Emily F. McMullen News

Tony and Olivier Award-winning director Maria Aitken once again brings her deft touch to Boston's Huntington Theatre Company with a taut and tangy production of THE COCKTAIL HOUR, A.R. Gurney's quasi-autobiographical expose of the bitter truths lurking beneath one well-bred WASP family's carefully polished veneer.

Huntington Theatre Company kicks off 2014 with David Ives' sexy Broadway smash hit Venus in Fur, deemed '90 minutes of good, kinky fun,' by The New York Times. Daniel Goldstein (God of Carnage) returns to the Huntington to the direct the 2012 Tony Award nominee for Best Play. Performances will begin on January 3 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre. The most produced play in America this season, Venus in Fur is 'deadly serious, madly funny ... you won't see a funnier play this season, or a smarter one,' says The Wall Street Journal.

David Mamet's 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning play resonates nearly thirty years later in Merrimack Repertory Theatre's crisp, dark, funny, riveting production. In the capable hands of Director Charles Towers and an accomplished group of actors, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS is a total entertainment package and a great way to conclude the 34th season in Lowell.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents Kathleen Tolan's MEMORY HOUSE, a sweet play about a highly-charged emotional evening. An age-old tug of war is taking place between a divorced mother and her adopted teenage daughter as the latter struggles to complete her college application essay before the midnight deadline. Their journey down a slippery slope of family memories will cause some emotional bumps and bruises along the way, but ultimately take them to the place where they both need to be.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre celebrates its rebirth with world premiere of Massachusetts playwright William Donnelly's HOMESTEAD CROSSING in co-production with Berkshire Theatre Group and Portland Stage Company.

Playwright Michael Hollinger pulls the audience into the drama and challenges us to decide for ourselves whether or not we believe in ghosts in Merrimack Repertory Theatre's haunting production.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents John Kolvenbach's MRS. WHITNEY, an unsentimental and humorous look at the lengths to which people will go in pursuit of romance as the antidote to isolation.

Following the success of their last production, the 1943 play THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE, Merrimack Repertory Theatre mines the early 20th century for source material and strikes gold. Think about bringing your daughters and granddaughters to meet the extremely likeable and capable young female protagonist in this heartwarming musical.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre delivers a heartwarming production of an old chestnut. The 1943 wartime classic reminds us how sweet it is to live in the moment and grab the brass ring when it comes along.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre presents its audience with the ultimate Christmas present - the return of the Reduced Shakespeare Company and the East Coast premiere of 'The Ultimate Christmas Show (abridged).' All of your favorite holiday characters - Baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary, Santa Claus, and the Bee Gees - make an appearance. Bring an inexpensive wrapped gift to participate in the St. Everybody's Gift Exchange at intermission.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre wraps up 32nd season with regional premiere which imagines a confrontation between the famous painter and a Nazi functionary bent on destroying his work.

Bob Clyman's smart, funny new play raises difficult issues in the debate about raising exceptional children. Should parents or scientists determine the course of a child's education? And what is society's interest in the outcome? In between the laughs,it will make you think.

Karoline Leach combines sleight and misdirection into a taut, thrilling love story, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre production gives 'Tryst' its due

One-act four-hander is a compact serio-comic character study about the perils of dealing with aging parents and meddling adult children. It may be a road map or a cautionary tale, depending on your point of view.

Sweat suits are optional, but your groan and laughter muscles will get quite a workout at the East Coast Premiere of 'The Complete World of Sports (abridged)' at Merrimack Repertory Theatre

Merrimack Repertory Theatre continues its long relationship with playwright Richard Dresser, commissioning and mounting this world premiere, the seventh of his plays featured on the Lowell stage. Their track record together has been strong, but The Last Days of Mickey and Jean isn't quite ready for prime time.

This play with music digs deep into the heritage of song and shows how two diverse women discover and reclaim their own souls by helping each other find meaning in the tragedies and challenges of their lives.

An alternative lifestyle comedy that is long on laughs and absent politics is a welcome addition to the theatrical canon. The only messages here are of the life-is-short and it's-never-too-late variety.

Make it your mission to visit the World War I veterans now onstage at Merrimack Repertory Theatre

Eugene O'Neill classic, part comedy, part drama, deals with love and forgiveness