Erica Cataldi-Roberts - Page 2

A LIE AGREED UPON is an excellent rewrite of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, and the performances are more than equal to the bold material.

ASSASSINS, the 1990 Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman show featuring the stories of nine successful and would-be presidential assassins, may seem like an odd choice of subject for a musical, particularly as the first musical in the Gamm Theatre's 35 season history. However, with inventive staging and a top-notch cast guided by artistic director Tony Estrella, this selection pays off.

Nearly six years after opening on Broadway and 27 years after appearing as a beloved animated Disney film, the national touring cast of the musical ALADDIN soars into the Providence Performing Arts Center. This version of the story contains many callbacks to the original 1992 film, but also adds many new elements, such as new songs, new characters, and even a new spin on the Genie. No matter one's familiarity with the source material, audience goers are in for a flashy and thoroughly entertaining evening, suitable for adults and children alike.

When it comes to United States history, it can be easy to gloss over the period between the early 1800s to the cusp of the Civil War. The generation who lived during this forgotten era, however, faced no less tumultuous times than we do in modern times. Aaron Posner's play, JQA, specifically looks at this time period through the eyes of John Quincy Adams, who, as the son of founding father John Adams, and later a statesman in his own right, was uniquely poised to survey the era's ups and downs. Through the use of fictionalized encounters with some of America's most dynamic figures, the political and personal issues raised in JQA are as relevant now as they've ever been.

Samuel Beckett's classic play, WAITING FOR GODOT, opens the Wilbury Theatre Group's 2019/2020 Main Series with a production that gets to the heart of the text a?" at equal turns funny, philosophic, and sad.

Head Trick Theatre opens their 2019-2020 season, "In War With Time," with Jennifer Dick's small cast adaptation of the play QUEEN MARGARET, which takes a closer look at Margaret of Anjou. A character in several of Shakespeare's "history plays," she is finally given her time in the spotlight, with a fuller look at her role in the 15th century War of the Roses. The audience is left to decide whether she is a hero or a villain.

DADA WOOF PAPA HOT, the 2015 play by Peter Parnell, attempts to grapple with the complications gay couples may face after gaining marriage equality, and whether it's possible to avoid some of the same traps that straight couples also face. Epic Theatre Company's production, directed by Theodore Clement (previously the Artistic Director of Counter-Productions Theatre Company) is well-cast and makes some interesting choices, but is sometimes hampered by the source material itself.

The Wilbury Theatre Group is closing out their 2018-2019 main series season with FUN HOME, the musical based on the highly acclaimed 2006 graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. Fun Home, directed here by Josh Short, deals with both Bechdel's coming of age, as well as her coming out, but is as much her entire family's story than just hers alone.

Counter-Productions Theatre Company's GIDION'S KNOT may run at just about an hour in length, but their effective production of this one-act play, directed by Kira Hawkridge, leaves the audience with plenty to mull over.

As an older Millennial, songs by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons have always been part of the landscape during my lifetime, on the radio, in stores, etc. But who were the men behind the music? Enter JERSEY BOYS, subtitled 'The Story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons' which is exactly that, portraying the rise, success, and eventual decline of the popular 1960s group.

Head Trick Theatre closes out their spectacular 2018-2019 season with the musical GOBLIN MARKET, directed by Rebecca Maxfield. Based on the 19th century poem by Christina Rossetti, the verses have been adapted for the stage by Polly Pen and Peggy Harmon.

Comedic and thought-provoking are both accurate terms for Epic Theatre Company's Rhode Island premiere of Lauren Gunderson's 2018 play, THE REVOLUTIONISTS.

"Every time I sing this song, I hope it's the last time," states the Poet, our guide through the one-man show AN ILIAD, currently playing at Trinity Rep.

The national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical CATS has kicked off in Providence and, based on Thursday night's performance, this revival is in exceedingly fine form.

Festival Ballet Providence's annual production of THE NUTCRACKER is a highlight of the Christmas season. Although some aspects of the production remain the same from one year to the next, there are always some small changes, and the show is no less affecting upon repeated viewings.

When it comes to Halloween season musicals, few are as appropriate as LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS - an ever growing plant with a taste for human blood, a sadistic dentist, and the potential loss of everything you've ever dreamed of? There's plenty to feel uneasy about. Fortunately the show balances out the potential terror with a sizeable dose of charm and humor, both ably represented in the Contemporary Theater Company's (CTC) production of Little Shop, playing through November 18th at their space in downtown Wakefield, Rhode Island.

Head Trick Theatre continues to perform thought-provoking, timely productions with their latest piece, Lillian Hellman's 1941 play, WATCH ON THE RHINE.

BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE, playing at Westerly's Granite Theatre through October 28th, is the perfect choice of a play for this month, when thoughts of Halloween and all things spooky and mystical are in the air.

Moreso than many other shows, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT is a musical that is rife for reinvention, and the current production at Theatre By the Sea, directed and choreographed by Richard Sabellico, has also been given its own unique spin.

ESCAPE, the second installment of OUT LOUD Theatre's sixth season, is a thoroughly original, thoroughly engrossing movement piece that brings the audience along on the varied journey of emotions surrounding the loss of a loved one. Have Kleenex at the ready.