BWW Review: THE 39 STEPS: Playing Hitchcock For Laughs
If there's one thing that summer theater should be, it's fun, and Gloucester Stage Company's production of THE 39 STEPS happily fulfills the requirement. Actually, it is more than fun - it is laugh out loud funny, thanks to the witty script, the crisp direction by Artistic Director Robert Walsh, and the antics and split-second comic timing of a quartet of actors who play over 150 characters without going off the rails. Joining them on stage is Malachi Rosen, a Foley Artist who produces a litany of sound effects, allowing the audience to see and hear how every door slam, train whistle, and gun shot happens. The 1935 film was a classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller, but the stage adaptation by Patrick Barlow heaps large helpings of farce and satire atop the story, while maintaining a high level of suspense.
THE 39 STEPS Comes to Gloucester Stage
Gloucester Stage Company continues its 40th Anniversary Season of professional theater with Patrick Barlow's witty mystery play The 39 Steps from July 5 through July 28 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. This award winning comic thriller adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow, from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and from the 1935 movie by Alfred Hitchcock, premiered on Broadway in 2008. The 39 Steps has played in over forty countries world-wide, winning Olivier (United Kingdom); Helpmann (Austraila); Moliere (France) and Tony Awards. The play garnered the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy; the 2008 Tony Awards for Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design; the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience; the 2009 Helpmann Award for Best Regional Touring Production; and the 2009 Moliere Award for Best Comedy.
Harbor Stage Opens THE WEIR
The Harbor Stage Company, the artist-run ensemble on Cape Cod's Wellfleet Harbor, opens their seventh intrepid season with Conor McPherson's spellbinding drama The Weir. Set in a sleepy Irish pub, this modern classic follows a lonely newcomer and band of local bachelors as they wind through an unexpectedly eerie evening. Rich humor and haunting lyricism shape this hypnotic portrait of community, confession, and the thin line between memory and myth.
Harbor Stage Opens THE WEIR
The Harbor Stage Company, the artist-run ensemble on Cape Cod's Wellfleet Harbor, opens their seventh intrepid season with Conor McPherson's spellbinding drama The Weir. Set in a sleepy Irish pub, this modern classic follows a lonely newcomer and band of local bachelors as they wind through an unexpectedly eerie evening. Rich humor and haunting lyricism shape this hypnotic portrait of community, confession, and the thin line between memory and myth.
BWW Review: THE LAST SCHWARTZ in New England Premiere at Gloucester Stage
Let's hope that THE LAST SCHWARTZ is not the last we'll see of the combined works of Deborah Zoe Laufer and Paula Plum. Following the success of the pairing of playwright and director in last summer's hilarious hit OUT OF STERNO, Gloucester Stage Company reunites the talented tandem for a pleasure ride to the dilapidated country home of the dysfunctional Schwartz family in Lake Huntington, New York. The witty, insightful New England premiere is given its due by a crackerjack cast who look like they've been performing together for months, not days.
BWW Reviews: GOD'S EAR: Cries and Whispers
Actors' Shakespeare Project takes a break from the Bard to stage the first Boston area production of Jenny Schwartz's linguistically-rich play GOD'S EAR. Thomas Derrah directs and draws authentic, heartbreaking performances from Tamara Hickey and Gabriel Kuttner as a married couple grieving the tragic loss of their son. Humor and hope rise to the surface from the depths of their suffering.
Actors' Shakespeare Project Presents GOD'S EAR, Now thru 4/12
Actors' Shakespeare Project brings the language of love and loss to center stage in Jenny Schwartz's play God's Ear, today, March 25-April 12, 2015, at The Davis Square Theatre, 255 Elm Street, Somerville. Performances are Wed. (March 25 only)-Fri, 7 pm; Sat., 2 pm; (except March 28) & 7 pm; Sun., 2 pm. (Press performance Saturday, March 28 at 7pm; please RSVP to jbpr@comcast.net.) Tickets are $28-$50; $15 student rush. For tickets and information, visit www.actorsshakespeareproject.org or call 617-776-2200 x225.
Actors' Shakespeare Project to Present GOD'S EAR, 3/25-4/12
Actors' Shakespeare Project brings the language of love and loss to center stage in Jenny Schwartz's play God's Ear, March 25-April 12, 2015, at The Davis Square Theatre, 255 Elm Street, Somerville. Performances are Wed. (March 25 only)-Fri, 7 pm; Sat., 2 pm; (except March 28) & 7 pm; Sun., 2 pm. (Press performance Saturday, March 28 at 7pm; please RSVP to jbpr@comcast.net.) Tickets are $28-$50; $15 student rush. For tickets and information, visit www.actorsshakespeareproject.org or call 617-776-2200 x225.
BWW Reviews: A CASE NAMED FREUD Completes Savyon Liebrecht's Trilogy
In commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 70th Anniversary of World War II, Goethe-Institut Boston's German Stage, in association with the Austrian Cultural Forum New York and Israeli Stage, presents the American Premiere of A CASE NAMED FREUD in five locations this week. The opening night staged reading marked the tenth German Stage production since 2012 and provided a backdrop to the farewell for Goethe-Institut Director Detlef Gericke who has served in Boston for six years.
COMEDY OF ERRORS, GOD'S EAR and More Set for Actors' Shakespeare Project's 2014-15 Season
Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP), under the leadership of Artistic Director Allyn Burrows, Executive Producer Sara Stackhouse, and Mara Sidmore Director of Education Programs, Projects, and Partnerships enters its second decade presenting a season of powerful stories, awesome artists, diverse venues, and integrated youth and community education projects.
Stoneham Theatre Opens 15th Season with DOUBT Tonight
Stoneham Theatre opens its 15th season with Doubt, John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, featuring Karen MacDonald and Gabriel Kuttner in the two lead roles. Performances run from tonight, September 11-28 at Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main Street in Stoneham.
COMEDY OF ERRORS, GOD'S EAR and More Set for Actors' Shakespeare Project's 2014-15 Season
Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP), under the leadership of Artistic Director Allyn Burrows, Executive Producer Sara Stackhouse, and Mara Sidmore Director of Education Programs, Projects, and Partnerships enters its second decade presenting a season of powerful stories, awesome artists, diverse venues, and integrated youth and community education projects.
Stoneham Theatre to Open 15th Season with DOUBT, 9/11-28
Stoneham Theatre opens its 15th season with Doubt, John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, featuring Karen MacDonald and Gabriel Kuttner in the two lead roles. Performances run from September 11-28 at Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main Street in Stoneham.
Israeli Stage to Present THE BANALITY OF LOVE for Over 400 Students, 4/28
Israeli Stage and CJP partner to present Savyon Liebrecht's The Banality of Love on BU's campus as a campus-wide initiative to commemorate Yom Ha'Shoa (Holocaust Day). Some 400+ students are expected to attend from the Greater Boston Area. (CJP and Hillels will be providing shuttles for students attending school outside of Boston proper; 300+ BU Students will be in attendance as well as 100+ Students from the surrounding area schools). Free Admission.