Tag Archives: Providence

May 29

Righteous but Unfocused Rage: “Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight”

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Daraja Hinds, Jennifer Mischley, Sophie Appel, Beth Alianiello Jennifer Mischley and cast of GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART, GOODNIGHT at Wilbury Theatre Group; photo by Erin X. Smithers.

Presented by Wilbury Theatre Group
Written by Darcie Dennigan
Music by Niki Healy
Directed by Josh Short
Music Direction by Milly Massey
Choreography by Ali Kenner Brodsky
Featuring Jennifer Mischley, Sophie Appel, Beth Alianiello, Daraja Hinds, Christine Treglia, Lydia Grosswendt

May 25 – June 11
The Wilbury Theatre Group
475 Valley Street
Providence, RI 02908

Content Warning: ​This production includes the use of strobe effects, and contains references to ​rape, sexual assault, and torture.​

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

PROVIDENCE, RI — In theory, Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight is in the same lineage as two of my all-time favorite musicals, Six and Lizzie: campy, riotously angry, mostly sung-through works that are more structurally akin to pop concerts than an integrated, plot-driven musical. It’s a niche mini genre of musical theatre that seeks to fill in the holes of patriarchal history by means of loud, glittery, feminist revisionism. The point of these concert musicals isn’t to tell a factual story, but to offer catharsis; to witness the violence of misogyny inflicted on a historically maligned figure, but also relish in a devilishly empowered version of her, however mythologized that version may be. Continue reading →

Jul 29

Ritual, Community and Baring Your Soul with Strangers: “(Tr)auma Queen: Feeling Spilt Milk, OR a series of experimental poetry to escape the shape of doorframes, also known as, a ritual of lemons”

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production poster found on FringePVD website. this poster is badass.

Presented by FringePVD and The Wilbury Theatre Group
By and Featuring Teddy Lytle and Bay McCulloch

July 21 – 23, 2022
The Waterfire Arts Center Back Lot
475 Valley St,
Providence, RI

45 minutes without intermission

Review by Nicole LaBresh

PROVIDENCE, RI – When I think of Fringe, at the forefront of the word salad it conjures is “vulnerability.” Fringe in particular brings out the most intensely personal, soul-baring works. It does so largely by allowing artists free reign to put on whatever show they want. It is, among other things, a festival of works from the heart.

For the uninitiated, the Fringe Festival is a theatre festival devoted to experimental or fringe theatre works. It got its start in Edinburgh, but now has chapters all over the world, including one in Providence presented by The Wilbury Theatre Group, now in its ninth year. At a Fringe, you will see works the likes of which you probably have never seen before and that you may never see again. The performances range from poetry to music, dance to clownery, and things that defy any categorization. After two years without a live Fringe Festival because of COVID-19, local artists have a ton of pent up expression ready to be unleashed. Continue reading →

Jun 01

Something worth straining for: “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”

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Madeleine Barker and Kayla Shimizu in NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 at Wilbury Theatre Group; photo by Erin X. Smithers.

Presented by Wilbury Theatre Group
Book, music, and lyrics by Dave Malloy
Directed by Josh Short
Costume design by Meg Donnelly
Sound and lighting design by Andy Russ
Scenic Design by Keri King, Max Ponticelli, and Monica Shinn
Intimacy Direction by Susie Schutt
Music Supervision by Milly Massey
Choreography by Ali Kenner Brodsky

May 26 – June 19, 2022
WaterFire Arts Center
4 Valley Street, Providence RI
Tickets

Review by Maegan Bergeron-Clearwood

PROVIDENCE, RI — I woke up this morning to an aching neck and shoulders: a theater hangover. Last night, for two hours straight, I perched on the literal edge of my seat, craning and twisting in all directions, soaking in all there was to see and hear. This morning, I’m reminded, for the first time in well over two years, of how it physically feels to experience a story unfold, not at me, but with me.

To the creative team behind Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 at the Wilbury Theatre Group: thank you for creating something worth straining for. Continue reading →

Aug 26

Nine Rhode Island Venues and Organizations Mandate Vaccines and Masks for Indoor Performances

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August 25, 2021
Article by Kitty Drexel

Info for patrons attending in-door events:

  • Proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 required
  • Proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken in the prior 72-hours
  • Proof of a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken in the prior 6-hours
  • All patrons must wear a mask over the nose and mouth.

PROVIDENCE, RI — A cohort of nine Rhode Island performance venues and organizations will require audiences, staff, artists, and volunteers to be vaccinated and to wear masks in new COVID-19 protocols, an August 25 press release said. These protocols are in effect until further notice. 

The nine companies formed a partnership so they may safely return to performing indoors said the press release. Protocols are based on current scientific evidence and best practices around the country.

A list of the venues and theatre companies are below. 

Vaccines are not yet available for children. Visit a theatre’s website to learn more about an organization’s rules and regulations.  

Details may be revisited or revised based on CDC guidance and the evolving circumstances of the pandemic, the press release said. Audience members are advised to visit the websites of individual venues for additional restrictions or details.

These are the Rhode Island organizations in the cohort:
Festival Ballet Providence
Gamm Theatre
Island Moving Company
Providence Performing Arts Center
Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School
Trinity Repertory Company
United Theatre
Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium
Wilbury Theatre Group

Mar 11

Interview with Composer Erin McKeown, Composer of “Miss You Like Hell” Playing at Wilbury Theatre Group

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Photo of Erin McKeown by Jo Chattman

Miss You Like Hell
Presented by Wilbury Theatre Group
Book & lyrics by Quiara Alegría Hudes
​Music & lyrics by Erin McKeown
Directed by ​Don Mays
Music direction by ​Matt Requintina

​March 5 – 29, 2020
The Wilbury Theatre Group
40 Sonoma Court
Providence, RI 02909
Wilbury on Facebook

Erin McKeown in Concert:
Saturday March 14
7p doors, 8p show
The Good Will Engine Company
41 Central St, Providence, RI 02907
Jocie Adams supports
TICKETS for Erin McKeown in Concert

Interview conducted by Kitty Drexel

Providence, MA — Composer and lyricist Erin McKeown graciously agreed to answer interview questions ahead of her post-performance talkback after the March 13, 7:30PM performance of Miss You Like Hell at the Wilbury Theatre Group. We are grateful that she took the time to connect with us about performances, her career, and upcoming projects!

This interview has been edited for clarity, grammar, and length.

Queen Geek: March 2, 2020 was Super Tuesday. What parts of “Miss You Like Hell” do you find the most rewarding or cathartic in this political climate?

Erin McKeown: I find the witness to the audience extremely rewarding. It’s their catharsis that really feels good to me. I need to watch art that other people made in order to experience catharsis. I can’t feel my own catharsis with something I made. But I do really find it wonderful to watch. Continue reading →

Aug 03

PROSPERA – la Señora de la Isla: “La Tempestad”

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Presented by Trinity Repertory Company with Rhode Island Latino Arts (RILA)
Originally Written by William Shakespeare
Translated to Spanish by Orlando Hernandez
Directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo

June 28 through July 27, 2018
Toured around Rhode Island. Schedule with locations is HERE. 
Trinity Rep on Facebook
RILA on Facebook

Review by Bishop C. Knight

(Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island)  This bilingual English-Spanish adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest was part of the Rhode Island Latino Arts’s (RILA) program Teatro en El Verano (Theater in the Summer).  It was directed by the Brown/Trinity second-year Tatyana-Marie Carlo, who was drawn to the humor and magic of The Tempest.  Carlo’s ensemble cast performed the play in a hybrid Spanglish, switching back and forth between the two languages mid-stanza, sometimes mid-line. Continue reading →

Nov 20

Working out the Humbugs: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

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http://www.trinityrep.com/DownloadDocs/ACC13__0413.jpg

Photo credit: Mark Turek

Presented by Trinity Repertory Company
By Adrian Hall and Richard Cumming
Adapted from the story by Charles Dickens
Directed by Tyler Dobrowsky
Musical Direction by Darren Server
Choreography by Shura Baryshnikov

November 9 – December 28,
201 Washington St.
Providence, RI
Trinity Repertory Company on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(Providence) I know what you’re going to say: “what can anyone possibly have to say about Dickens’ classic Christmas tale that I haven’t heard five billion times before?”  Trinity Rep sees your concern and raises you veritable Holiday Magic onstage before your very eyes.  If you’re feeling a case of the humbugs, a trip to Providence is well worth your while to get into the spirit (and spirits) of the season. Continue reading →

Mar 31

Bloody Fences Make Good Neighbors: SOCIAL CREATURES

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PHOTO: MARK TUREK

Presented by Trinity Repertory Company

by Jackie Sibblies Drury
directed by Curt Columbus

Providence, Rhode Island
Trinity Rep Co Facebook Page
March 14 – April 21

Review by Craig Idlebrook

This play contains graphic violence. Running time is 95 minutes with no intermission.

(Providence) It didn’t look like a good setup for good theater. Post-apocalyptic zombie invasions have become all the rage for script-writers, and there have been several new plays in Boston which have attempted to turn flesh-eating marauders into viable drama; few have been successful. The best resembled family dramas with zombies tacked on; the worst became fan fiction.

But Jackie Sibblies Drury’s sharp script for Social Creatures powers the best production of a new play I’ve seen in a long time. This tense and gory tragicomedy, debuting at Trinity Rep, avoids so many pitfalls of both new plays and zombie drama. It creates a credible atmosphere of real danger, both physically and emotionally, and Drury uses the threat to effectively explore what we lose as a society when we lose intimacy. Continue reading →

Oct 01

“The Winter’s Tale” presented by The Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs

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image credit: Stephanie Bullard

Performances are Friday October 19 – October 21
Citizens Bank Theater, Pell Chafee Performance Center
87 Empire Street, Providence, RI

Trinity Rep Facebook Page

The Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs is pleased to present one of Shakespeare’s most intriguing plays, The Winter’s Tale, directed by Taibi Magar (Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs ’14).  With a story that is both epic and intimate, The Winter’s Tale is a roller coaster ride from tragedy to romance to redemption, boasting some of Shakespeare’s most beautiful poetry.

Tickets are now on sale at the Trinity Rep box office, by phone (401) 351-4242, and online at trinityrep.com.

Mar 19

Scenes from the Mausoleum: THE MOURNERS’ BENCH

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Trinity Rep resident company members Phyllis Kay (Caroline) and Janice Duclos (Wilma) in The Mourners’ Bench, a world premiere by George Brant, directed by Michael Perlman. Now playing at Trinity Repertory Company as part of the Three by Three in Rep. Sets by Michael McGarty, Costumes by William Lane, Lighting by Dan Scully. Photo by Mark Turek.

The Mourner’s Bench by George Brant, Trinity Repertory Company, 3/7/12-5/24/12, http://www.trinityrep.com/on_stage/current_season/mb.php.

Reviewed by Craig Idlebrook

(Providence, RI) A moment of violence can leave its mark on many, including those who never experienced it.  The Trinity Repertory Company’s production of The Mourner’s Bench bravely tries to examine a traumatic event through three disparate lenses that traverse time and family, but the effort ultimately fails to create a cohesive vision of loss and healing.  Continue reading →