Rhode Island Theater Reviews

Review: THE (ONE-ACT) PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at Burbage Theatre Company
by Christopher Verleger - September 05, 2024

Burbage Theatre Company (BTC) kicks off its season with the delightfully disastrous “The (One-Act) Play That Goes Wrong,” a howlingly funny play-within-a-play written by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer....

Review: A Hilarious Caper Under the Stars: 'THE 39 STEPS' in Wilcox Park
by John McDaid - August 01, 2024

Review: A HILARIOUS CAPER UNDER THE STARS: 'THE 39 STEPS' IN WILCOX PARK: Colonial Theatre mounts delightful spy thriller spoof...

Review: R.U.R. (ROSSUM'S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS) at Head Trick Theatre
by Christopher Verleger - July 24, 2024

Head Trick Theatre’s captivating, well-acted production of Karel Čapek’s unsettling play, ‘R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots),’ tackles the age-old question, “What happens when machines outnumber humans?”...

Review: TWELFTH NIGHT at Contemporary Theater Company
by John McDaid - July 15, 2024

Review: TWELFTH NIGHT at Contemporary Theater Company offers charming summer Shakespeare on the Saugatucket...

Review: TOOTSIE Sparkles at Theatre by the Sea
by Andria Tieman - June 30, 2024

The plot requires a lot of suspension of disbelief...but the actors in Theatre by the Sea’s production are talented and charismatic enough that you want to stick around a see how it turns out....

Review: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES dazzles at Trinity Rep
by Jessica Tabak - June 09, 2024

What did our critic think of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES at Trinity Rep?...

Review: TWELFTH NIGHT (OR WHAT YOU WILL) at Attleboro Community Theatre
by Christopher Verleger - June 06, 2024

Attleboro Community Theatre (ACT) brings its 66th season to a close with an amusing, highly entertaining production ‘Twelfth Night (Or What You Will),’ William Shakespeare’s boisterous comedy of mistaken identity, entangled romance, and unapologetic tomfoolery....

Review: THE CEMETERY CLUB at Newport Playhouse & Cabaret Restaurant
by Christopher Verleger - June 05, 2024

Newport Playhouse and Cabaret Restaurant presents ‘The Cemetery Club’ written by Ivan Menchell and attentively directed by Tony Annicone, a dramatic comedy about three Jewish widows who gather monthly for tea and to visit their late husbands’ graves....

Review: A CHORUS LINE at Theater By The Sea
by Christopher Verleger - June 05, 2024

Theater By The Sea welcomes the summer and kicks off its 91st season with a dazzling, spirited production of the revered, legendary Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, ‘A Chorus Line.’...

Review: THE MOTHERF--KER WITH THE HAT blazes at Burbage Theater Co
by Jessica Tabak - June 05, 2024

What did our critic think of THE MOTHERF--KER WITH THE HAT at Burbage Theater Co?...

Review: AWAKENING OF SPRING at Reverie Theatre Group
by John McDaid - May 31, 2024

For its first show in Rhode Island, the Reverie Theatre Group offers a superb — and sadly short — run of Frank Wedekind's challenging 1891 drama The Awakening of Spring. With a fine ensemble cast, thoughtful directorial choices, and intense in-the-round staging, this is an outstanding debut producti...

Review: CRIMES OF THE HEART at The Arctic Playhouse
by Christopher Verleger - May 22, 2024

The small Southern town of Hazelhurst, Mississippi is brought to life here on the Arctic Playhouse stage in its charming, touching production of Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, ‘Crimes of the Heart.’...

Review: FRAMES OF MIND at Newport Contemporary Ballet
by Erica Cataldi-Roberts - May 17, 2024

Just in time for Mental Health Awareness month, Newport Contemporary Ballet presents a captivating evening of three mind-focused pieces, FRAMES OF MIND, at Providence’s WaterFire Arts Center....

Review: DOUBT: A PARABLE at Gamm Theatre
by John McDaid - May 13, 2024

DOUBT: A PARABLE at Gamm Theatre. Shanley's tight, twisty meditation on truth and belief gets a fine production...

Review: AND THEN THERE WERE NONE at The Arctic Playhouse
by Christopher Verleger - April 24, 2024

The Arctic Playhouse in West Warwick dutifully pays tribute to mystery maven Agatha Christie with its sleek, suspenseful production of her renowned best seller and the basis of numerous stage, film, and television adaptations, ‘And Then There Were None.’...

Review: National Tour of 'COMPANY' at Providence Performing Arts Center
by John McDaid - April 24, 2024

Review: NATIONAL TOUR OF 'COMPANY' at Providence Performing Arts Center: The innovative, gender-swapped version makes its Providence debut...

Review: THE PROM at The Community Players
by Christopher Verleger - April 17, 2024

The Community Players concludes its 102nd season on the highest of notes with its energetic, spirited, emotionally charged production of the musical comedy, ‘The Prom.’...

Review: COLLECTIVE RAGE: A PLAY IN 5 BETTIES at Burbage Theatre Co.
by Charlotte Buecheler - April 04, 2024

What did our critic think of COLLECTIVE RAGE: A PLAY IN 5 BETTIES at Burbage Theatre Co.?...

Review: FENCES at Trinity Rep
by John McDaid - March 28, 2024

FENCES at Trinity Rep: Crisp production of the August Wilson classic...

Review: WOLF PLAY at Wilbury Theatre Group
by Christopher Verleger - March 27, 2024

At the beginning of ‘Wolf Play,’ Hansol Jung’s gripping, intense drama, now playing at Wilbury Theatre Group, an individual casually walks on stage, faces the audience, and poses the question, “What if I said I am not what you think you see?” ...

Review: DELIGHTFUL 'TWELFTH NIGHT' AT GAMM THEATRE
by John McDaid - March 25, 2024

Twelfth Night is possibly Shakespeare's most brilliant comedy, packed with ribald wordplay, mistaken identities, and revenge, tied up in a tangled web of unrequited love. The slick, energetic production at the Gamm Theatre gets every bit of it. This is a dazzling show, stuffed with talent in every r...

Review: FROZEN at Providence Performing Arts Center
by Christopher Verleger - March 13, 2024

Providence Performing Arts Center presents ‘Frozen,’ the 2018 Broadway musical based on Disney’s top-grossing 2013 animated film, featuring the beloved Grammy and Academy-Award winning anthem, “Let It Go.”...

Review: THE BROTHERS GRIMM at The Arctic Playhouse
by Christopher Verleger - March 06, 2024

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Review: PLAYHOUSE CREATURES at Burbage Theatre Company
by Christopher Verleger - February 09, 2024

After last season’s splendid ‘The Oldest Profession,’ Burbage Theatre Company and WomensWork Theatre Collaborative join forces again for ‘Playhouse Creatures,’ April De Angelis’s fascinating portrait of five females from late 17th-century England who were able to pursue careers on stage after King C...

Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD at the Providence Performing Arts Center
by Erica Cataldi-Roberts - February 07, 2024

Aaron Sorkin’s dramatic adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic novel, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, pulls no punches, showing how racial injustice and the attitudes and issues related to it are all still relevant to the modern day....