Katherine Waddell

On April 14th, the Michiana PlayMakers had the world premiere of Vindication, a play based on Frances Sherwood's novel of the same name. This original adaptation is written by Crystal Ryan, the artistic director of the Michiana PlayMakers, and follows the turbulent life of Mary Wollstonecraft, an infamous feminist from the 18th century.

Under the direction of James Geisel, The Acting Ensemble opened their newest show, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, this past Friday. The play is the first part of Tony Kushner's winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, with the second part coming later in the season as a staged reading. The play is a highly recognized and award winning piece of theatre that looks at the AIDS epidemic in the 1980's, through the experiences of various characters. The Acting Ensemble's approach is to take the play and strip it of all the fancy production elements that usually accompanies the play, and leave Kushner's words as the most dramatic element.

This past weekend, the South Bend Civic Theatre closed their newest show, A Streetcar Named Desire. The play, written by Tennessee Williams and which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948, is widely considered one of Williams' best plays and one of the finest works of drama from the 20th century.

This past weekend, the Bethel College Department of Theatre opened their production of Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II's, Oklahoma! Under the direction of Deb Swerman, Oklahoma! can go down in Bethel history as another outstanding and extremely successful large-scale musical production.

This upcoming weekend, the South Bend Civic Theatre will be opening their newest drama, A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams. The director of the production, Aaron Nichols, had these words to share on the play that is considered one of the greatest works of theatre from the 20th century:

Running for just one performance this past weekend at Notre Dame, GUTS: The Story of BooBoo & Me, written and performed solely by Marybeth Saunders, takes an intimate and extremely personal look at the devastating effects of eating disorders.

This past weekend, She Kills Monsters had a short run at Clay High School. Delving into the role-playing world of Dungeons & Dragons, the show follows a young woman's quest to better understand her deceased younger sister, taking place both in real-time and the imaginary world of New Landia.

This past weekend, the world premiere of Like Watchmen took place at Bethel College. Written by Bethel student Kayla Rundquist and directed by other fellow student Alex Price, Like Watchmen tells the story of three women who wait out a storm in a church for the return of their respective sailors from Lake Superior; two are wives, and one is a daughter. Over the course of 50 minutes, the brand-new play takes the audience on a whirlwind of emotional reveals, turmoil, and anguish.

This past weekend, Actors from the London Stage for Shakespeare at Notre Dame put on a unique rendition of William Shakespeare's classic, Romeo and Juliet. Taking place on a mostly barren stage except for a mixture of props, clothing items, and some chairs, five actors, dressed in plain clothing, played 21 characters among themselves in the star-crossed lover's drama.

The South Bend Civic Theatre has just kicked off their 2017 season with the musical hit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, directed by Jim Geisel. The story follows Joseph, a young man sold into slavery by his jealous brothers.

"It is far better to light the candle than to curse the darkness." This proverb is a perfect introduction to The Ghostlight Project. Dreamed up just a few weeks ago by our country's theatrical luminaries, this initiative was a response to the apprehension many in our arts communities were feeling. The project's aim: to provide safe spaces for those feeling scared, marginalized, or actively attacked.

After much buzz and anticipation, the 2016 BroadwayWorld South Bend Awards finally came to a close last week with the announcement of 8 winners in 8 different categories. The BroadwayWorld Audience Choice Awards happen across the country, with thousands participating in nominating and voting for their favorites in their own theatre communities.

It's quite a feat to take one of the most over-done holiday shows ever and make it feel brand new, but that's exactly what The Acting Ensemble has done with their recently opened show, A Christmas Carol. It's a story that everyone knows, and has probably seen time and time again, but through the approach that director James Geisel has taken, the show feels infinitely more interesting than the average theaters' take on the classic.

The South Bend Civic Theatre recently opened their new show, It's a Wonderful Life, for the holiday season under the direction of Jewel Abram-Copenhaver. Being one of the most classic stories of all time, SBCT really put on all the bells and whistles to make this show a spectacular piece of Christmas theatre. There were a few details that were outstandingly done in this rendition of an ageless show; these few things really made SBCT's version of It's a Wonderful Life one of the better ones I've seen.

This past weekend, the Clay High School Fine Arts Department presented Children of Eden, a musical based off the first nine chapters of the Book of Genesis. With the music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and the book by John Caird, you already know going in that the music and story will be great and it's just the interpretation of the material that could either succeed or fail; Clay High School more than succeeded, it thrived. Combined with the direction of Meghan Beard and an incredibly talented starring cast, Children of Eden was phenomenal.

This past weekend, The Acting Ensemble, had a brief run of the play, Kalamazoo, by Michelle Kholos Brooks and Kelly Younger. While the plot of the show is relatively simple, the feelings found on stage were not.

A relatively new theatre group, the Michiana PlayMakers, just closed the show, The Birds, by Conor McPherson, based on a story from Daphne DuMaurier. The play follows a few characters struggling to survive the end of the world; birds have become murderous animals and society is on the brink of extermination. The story is gripping, uncomfortable, and suspenseful, a real psychological thriller. These intense emotions are only able to be felt by audience members because the Michiana PlayMakers absolutely nailed their interpretation of the story.

This past week, the Notre Dame Film, Television, and Theatre department, put on Tim Kelly's Frankenstein, a theatrical adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel.

Katori Hall's, The Mountaintop, opened this past weekend at the South Bend Civic Theatre and was simply powerful, moving, and unforgettable.

This past weekend The Main Stage, Inc. presented Sweeney Todd for just two nights at The Century Center's Bendix Theater. The musical follows Sweeney Todd, formerly known as Benjamin Barker, as he returns to London after a 15-year exile. Todd has returned to exact revenge upon the corrupt Judge Turpin who had him wrongfully imprisoned so he could pursue Todd's beautiful wife. During his quest for revenge, Todd returns to his former career as a barber (with a deadly twist), with the help of Mrs. Lovett, an admirer of Todd's who runs a failing meat-pie shop.