Karen MacDonald News

In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court handed a narrow victory to a Christian baker from Colorado who refused for religious reasons to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. Hailing from a conservative North Carolina background, playwright Bekah Brunstetter is personally familiar with people like Della, the protagonist of THE CAKE, and ideally positioned to protect her and defend her humanity, while also setting her on a path to self-reflection and change. Although the story may be ripped from the headlines, Brunstetter tells it from the perspectives of a quartet of ordinary, yet multi-faceted characters, each of whom comes with a strong set of beliefs.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) announced today that critically acclaimed Boston actress Karen MacDonald will star next April in Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End by Allison Engel and Margaret Engel, and Terry Berliner, MRT's Interim Artistic Director, will direct.

Playwright Patrick Gabridge, the 2018-2019 Mount Auburn Cemetery Artist-In-Residence, is presenting THE AMERICA PLAYS, the second series of site-specific plays, following THE NATURE PLAYS produced in June. Whereas the earlier work explored the richness of the natural environment at the Cemetery, this series of five short plays brings to life the founder, sculptors, strong women of the era, and a compelling immigrant story about some of Mount Auburn's Armenian denizens. Guiding the audience from site to site through the lush grounds enhances their connection to the elements of the stories being told and grounds the drama in the flora and fauna of the landscaped jewel.

Announcing the world premiere of the The America Plays, the second series of site-specific short plays by Mount Auburn Cemetery's Artist-in-Residence, playwright Patrick Gabridge. The America Plays will run from September 12-22, 2019, for 11 performances at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA.

The Broadway hit musical drama CHOIR BOY; the satirical and timely new comedy ADMISSIONS; the modern urban masterpiece PASS OVER; the Tony-nominated eco-thriller THE CHILDREN;  and the sweeping Broadway musical  BRIGHT STAR will make up SpeakEasy Stage Company's 2019-2020 Season, the company's Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault announced today.

The Gamm is currently showing two short plays back-to-back, with all female casts. ESCAPED ALONE by Caryl Churchill (New England Premiere) is a tight one-act that raises far more questions than it answers. COME AND GO by Samuel Beckett is so brief it almost feels like it's over before it begins, but is strangely haunting. Overall, it's a combination of works that are very well-acted, but also feel somewhat jarring in a way that doesn't quite pay off.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) pairs the New England premiere of Caryl Churchill's newest play, Escaped Alone, with Samuel Beckett's 1965 minimalist play, Come and Go, for what promises to be a compelling theatrical experience.  

Renowned British playwright Caryl Churchill is the author of a pair of one-act plays merged into Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's UNIVERSE RUSHING APART: BLUE KETTLE and HERE WE GO, playing through the weekend in the Black Box Theater at Babson College's Sorenson Center for the Arts in Wellesley. A stellar cast, thoughtfully directed by Bryn Boice, and imaginative design choices by an accomplished team, add up to a decidedly unique theatrical experience.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler, announced the cast of the first production of its 2018-19 Season: Universe Rushing Apart: Blue Kettle & Here We Go, two one-act plays by Caryl Churchill, directed by Bryn Boice. The production runs November 7-18 at the Black Box Theater, Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson College in Wellesley.

Greater Boston Stage Company is proud to announce $15,000 in donations raised during the run of Calendar Girls to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Greater Boston Stage Company has lined up a dream ensemble for their season finale, CALENDAR GIRLS, based on the 2003 Miramax motion picture. Under the direction of Nancy E. Carroll, a formidable actor in her own right, Maureen Brennan, Sarah deLima, Mary Potts Dennis, Kerry A. Dowling, Karen MacDonald, and Bobbie Steinbach tastefully disrobe for a photo shoot to produce a calendar for charity. Cheryl McMahon, Kathy St. George, Jade Guerra, Michael Kaye, Sean McGuirk, and Nael Nacer keep their clothes on, but add to the fun.

Calendar Girls is a delightful, heartfelt comedy based on the true story of eleven English Ladies Club members who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukemia Research Fund. Made famous by the hit 2003 movie, this is a play about friendship, determination and hope; about loss in many forms; about the importance of acceptance; and about knowing when to let go. Directed by Nancy E. Carroll, Calendar Girls boasts a star- studded cast. Performances run May 31 - June 17, 2018.

Boston Theater Company, in association with the Boch Center, will present a one night only staged reading of Finish Line: A Documentary Play About the 2013 Boston Marathon at the Calderwood Pavilion on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 7:30PM to honor the five year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. The reading is sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association. Tickets are on sale now.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) announces the second staged production of its 2017-18 Winter/Spring Season, Wendy Wasserstein's satire Old Money directed by Karen MacDonald at the Sorenson Center for the Arts, Babson College, 231 Forest Street in Wellesley, MA.

Before the holidays Portland Ovations Offstage announced the inaugural class of six Offstage Ambassadors. The class, comprised of sophomores and juniors from four area high schools, have been selected after a rigorous application process for this dynamic semester-long opportunity to explore what a professional commitment to the performing arts truly entails and to help spread the word about the power of the performing arts. By selecting this core group of students, Ovations Offstage hopes to establish and nurture a vital link to their peers regarding the arts, both locally and nationally.

BabsonARTS announces its roster of programming for the winter and spring of 2018, including a range of visual and performing arts events. Most events take place on the campus of Babson College, 231 Forest Street in Wellesley, MA, and all are open to the public.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Artistic Director Steven Maler directed an accomplished cast in Bertolt Brecht's FEAR AND MISERY IN THE THIRD REICH, in a staged reading at Babson College, headlined by notable stage and screen actors Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Founding Artistic Director Steve Maler is pleased to welcome the return of Brooke Adams and Tony Shalhoub to the Sorenson stage for the staged reading of Bertolt Brecht's drama Fear and Misery in the Third Reich.

Trinity Repertory Company presents Faithful Cheaters, directed by Melia Bensussen, and featuring Boston's Karen MacDonald in her Trinity Rep debut opposite acting company member Anne Scurria.

Two dozen nominations of outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles were announced today by The Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA), with winners to be revealed at the 35th Annual Elliot Norton Awards on Monday, May 15, 2017 at 7 PM, at Huntington Theatre Company's BU Theatre.