by Suzanne Wells, special to Berkshire on Stage “Ragtime, The Musical” is a dramatic, inspiring, and entertaining production by Goodspeed Musicals, directed by Christopher D. Betts. Representing three demographics during the Gilded Age of America—the wealthy, the immigrants, and the children of freed slaves—”Ragtime” captures the disappointments, struggles, hopes, and…
by Jess Hoffman I was unfamiliar with Fairview when I went to see Confetti Stage’s production of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Pulitzer-winning dramedy. Confetti’s website touts “This play explores themes of race, identity, and cultural appropriation through the lens of a black family’s birthday celebration” and the Pulitzer committee that awarded…
by Shera Cohen The musical “Anastasia” returns to Connecticut, to the Opera House Players, after its premier at Hartford Stage some years ago, then onto Broadway. The story of Anastasia, daughter of the Romanov family of early 20th-century Russia during the Russian Revolution, is absorbing, emotional, and somewhat true. The…
by Paula Kaplan-Reiss The world premiere of Rosie Is Red and Everybody Is Blue by John Spellos at the Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany is NOT a play about political division, as I originally presumed. Rather it is a comedy about a family in Albany dealing with loss, financial struggles…
by Mark G. Auerbach I’ve been a major Some Like It Hot fanboy, since the musical released a video of the title song in the summer of 2022, a hint of the musical’s sizzle. I saw the musical in previews on Broadway, and took to it instantly. I’ve worn out the original…
by Sierra Pasquale There’s blood on the barber’s chair at Fort Salem Theater! Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Stephen Sondheim’s darkly thrilling musical masterpiece, slices its way through vengeance, loss, and madness. With haunting, complex melodies and a story as sharp as a straight razor. What drives…
by Jess Hoffman Sand Lake Center for the Arts is currently offering a truly local production: a musical, titled A Fine Family, written and directed by local theater’s own Susan Frost and James Holmes. The play concerns a family, as the title indicates, one that is fraying at the seams…
by Mark G. Auerbach Its a given that Romeo & Juliet is a classic, but Melia Bensussens vision of Shakespeare’s love story brings the classic into the contemporary, and the dynamic staging and choreography and plenty of swordplay are thrilling. The physical production from its angular platform and ramps of the attractive…
