Regional

OUT OF THE CLOSET, OUT OF THE ARCHIVES Silenced after two performances in 1922, a remarkably progressive Dutch drama finally receives its U.S. premiere A play that scandalized Rotterdam in 1922 is finally getting its American premiere more than a century later. Written by Dutch novelist and playwright Jo M. van Ijssel de Schepper-Becker (pronouned…

HOOK, LINE AND SINGER For the 50th anniversary of Norman Maclean’s beloved story, the river runs all the way to the opera stage “There was no clear line between religion and fly fishing.” Few sentences evoke Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It quite so perfectly. Published in 1976, his semi-autobiographical tale of two brothers,…

DOUBLE VISION DONE RIGHT A stellar cast, stylish staging, and a jazzy score make this rarely produced musical well worth revisiting Despite winning six Tony Awards and eight Drama Desk Awards when it premiered in 1990, City of Angels is rarely produced. It’s a demanding show, requiring multiple settings and a large cast. Ogunquit Playhouse’s…

THE RAIN IT RAINETH A downpour doesn’t stop the cast from shining Heavy rains forced the July 18 performance of Twelfth Night indoors, but the cast and crew more than rose to the occasion. The change in venue meant that Shakespeare & Company‘s production, directed by Kate Kohler Amory with wit and verve, had little…

NOTHING CRAZY ABOUT LOVING THIS SHOW This joyful revival earns every smile I admit that I am crazy for Crazy For You, and this feel-good production is quite a delight in Connecticut at the Goodspeed Opera House (now celebrating its 150th anniversary). This merry 1992 musical is a solid, splashy audience-pleaser, stuffed with swell old…

THE DREAM TEAM A compelling new play reminds us that history is rarely made alone The American Five, by Chess Jakobs, offers a convincing and absorbing portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr.’s lesser-known inner circle in the months and hours leading up to the famed 1963 March on Washington and King’s iconic “I Have a…

KEYS TO THE PAST Directed by James Ijames, August Wilson’s masterpiece resonates powerfully in an exceptional PSF production As the fourth installment in August Wilson‘s immense American Century Cycle, The Piano Lesson continues the playwright’s exploration of the Black American experience throughout the twentieth century. Set in Pittsburgh in 1936, Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama wrestles…

TRAGEDY AND TEMPTATIONS The rise and fall of a hit machine Ain’t Too Proud tells the story of the rise of The Temptations, a musical group comprised of young Black men who came together in Detroit to form what became the most successful R&B band in history. The story begins like this: Following a six-month…