"Orson's Shadow," "Grapes of Wrath" Loom over Boston Stages

The New Rep in Watertown, Mass., and the Stoneham Theatre in Stoneham, Mass., are continuing their strong 2006-2007 seasons, respectively, with the New England premiere of Austin Pendleton's "Orson's Shadow" and an exciting new staging of Frank Galati's Tony Award-winning adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel, "The Grapes of Wrath." These highly anticipated shows follow on the heels of very successful productions of "Silence" at the New Rep and "Guys on Ice" in Stoneham.

Pendleton's 2005 Off-Broadway hit "Orson's Shadow" is a comic behind-the-scenes look at the romances and intrigues that plague a production of Ionesco's "Rhinoceros" at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1960. It features characters of enormous celebrity, including Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright and Vivien Leigh. Performances run from February 20 through March 18. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 617-923-8487 or online at www.newrep.org.

"The Grapes of Wrath" is another in the series of great literary works that the Stoneham Theatre enjoys staging. Last year the company mounted artistic director Weylin Symes' powerful adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea," and earlier this season Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days" received a highly colorful and animated treatment. Stoneham's production of "The Grapes of Wrath" is the adaptation originally produced by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater that starred Gary Sinise and went on to win the Tony Award for best play in 1990. The show runs from March 1-18. Tickets may be purchased by calling 781-279-2200 or online at www.stonehamtheatre.org.

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

1. You Gotta Love These Guys – Bill Stambaugh as Lloyd and Cory Scott as Marvin, just your average Wisconsin Joes, in Stoneham Theatre's delightfully quirky "Guys on Ice: The Ice Fishing Musical" by Fred Alley and James Kaplan (Photo by Paul Lyden)

2. "Silence" Is Golden – Emily Sproch as Silence and Marianna Bassham as Ymma in the New Rep's lusty, political, and gender-bending Dark Ages feminist comedy "Silence" by Moira Buffini (Photo by Paul Lyden)

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