Syracuse Stage News

The cast has been revealed for Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare & Company, directed by Artistic Director Allyn Burrows and staged August 1 through September 10, opening Friday, August 4 outdoors at the New Spruce Theatre.

Syracuse Stage has announced five new members have joined its Board of trustees: Colleen A. Gaetano, vice president (retired), The Estée Lauder Companies; Rob “Skip” Lentz, executive vice president, Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA); Maria Lesinski, associate, Newman + Lickstein; Andrea Waldman, community volunteer; and Maryam Al-Hindi Wasmund, chief financial officer, Filtertech Inc.

White Heron Theatre Company of Nantucket will open it's first production of the 2023 summer season, Blithe Spirit, by Noël Coward (Present Laughter, Private Lives) and directed by Skip Greer. Greer returns to Nantucket after directing 2017's Outside Mullingar for White Heron.

National Alliance for Musical Theatre has revealed the roster of new musicals for their 35th Annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, which returns in person and takes place on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27, 2023, at New World Stages.

The Weathervane Theatre will present the Olivier Award-winning play, Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones, to kick off its 58th Rep Season in the North Country. The production will play in alternating repertory, starting Wednesday, June 28, through July 22, 2023.

First look photos! San Francisco Playhouse concludes its 20th Anniversary Season with the hit Broadway musical A Chorus Line. In this groundbreaking work, twenty-four hopeful dancers undertake a grueling audition for eight coveted spots in the back-up chorus of an unnamed Broadway show.

The REV Theatre Company has announced the cast and creative team for the second production of its 65th Anniversary Season – Into the Woods.

Syracuse Stage closes its 2022-23 season with the madcap farce, Clue. Based on the iconic 1950’s board game of the same name, Clue spoofs whodunit mysteries, film noir, 1950’s pop culture and gothic horror films. The play is adapted for stage from the 1985 film that was a critical flop but has since become a cult classic. Set during McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee hearings, a time fraught with suspicion and accusation, the mansion owned by Mr. Boddy becomes the gathering point for six invited guests. These guests we find out are all guarded about their pasts, are all being blackmailed and are referred to by aliases that correspond to the famous characters in the board game. Each guest is then gifted one of the six murder weapons. In all, there are six potential murderers, six weapons and nine rooms in the mansion, 324 possibilities for who, what and where; as Shakespeare and Sherlock Holmes agree, now “the game is afoot.” The gothic mansion, the dark and stormy night, the suspenseful reality of the play merge with Parker Brothers’ (now Hasbro’s) rule book and the characters become mashups of villains and game pieces. They punctuate the endings of scenes with comic confusion, mad scrambling and a kind of frantic skipping, like game pieces moving on a board after a dice roll. Scenic designer, Czerton Lim, creates the perfect 3-D version of the original board game. Upon entering the theatre, the audience sees a classic gothic foyer, complete with crystal chandelier, mahogany woodwork, marble stairs and a tiled floor fashioned to replicate the spaces on a game board. As the play progresses, the set becomes a character in itself as it transforms into the rooms of the mansion required by both the game and the play. His design is beautiful and functional. It not only provides a setting but also helps establish the humor and tempo of the play. It always surprises and delights. Likewise, original music by Michael Holland and sound design by Todd Mack create a comically suspenseful mood and punctuate the zany exploits on stage. Along with lighting design by Jared Gooding, the cliché of a dark and stormy night permeates the atmosphere and heightens the tension and anxiety of this mock thriller. The production is at its best when the actors are highly choreographed and in tune with the music, sound and light cues. In fact, the funniest moment in the play is prompted by a single gunshot. Director Benjamin Hanna establishes a fast pace from the very beginning of the play. It is so fast and furious that neither the audience nor the actors are allowed to get their bearings. The characters in Clue are obvious stereotypes but the portrayals all share the same frenetic quality without ever establishing basic, underlying traits and motivations. Characterization, for the most part, has been sacrificed to blatant silliness and camp. (There is nothing in the script that requires the beginning to move at such a pace.) Once the first murder occurs and the stakes are raised the speed can and should pickup through the end. For example, Plum is a stereotypical Professor, haughty and cerebral but cursed with an inflated libido. Beethovan Oden has a nice general feel for the character and indicates his personality traits, but he isn’t able to develop those qualities from the onset of the play. If he had, then as the pace became more frantic the audience could have enjoyed watching him first struggle then ultimately fail to keep his composure. Clearly many of the actors are talented. John Taylor Phillips as Wadsworth has a natural presence on stage as well as crisp comic timing but never fully embodies the stereotypical reserved, unflappable and ultimately arrogant butler. Emily Berman as Miss Scarlet is also clean and precise. Miss Scarlet is a stereotypical Madame but the actress is not allowed to explore the cynism and sexuality of the character who should have a slower, more voluptuous pace than some of the others. Henry Woronicz’s Colonel Mustard vacillates appropriately between being doddering and demanding. He sketches out an interesting frame for his character but again seems to fall prey to the tempo of this runaway train. Claire Wilcher makes a strong acting choice to play Mrs. Peacock with the nervous energy of a bird. Her comedy is broad and eccentric while still grounded in reality. Even when she is in the background of the action, she is always in the moment. When given focus, she commands the stage and rate of action. As a result, her portrayal is very funny and very satisfying to watch. Her least successful moments occur when directed to do something out of character simply for a laugh. Less successfully, Eric Sharp’s Mr. Green and Emjoy Gavino’s Mrs. White just seem lost in the silliness and frenetic mayhem. As lovers of farce and broad comedy, we were disappointed that more care wasn’t taken to create an underlying believability before descending into comic chaos. A stock character when presented by an actor still needs to have specificity. Silliness can be funny, comic bits enjoyable and a fast pace exciting, but they need to be balanced and well executed. By the end of the production, it felt like all 324 murder possibilities were explored, but few realities remained. If you are looking for an evening of fast-paced silliness, screwball comedy and sight gags this production satisfies. As a farce poking fun at human frailty and foibles, Benjamin Hanna’s Clue misses the mark. Clue runs through Sunday, June 25th. Tickets can be purchased by visiting SyracuseStage.org or by calling (315) 443-3275 or by visiting the box office at 820 East Genesee Street. did our critic think of CLUE at Syracuse Stage?

Produced by Jazz Fest founder Frank Malfitano, the event features forty bands performing on two outdoor stages and in 24 clubs throughout downtown Syracuse, New York. National and internationally touring and recording artists, including Spyro Gyra, Tower of Power, Postmodern Jukebox, Tuba Skinny, Joyce Di Camillo, Nancy Kelly and Marissa Mulder.

Broadway vet Noah Weisberg appeared in a musical ad for Impossible foods, called 'Making Meat History'. The TV spot premiered during the Tony Awards tonight, June 11. Watch the full ad here!

Nomad Theatrical Company (Grant Neale, Artistic Director) has announced a Pride Week event. ALL MEN DO IT: A PRIMER written by John Robert Tillotson will be given a public reading on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 7 PM at The Ellington Room in Hell's Kitchen.

East Lynne Theater Company (ELTC) will host its first-ever Juneteenth event ­– a staged reading, titled “Citizen James, or The Young Man Without a Country” -- to honor the national holiday.

Hedgerow Theatre announced both a one-week extension and a virtual streaming option of the company's Barrymore Recommended world premiere production of The Puzzle by Juliette Dunn.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Rick Dildine has named Madeleine Lambert to the post of Associate Artistic Director.

This Week's New Classified Listings on BroadwayWorld for 6/1/2023 include new jobs for those looking to work in the theatre industry.

Santa Fe Playhouse will present Brian Quijada's Jeff award-winning and Drama League award-nominated, Where Did We Sit on the Bus?, performed by Satya Jnani Chavez, and originally directed by Matt Dickson.

Westport Country Playhouse will present the comedy, “Quick Service,” as part of the 2023 New Works at the Playhouse Series, on Monday, June 5, at 7 p.m.

Syracuse Stage has announced two musicals that will complete the lineup for the organization's 50th anniversary season. Audiences are immersed in the soulful music of Billie Holiday with Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Oct. 18 – Nov. 5.

This Week's New Classified Listings on BroadwayWorld for 5/25/2023 include new jobs for those looking to work in the theatre industry.

Syracuse Stage closes its 2022/2023 season with a production that celebrates the pure joy and simple fun of live theatre, the fan favorite and ultimate whodunnit, CLUE. The production runs June 7 to 25 in the Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage, 820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse.