BWW Review: THE EFFECT at Santa Fe PlayhouseMarch 26, 2022The Effect, written by British playwright Lucy Prebble (American audience members might know her best as a co-producer and writer on HBO's Succession) and playing now at the Santa Fe Playhouse, is a beautifully styled, engaging evening of theatre that asks the audience to grapple with issues of free will, medication, mental health, consent, and what it means to love someone (with or without the assistance of chemical agents).
BWW Review: HAMLET at New Mexico Shakespeare FestivalSeptember 16, 2021[...] this production of Hamlet is sharp -- incredibly so. Remarkably well paced and brilliantly edited, with so much more action, energy, and even humor than I’d known the play could hold, it is immediately accessible and clearly was directed [...] and performed by people who really know what they’re doing.
BWW Interview: Mel Sussman, Director of OUR TOWN at Rio Rancho Players Community TheatreJune 5, 2021At long last, the community of Rio Rancho has its own theatre company, with plans for a production of Thornton Wilder's American classic Our Town this fall. I had a brief chat with Mel Sussman, founder of the Rio Rancho Players Community Theatre, about his experience with the arts, his journey from Philadelphia to Rio Rancho, and why Our Town is such an impactful play in particular at this time in American history.
BWW Feature: Theatre Santa Fe to Present Virtual Theatre WalkMarch 29, 2021Theatre Santa Fe's annual Theatre Walk, which brought thespians and hundreds of theatre fans from all walks of life -- and even parts of northern New Mexico -- together, featured performances from dozens of local companies running concurrently over the course of one afternoon.
BWW Review: RED BIKE at Teatro Paraguas (Online)July 18, 2020Innovative theatre makers across the country have risen to the challenge of creating safe art in the time of COVID - often via Zoom, Twitch, or other conferencing/streaming platforms. Red Bike, directed by Juliet Salazar and presented by Teatro Paraguas, took a different, and decidedly more cinematic route, resulting in an engrossing piece of socially distanced theatre.
BWW Feature: Santa Fe High School Head of Theatre Reed Meschefske Gives Digital Senior Sendoff to Class of 2020May 22, 2020As with virtually all performing arts programs across the nation, Santa Fe High School's theatre department found its programming interrupted by COVID-19. Prior to spring break, rehearsals had just started for the 2020 senior show, a production of These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich, featuring a cast of dedicated Santa Fe High School seniors. The production would have closed a season featuring William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Tina Howe's Museum, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
BWW Feature: New Mexico Actors Lab Announces Matching Grant for THE CRADLE WILL ROCKFebruary 13, 2020The New Mexico Actors Lab announced today that they have received a matching grant for their August production of The Cradle Will Rock. This grant - provided by four anonymous donors - totals a fund of $12,500 that will match dollar-for-dollar any other donations they receive for The Cradle Will Rock up to the $25,000 budgeted for this show.
BWW Review: HUMMINGBIRD at Teatro ParaguasFebruary 11, 2020Augusto Boal once said, 'Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of transforming society. Theatre can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it.' I cannot help but feel very fortunate that the Santa Fe theatre scene has been full of educational and transformative works in the past year; the latest being Hummingbird at Teatro Paraguas, which opened this last weekend and will run through the 23rd.
BWW Interview: Ali Tallman of MACBETH at &Sons TheatreFebruary 7, 2020&Sons Theatre is Santa Fe's newest company, led by local actresses Ali Tallman and Mairi Chanel. Read on to hear a little bit about their mission, their thoughts on theatre, and their inaugural production: a reimagined, gender bent Macbeth.
BWW Review: BLOOD AND WATER at Aux Dog TheatreSeptember 24, 2019Blood and Water, the newest production playing at the Aux Dog Theatre (and a world premiere at that) is a strong new piece from Albuquerque based playwright Andy Mayo. Similar to the works of Sam Shepard in construction and tone, the dark comedy examines the relationship between two estranged brothers over one fateful Christmas.