Paul Daigneault News

'He has a story to tell- it is banging around inside him, aching to come out. But how does he begin?' These are the first words the audience of SpeakEasy Stage's production of Matthew López's play THE INHERITANCE. The six-and-a-half-hour play (presented in two parts) explores what it means to write the 'story of our lives' and how our place in the world impacts those who come after us.

The riveting drama HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING; the profound comedy ENGLISH; the  Pulitzer Prize-winner FAIRVIEW; the wildly imaginative romance WILD GOOSE DREAMS; and the joyous musical comedy THE PROM will make-up SpeakEasy Stage Company’s 32nd Season, the company’s Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault announced today.

From April 22 – June 11, 2022, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the US Regional Theatre premiere of Matthew López’s epic two-part drama THE INHERITANCE, winner of the 2020 Tony Award for Best Play.  

Due to the recent surge in COVID cases, and out of deep concern for its community, SpeakEasy Stage Company has decided to delay the opening of its Boston Premiere production of the critically acclaimed play PEOPLE, PLACES & THINGS. 

To mark its return, the company has announced a bold line-up of Boston premieres that  includes the riveting Broadway drama THE SOUND INSIDE; the raucous Off-Broadway comedy  BLKS; a mesmerizing journey into addiction and identity, PEOPLE, PLACES & THINGS; the  beloved musical fable ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, and the sweeping two-part epic THE  INHERITANCE.  

SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly stream a benefit production of Jason Robert Brown's classic musical,

SpeakEasy Stage Company's 30th Anniversary Season continues this spring with the New England premieres of three exciting new productions: the genderqueer comedy THE PINK UNICORN; the scorching satire TJ LOVES SALLY 4 EVER; and the inspirational tales of THE BOSTON PROJECT: PROJECT RESILIENCE.

In recognition of its 30th Anniversary Season, SpeakEasy Stage will hold a special digital concert – Celebrating 30 Seasons of Groundbreaking Theatre - premiering Thursday, November 19th at 7:30PM, and streaming through Monday, November 23rd. 

A play discussion group focused on contemporary female voices and a weekly Q&A with the artists of SpeakEasy's 30th Anniversary Season are the two new audience engagement initiatives set to debut at SpeakEasy Stage next week.  

The epic two-part play THE INHERITANCE; the scorchingly satirical SLAVE PLAY; the devastating drama PEOPLE, PLACES & THINGS; the feel-good folk musical BRIGHT STAR; and the beloved musical fable ONCE ON THIS ISLAND will make up SpeakEasy Stage Company's 2020-2021 Season, the company's Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault announced today.

Giving the evolving circumstances around COVID-19, and out of concern for the health and safety of its patrons, staff, and artists, SpeakEasy Stage Company has decided to cancel all remaining performances of its production of THE CHILDREN effective immediately, Paul Daigneault, the company's Founder and Producing Artist Director, announced today.

SpeakEasy Stage Company and Boston Conservatory at Berklee have announced an exclusive artistic and academic partnership between the two institutions, beginning in the spring of 2020. This alliance will enhance the hands-on experiences of the next generation of theatre artists at one of the most respected theatre companies in New England.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee and SpeakEasy Stage Company announce an exclusive artistic and academic partnership between the two institutions, beginning in the spring of 2020. This alliance will enhance the hands-on experiences of the next generation of theater artists at one of the most respected theater companies in New England.

It's probably just a coincidence, but two fine plays currently running at two award-winning regional theaters share an unusual commonality. Both focus on the issue of white privilege and the prevailing attitude that acknowledging its existence will end it. In THE THANKSGIVING PLAY at Lyric Stage Company of Boston, the idea is to honor Native Americans in an elementary school play without benefit of any of them participating. In ADMISSIONS, receiving its Boston premiere at SpeakEasy Stage Company, a couple of white liberal educators work hard to expand racial diversity at their small New England prep school, but their progressive values are tested when their exceptional son's Ivy League dreams are derailed. Remarkably, there are no indigenous people or people of color on stage in either production, an intentional, pointed omission by the playwrights.

From October 25 to November 30, 2019, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England premiere of ADMISSIONS, the winner of the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.

Just in time for LGBTQ Pride Month, and on the cusp of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, SpeakEasy Stage Company presents the New England premiere of the Off-Broadway musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS in the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. Inspired by a little-known historical event, Max Vernon pays tribute to '70s gay culture and the victims of the firebombing of the UpStairs Lounge in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1973. Although 32 people perished (the deadliest assault on a gay bar prior to the 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub which killed 49 people), Vernon's book and score focus on the personalities of the archetypal characters, the challenges they faced in that era, and the strong ties they forged to make a life in the homosexual community.

Due to popular demand, SpeakEasy Stage will proudly remount its acclaimed production of the Tony Award-winning musical FUN HOME for four weeks, June 8-30, 2019.

From May 31 through June 22, 2019, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the New England Premiere production of the acclaimed Off-Broadway musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS.

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 Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) today announced the nominees for the 23rd Annual IRNE Awards, which honor the best of the previous year's actors, directors, choreographers, designers and companies across the full spectrum of large, mid-size and fringe theater companies. Moulin Rouge!, a new musical produced by Global Creatures, and An American in Paris, produced by the Ogunquit Playhouse, led with 12 and 11 nominations, respectively, in the Large Stage Musical Category. The Huntington Theatre led all companies with 31 nominations across seven productions, including 11 for Man in the Ring, the story of six-time world champion prizefighter Emile Griffith.