After a two-year hiatus, Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston returns for its 53rd summer season on the main stage at the Robinson Theatre (617 Lexington St. Waltham, MA, 02452). Under the direction of new Artistic Director Rachel Bertone, the curtain will rise on two iconic American musicals: West Side Story, the powerful tale of young lovers caught between prejudice and warring street gangs (July 8-16, 2022) and Pippin, Stephen Schwartz's unforgettable musical masterpiece of a young prince searching for passion, adventure, and the true meaning of life. (August 5-13, 2022).
From two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage (Intimate Apparel, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, Sweat) comes the satirical tale of successful African-American publicist Undine, as she stumbles down the social ladder after her husband steals her hard-earned fortune.
The Umbrella Stage Company has baptized their newly renovated blackbox with an appropriately bleak production of August Wilson's Fences. The play is the third installment in Wilson's American Century Cycle, for which he wrote 10 plays about the Black American experience, one play per decade in the twentieth century. Fences is arguably the most successful and most frequently produced, having secured the 1987 Tony Award for Best Play along with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and inspiring a 2016 movie adaptation which was nominated for an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay, among others. We follow the story of Troy Maxson, a city sanitation worker whose aspirations for anything beyond driving a dump truck have abandoned him, and his family. The play relays a narrative which explores the intricacies of familial relationships in the quotidian as well as within a crucible of infidelities, deceit, and betrayal.
Following the spectacular season opener 42nd Street in its mainstage, The Umbrella Stage Company will break in its newly constructed black box with an intimate and moving American classic, August Wilson's Fences. (Nov. 1-23).
Never mind all those Marvel heroes and the new bladder buster movie 'Avengers: Endgame,' if you want to see a real heroine in action, line up for the Gold Dust Orphans' final show at the soon-to-be repurposed Machine Nightclub. Kiki Samko takes the director's reins and wrangles all of the players into a cohesive ensemble, with several of the actors taking on two (and, in one case, three) roles. Qya Marie has moved up the ranks of the Orphans to become a dynamic leading player. Tim Lawton wears multiple hats as music director, Trump, and Bald Eagle, and his hilarious and eerily spot-on rendition of the orange one is among the finest performances I've seen him give. Ryan Landry's writing also lands a flurry of blows, expressing more transparent social and political commentary than usual. If you're in the mood for some super (hero) entertainment, make it THE EBONIC WOMAN.
The world may end with a whimper, but Zeitgeist Stage Company goes out with a bang, presenting the world premiere of Jacques Lamarre's TRIGGER WARNING. David J. Miller and company bring down the curtain after eighteen seasons on the Boston theater scene, leaving a void that will not be soon or easily filled.
Pigeon keepers are an interesting and unique, albeit diminishing, subset of humans, and within that group is a subset, presumably small, of people who identify with the birds. Taking it one step further, Birdy, the protagonist in Naomi Wallace's adaptation of William Wharton's novel BIRDY, identifies, not with, but as a bird. Strange as it sounds, it may be the most sane response to an insane world in this drama that toggles back and forth between a pre-World War II Philadelphia suburb and an Army hospital in post-war Kentucky. It is a war story that plays out on the battlefield of an intense, intimate friendship, where the psychological wounds are more damaging and enduring than the physical ones. Steve Maler's skillful direction unleashes a dazzling palette of colorful performances, each actor contributing a broad brush stroke to the communal masterpiece.
A soulful retelling of L. Frank Baum's beloved The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz combines fairy-tale glamour with street smarts to make a classic fantasy sparkle for today. And our directors and choreographer will bring a blast of New Orleans Creole magic to this production! Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score, The Wiz ingeniously mixes rock, gospel, soul, and jazz, and features hits like 'Ease on Down the Road,' 'A Brand New Day,' and 'Home.'
Colorful and imaginative costumes, other-worldly lighting and sound effects, and a scenic design that combines magic with urban details, serve as the playground for the Lyric Stage Company's production of the 1975 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, THE WIZ, under the direction of Dawn M. Simmons. Helping her translate her vision of Oz, by way of New Orleans, are Music Director Allyssa Jones, fronting a vibrant eight-piece orchestra, and Jean Appolon, whose inventive choreography anthropomorphizes a tornado, a poppy field, and the eponymous Yellow Brick Road.
A soulful retelling of L. Frank Baum's beloved The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz combines fairy-tale glamour with street smarts to make a classic fantasy sparkle for today. And our directors and choreographer will bring a blast of New Orleans Creole magic to this production! Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score, The Wiz ingeniously mixes rock, gospel, soul, and jazz, and features hits like 'Ease on Down the Road,' 'A Brand New Day,' and 'Home.'
The Greater Boston Stage Company production of Christopher M. Walsh's MISS HOLMES is chock full of delightful elements. Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes integrates minimalist and inventive stagecraft with a cast combining the usual suspects and a few first offenders for a spellbinding theatrical experience.
See Sherlock as you've never seen her before in Miss Holmes, written by Christopher M. Walsh based on the characters by Arthur Conan Doyle. This classic, timeless Sherlock Holmes mystery takes on a greater twist - Sherlock and Watson are women. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes, performances run April 5 - 22, 2018. The Press Opening is Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 3:00pm.
SpeakEasy Stage Company's New England premiere production of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is a meaty, fast-paced comic romp with lots of sizzle to go with that steak. Jennifer Ellis and new leading man in town, George Olesky, are a match made in heaven, surrounded by a talented ensemble that includes Nancy E. Carroll, Remo Airaldi, Eddie Shields, and Lewis D. Wheeler. Director Scott Edmiston wrangles a cast of 18 into a cohesive bundle of joy
From October 20 to November 25, 2017, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the Boston Regional Theatre premiere of the 2015 Tony Award-winning play THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME.
Zeitgeist Stage Company introduces new faces that meld into an impressive ensemble to convey the unusual and flawed characters from the mind of Williams and the pens of half a dozen eclectic playwrights in DESIRE: AN EVENING OF PLAYS BASED ON SIX SHORT STORIES BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS. A self-admitted aficionado of Williams, Director David J. Miller mixes and matches his cast to meet the challenge of portraying diverse personalities.
Bad Habit Productions is about to drop the final curtain after ten years of delivering award-winning theater, but they are not taking the easy way out. Director Dawn M. Simmons and an ensemble of eight actors make sense of Tom Stoppard's 1968 comedy whodunnit, THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND, even as they squeeze very bit of theatrical nonsense from this old chestnut. The troupe plays well together and looks like they're taking their roles seriously, despite their characters saying and doing ridiculous things.
Laury Teneus of Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers took first place on Monday, January 30, 2017 with her performance as Black Mary from Gem of the Ocean at the Boston Regional Finals of the August Wilson Monologue Competition, held for the seventh year by the Education Department of the Huntington Theatre Company, the playwright's longtime artistic home.
Huntington Theatre Company's Department of Education presents the 7th annual Boston regional finals of the August Wilson Monologue Competition, celebrating the writing of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright.
Zeitgeist Stage Company presents a collection of short plays by Tennessee Williams. EIGHT BY TENN has the trademark lyrical writing style that makes Williams Williams, but not all characters are equally developed, posing a challenge for the actors. Artistic Director David J. Miller directs an ensemble of three newcomers and five returnees whose performances are uneven.
