Veronica Bruscini

Trinity Repertory Company (TRC) punctuates the conclusion of its 2017-18 performance calendar with a definite exclamation mark. RAGTIME, now playing at TRC's upstairs Chace Theatre, is a season's best production both for the company and for the arts community statewide.

THE LITTLE MERMAID elegantly concludes Festival Ballet Providence's ruby anniversary season. This production is certain to enchant younger audiences with its fairy-tale backdrop and its colorful characters, and discerning dance enthusiasts will unreservedly applaud the ballet's sophisticated choreography and skillful presentation.

The phrase 'living legend' gets bandied about all too freely nowadays, but the superlative never was so fittingly employed than when describing Tony Bennett. Mr. Bennett's impeccable musicality made him the voice of his generation - and all generations to follow. Today, nearly seven decades into his storied career, he still sets the standard for vocal talent, consummate professionalism, and world-class live performance.

Westerly's Granite Theatre knows how to stage a good mystery. Whether weaving through plot twists penned by Agatha Christie or deftly melding horror and comedy ala Joseph Kesselring, the Granite reliably delivers a solid 'whodunit' season after season. This spring, the company lives up to its sterling reputation with a production of DIAL M FOR MURDER that absolutely sparkles.

Staging PRIDE AND PREJUDICE for live theater is an ambitious undertaking. The cast members at Woonsocket's Rhode Island Stage Ensemble (RISE) certainly give the performance their best efforts, but the choppy adaptation now on stage at the RISE Playhouse disservices both the company and Jane Austen's novel.

Festival Ballet Providence (FBP) opens its Black Box Theatre to imagination and adventure with an utterly captivating staging of THE LITTLE PRINCE. Boyko Dossev's gorgeous choreography for this production shows off the finest, most sophisticated skills of FBP's dancers, and the company dazzles with a compelling and complex performance. In a season dedicated to celebrating FBP's ruby anniversary, THE LITTLE PRINCE stands out as a real gem.

If you notice more smiling faces "downcity" this week, chances are you've spotted audience members fresh from a showing of ON YOUR FEET! at the Providence Performing Arts Center. This fun, thoroughly enjoyable production stylishly recounts the behind-the-music story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan as told through the legendary songbook they created with the Miami Sound Machine.

On paper, LOVE NEVER DIES should have everything going for it. With PHANTOM'S bedrock story and unforgettable music as its foundation, this tour adds to its credit a truly phenomenal cast, top-notch stagecraft and costuming, and Lloyd Webber's fine new score. Yet even these strengths fail to keep LOVE NEVER DIES from buckling under the weight of a deeply flawed narrative.

FINDING NEVERLAND touches every emotion and offers a real measure of theatrical magic for audiences of all ages. It is sure to uplift the young and the young at heart.

The 2017 staging of Trinity Repertory Company's A CHRISTMAS CAROL fairly effervesces with the joys of the season. Under the savvy co-direction of Angela Brazil and Stephen Thorne, the cast and artistic team involved with the ruby anniversary CAROL deliver a vibrant and refreshing production that brims with great energy and good cheer.

Festival Ballet Providence kicks off its Ruby Anniversary season with a jolt of pure sunshine. Pippi Longstocking, the beloved red-headed heroine of children's fiction, dances into the limelight at the company's Hope Street studio to share adventures and misadventures with her friends and neighbors.

Pawtucket's Gamm Theatre opens its season with Oscar Wilde's comedic masterwork THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, and the company delivers an utterly superlative production. Everything about this EARNEST is absolutely right in every way. The Gamm's cast is magnificent, the stagecraft of the finest quality, and the direction flawless. If there is one theatrical experience not to be missed in Rhode Island this year, the Gamm's EARNEST is it.

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE is one of the brightest jewels in the crown of comedic storytelling, and Westerly's Granite Theatre stages a real gem of a production.

Undoubtedly BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will prove a sure-fire hit for Theatre By The Sea this summer, and audience members of any age are certain to fall under its spell.

First Hand Theatrical, under Kevin Olson's direction, fashioned a jewel in AND THEN WHAT? and this production captivates from the moment the first lines are spoken. AND THEN WHAT? is that rare piece of theater that truly touches every emotion; guaranteed, you won't find a dry eye in the house by the time the curtain falls.

BroadwayWorld Rhode Island recently interviewed the creative team behind AND THEN WHAT? THE CHILDREN OF VELVEL AND SHEINA-GITEL AVERBUKH, a new play by First Hand Theatrical based on Bena Shklyanoy's historical family memoir. Ms. Shklyanoy, Kevin Olson (Artistic Director, First Hand Theatrical), and Katya Ginzburg-Bram (Actor, First Hand Theatrical) shared their insights into the "page-to-stage" process of this fascinating work.

Festival Ballet Providence creates pure magic with its luminous production of Sergei Prokofiev's CINDERELLA. Winthrop Corey choreographed this piece to perfection, melding intricate, classical dancing with wonderful whimsy and humor.

KING ELIZABETH makes for wonderful theater. The narrative is equally enjoyable and thought-provoking, the cast impeccable -- this production is a crowning achievement for The Gamm.

Counter-Productions Theatre Company closes the 2016-17 Season with a staging of Steven Dietz's LONELY PLANET.

When it comes to classic song-and-dance theater, it doesn't get much more "Broadway" than 42ND STREET. The show is breezy and buoyant, a carefree love letter to the Great White Way and to the art of the stage musical.