John McDaid

A searing MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Burbage Theatre Co. offers a gripping production of Shakespeare's 'problem play'

he set immediately grabs you when you walk into the theatre: An intricately crafted dining room, set on a stage with a pronounced tilt, in front of which sits one of those little museum gallery cards in a frame: 'Dining Room. American. 20th Century.' It is immediately clear that director and set designer Russ Ekstrom has a vision for the show, and he has worked capably with this local cast to bring it to life.

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 seeing. Then, with gathering, terrible momentum, it resolves: they are the bear.

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

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

Horror, they say, is a mood rather than a genre. With the right twist, even a romcom can evoke fear and revulsion. And the Burbage Theatre's world premiere of James Lucey's 'Witching Hour Social Club' proves that point with an elegant layering of the macabre, absurdism, and self-aware humor.

Powerful 'DANCING AT LUGHNASA' at The Players in Providence.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE MUSICAL lands at Providence Performing Arts Center. National Tour delivers spectacle, nostalgia, and a flying DeLorean.

Some plays are like clockwork: the lights come up in medias res, and we watch, fascinated, as the gears turn — the surprise and delight being the journey. Such is the case with Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky, in the enchanting, gripping production now running at Trinity Rep.

Some Like It Hot Sizzles on Tour at PPAC: Big band energy, tap-happy choreography, and sharp performances heat up the stage in this exuberant musical comedy

Sarah Ruhl’s plays walk a tightrope between the real and the surreal, often gazing into the absurd with disarming sincerity. Fortunately, Through The Glass Theatre is right at home in that liminal space. Their earnest, straightforward staging of Dead Man’s Cell Phone lets Ruhl’s quirky meditation on death, disconnection, and intimacy unfold with pathos and wit.

Bearing Witness: SOMEONE WILL REMEMBER US at Trinity Rep. A searing, deeply human world premiere that gives voice to veterans, civilians, and refugees. We go to the theatre for many reasons. Sometimes, we crave the spectacle of a Broadway musical; sometimes, we seek the grip of a powerful drama.

It was only a matter of time before someone put the story of that secret apartment on stage. You know the one, from back in the aughts, when a group of local artists built a hidden room in the Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years. Well, another local arts collective, The Harpies, have written an interesting musical which takes that apartment as the core, and builds a story around it.

Review: A HILARIOUS CAPER UNDER THE STARS: 'THE 39 STEPS' IN WILCOX PARK: Colonial Theatre mounts delightful spy thriller spoof

Review: TWELFTH NIGHT at Contemporary Theater Company offers charming summer Shakespeare on the Saugatucket

For its first show in Rhode Island, the Reverie Theatre Group offers a superb — and sadly short — run of Frank Wedekind's challenging 1891 drama The Awakening of Spring. With a fine ensemble cast, thoughtful directorial choices, and intense in-the-round staging, this is an outstanding debut production that deserves to be seen.

DOUBT: A PARABLE at Gamm Theatre. Shanley's tight, twisty meditation on truth and belief gets a fine production

Review: NATIONAL TOUR OF 'COMPANY' at Providence Performing Arts Center: The innovative, gender-swapped version makes its Providence debut