RHODE ISLAND THEATER REVIEWS

In the 1983 film, 'The Big Chill,' starring Glenn Close and Kevin Kline, a group of middle-aged, lifelong friends are reunited at a funeral after a member of their college clique commits suicide. The character Chloe, played by Meg Tilly, asks, “I haven’t met that many happy people in my life. Ho...

What did our critic think of CLYDE'S at Burbage Theatre Company?...

Terrence McNally’s one-act comedy, ‘Whiskey,’ now at Roundabout Productions, is not so much a play but rather an extended skit that features five television personalities performing in the shadow of an unseen horse who is the titular star of a wildly popular series (á la ‘Mister Ed’). ...

A quirky rom-com about cats, as the Director Debora Sadler, introduced the play, was indeed quirky throughout. The two-act play follows Samanatha the cat as she tells her life story speckled with drama and self-discovery....

The word is “special.” While several adjectives come to mind, the one that does the most justice when describing The Players’ cheerful, heartfelt production of ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’—as well as each of the actors in the cast, and the musical itself—is indisputably...

There ain’t nothin’ dirty goin’ on at the Granite Theatre’s lively, enjoyable production of ‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,’ the 1978 Broadway musical written by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson with music and lyrics by Carol Hall, nominated for seven Tony Awards including Best Mu...

In a time where stage productions seem to be getting bigger and more technical, there is something magical about watching an exceptional script brought to life through skilled performance and direction....

One could be forgiven for feeling a little burned out on Wicked these days.  After two super-sized movies and a press tour that seemed to last a decade, Wicked-mania feels a bit on the wane.  However, there is no substitute for seeing this show live on stage.  This show is more relevant than ever...

Midway through Trinity Repertory Company’s production of The Winter’s Tale, a handful of courtiers gather scattered objects from the stage — a painter’s palette, a bodhrán, a pair of tambourines — and begin, slowly, to move together. For a moment you can’t quite decipher what you’re s...

What did our critic think of HENRIK IBSEN'S GHOSTS at The Gamm Theatre?...

Two comedians who aren’t quite the talk of the town yet, and a dancer who is vague about her training, arrive for an audition. The production crew — the librettist, music writer, director, and producer — last seen together 2 years ago, reunite....

When the lights go out, two accidental acquaintances have no one but each other to share the horrific experience - a bartender who knows more than she’s willing to reveal, and a teenager in a school uniform. An unlikely visitor at a bar...

The Pawtucket-based Community Players continued their record-breaking 104th season with the dark humored but stunningly still relevant 'Harold and Maude'....

Jen Silverman’s The Roommate is a tight two-hander about two empty-nesters who move in together due to economic necessity (and other, spoilery reasons), and end up in a situation neither could have predicted.  The Odd Couple + The Golden Girls seems like the obvious sources of inspiration here, b...

THT REP'S SHARP, SHIMMERING MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. The Hanover Theatre Repertory reimagines Shakespeare in an ‘80s nightclub — and delivers real magic...

What did our critic think of SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS at Wilbur Theatre Group?...

Lauren Gunderson’s fascinating play, ‘anthropology,’ presented by The Players at Barker Playhouse, is foremost a drama with plenty of humor and social commentary that examines the arguable benefits of AI and whether ultimately it does more harm than good....

That loaded question—which speaks volumes—is posed by Mary, the middle sister who has returned home for her mother’s funeral in Shelagh Stephenson’s powerful albeit flawed drama, ‘The Memory of Water,’ now at Burbage Theatre Company....

White Women in the United States didn’t earn the right to vote until 1920, and Black women weren’t allowed to vote until 1965.  This shocking history and the effort it took for women to secure these rights is something many of us didn’t learn in school, but thankfully the musical Suffs is her...

What did our critic think of CLUE LIVE ON STAGE! by the Providence Performing Arts Center, based on the beloved board game which inspired the 1985 movie, Clue, starring Tim Curry and Madeline Kahn....

The Gamm Theatre welcomes the new year with its compelling, timely production of Jonathan Spector’s insightful, thought-provoking dramatic comedy, “Eureka Day,” that carefully and amusingly examines such hot button issues as inclusion, wokeness, progressive politics, and public health safety....

CRISP, BRACING 'OCTET' AT THE WILBURY at Wilbury Theatre Group?Crisp, Bracing 'OCTET' at Wilbury Theatre Group: Quirky a cappella musical takes on our digital obsessions...

The Attleboro Community Theatre(ACT) got into the Christmas spirit in the most hilarious of ways, with the side-splitting production of 'The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge'....

Providence Performing Arts Center presents “Water for Elephants,” a moving, spectacular musical based on Sara Gruen’s bestselling historical romance novel and the 2011 movie adaptation starring Reese Witherspoon. With music and lyrics by Pig Pen Theatre Co. and book by Rick Elice, “Water for...

Head Trick Theatre presents “Design for Living,” Noel Coward’s brazen 1933 comedy about a bizarre love triangle between a woman and two men that illustrates the complexity and calamity of relationships while examining the role money and success play when deciding to make a commitment, whether ...