Paula Faber

After last season’s splendid ‘The Oldest Profession,’ Burbage Theatre Company and WomensWork Theatre Collaborative join forces again for ‘Playhouse Creatures,’ April De Angelis’s fascinating portrait of five females from late 17th-century England who were able to pursue careers on stage after King Charles II overturned the Puritan law that previously forbid them from doing so.

What did our critic think of THE OLDEST PROFESSION at Burbage Theatre Company?

WomensWork Theatre Collaborative continues its Season of Madness with a limited run regional premiere of a?oeThe Madwoman in the Volvoa?? by Sandra Tsing Loh, based on her acclaimed memoir of the same title. Not choosing to go quietly into her sixth decade, Sandra and friends set a destination for Burning Man, an annual event of half-nude artistic stoners, where she creates a spectacular midlife blow up. It's a candid, hilarious and enlightening take on one woman's journey as she navigates her way through her middle-age maelstrom.

Lynne Collinson, WomensWork's Creative Director says, “Last Lists of My Mad Mother, ticks all the boxes for the type of play WomensWork wants to explore:  a well written script, meaningful material, and a story told from a woman's point-of-view that features women over the age of 40 – an underserved on-stage demographic. The play takes us on an emotional journey of discovery that's ultimately simple, true, and relevant for anyone who has been a caregiver or watched the decline of a loved one.

WomensWork Theatre Collaborative opens its Season of Madness on October 26 with LAST LISTS OF MY MAD MOTHER, by Julie Jensen, a poignant and poetic look at how a primary caregiver struggles to hold on to her humor and humanity as her mother's mind rapidly deteriorates, and as her sister phones in advice from afar.

WomensWork Theatre Collaborative will present a trio of plays about madness in 2019-2020, the Collaborative's first full season of programming. 

Epic Theatre Company is stepping outside the box yet again this May when it brings 'The Christians' by Lucas Hnath to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South County in South County, Rhode Island.

THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA is one of those deliciously sinister plays that unpacks social mores, female relationships, self destruction and repression in a way that is eminently watchable. The current production at Epic Theatre features Michelle L. Walker as Bernarda Alba, a part so perfectly cast that you can't imagine anyone else in this role. The rest of the cast is equally strong, but it's very clear through Walker's performance that she is Bernarda Alba, and this is her house.

Head Trick Theatre continues to perform thought-provoking, timely productions with their latest piece, Lillian Hellman's 1941 play, WATCH ON THE RHINE.

"It's an indulgence to sit in a room and discuss your beliefs as if they were a juicy piece of gossip." From the Farrellys' living room in Washington, the Nazis and the war in Europe seem very far away - until the war comes to them, when Fanny's daughter Sara brings her anti-fascist husband home after twenty years abroad. Kurt, Sara, and their children aren't Fanny's only guests, and conflict soon arises between them and an opportunistic count with Nazi sympathies, forcing the Farrellys to choose between standing by and standing up.

Juliet was traditionally played by a boy. A man played Medea. For centuries, women have been consigned to play lesser parts in the creation and production of theater. And even as progress is being made, gender and age parity, onstage and off, continues to be a major issue in the theater. 

Epic Theatre Company is closing out its landmark sixth season with one of the biggest shows to ever hit a Rhode Island stage. Based on the acclaimed novel, 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel, adapted by Mike Poulton, offers a bold perspective on a classic story of faith, greed, and power.

It probably takes a certain level of masochism to spend part of a weekend at a play called LIFE SUCKS, but it's (probably) been proven that watching the struggles of other people makes us feel better about our own circumstances. In the case of this play, viewers can feel doubly smug because it's based on Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, and therefore counts as high culture.  Playwright Aaron Posner is making a career of turning the classics on their head--Wilbury Theatre company recently produced Stupid F%&*ng Bird, a play of his based on The Seagull, and there is a lot in the production to enjoy and identify with, even for those not intimately familiar with the source material.

Epic Theatre Company is throwing a barbecue! Last October, the theater presented the Rhode Island premiere of Robert O'Hara's 'Bootycandy.' Next month, Epic will be premiering another ingenious work by Mr. O'Hara-the biting and brilliant 'Barbecue.' For this production, Epic will be using its brand new outdoor space at 50 Rolfe to create an immersive experience that's going to put the audience right in the middle of one big family feud. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Epic Theatre Company is throwing a barbecue! Last October, the theater presented the Rhode Island premiere of Robert O'Hara's Bootycandy. Next month, Epic will be premiering another ingenious work by Mr. O'Hara the biting and brilliant Barbecue. For this production, Epic will be using its brand new outdoor space at 50 Rolfe to create an immersive experience that's going to put the audience right in the middle of one big family feud.

Epic Theatre Company is closing out its acclaimed fifth season with a true modern classic-Peter Shaffer'sEquus.

Epic Theatre Company is closing out its acclaimed fifth season with a true modern classic-Peter Shaffer's Equus.

In keeping with Artistic Director Ed Shea's avowed goal of staging less cynical plays, 2nd Story Theatre in Warren is offering the stage version of the 1971 cult film classic HAROLD AND MAUDE by Colin Higgins, who wrote both the screenplay and this stage version, If you have never seen the film version, which starred Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort, you should get yourself over to Warren; if you have seen the film, you might want to go by a ticket to see what director Kevin Broccoli hath wrought. This production features some fine performances, a couple of almost magical special effects, and a story that is so dated it's current again. As Maude, charmingly played by Isabel O'Donnell, explains to Evan Kinnane's Harold in the second act, 'A cliche today is a profound truth tomorrow, and vice versa.' Somebody say, 'Amen.'

We've all heard 'You can't go home again.' Or how about 'Home is where the heart is'? At this time of year, it's 'Home for the Holidays.' The idea of home, what and where it is, is a powerful theme throughout all types of artistic expression, from paintings to books to stage plays. It's a universal theme that anyone can understand and relate to. And it's at the center of 2nd Story Theatre's holiday season production of Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful.