Brian P. Allen News

Good Theater will kick off its 18th season with the Maine premiere of the award-winning new play ADMISSIONS by Joshua Harmon. The production opens October 2nd and plays through October 27th, 2019 at Good Theater's home, the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland.  For tickets and information, please call the Box Office at (207) 835-0895 or visit www.goodtheater.com.

Good Theater presents an outrageous, fun-filled celebration honoring the one and only, Brian P. Allen, as he turns 60! Embarrassing videos, hysterical sketches, powerful songs, surprise guests, delicious cake and a champagne toast!

Good Theater is excited to announce LIFE WITH BRIAN, the first special event of the 2019/2020 season. Join Good Theater favorites and Broadway guest stars for an outrageous, fun-filled celebration honoring Artistic Director Brian P. Allen as he turns 60! Embarrassing videos, hysterical sketches, powerful songs, and Brian's signature masterful storytelling will make this a night to remember - cake and champagne toast included!

Good Theater announces the appointment of Lynne McGhee and Hannah Daly to two new part-time positions for the upcoming 2019/2020 season. Lynne McGhee steps into the position of Development and Special Events Director, and Hannah Daly steps into the position of Public Relations Director. These positions were made possible by a grant from the Davis Family Foundation.

Get a first look below at Good Theater's production of Lucky Stiff by Lynn Ahrens (book & lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music), directed by Brian P. Allen.  The production wraps up on April 28 at Good Theater's home the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland. 

In a rare and very welcome bit of programming, the Good Theater has chosen to conclude its seventeenth season not only with a book musical but also with a rarely performed work. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's very first collaboration, Lucky Stiff is a delightful farce, based on a wild Monte Carlo caper, brimming with silliness and bursting with wacky characters.

Get a first look at Good Theater's production of Lucky Stiff by Lynn Ahrens (book & lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music), directed by Brian P. Allen. 

Good Theater will close out its 17th season with the zany musical comedy, Lucky Stiff.  The show opens March 27 and runs for five weeks through April 28.  Good Theater is the professional theater company in residence at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland.

The Good Theater's winter production of David Javerbaum's 2015 satire, An Act of God, serves up mordent satiric wit that masks the playwright's very thoughtful exploration of some of the most serious existential human questions. In a brisk eighty-three minute, essentially one character dramatic monologue, Javerbaum takes on mythos, religion, tradition, and all the other central pillars of social discourse and gleefully turns them each on its head, replacing answers with questions.

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.

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.

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.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature HAMILTON, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, LITTLE WOMEN, and More!

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.'

Valerie Perri, who created the role of Eva Peron in the national tour of Evita will be the guest star for Good Theater's annual Broadway at Good Theater concerts December 5-9. Perri won the L.A. Drama Critics Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical. She also performed the role at Maine State Music Theatre in 1985.

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 kicks off its second stage series with Blueberries Broadway & Brian 2.0.  This is Artistic Director Brian P. Allen's one-man comedy show about his wacky life and crazy family.  The 75-minute production opens Saturday November 10 at 12:30 for an early afternoon matinee.  Performances are Saturdays 12:30, Sundays 5:00 and Tuesdays at 7:00 from November 10-December 1.  Thanksgiving week, Allen will give performances on Wednesday November 21 and Thursday (Thanksgiving) November 22.  Both of these shows will be at 7:00.  Tickets for all performances are $20 each and can be reserved by going to the Good Theater website, www.goodtheater.com, or calling the box office at 207-835-0895.

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.