatrical renaissance with large and small companies vigorously engaged in producing a wide range of repertoire throughout the state. Several of the leading professional theatres have become destinations in and of themselves - (witness the inclusion of Maine State Music Theatre and Ogunquit Playhouse in Scott Andrews' upcoming book, Vacationland) - while venerable community groups continue to raise the bar for their work. I am privileged to get to sample these performances as Broadway World's Maine editor and to be able to compare many of them favorably with shows I see across the country, in New York and London. These are my personal choices of the best in Maine for 2018, grouped by theatre company and show. MAINE STATE MUSIC THEATRE delivered a 60th anniversary season that redefined the meaning and substance of 'gala.'

For the second offering of the Good Theater's ambitious 2018-2019 season and its one hundredth production in the company's existence, Brian P. Allen has mounted the world premiere of a new play by Maine writer Karmo Sanders. Homer Bound is a rollicking, folksy comedy populated by loveable characters and guaranteed to have the audience split its sides with laughter. Directed with panache by Sally Wood and performed by six excellent actors, Homer Bound is a romp from start to finish!

Good Theater's presents Homer Bound, written by Maine playwright, Karmo Sanders, directed by Sally Wood and starring Grace Bauer, Thomas Ian Campbell, Kathleen Kimball, Jared Mongeau, Casey Turner and Steve Underwood.

Good Theater will present the world premiere of Homer Bound by Maine playwright Karmo Sanders, opening November 7 and playing through December 2. Set on a small fishing island off the Maine coast, Homer Bound deals with a shotgun wedding. Who will arrive first - the minister or the baby?

Opening its 17th season, the Good Theater's stirring production of Simon Stephens' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time takes the company to new heights of achievement. In a long roster of excellent work, this brilliant staging stands out as one of the company's finest accom;ishments. Minimalist in its staging, eschewing the bells and whistles of the original London and New York productions, Curious Incident packs a maximum punch with its intense narrative and stunning, star- quality performance of Griffin Carpenter in the central role.

Good Theater has kicked off its 17th season with the Tony Award winning Best Play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Due to the overwhelming demand for tickets the company is adding two Tuesday evening performances on October 16 and 23 at 7:00. Tickets for these two performances along with all remaining tickets for other performances are now on sale on-line (www.goodtheater.com) or via telephone (207-835-0895). The production runs through October 28 at Good Theater's home the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland.

Good Theater is celebrating its 17th season with the company's biggest season ever.  The professional company in residence at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland, begins with the Tony Award winning The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on the best-selling novel of the same name, by Mark Haddon and adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens.   The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time makes its Portland premiere on October 3, running four weeks through October 28. 

Good Theater on Tour is bringing three of its productions to the Nasson Little Theatre in Springvale this summer. Underwaterguy, Love Letters and Love Loss and What I Wore will all play the beautifully renovated theater with two performances of each production.

Good Theater closes its 16th season with Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors in its Portland premiere. This madcap comedy is the sequel to Ludwig's award-winning Lend Me a Tenor.

The last offering in the Good Theater's current season is cause for celebration! Ken Ludwig's 2015 comedy, A Comedy of Tenors, serves up a frothy concoction of revolving door farce, sophisticated irony and broad parody, witty double entendres, and a breathlessly wacky plot line that makes the evening speed by joyously.

Good Theater closes its 16th season with Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors in its Portland premiere.  This madcap comedy is the sequel to Ludwig's award-winning Lend Me a Tenor.

A Comedy of Tenors by Ken Ludwig.  Good Theater presents the Portland premiere of this madcap comedy that is the sequel to Lend Me a Tenor.

Good Theater is proud to present the Maine premiere of Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron's smash hit off-Broadway comedy event, Love Loss and What I Wore, directed by Steve Underwood, featuring a rotating cast of Portland's favorite actresses.  Love Loss and What I Wore plays January 20-March 6 at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland where Good Theater is the theater in residence.  For tickets and information contact Good Theater at 208-835-0895 or go to the company's website at www.goodtheater.com.

The complex, sometimes conflicted, often poetic relationship between what we wear and self image and identity forms the framework of a delightful, delicately lyrical, and warmly wistful play by Nora and Delia Ephron, based on the book by Ilene Beckerman. Presented as a staged reading with a rotating cast of five actresses, Portland's Good Theater brings this exquisitely written piece to life with affectionate wisdom.

Good Theater presents the Maine premiere of Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron's smash hit off-Broadway comedy event, Love Loss and What I Wore, directed by Steve Underwood, featuring a rotating cast of Portland's favorite actresses. Love Loss and What I Wore plays January 20-March 6 at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland where Good Theater is the theater in residence. For tickets and information contact Good Theater at 208-835-0895 or go to the company's website at www.goodtheater.com.

Among the many holiday season theatrical offerings, the annual musical revue, Broadway at the Good Theater inevitably proves to be a refreshing and original approach to ushering in a season of good cheer. The 2017 production, conceived, written, and directed by Brian P. Allen, is no exception; in fact, if anything, this year's show is bigger, bolder, and full of delightful surprises.