Theatre entertainment in North America
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'Ulalena
Along the lines of a Cirque du Soleil-style show, this extravaganza has its home at the 700-seat Maui Theatre. The theme is Hawaiian history and storytelling; the medium is modern dance, brilliant stage sets, acrobats and elaborate costumes. All in all, an entertaining, high-energy performance.
reviewed
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B
Belfry Theatre
The excellent Belfry Theatre is a showcase for contemporary, especially Canadian, plays and is one of the country's most respected independent theatre companies. It's housed in a converted 1890s Baptist church.
reviewed
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C
Grand Lake Theater
One of the last remaining 1920s movie palaces to show first-run films. On Friday and Saturday evenings, certain films are preceded by performances on the mighty Wurlitzer organ (check the website).
reviewed
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Volcano Theatre Company
On weekends from April to November, the well-regarded Volcano Theatre Company produces live dramas in the restored Cobblestone Theater.
reviewed
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D
Charles Playhouse
Home to the ever-popular Blue Man Group, this dual-stage backstreet theater has an engaging underground ambience.
reviewed
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E
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F
Huntington Theatre Company
For award-winning theater, it’s tough to outdo the Huntington, whose trophy cabinet has long been full. It stages many shows before their production is transferred to Broadway (at least three of these have won Tonys) and seven major works by August Wilson were performed by the Huntington before going on to fame in New York. The company’s credentials also include more than 50 world premieres of works by playwrights such as Tom Stoppard and Christopher Durang. Plays occur in two venues: the fine Boston University Theatre (built in 1925) and the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts (built in 2004).
reviewed
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G
Steppenwolf Theater
This legendary name in Chicago theater was founded by Terry Kinney, Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry in a church basement. It quickly outgrew one space after another, won a Tony award for regional theater excellence, and is now a leading international destination for dramatic arts. Among the many famous alums who have gone on to illustrious careers are John Malkovich, Gary Cole and John Mahoney. Productions are of the highest quality. A tip to save dough: the box office releases 20 tickets for $20 for each day’s shows. They go on sale at 11am Monday to Saturday and at 1pm Sunday, and are available by phone. They go fast.
reviewed
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Dixon Place
An intimate showcase for experimental theater that began as a reading space in 1985, Dixon Place recently moved from its longtime home – a cramped, apartment-like space with mismatched chairs and couches – to a sleek, brand-new space. It’s fronted by a lovely bar and lounge area for post-show discussions that has performers and audience members breathing a sigh of relief. Luckily, the move hasn’t at all altered the constant flow of exciting shows – brand-new dramas, comedy and readings, often with a queer bent. Its summer HOT! series is a great time to catch the newest works.
reviewed
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I
New York Theater Workshop
Recently celebrating its 25th year, this innovative production house is a treasure to those seeking cutting-edge, contemporary plays with purpose. It was the originator of two big Broadway hits, Rent and Urinetown, and offers a constant supply of high-quality drama, including recent works from Rebecca Gilman (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter), Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons (Top Secret) – and even Samuel Beckett, whose quartet of one-act plays was adapted here by director JoAnne Akalaitis and composer Phillip Glass in Beckett Shorts, starring Mikhail Baryshnikov.
reviewed
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Ninth & Main Street
About a mile north of downtown, Jacksonville's historic district of Springfield (www.thenewspringfield.com) is budding as a hip center for the arts.
A former disused automotive repair shop, the 'place of no particular style', Ninth & Main Street, now houses an outstanding Caribbean restaurant, Henrietta's, a theater, an art gallery, and a live-music venue (Thursday and Friday). It also hosts the annual Springfield Film Festival, showcasing independent filmmakers from Florida and beyond. The festival kicks off in spring, with a rolling series of screenings (usually Thursdays) until the fall.
reviewed
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K
Alex Theater
For more than 80 years, Glendale's Alex Theatre has been the centerpiece of the City's arts, culture and community programming. The Theatre's diverse schedule boosts roughly 250 events and attracts more than 130,000 patrons per year. Program offerings range from classical, contemporary and world music concerts, to film screenings, live theatre and stand-up comedy. In addition, the Alex Theatre also hosts award shows, fundraisers and a variety of other special events and frequently serves as a location for television, commercial and film productions.
reviewed
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Playwrights Horizons
Sitting on a quiet and windswept stretch of 42nd St is this excellent place to catch a new show that could very possibly be a rising hit. It’s nearly 40 years old and known as a ‘writers’ theater, ’ and is dedicated to fostering contemporary American works. Notable past productions include Saved, a musical by Michael Friedman based on the quirky film, as well as I Am My Own Wife and Grey Gardens, both of which moved on to Broadway.
reviewed
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Theatre Aspen
A nonprofit theater and drama school that hosts classes, workshops and periodic productions (mostly in the summer and early autumn) from its gorgeous, tented complex in the heart of Rio Grande Park. Matinees include bonus views of the nearby mountains, evening productions play beneath a starry sky. Check website for details of upcoming shows and see one if you can.
Expect to see productions such as Tony-award-winning romantic comedies and deliciously subversive musicals.
reviewed
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Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
All things to all people - arts-loving people, that is. Comprising a main concert hall, the black-box Rinker Playhouse, a pavilion housing lecture halls and practice rooms, and an outdoor amphitheater, the Center is host to astounding fare. A recent sample includes the World Famous Count Basie Orchestra with Bob Lappin and the Palm Beach Pops, the Russian National Ballet Theatre's production of Swan Lake and a concert by Englebert Humperdinck.
reviewed
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O
Delacorte Theater
Every summer the Joseph Papp Public Theater presents its famous and fabulous free productions of Shakespeare in the Park at Delacorte Theater, which Papp began back in 1954, before the lovely, leafy, open-air theater was even built. Thrilling productions mounted there recently, with celebrities in leading roles, include The Merchant of Venice, The Winter’s Tale and Romeo and Juliet.
reviewed
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Herberger Theater Center
The Herberger Theater Center has two stages shared by three resident companies: Arizona Theatre Company (602-256-6995; www.aztheatreco.org), the state’s leading ensemble; the Actors Theatre (602-252-8497; www.atphx.org) for more experimental, fringe productions; and the Center Dance Ensemble (602-252-8497; www.centerdance.com), which specializes in modern dance.
reviewed
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Q
FSU Theatre Department
The FSU Theatre Department has three venues. The Richard G Fallon Mainstage Theater in the Fine Arts Building, north of Call St on the campus, does large productions of plays and musicals. The Studio, in the Williams Building on campus, stages various free student productions. Off campus, at the corner of Lafayette St and Copeland St, the Lab does a range of works, from Shakespeare to musicals, in its 150-seat thrust-stage setting.
reviewed
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R
Spamalot
Lovingly ripped off from the movie Monty Python & the Holy Grail, the stage version of the misadventures of King Arthur will keep you guffawing at the scatter-brained knights in tights, the feisty Frenchmen and the buxom damsels in distress. VIP ticketholders get to keep a souvenir grail and take a 45-minute backstage tour after the show, with opportunities to take photos with the cast, crew and the unique props.
reviewed
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Goodman Theatre
The Goodman reigns with Steppenwolf as Chicago’s top drama house, and its Theater District facility is gorgeous. It specializes in new and classic American productions, and has been cited several times as one of the best regional theaters in the USA. Its annual production of A Christmas Carol has become a local family tradition. Goodman’s distinguished Artistic Collective is another great source of new work.
reviewed
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Casa de Cultura Jesús Reyes Heroles
This cultural center is set in a gorgeous colonial-style building, with arches, patios and bubbling fountains. The modest theater stages plays (free), as well as small concerts featuring local musicians. There’s also an exhibition space; pick up a copy of the monthly Cartelera Cultural Coyoacanense, which includes a theater program. The center is located in Santa Catarina’s pretty main square.
reviewed
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U
West Side Story
This beloved revival caused serious buzz when it came back to Broadway for the first time since its last revival in 1980. It’s the classic New York City tale of forbidden love between Maria – sister of the leader of the Sharks gang – and Tony, a member of rival gang the Jets. The show is set to the beautiful Leonard Bernstein score and punctuated by the preserved choreography of Jerome Robbins.
reviewed
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Wicked
A whimsical, mythological and extravagantly produced prequel to The Wizard of Oz, this pop-rock musical – a stage version of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel – gives the story’s witches a turn to tell the tale. Its followers are an insanely cultish crew, attending frequent performances and launching all sorts of fan clubs, fansites and obsessive blogs to keep themselves occupied.
reviewed
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American Repertory Theater
There isn’t a bad seat in the house at Harvard University’s Loeb Drama Theater. Here, the prestigious ART stages new plays and experimental interpretations of classics. It also has a performance space at Zero Church St, which is used for both cabaret-style and more traditional performances. Student ‘rush’ tickets for both venues are sold for $15 on the day of the performance.
reviewed
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Coconut Grove Playhouse
This lovely state-owned theater, anchoring the Grove since 1956, gained fame via the American premiere of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (which audiences and critics generally rejected out of hand as opaque and confusing). Although it was closed during research due to debt issues, it is set to reopen by the time you read this, and will hopefully continue to showcase some of Miami’s best theater.
reviewed
