David Sackal

While Shakespeare famously bragged that “Never was a story of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo,” the Burbage Theater Co.  set itself the task of revealing everything else the play contains. Their modern-dress production is dynamic, reveling in precisely-choreographed crowd and fight scenes, and making the most of the play’s witty dialogues.

Only five performances remain of the Burbage Theatre Co's RI premiere production of Lolita Chakrabarti's RED VELVET, directed by Jackie Davis, starring JāQuan Malik Jones as Ira Aldridge. See photos from the show.

What did our critic think of RED VELVET AT BURBAGE THEATRE COMPANY?

Epic Theatre Company is proud to present a world premiere reading of Kevin Broccoli's 'The Married Name' on Sunday, July 9th at 7pm.

Women in business in the 1950's--not the easiest row to hoe.

Rona Jaffe's mid-century page-turner electrified millions of women who saw their own lives reflected in the experiences of five young employees of a New York publishing house. Julie Kramer's adaptation touchingly and faithfully captures Jaffe's incisive look at the personal and professional struggles these women faced (face?) in their male-dominated world, bringing it to colorful theatrical life with sympathy, wit, intelligence and love.

Epic Theatre Company kicks off the new year with a delightful twist on the classic Tennessee Williams play CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF.  Under expert direction from OUT LOUD Theatre's Kira Hawkridge the talented cast bring this complicated story to life with minimal fuss and a strong focus on making the dialogue shine--as it should.

Epic Theatre Company is beginning the new year with an ageless masterpiece-Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."  This story of a Southern family coming apart at the seams as they celebrate the birthday of their patriarch is one of the greatest family dramas of all time, and Epic's production will serve as the anchor to its fifth season when it arrives onstage in January 2017.

Epic Theatre Company is beginning the new year with an ageless masterpiece-Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."  This story of a Southern family coming apart at the seams as they celebrate the birthday of their patriarch is one of the greatest family dramas of all time, and Epic's production will serve as the anchor to its fifth season when it arrives onstage in January 2017. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Lara Hakeem plays Rita and David Sackal is Peter in PRELUDE TO A KISS by Craig Lucas, UpStage at 2nd Story Theatre through December 11. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the duo onstage below!

Epic Theatre Company is beginning the new year with an ageless masterpiece-Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."  This story of a Southern family coming apart at the seams as they celebrate the birthday of their patriarch is one of the greatest family dramas of all time, and Epic's production will serve as the anchor to its fifth season when it arrives onstage in January 2017.

Storytelling is something that, fundamentally, defies definition. Who is to say how a story should best be told? How many different ways have stories been passed down over the centuries? Whatever our own preferences are for storytelling forms and devices, there are countless others, often used in successful ways. In its three years of existence, OUT LOUD Theatre has at times defied conventional definitions of storytelling and developed their own unique style. With its spectacular use of that style, their current production of Dracula is a gorgeous example of the company's storytelling prowess, wrapped in a unique and surprising piece of theatrical art.

2nd Story Theatre in Warren is on a pretty good run in 2016: HYSTERIA, LOVE DEATH AND WHAT I WORE, and now MASS APPEAL by Bill C. Davis, playing Upstage until April 3, have each provided entertaining and interesting evening or afternoons for their audiences. This play premiered in 1981-about halfway between Going My Way and Spotlight. That seems right: the show does not portray priests as saints, and only hints at the existence of problems, that will be revealed later on. In ninety minutes, MASS APPEAL tells the story of Father Tim Farley (Bob Colonna), a Catholic parish priest whose comfortable existence is upset by the arrival of an idealistic young seminarian, Mark Dolson (David Sackal), who becomes Fr. Farley's charge and challenge. Father Tim Farley is highly popular with his parishioners due to his charm, wit, easy-going manner, and entertaining (but unchallenging) sermons. One Sunday Dolson interrupts Farley's 'dialogue' sermon to challenge his stance on the ordination of women. In fairness to the young man, Fr. Farley had invited questions but got more than he asked for from Dolson. The pastor is outraged yet intrigued by Dolson, and asks to have him assigned to work with him. And that, as Rick tells Captain Renaud in Casablanca, is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Theater is often at its best when it is unconventional. Surprising. Innovative. While there is certainly merit in sticking to the old-fashioned and traditional ways of doing things, there's also great value in doing something new and outside-the-box. The success of doing so depends on many things, from the technical aspects of a production to the ability of the actors to create and tell the story in ways the audience can relate to, even in unfamiliar trappings. So far in the short lifespan of OUT LOUD Theatre, the company has excelled in doing just that, masterful storytelling that is delivered in creative and exciting ways.

Thornton Wilder's Our Town, winner of the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, will be presented by the RIC Mainstage Theatre tonight, Feb. 18-22 in the Helen Forman Theatre at Rhode Island College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence. Show times are 7:30 p.m. (Feb. 18-21) and 2 p.m. (Feb. 21-22). Admission is $15.

Thornton Wilder's Our Town, winner of the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, will be presented by the RIC Mainstage Theatre Feb. 18-22 in the Helen Forman Theatre at Rhode Island College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence. Show times are 7:30 p.m. (Feb. 18-21) and 2 p.m. (Feb. 21-22). Admission is $15.

HAY FEVER is the latest summertime offering to play 2nd Story Theatre's UpStage space. It is, by far, the lightest and most comedic production on the company's bill, featuring over-the-top characters and nearly nonstop antics. Though HAY FEVER has some truly laugh-out-loud moments, there are some missteps in 2nd Story's production.

Steps Off Broadway announces that they have extended the run of their current production, The Fantasticks, by Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt. This is the world's longest running musical, running for over 52 years in Manhattan and around the world. It has been called one of the most charming and enchanting shows ever written.

Steps Off Broadway announces their next production, The Fantasticks, by Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt. This is the world's longest running musical, running for over 52 years in Manhattan, and has been entrancing and mesmerizing generations of audiences the world over. It has been called one of the most charming and enchanting shows ever written.

Steps Off Broadway announces their next production, The Fantasticks, by Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt. This is the world's longest running musical, running for over 52 years in Manhattan, and has been entrancing and mesmerizing generations of audiences the world over. It has been called one of the most charming and enchanting shows ever written.