Tyler Dobrowsky News

Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company, under the leadership of Richard L. Bready Artistic Director Curt Columbus kicks off their 2015-2016 season, Rebels, Renegades and Pioneers with William Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR, directed by Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky. Julius Caesar runs now through October 11, 2015 in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company, under the leadership of Richard L. Bready Artistic Director Curt Columbus kicks off their 2015-2016 season, Rebels, Renegades and Pioneers with William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, directed by Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky. Julius Caesar runs September 10- October 11, 2015 in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater. Tickets are available at www.trinityrep.com, by calling (401) 351-4242 or at the theater's box office at 201 Washington St., Providence.

Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company, under the leadership of Richard L. Bready Artistic Director Curt Columbus, announces tickets to their 2015-2016 season will be available to the general public on August 17, 2015. Tickets for New England holiday favorite, A Christmas Carol, go on exclusive pre-sale on August 17 and to the general public on August 20. Tickets to all performances will be available online at www.trinityrep.com, by calling (401) 351-4242 or at the box office at 201 Washington St., Providence.

Door-slamming farce can be a tough beast to tame. There's often so much going on, so much quick-moving action, doors opening and closing, characters literally running from place to place, that it can easily devolve into a confused mess. And there are usually so many witty retorts and double entendres, also often delivered very quickly, that they can sometimes be missed altogether. Luckily, in the hands of Trinity Repertory Company, A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau, is handled with near-perfect precision.

Trinity Rep continues Season 51: The Necessity of Human Connection with Georges Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear, directed by Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky, with a new translation by Curt Columbus. A Flea in Her Ear runs now through April 26, 2015 in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Trinity Rep continues Season 51: The Necessity of Human Connection with Georges Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear, directed by Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky, with a new translation by Curt Columbus. A Flea in Her Ear runs tonight, March 26 through April 26, 2015 in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater.

Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company, under the leadership of Richard L. Bready Artistic Director Curt Columbus announces their 2015-2016 season.

Trinity Rep continues Season 51: The Necessity of Human Connection with Georges Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear, directed by Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky, with a new translation by Curt Columbus. A Flea in Her Ear runs March 26 through April 26, 2015 in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater.

An audience member sitting by me at the Gamm's performance of Morality Play mentioned that one of the reasons she loves the company is their penchant for putting on plays that are daring, challenging and different. They do not just do the same old thing, she said, and she's absolutely correct. It is one of the characteristics of the Gamm that make it stand out among the theatrical crowd, that they take on plays that are more unique or risky than other companies might dare to produce. Morality Play is, arguably, a bit of a risk. While successful at being something unique, it is not as successful at being an entertaining, compelling or enjoyable piece of theater. Based on a novel of the same name, by Barry Unsworth, Morality Play is adapted for the stage by the Gamm's Tony Estrella. The story revolves around a roving troupe of actors, traveling the harsh English countryside in the winter of 1361. This gang of thespians are among the earliest practitioners of theater, actors who performed morality plays, one of the three major types of drama in the Middle Ages (the other two being miracle plays and mystery plays). In morality plays, a figure representing the common man, often called something like Everyman, is tempted by the personification of qualities such as Vice, Avarice or Lust, but is then saved by the appearance of, for example, Truth, Faith or Conscience. In the case of this play, our actors have just suffered the death of one of their company. Almost immediately, they meet a runaway priest who they allow to join them as a player, to take on the roles of the dead actor. Shortly thereafter, the troupe, very short on funds, arrives at a town where they will perform one of their morality plays. After that play fizzles, they decide to perform a new kind of play, one based on an actual real-life event, a true crime that has just occurred, the murder of a young boy. While doing so, they begin to solve the crime and put their own lives in jeopardy. If that sounds like an interesting idea, actors solving a crime using their powers of performance, it truly is. Unfortunately, this play is more of a collection of interesting ideas and concepts than an engaging piece of theater. Much of the play's early going feels like the Theater History 101 class that every theater major takes in college. It's as if the professor said, “Come up with a morality play and put it on for the class, just how the actors of the time would have.” And I'm willing to give Estrella and director Tyler Dobrowsky the benefit of the doubt that they have accurately recreated the feeling of the times and created an accurate and true recreation of the drama of the Middle Ages. Still, most of it is fascinating but boring and uninspired, not likely to excite many audience members, other than those who took that class in college. After getting through all of the “this is what theater was like in the 1300's” stuff (and it takes a long time), we finally reach the play's central story, the true-crime murder mystery. Unfortunately, this part of the play just demonstrates how many times we've seen all of this before. It quickly becomes an episode of C.S.I.: Broadway, with actors, instead of scientists, running around investigating and solving the crime. And in the third act, there are enough twists and turns to fill a season's worth of Law & Order episodes, with everything from corrupt heads of state to pedophiles and mysterious diseases. Yes, I realize that part of the point is that things that happened way back then are still relevant today, but in this case, they just make for a dull, predictable mystery, rather than an exciting and compelling story. One reason why it's not compelling is that we never really get to know any of these characters, not well enough to really connect with or care about them. The runaway priest, Nicholas Barber, is given a bit of backstory here and there, but not enough (he also may suffer from the fact that he is no longer the central character and narrator of the story, as he is in the novel). The “master player,” Martin Bell, also has some hints thrown his way about a possible checkered past, but not enough is provided to really make us feel for him. The other players are almost nameless and mostly interchangeable. Most of the rest of the characters, the King's Justice, for example, are just stereotypes, given no depth whatsoever, as they are only there to further the plot. Not helping is the actors milling about before the show, interacting with the audience as themselves, not in character, as far as I can tell. It adds to the feeling that we are watching Providence actors giving us a demonstration of early drama, not watching real, developed and believable people who lived at that time. Having said that, the Gamm has assembled an all-star team of some of the area's best acting talent. The dashing and charismatic Jesse Hinson makes his Gamm debut as the priest, Nicholas Barber. Hinson is masterful in the role and provides a number of the play's highlights, from his scene with the accused woman's father to another scene with the acting troupe's “whore,” who is about to get out before it's too late. Hinson makes every moment count and is impossible to not watch when he's in a scene. On the other end of the “who is the protagonist?” tug-of-war is Martin Bell, played by Tony Estrella. Bell is the leader of the troupe of actors, their motivator and moral compass, or at least he tries to be. Estrella, as usual, plays all of the nuances with skill and dexterity. At times, he is the seeker of truth and justice, and at other seems like a bit of a snake-oil salesman. It's a balancing act that he's able to pull off better than most. Our travelling troupe of performers are played by an excellent ensemble, all giving fine performances, even if they aren't ever given the chance or reason to dig very deep emotionally. Steve Kidd is a standout as Stephen, as is Elliot Peters as Springer. Jed Hancock Brainerd is also wonderful, though given a bit less to do. All three shine especially bright during the scenes when the troupe puts on their plays, from the biblical story of Adam to the true-crime tale of murder. All of the movement and physical action in those scenes is especially interesting and partly due, I assume, to Normand Beauregard, who plays one of the actors, Tobias, but is also one of the area's best fight choreographers. In what seems at times like a cast of thousands, a number of other actors appear and vanish. The wonderful Jeanine Kane, as the Innkeeper and wearing a hat she stole from Pharrell Williams, is mostly wasted. Jim O'Brien also gets little to do but does give a brilliant turn in one scene as the weaver, the father of the accused woman. And that woman herself, who is deaf and mute, is played by Clara Weishahn, providing one of the show's best performances. Her scene with Estrella, where they communicate without words, is beautiful and mesmerizing. It's unfortunate that the rest of play could not be as spellbinding or entertaining as that one scene. Instead, it relies of far too much speechifying and talking a lot about big ideas. Much of it is also heavy handed, as if they really want to make sure the audience gets the message, loud and clear. There are certainly some interesting themes and messages for the audience to ponder as they leave the theater, but the rest of the production may leave them cold and wanting more.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) opens the new year with a thrilling world premiere, 15 years in the making! Morality Play, adapted for the stage by Tony Estrella from the best-selling novel by Booker-Prize winner Barry Unsworth, is historical fiction in the form of a Plague-time whodunit, with intrigue, suspense and fascinating insights on the evolution of story telling. Tyler Dobrowsky, Associate Artistic Director at Trinity Rep, directs a cast of Gamm veterans and newcomers portraying travelling actors, clergy, royalty and townspeople intertwined in a medieval murder mystery.

Trinity Rep's 2014 Pell Awards honored former Trinity Rep artistic director and Academy-award nominated film, stage and TV actor Richard Jenkins and his wife Director/Choreographer Sharon Jenkins with the 2014 Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, Jeffrey Osborne with the 2014 New England Pell Award and nationally known dance educator and choreographer Mary Paula Hunter with the 2014 Charles Sullivan Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts. The 18th annual Pell Awards event was held on Monday, June 9, 2014 at Trinity Rep followed by a reception at the Providence Public Library.

Trinity Rep and the Holocaust Education and Resource Center of Rhode Island present a staged reading of select passages from Elie Wiesel's Night, a chronicle of surviving the Holocaust, adapted by Lisa Montecalvo's Advanced English Language Arts class at Dr. E.A. Ricci Middle School in North Providence. The performance takes place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Monday, April 28, 7:00-9:00pm, with actors from Trinity Rep's Young Actors Studio High School Collaborative under the direction of associate artistic director Tyler Dobrowsky. The event is free and open to the public in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater. Appropriate for middle school through adult audiences. Reserve by emailing events@trinityrep.com.

Under the direction of Tyler Dobrowsky, the Gamm's ensemble company absolutely excels in the creative environment of THE BIG MEAL.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) stages the Rhode Island premiere of The Big Meal, American playwright Dan LeFranc's award-winning play in which generations of a modern-day family whiz by from birth to that inevitable last course. Tyler Dobrowsky,Associate Artistic Director at Trinity Rep, makes his Gamm debut directing eight actors portraying 26 characters over five generations in quick time shifts and overlapping dialogue typical of a family dinner.

Best of 2013 BWW Rhode Island - Critics' Picks: As Selected by Your Local Reviewers

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) stages the Rhode Island premiere of The Big Meal, American playwright Dan LeFranc's award-winning play in which generations of a modern-day family whiz by from birth to that inevitable last course. Tyler Dobrowsky,Associate Artistic Director at Trinity Rep, makes his Gamm debut directing eight actors portraying 26 characters over five generations in quick time shifts and overlapping dialogue typical of a family dinner.

Trinity Repertory Company is at the top of its game with this year's production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, working theatrical magic to masterfully breathe new life into the familiar account of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghostly apparitions who visit him one fateful Christmas Eve.

Trinity Rep proudly continues the celebration of their 50th season with their annual presentation Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, as adapted by Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming, presented by Cardi's Furniture with supporting sponsor Amica Insurance. Performances runNovember 9th through December 28th. Appealing to young and old alike, this heartwarming story of the power of forgiveness shows us that anything is possible - and hope is always just around the corner. Tickets are on sale now and by phone at (401) 351-4242, online atwww.trinityrep.com, or in person at the theater's box office at 201 Washington St. Adult ticket prices for A Christmas Carol start at $36. Children's tickets (age 2-14) start at $22. For information on group discounts for parties of 20 or more contact Group Sales at (401) 351-4242.

Trinity Repertory Company invites the public to join in the conversation sparked by their current production of The Grapes of Wrath, at two upcoming panel discussions. The first, The Ghost of Tom Joad: The Relevancy of The Grapes of Wrath, will take place Monday, September 30, 6:30-8:30pm in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater, and the second The Times They Should Be A-Changin': Are Today's Labor Struggles Stuck on Repeat? will be a post-show talkback after the 7:30PM performance on Sunday October 6. Both events are free and open to the public.

Trinity Rep is pleased to announce that tickets for Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL will go on sale Saturday, September 7th at noon. The entire family will be delighted to share in the magic and wonder of this timeless production of a holiday classic. A CHRISTMAS CAROL is adapted by Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming, directed by Associate Artistic Director Tyler Dobrowsky, and presented by Cardi's Furniture, along with supporting sponsor Amica Insurance.