Rhode Island Theater Reviews
View the latest BroadwayWorld reviews of live + streaming theatre in Rhode Island.
BWW Review: FAIRVIEW CHALLENGES THEATER CONVENTIONS AND AUDIENCES at Trinity Rep
by Jessica Tabak - May 30, 2022
Trinity Rep's risk-taking production of FAIRVIEW examines whether the stories theater tells obscure or reveal the truths of people's lives....
BWW Review: Radiant NATASHA, PIERRE, & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 At Wilbury Theatre Group
by Erica Cataldi-Roberts - May 31, 2022
When Dave Malloy’s NATASHA, PIERRE, & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 closed on Broadway in late 2017, fans of the show (myself included) lamented when, or if, it would be possible to see any iteration of this show again. Thanks to the Wilbury Theatre Group, our hopes have been answered! Known for its eclec...
BWW Review: BLUE MAN GROUP- at Providence Performing Arts Center
by Jay Pateakos - May 23, 2022
Packing in a load of humor, music, spontaneity and spectacular staging, Blue Man Group has been a phenomenon for nearly 35 years for a reason and it won't take long to realize why....
BWW Review: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at The Gamm Theatre
by John McDaid - May 17, 2022
Shakespeare warns early in the first act of Midsummer Night's Dream that 'the course of true love never did run smooth.' In that warning lies the comedic core of the show, and the Gamm Theatre delivers a visually stunning, delightfully playful production that fully captures the Bard's vision. It's a...
BWW Review: MY FAIR LADY at Providence Performing Arts Center
by Barb Burke - May 13, 2022
This production has a mega-talented color-blind cast that turns every song into a showstopper. Read our BWW critic's review. ...
BWW Review: BWW REVIEW: A stirring BEETHOVEN'S NINTH with RI PHIL, PROVIDENCE SINGERS at VETS Auditorium
by Jill Kimball - May 07, 2022
Listen: These are tough times. COVID-19 cases are on the rise again. Americans are bitterly divided over whether the Supreme Court should overturn its 1973 decision on Roe v. Wade, as it seems poised to do. The war in Ukraine rages on. And we still haven't found a way to halt catastrophic climate ch...
BWW Review: THE SQUIRRELS at Burbage Theatre Company
by John McDaid - April 24, 2022
A show where all the characters are squirrels? Yes. Playwright Robert Askins puts a warning in the mouth of the scientist who opens the show: 'Buckle up, you discerning patron of the arts.' And you should. Because this cleverly written, brilliantly acted, and flawlessly executed production takes aud...
BWW Review: SUEÑO at Trinity Rep
by John McDaid - April 14, 2022
The source material of Sueño may be 400 years old, but a brilliantly updated script, combined with the stunningly beautiful production currently onstage at Trinity Rep make this a fresh, relevant -- and darkly funny -- must-see experience....
BWW Review: AIN'T TOO PROUD at Providence Performing Arts Center
by John McDaid - April 13, 2022
The music needs no introduction: all the hits that made The Temptations a household name are represented in this energetic and enjoyable national tour of 'Ain't Too Proud.' But what this jukebox musical adds is the story behind the songs, told with deft, impressionistic touches that will resonate lo...
BWW Review: Heartfelt DEAR EVAN HANSEN at Providence Performing Arts Center
by Andria Tieman - April 06, 2022
BWW's Critic Writes 'We’ve probably all been in a situation where a white lie or a misunderstanding ballooned into something bigger and unexpected. DEAR EVAN HANSEN takes this idea and turns it up to eleven when teenage Evan Hansen becomes linked to a classmate who commits suicide. It’s an interes...
BWW Review: ANTIGONX at Wilbury Theatre Group
by John McDaid - April 03, 2022
Playwright Shey Rivera Ríos has vividly refreshed this work as a story for our time and AntigonX, at the Wilbury Theatre, is vibrant and visually stunning....
BWW Review: FINISHED WAITING by Bread And Puppet Theater tours Eastern US
by John McDaid - March 24, 2022
It begins with a painted door labeled 'Here,' and a giant groaning ear spitting out the names of current conflict hotspots. For the next hour and a half, the iconic Bread and Puppet Theater combines spoken word, movement, music, banners -- and, of course, puppets -- in an evening of powerful, engagi...
BWW Review: Brilliant OKLAHOMA! at the Providence Performing Arts Center
by Erica Cataldi-Roberts - March 24, 2022
Warning: this is not your traditional version of OKLAHOMA!, and good riddance. Without changing a word of the book or lyrics, director Daniel Fish has created a revival of the 1943 musical that highlights different aspects of the material simply by changing the tone in which scenes are presented. T...
BWW Review: IRONBOUND at Gamm Theatre
by Jay Pateakos - March 21, 2022
If you have ever known anyone that is honest to a fault and holds nothing back no matter what situation, well, meet the play version....
BWW Review: FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS at Burbage Theatre Company
by Jay Pateakos - March 21, 2022
For those who have ever been in a wedding party, you know the drill. Who the hell are these bridesmaids or groomsmen that we are weirdly matched up with? Do we even know them, or, more importantly, how much do we really know the bride or the groom (or both) at all?...
BWW Review: THE PROM sparkles at Providence Performing Arts Center
by John McDaid - March 10, 2022
Down-on-their luck Broadway stars swoop down on an Indiana town to take up the cause of a high-school student who can't take her girlfriend to the prom. A promising premise, and this first national tour of the award-winning musical delivers all the laughs and spectacle with a knowing wink, while nev...
BWW Review: CONSTELLATIONS at Brown/Trinity MFA
by John McDaid - March 06, 2022
The multiverse is everywhere now, replete with comic-book heroes and supervillain finger snaps, but in 2014, when British playwright Nick Payne wrote 'Constellations,' it was still pretty edgy. The Brown/Trinity MFA production captures the exciting energy of his vision with two fine performances and...
BWW Review: GEM OF THE OCEAN at Trinity Rep
by John McDaid - March 04, 2022
Providence's Trinity Rep has come roaring back from a two-year pandemic hiatus with a stunning production of August Wilson's 'Gem of the Ocean.' Compelling performances from a cast that includes some of Rhode Island's finest actors at the top of their form make this the must-see theatrical event of ...
BWW Review: An Officer and a Gentleman at Providence Performing Arts Center
by Andria Tieman - February 20, 2022
The movie An Officer and a Gentleman came out in 1982 to both critical and popular acclaim, but turning this story into a jukebox musical many years later seems like a strange choice. The cast in this touring production are across the board excellent, but some of the musical choices seem forced, an...
BWW Review: A TREE FALLS IN BROOKLINE at The Community Players
by John McDaid - February 19, 2022
If a tree falls in Brookline, does anybody laugh? That's the question asked by the world-premiere Community Players production of South County playwright David Christner's latest full-length comedy. Sadly, the answer on opening night was 'not very often.'...
BWW Review: Festival Ballet Providence's UP CLOSE ON HOPE Returns
by Erica Cataldi-Roberts - February 19, 2022
Festival Ballet Providence’s popular UP CLOSE ON HOPE series returns to their black box theatre. This innovative program is comprised of four unrelated pieces – two contemporary, one neoclassical, and one romantic, two of which are world-premieres. These shows are the perfect way for audiences to ex...
BWW Review: The Gamm's AN OCTOROON Is Not To Be Missed
by Andria Tieman - February 02, 2022
In AN OCTOROON, Jacobs-Jenkins seems to delight in taking audiences on a shock-and-awe tour through America’s history and present. In turns horrifying and hilarious, this work manages to elicit almost every emotion a human being can feel as it burrows into your psyche....
BWW Review: Triumphant JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Providence Performing Arts Center
by Erica Cataldi-Roberts - January 28, 2022
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR landed at the Providence Performing Arts Center this week as part of its 50th anniversary tour, and the show does not disappoint. Originally scheduled to visit Providence in 2020, the tour was cut short and delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, however, its return was triumphant a...
BWW Review: FESTIVAL BALLET PROVIDENCE'S ALL NEW NUTCRACKER
by Erica Cataldi-Roberts - December 19, 2021
Festival Ballet Providence’s new version of THE NUTCRACKER contains new sets, new costumes, new roles, new choreography, and even a new venue, but retains its charm while being exactly the shake-up this Rhode Island tradition needed....
BWW Review: CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE at Providence Performing Arts Center
by Jay Pateakos - December 22, 2021
When typically going into a theatre performance, you have either seen the play before or heard about it in some way so you go in with certain expectations. The great thing about 'Cirque Dreams Holidaze' was, with never seeing a performance, we had no idea what we were in for, a visually stunning per...
