Melissa Penick

What did our critic think of COLLECTIVE RAGE: A PLAY IN 5 BETTIES at Burbage Theatre Co.?

Burbage Theatre Co has revealed the ensemble and creative team for COLLECTIVE RAGE, a play by Jen Silverman. Learn more about the show and see how to purchase tickets.

a?oeThe devil made me do it isa?? is often said when one is caught doing something they shouldn't have. You won't need to say that about going to see Burbage Theatre Company's current production of Hand to God, because you absolutely should go and see it and you should not wait for the devil or anyone else to make you do it.

The Wilbury Theatre Group launches into 2018 with a bold new staging of Thornton Wilder's tragicomic masterpiece The Skin of Our Teeth directed by Wilbury Founder/Artistic Director Josh Short with music direction by Matt Requintina (Spring Awakening), January 18 through February 4 at their new home and performance space at 40 Sonoma Court, Olneyville.

The Wilbury Theatre Group launches into 2018 with a bold new staging of Thornton Wilder's tragicomic masterpiece The Skin of Our Teeth directed by Wilbury Founder/Artistic Director Josh Short with music direction by Matt Requintina (Spring Awakening), January 18 through February 4 at their new home and performance space at 40 Sonoma Court, Olneyville.

Climate Change Theatre Action (CCTA) is a worldwide series of readings and performances of short climate change plays presented biennially in support of the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP meetings).

Di and Viv and Rose makes its New England premiere on November 25 in a production directed by Kate Kataja and featuring Milly Massey, Melissa Penick, and Rae Mancini.

The Wilbury Theatre Group announces the New England premieres of Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men and Amelia Bullmore's Di and Viv and Rose, running in rotating performances November 17-December 23.

There is a current trend in Hollywood to combine movies in a way that creates a 'cinematic universe.' This allows studios to create a number of movies that are all connected and can be tied together, usually because of a shared world of characters, think Marvel superheroes or the famous Universal Studios movie monsters. In an ingenious sort of experiment, Wilbury Group is kicking off its season with a production that creates a kind of 'theatrical universe,' by linking together three plays that would otherwise be thought of us very different and entirely separate. With masterful execution, Wilbury manages to create a fascinating and frightening world in which we can really believe these three disparate works might coexists.

There's a moment in the play Stupid F#%*ing Bird, currently playing at The Wilbury Group, where a character talks about how contemporary theaters adapt and reimagine Shakespeare. Certainly, it's always a tricky proposition, reconfiguring a classic work and attempting to bring it into the current era while maintaining all the aspects, themes and characteristics that made it great. Or, at least, finding a way to reshape it so it will hold up in front of today's audiences, keeping them engaged and entertained within of our modern-day context. As written by Aaron Posner, adapted from the classic Anton Chekhov play The Seagull, Bird is a play that more than holds its own as a thought provoking, entertaining and hilarious modern take on a theatrical classic.

CAIN + ABEL, the Wilbury Theatre's new production by Resident Playwright Ben Jolivet re-examines the familiar bible story of the two brothers, the role of god, legacy and relationships in a play that blends levity, philosophy and tragedy.  The concept of the play is interesting and the story, which everyone already knows the ending of, is well punctuated with subtle jokes and moments of levity.  Unfortunately, the execution leaves the play both underwhelming and over the top.

The Wilbury Theatre Group continues its 2015/16 season with the world premiere of a new play by playwright-in-residence Ben Jolivet, Cain + Abel, October 22-November 1, 2015. A fresh and imaginative re-telling of the classic story, Cain + Abel finds the two brothers mourning the loss of their father and questioning their places in a rapidly changing world. Fighting their way into the unknown the brothers reach an uneasy peace, until a mysterious traveler shows up and sacrifices need to be made.

It may sound strange but, at its best, theater is not unlike an ecosystem in the natural world. Every organism in nature interacts with every other organism. All the various parts of that system, living and nonliving, must work together so that the system as a whole can survive and thrive. Similarly, every part of a theatrical production must work well together. All the elements, acting, directing, sound, lights, costumes, etc. must be working in harmonious union. If not, it's just a gathering of disconnected ideas, concepts and gimmicks, making a collection of nice parts but not a cohesive whole. On the other hand, when done just right, all of the parts come together to create a perfectly executed singular vison. The Wilbury Group's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is exactly that type of show.

The Wilbury Theatre Group has announced a production of Tom Stoppard's tragi-comedic masterpiece Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The celebrated playwright's work takes dark and hilarious look at art, life, and the world from the point of view of Hamlet's ill-fated school chums, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Directed by Wilbury Group Artistic Director Josh Short with music by Marc Kaplan, this reimagined production features Joshua Andrews and Patrick Saunders in the titular roles, with David Tessier as the Player.

Stories of religious coflict and controversy have been around as long as...well...religion. Today, we are indundated with stories about the way religion continues to change, shape, impact and effect us and our world. Religious fanaticism, especially, has come to the forefront in recent years and now dominates the news we read and hear. Religious themes are also presented in artistic and creative works, including movies, books, tv shows and plays, including This Beautiful City, the first show of the season at The Wilbury Group. And while the play's life started with a interesting concept, the final product is mostly a rehash of religious stories we have heard many times before, told in more compelling and relatable ways.

The Wilbury Theatre Group opens Season 5 with the New England premiere of This Beautiful City, written by Steven Cosson and Jim Lewis, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Wilbury Group Founding Artistic Director Josh Short directs with music direction by the team of Brien Lang and Milly Romanzi, this fascinating a new documentary-style play with music that details the explosion of America's evangelical Christian movement. This Beautiful City runs tonight, September 18 through October 12 at The Wilbury Theatre Group, 393 Broad Street, Providence RI.

The Wilbury Theatre Group opens Season 5 with the New England premiere of This Beautiful City, written by Steven Cosson and Jim Lewis, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. Wilbury Group Founding Artistic Director Josh Short directs with music direction by the team of Brien Lang and Milly Romanzi, this fascinating a new documentary-style play with music that details the explosion of America's evangelical Christian movement. This Beautiful City runs September 18 through October 12 at The Wilbury Theatre Group, 393 Broad Street, Providence RI.

In terms of longevity and legacy, The Wilbury Group is still one of the newest kids on the block in the Rhode Island theater community. Founded only three years ago, in 2010, they have been growing quickly, moving last season into a new space where they have settled in very nicely. Along with finding their home as far as the physical space is concerned, they also have begun to find their groove, artistically and technically. If the first play of this season is any indication, they are ready for another big growth spurt and area audiences are in for some exciting, riveting works of theater. Detroit is a play that begins with a simple enough premise. A couple living in an upper middle-class suburb have invited their new neighbors over for a barbecue. The suburb could be just outside of the titular city or it could be anywhere in the United States. Middle-aged and seemingly well-off, the first couple are either the picture of suburban harmony or they are trying very hard to fake it. The other couple, younger and definitely lower in class, are just recently out of rehab and everything about them indicates a struggle and desire to make their lives work, if they can only figure out how.

From Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre comes a new x-ray of the embattled American psyche. In a 'first ring' suburb outside a mid-sized American city, Ben and Mary fire up the grill to welcome the new neighbors who've moved into the long-empty house next door. The fledgling friendship soon veers out of control, shattering the fragile hold Ben and Mary have on their way of life. Winner of the 2013 Obie Award for Best New American Play and a finalist for the 2012 Pulitizer Prize, DETROIT is a fresh, off-beat look at what happens when we dare to open ourselves up to something new. DETROIT runs tonight, September 19-October 5, 2013.