The classic coming-of-age story spotlighting sibling support takes center stage in a new production of Little Women. Erin Riley’s acclaimed 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s most famous work follows the March sisters—Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy—as they navigate the pitfalls of life, love, and a nation at war with itself. Set against the backdrop […]
The classic coming-of-age story spotlighting sibling support takes center stage in a new production of Little Women. Erin Riley’s acclaimed 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s most famous work follows the March sisters—Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy—as they navigate the pitfalls of life, love, and a nation at war with itself. Set against the backdrop […]
There are plenty of reasons why Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has spawned so many adaptations. And whether you prefer the lead miser be played by Michael Caine surrounded by Muppets, Bill Murray learning lessons about 1980s corporate greed, or an animated Jim Carrey in Disneyfied 3D, the main plot point stays the same: Can […]
Drac is back in a sexy and sarcastic off-Broadway production making a regional debut that’s bound to be A-positive. Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors takes Bram Stoker’s titular Count and turns up the camp with gender-bending, nonstop antics that’ll have you screaming with laughter. This riotous reimagining follows the basic beats of the Gothic novel […]
“We do it with the lights on,” says The American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Playhouse website about its use of “universal lighting.” So right up front you know that whatever you see in its elegant, woody environs will take place with the house lights aglow. Understandably, in its staunch attempt to maintain historical accuracy wherever possible, […]
Hijinks and happenstance collide in one of Shakespeare’s most-loved comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Set in a magical forest outside of Athens, four young lovers fight for each other’s affections on the eve of their duke’s wedding. Meanwhile, six would-be thespians create stress in an attempt to impress the duke’s marriage party, and Oberon—king of […]
Back to the Bard: Shakespeare knew something about quarantines, having lived through several during the plagues of the early 1600s. The urge to break out is palpable as American Shakespeare Center launches its season with safely distanced, outside performances that encompass the Bard’s work in tragedy, history, and comedy, starting with Macbeth. Actor-manager Chris Johnston […]
Bah humbug? We think not. This year, Dickens is going digital! Join Jacob Marley, the three ghosts, and Tiny Tim as Scrooge navigates his cranky journey and discovers the joy of Christmas—even in 2020. John Harrell stars in American Shakespeare Center’s annual adaptation of A Christmas Carol, viewable on-demand and at the Visulite Cinemas. And […]
Identity issues: William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is beloved for its dizzily complicated plot, lively characters, witty banter, and riotous humor. And American Shakespeare Center takes advantage of the lovely evening weather in it’s Under the Stars series to offer a new, outdoor iteration of this classic tale of romance and mistaken identity. Paced like a […]
Much ado about Shakespeare: Shakespeare scholars have been dominating online arts outlets with clickbait headlines about the Bard’s burst of creativity during a bubonic plague quarantine in 1606. He’s said to have “churned out King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra that year,” which may have led to his takeover at the original Blackfriars Theatre in Elizabethan London. In […]
Though Antony and Cleopatra isn’t always considered a problem play, after seeing it at the American Shakespeare Center I can report that it really should be. Categorizing it as a problem play might be a lazy definition for a work defying easy literary taxonomies, but it does the trick. In ASC’s case (here comes a […]