Review: ONE MAN TWO GUVNORS at Good Theater
Portland’s Good Theater newest production is a side-splittingly funny, perfectly timed farce with ancient roots in Italy’s Commedia dell’Arte, Richard Bean’s ONE MAN TWO GUVNORS.
Good Theater Presents ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS This January
Good Theater will kick off the new year with the side-splitting comedy ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS by Richard Bean, starring local favorite Dustin Tucker in his Good Theater debut. We have all of the details on the production!
Review: SWEET GOATS & BLUBERRY SEÑORITAS: Poetic Sensibility & Lingering Sweetness
The premiere of Richard Blanco and Vanessa Garcia’s SWEET GOATS and BLUBERRY SEÑORITAS at Portland Stage heralds the magical debut of a haunting new dramatic voice. Poet Blanco and his collaborator Garcia have created a delicate, sad-sweet memory play, inhabited by six memorable and widely disparate characters, whose shards of reminiscence come together in the cold winter landscape of a small Maine town.
BWW Review: Portland Stage Perseveres with A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Forced to cancel its holiday production of Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL because of Covid issues, Portland Stage has forged ahead and created a digital-on-demand version to bring some cheer to audiences. The streamlined and re-imagined production, directed by Sally Wood. is captured effectively in Mical Huston’s video editing and serves to keep the Christmas message of this perennial favorite alive.
BWW Review: Portland Stage's ALMOST, MAINE is Pure Perfection
Portland Stage's revival of John Cariani's ALMOST, MAINE, a play which premiered with the company in 2004, represents some of the very best work this theatre can produce. The exquisitely poetic series of vignettes about love and loss framed within the uniqueness of the Maine context, offers an evening of virtually pure perfection and unlimited delight.
BWW Review: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Brings Sweet Nostalgia to Portland Stage
In remounting playwright Joe Landry's live radio play version of the beloved classic IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, Portland Stage serves up a family friendly show filled with all the sweetness and nostalgia that make the holidays memorable. The production, directed and designed by Anita Stewart, tells the tale of George Bailey with warmth and humor, underscoring effectively the messages of kindness, gratitude, and integrity without ever becoming saccharine.
Portland Stage Remounts IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY
Back by popular demand, this family-friendly, holiday classic returns to the Portland Stage 's Mainstage after its 2017 opening. In addition to returning Director and Set Designer Anita Stewart, Portland Stage's current Executive and Artistic Director, the production also sees the return of several members from the 2017 cast, including Dustin Tucker and Courtney Moors, members of the Actors' Equity Association. Music Director Shane Van Vliet, Costume Designer Kathleen P. Brown, and Lighting Designer Gregg Carville also return for this holiday remount.
BWW Review: Dramatic Repertory Company Mounts Maine Premiere of THE FLICK
Portland's Dramatic Repertory Company chose the intimate black box environment of Portland Stage's Studio Theatre to present the Maine premiere of Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize winning play, THE FLICK, in a production that is filled with dark humor, poignant moments, and almost excruciating intensity. THE FLICK, clocking in at three hours, ten minutes, is a work that requires patience and commitment to mine its many riveting theatrical moments, but if the audience invests itself in the conceit of real time and unvarnished dialogue, there are many rewards.
BWW Review: Portland Stage's Venerable CHRISTMAS CAROL Gets New Scrooge
Anita Stewart's staging of Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been a beloved fixture on Portland's Christmas scene for quite some time now, and, indeed, despite changing casts, much of its appeal resides in its familiarity to audiences. On the December 23rd matinee, the venerable production got a fresh new uplift in the performance of Dustin Tucker as Scrooge.
BWW Review: Broadway World Critic's Choice Maine 2018
Maine seems to be enjoying a theatrical renaissance with large and small companies vigorously engaged in producing a wide range of repertoire throughout the state. Several of the leading professional theatres have become destinations in and of themselves - (witness the inclusion of Maine State Music Theatre and Ogunquit Playhouse in Scott Andrews' upcoming book, Vacationland) - while venerable community groups continue to raise the bar for their work. I am privileged to get to sample these performances as Broadway World's Maine editor and to be able to compare many of them favorably with shows I see across the country, in New York and London. These are my personal choices of the best in Maine for 2018, grouped by theatre company and show.
MAINE STATE MUSIC THEATRE delivered a 60th anniversary season that redefined the meaning and substance of 'gala.'
BWW Review: THE HAUNTING 2.0 Proves To Be Sophisticated Sequel
Dustin Tucker's THE HAUNTING 2.0, presented in the Studio Series at Portland Stage, proves to be a sophisticated and fascinating sequel to last season's inaugural Halloween event. Shaping six horror stories by Maine writers into an imaginative, often chilling dramatic sequence, Tucker's piece explores the psychological dimensions of terror with a combination of visceral fear and dark humor.
HAUNTING TOUR 2.0 Returns to Portland Stage
It's Baaaaack! Portland Stage announces the return of an original Studio Series Production Haunting Hour 2.0 curated by Dustin Tucker and featuring Maine authors: Joe Hill, Monica Wood, Callie Kimball, H.W. Longfellow, Ian Carlsen, and Rick Hautala.
BWW Review: Murder, Mystery, Romance in Noir Comedy at Portland Stage
Portland Stage's current production of Michael Hollinger's 2000 noir comedy set in the Cold War era skillfully weaves a tapestry of three love stories and one murder against the backdrop of McCarthyism, nuclear bombs, 50s pop culture, and zany shenanigans - all of which makes for a delightful, fast-paced evening of nostalgic wit.
Vote For the 2017 BroadwayWorld Maine Awards; Just One Week Left!
The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.
Vote For the 2017 BroadwayWorld Maine Awards; Just Two Weeks Left!
The 2017 awards honor productions which opened between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017. Nominations were completely reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended October 31, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors.