by Jess Hoffman A play that opens on the image of an old photograph of an enslaved Black woman nursing a White infant promises a provocative, no-holds-barred meditation on racism and sexism. This is exactly how Confederates opens at the Rep, as one of our two lead characters speaks passionately…
by Jess Hoffman The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York is beginning its 2025-2026 season with I Just Stopped By to See the Man, a play about a supposedly dead blues musician and a young British rockstar. Set in the American South in the 1970s, the play is an…
Schenectady Civic Players will continue their 97th season with the drama Casa Valentina by Harvey Fierstein, directed by Kathy Glasser, opening March 21st. Performance dates are Friday–Sunday (March 21-23) and Wednesday–Sunday (March 26-30). Friday and Saturday curtains are at 8 pm, Wednesday and Thursday curtains are at 7:30 pm, and Sundays are…
Schenectady Civic Players will continue their 97th season this January with the drama Casa Valentina by Harvey Fierstein, directed by Kathy Glasser. Performance dates are Friday–Sunday (March 21-23) and Wednesday–Sunday (March 26-30). Friday and Saturday curtains are at 8 pm, Wednesday and Thursday curtains are at 7:30 pm, and Sundays are matinees…
by Jess Hoffman It was with high hopes that I braved Friday’s snowstorm to see Creative License Theater Collective’s production of A Few Good Men at the Cohoes Music Hall. I greatly enjoyed the iconic 1992 film based on this play–a gripping courtroom drama about two soldiers accused of murdering…
by Jess Hoffman To close out their season, Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York is producing a collection of one-acts, playfully titled One Act Jamboree. The one common thread among these plays is that they showcase, in one way or another, the Black experience. Many of these plays are…
by Paula Kaplan-Reiss Editor’s Note: Director Jeannie Marlin Woods and assistant stage manager Jess Hoffman are members of our Berkshire on Stage team of critics, but since we all work remotely, Dr. Kaplan-Reiss actually does not know them very well. We decided to overlook this minor conflict of interest in…
by Jess Hoffman The word “love” in the title Hoodoo Love might have some theatergoers mistakenly believing that it is a romantic play. This certainly crossed my mind when I went to see the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York’s production at The Rep, as I was unfamiliar with…
