by Jess Hoffman Harbinger Theatre has brought many regional premiers to the Albany Capital District, 10 in arow, to be precise. But right now, Harbinger is showing a world premier of a play written bySchenectady local and regional theater personality Brian Sheldon. Staged at The Albany Barn,Custom Cuts is an…

by Jess Hoffman If you, like me, were a child of the 90s, you may have grown up on the 1996 film Matilda. And if, like me, you were an avid reader with tastes leaning toward the sarcastic and subversive, you may have grown up with a deep love for…

by Jess Hoffman Playhouse Stage Company has chosen a play with local roots for its second summer production. Based on a 1911 novel of the same name, The Secret Garden first premiered in 1989 in New York’s Capital District in a collaboration between Skidmore College and Capital Rep, according to…

by Jess Hoffman The Nether originally premiered in 2013, but seems even more relevant today than it was then. The current production at the Ghent Playhouse makes it painfully obvious that we have only moved closer to the imagined future of The Nether in the last ten years. The Nether…

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…

by Jess Hoffman When I sat down to see Bridge Street Theatre’s world premier of Rude Mechanics, I was immediately intrigued by the set. In the dimness of the unlit stage, there appeared to be a giant alligator head in the center of the stage and off to one side…