BWW Review: KING LEAR at Actors' Shakespeare Project
Upon entering Chelsea Theatre Works for Actors' Shakespeare Project's King Lear, the audience is immediately immersed in a world that could be passed off as Laurie Anderson's riff on 'man cave'. An eclectic installation of vintage desk lamps and exposed light bulbs pulsate, casting shadows over a pile of radio transmitters, a neglected piano, and an assortment of discarded knick knacks that set designer Jon Savage has seamlessly incorporated into the deep-stained wood encircling the playing space. A vintage projector noisily clicks through slides edited by Cameron Willard showing images of monkeys in cages, minarets of mosques, and landscapes of deserts as David Reiffel's vapory soundscape throbs in the air. When Robert Walsh stumbles in barefoot as King Lear, it is apparent to whom this space belongs.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company Announces New Leadership
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) has announced that Associate Artistic Director Adam Sanders has assumed the position of Managing Director of CSC. His past position of Associate Artistic Director will be filled by Elliot Norton Award-winning director Bryn Boice, who will be in charge of CSC's Apprentice Program, CSC2 and Stage2, CSC's Shakespeare performances for young audiences. They will both support Artistic Director Steven Maler in continuing the work of CSC for future seasons.
BWW Review: ESCAPED ALONE and COME AND GO at The Gamm
The Gamm is currently showing two short plays back-to-back, with all female casts. ESCAPED ALONE by Caryl Churchill (New England Premiere) is a tight one-act that raises far more questions than it answers. COME AND GO by Samuel Beckett is so brief it almost feels like it's over before it begins, but is strangely haunting. Overall, it's a combination of works that are very well-acted, but also feel somewhat jarring in a way that doesn't quite pay off.
BWW Review: TRUE WEST: Sam Shepard's Classic Tale of Sibling Rivalry
TRUE WEST is a dark, yet humorous play by the late Sam Shepard, one of America's foremost playwrights. Joe Short directs a stellar cast of Nael Nacer, Alexander Platt, Mark Cohen, and Marya Lowry in a story of family dysfunction, dramatic conflict, and sibling rivalry, set in a Southern California suburb where Hollywood and the Mojave Desert compete to influence the lives of a pair of brothers.
Photo Flash: Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST Comes to Gloucester Stage
Gloucester Stage Company continues its 39th season of professional theater with Sam Shepard's modern American classic, True West from August 17 through September 8 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. Directed by Joe Short, True West explores the explosive conflict between two brothers: Austin, the successful family man; and Lee, the nomadic drifter and petty thief.
Actors' Shakespeare Project to Bring THE TEMPEST to Brookline This Winter
Actors' Shakespeare Project will bring magic and theatricality to the Bard's The Tempest, returning to Brookline's Willet Hall at United Parish, 210 Harvard Street, the venue for last season's The Winter's Tale, from December 1, 2016 through January 8, 2017 (Press performance Saturday December 3 at 8 PM).
Actors' Shakespeare Project to Bring THE TEMPEST to Brookline This Winter
Actors' Shakespeare Project will bring magic and theatricality to the Bard's The Tempest, returning to Brookline's Willet Hall at United Parish, 210 Harvard Street, the venue for last season's The Winter's Tale, from December 1, 2016 through January 8, 2017 (Press performance Saturday December 3 at 8 PM).
BWW Review: Lindsay Crouse Enlivens LETTICE AND LOVAGE at Gloucester Stage Company
Gloucester Stage Company opens its 37th season with LETTICE AND LOVAGE as a star vehicle for Academy Award-nominated Gloucester resident Lindsay Crouse. Written by Peter Shaffer (EQUUS, AMADEUS) for beloved British actress Dame Maggie Smith, Crouse takes on the title role of tour guide Lettice Douffet and makes it her own with panache and good humor. Marya Lowry is her incredulous employer Lotte Schoen and together they raise the bar for the art of verbal sparring. The esteemed scene partners feast on Shaffer's rich language and throw themselves into the theatrical shenanigans of the play, with supporting silliness well-represented by Janelle Mills and Mark Cohen.
Peter Shaffer's LETTICE AND LOVAGE Opens Gloucester Stage Season
Gloucester Stage kicks off the 2016 season of professional theater on Cape Ann with Tony Award-winning playwright Peter Shaffer's delectable comedy, Lettice and Lovage from May 19 through June 11 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. As tour guide, Lettice Douffet, leads tours through an obscure English mansion utterly devoid of interest, she decides to "Enlarge! Enliven! Enlighten!" her tours by fabricating fanciful stories, which ignites the wrath of her employer. The battle that ensues rapidly turns to friendship as the ladies embark on a series of escapades in this delightful comedy.
Actors' Shakespeare Project Sets New Venues, Casts for 2015-16 Season
Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP) today revealed new venues and casting for the next two productions for the 2015/16 Season, Affairs of the Heart. The company's 12th season opened with the tragedy in Othello, now playing until October 25 at The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University. Next ASP explores romance in The Winter's Tale, war and strife in Richard II, and comedy in The School for Scandal. "ASP strives to present bold themes-the kind audiences not only expect, they demand of us," says Artistic Director Allyn Burrows. "Our upcoming productions will deliver on that expectation, offering up a bounty of theater at the extremes of human emotion." For more information, visit our new and improved website at actorsshakespeareproject.org or call 617-776-2200 x 235.
BWW Reviews: THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM: Same Dance, Different Day
Superlative acting, intense staging, and timeless themes are the hallmarks of THE NEW ELECTRIC BALLROOM, Enda Walsh's 2010 Obie Award-winning play now receiving its New England Premiere at Gloucester Stage Company under the direction of Interim Artistic Director Robert Walsh. Its setting in a small fishing village on the west coast of Ireland permeates the story with indigenous peculiarities, but resonates with the realities of life in any little coastal community where gossip and fish tales are the order of the day.