Veronica Bruscini - Page 4

Rhode Island theaters are gearing up for another sizzling summer season. Here's a look ahead at what's on stage in the Ocean State from June through August.

Trinity Repertory Company sings out its 52nd season with an entertaining, high-energy production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's OKLAHOMA! The show is a fitting conclusion to Trinity's year-long "Rebels, Renegades, and Pioneers" theme as it celebrates the trailblazing spirit of the Oklahoma Territory's early settlers in story and song.

Theater world, take notice: The Brown/Trinity Rep M.F.A. Class of 2017 is a force to be reckoned with. Their staging of SIDE SHOW impresses in every particular from casting and costuming to setting, dramatic pacing, and lighting. From curtain to curtain, this is theatrical storytelling at its finest.

Festival Ballet Providence concludes its 38th season in high style with one of the grandest, most iconic ballets of all time: SWAN LAKE.

Pawtucket's Gamm Theater has taken this complex, unique blend of storytelling and staged a glorious WINTER'S TALE, proving once again why the company is critically and popularly lauded as the gold standard for Shakespearean productions in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island audiences, prepare to be dazzled. RAGTIME is - deservedly - one of the most highly acclaimed musicals of the last two decades and the touring production now playing the Providence Performing Arts Center does the show's rich legacy proud.

Ocean State Theatre Company's staging of THE MIRACLE WORKER, under the direction of Amiee Turner, brings this compelling story to life with dignity and warmth.

For more than a decade, Karen Sklaire has worked with inner-city students as an educator in the New York school department, and now she compellingly relates stories of her time in the classroom through the one-woman show RIPPLE OF HOPE.

Trinity's TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is unquestionably a must-see performance this spring and, a scarce three months into the new year, can easily be considered in the running for best production of 2016.

Rhode Island's theater community had much to celebrate in 2015.  Outstanding productions graced stages from the East Bay to South County, up-and-coming theatrical companies left their mark on the arts scene, and excellent concerts and dance events made for some of the best performances of the year.

Glittering, fairy-like snowflakes. Dancing sugar plums. Toy soldiers capering around the tree. Each of these fanciful childhood images comes to life with a special touch of Christmas magic in Festival Ballet Providence's superior production of THE NUTCRACKER. FBP once again delivers an enchanting NUTCRACKER guaranteed to capture the imagination of audiences of all ages.

The stage production of WHITE CHRISTMAS now playing the Providence Performing Arts Center is adapted from the beloved film. While this musical has much to recommend it - familiar songs with excellent orchestrations, fine-quality costumes and sets, snappy choreography, and a top-notch cast full of talented performers - this staging favors spectacle over substance, and for that, much of the heart of WHITE CHRISTMAS' story falls flat.

Contemporary a cappella could ask for no finer ambassador than STRAIGHT NO CHASER. The group's impeccable harmonizing and vocal percussion are so sharp and so rich, it sounds as though instrumentalists are backing several songs.

The 2015 CHRISTMAS CAROL, directed by Curt Columbus, is a solid production and quite enjoyable, though small elements keep it from being a fully immersive theatrical experience. While well done overall, the emotional punch of past Trinity CAROLS is lacking in this year's staging.

Festival Ballet Providence once again opens the doors to its studio and rehearsal halls for the company's celebrated UP CLOSE ON HOPE series. The "up close" forum has become a staple of FBP's season and one much anticipated by Rhode Island audiences.

With remarkable performances on stage and a top-notch artistic team behind the scenes, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS is a standout production for Ocean State Theatre. The story's edge-of-your-seat race against the clock set against punchy, fast-paced humor makes for a truly entertaining and thoroughly absorbing theatrical experience.

The stage production of NEWSIES, now playing a limited run at the Providence Performing Arts Center, features the same stirring and beloved songs that captured the hearts of moviegoers, as well as newly choreographed, high-octane dance numbers that dazzle with gravity-defying leaps and spins.

Josh Groban's THE STAGES TOUR played to a standing-room-only house at the Providence Performing Arts Center, and this brilliant concert was one of the most impressive and enjoyable to grace the PPAC stage in recent memory.

BEAUTIFUL'S national tour kicks off in Providence, and even in the first days of performance, the cast proves the depth of its talent and ability.

Trinity Repertory Company kicks off its season in style with a smart, gripping production of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.