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.
Huntington Theatre Company has announced the extension of the Boston premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat. Due to high ticket demand, this a?oebreathtakingly timelya?? (The Wall Street Journal), Tony Award-nominated play by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and directed by Kimberly Senior (The Niceties at the Huntington, Disgraced on Broadway) will now run at the Huntington Avenue Theatre (264 Huntington Avenue, Boston) from Friday, January 31, 2020 through Sunday, March 1, 2020.
A septuagenarian suffering from Alzheimer's may seem an unlikely hero, but in QUIXOTE NUEVO, playwright Octavio Solis' adaptation of Miguel Cervantes' DON QUIXOTE, a retired Mexican-American college professor fearlessly takes on the Border Patrol, aids migrants, and models the importance of resilience while searching for his long-lost love. Pursued by death in the form of a colorful band of a?oecalacasa?? from the spirit world, his worried sister and niece, and the therapist and priest who want to take him to an assisted living facility, Jose a?oeJoea?? Quijano becomes convinced that he is Don Quixote and sets off on a quest to find his Dulcinea, the migrant girl he fell in love with as a boy on his father's farm.
Just as the centuries-old spirituals sung by American slaves created community and gave voice to the thoughts and emotions they were forced to repress, so too the music in CHOIR BOY serves to give hope and healing to the young men struggling to find and express their true identities at a boarding school designed to shape them into society's culturally approved version of a?oestrong, ethical black men.a?? As classroom students, they must live up to the high standards set by the Headmaster and a strict 50-year honor code. As members of the school's acclaimed choir, they are set free when they sing.
YERMA, a play with music, adapted and translated by Melinda Lopez from Spanish poet/playwright Federico Garcia Lorca's 1934 work, is receiving its world premiere by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. On press night, in the age-old tradition of the show must go on, Lopez was pressed into service to perform in place of the ailing Jacqui Parker, one of the five women who surround the title character as her emotional support community, even as their multiple children are a stinging reminder of her infertility. It is a tragic tale, but one fueled by hope and infused with beautiful flamenco-inspired music and Spanish culture.
Over the course of the last twenty years, Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos has been a man with a mission. During that time period, he has systematically presented the works of composer Stephen Sondheim at the Lyric Stage Company, beginning with ASSASSINS in the 1998-1999 season, and concluding with PACIFIC OVERTURES to wrap up the 2018-2019 season. In spite of the daunting nature of the undertaking, Veloudos has tackled it with gusto and proven himself to be a meritorious interpreter of the Sondheim canon. Collaborating with Music Director Jonathan Goldberg, Choreographer Micheline Wu, and his familiar roster of designers, Veloudos recreates the musical in his own vision, downsizing what originated as a behemoth show to fit the parameters of the Lyric's thrust stage.
It's a different time and a different war, but the protagonist in this coming of age story faces many of the same challenges as would a young person today. What do I want to do with my life? Where do I fit in the world? How can I make my mark? Meanwhile, set in the City of Lowell in 1941-2, as it is struggling to come to terms with a surfeit of immigrants, that city today remains a diverse community in a nation that is roiled by the debate over how to deal with a flood of immigrants and asylum seekers. Artistic Director Sean Daniels has adapted Lowell native Jack Kerouac's unfinished, long-lost novel THE HAUNTED LIFE into a play of the same name, now having its world premiere at Merrimack Repertory Theatre, with Daniels co-directing with christopher oscar peña.
There is much fun afoot in this cleverly written, earnestly acted, and crisply directed play being revived on the main stage at the Huntington Theatre Company. SHERLOCK'S LAST CASE had its world premiere in 1984 in Los Angeles before transferring to Broadway for a short run in 1987 with Frank Langella in the lead role. Huntington stalwart Maria Aitken returns to direct a tightly-synched cast with Rufus Collins (Holmes) and Mark Zeisler (Watson) as the long-time companions taking on a new nemesis. Has Holmes met his match, or will he live to sleuth again?
Honoring Trustee Michael A. Miller for his twenty-five years of service, Shakespeare & Company held its 2018 Season Gala on Saturday, June 30th. The sold-out benefit, co-chaired by Rhea Werner and Suzanne Werner, was the most successful in Company history, raising more than $400,000 for Training, Education, and Performance programs.
Shakespeare & Company presents William Shakespeare's Macbeth, directed by Obie Award-winning director Melia Bensussen. Company veterans Jonathan Croy and Tod Randolph take the helm as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, two of Shakespeare's most notorious anti-heroes. Shakespeare's stunning classic of blind ambition and corrosive power runs from July 3 - August 5 in the Tina Packer Playhouse.
Shakespeare & Company's Summer Training Institute kicks off this week. The four week program provides young actors, ages 18-25, the opportunity to immerse themselves in the actor/audience acting approach and pedagogy of the Company. The Summer Training Institute is targeted for undergraduate theatre students, recent graduates, and early career acting professionals. This summer the program includes 45 participants from all over the United States, including the South, Midwest, New England and the West Coast.
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
Moli re's TARTUFFE, as translated by Ranjit Bolt, is directed by Huntington Theatre Company's Artistic Director Peter DuBois and features an accomplished cast, led by Frank Wood and Brett Gelman. The story of a charlatan getting the better of a fool, despite the misgivings and warnings of his family, the dialogue is delivered in rhyming couplets, or what I refer to as satiric verses.
A Doll's House performances begin on January 6, 2017 and run through February 5, 2017 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company below!
The Huntington Theatre Company presents the iconic classic drama A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Bryony Lavery, and directed by Boston favorite Melia Bensussen (Awake and Sing!, Luck of the Irish, and Circle Mirror Transformation at the Huntington). Performances run January 6 - February 5, 2017 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre.
A Doll's House performances begin on January 6, 2017 and run through February 5, 2017 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company below!
The Huntington Theatre Company presents the iconic classic drama A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Bryony Lavery, and directed by Boston favorite Melia Bensussen (Awake and Sing!, Luck of the Irish, and Circle Mirror Transformation at the Huntington). Performances run January 6 - February 5, 2017 at the Avenue of the Arts / BU Theatre.
Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP) has earned its reputation for performing the works of William Shakespeare with clarity and focus on language, emphasis on the characters' journeys, and a commitment to remain actively itinerant. The 13th season will exemplify ASP's vision for presenting Shakespeare, with productions of HAMLET, THE TEMPEST (Directed by Allyn Burrows; December 1, 2016 - January 8, 2017; Willet Hall at United Parish, Brookline), Christopher Marlowe's EDWARD II (Directed by David R. Gammons; February 22 - March 19, 2017, Charlestown Working Theater), and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (Directed by Patrick Swanson, May 10 - June 4, 2017, Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge). For more information visit actorsshakespeareproject.org.
