Rachel Belleman

This month, 54 BELOW will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club and 2022 Tony Awards® Honoree for Excellence in the Theatre, has announced special programming throughout the month of June. From Clint Holmes’ dazzling tribute to Peter Allen to the return engagement of Jenn Colella’s sold out show to Rebecca Clark’s uncanny Barbra Streisand concert, the PRIDE month events will celebrate the LGBTQ+ community.

In a recent review for Actors' Shakespeare Project's King Lear, I tried to boil down what an audience can expect from any piece the group presents. (Thanks to their conveniently affordable student tickets, they are a theatre from whom I have perhaps seen more productions than any other company.) I previously wrote that three of their dominant tenets seem to be; a?oedeeply human connections on stage, a clear commitment to narrative, and a genuine sense of gratitude for coming to be present as their tale unfolds.a?? Upon seeing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), all three statements remain consistently applicable. However, I unfortunately felt the pang of a fourth major tenet that routinely plagues ASP's work, namely, an outdated understanding of gender performance. Using the word a?oeoutdateda?? to refer to anything done by a theatre that regularly presents plays written nearly 500 years ago may seem imprudent, but I feel the word exactly addresses the issue.

Shakespeare Project (ASP) continues its 16th season with The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), performed at the Charlestown Working Theater, Charlestown, MA. Performances run December 21, 2019 - January 12, 2020.

Twelfth Night is a tale of unrequited love hilarious and heartbreaking. Twins are separated during a shipwreck and are forced to fend for themselves in a strange land. The first twin, Viola, falls in love with Orsino, who dotes on Olivia, who falls for Viola but is idolized by Malvolio. Enter Sebastian, who is the spitting image of his twin sister is it possible for this to all end well? Well, it IS a comedy!

1776 is a show that appreciates in value and import when viewed in the context of its time. It opened on Broadway in 1969 when Richard Nixon was president, the controversial war in Vietnam raged on, and civil unrest was the domestic order of the day. With that backdrop, it's popularity was unexpected, yet it ran for 1,217 performances and won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Seems like an ideal time for a remount of the story of our Founding Fathers, and the New Repertory Theatre production has found a formula to make it fresh, exhilarating, and inclusive.

New Rep Theatre in Massachusetts's gender-bent production of 1776 is now on stage! The production is set to run at the Mosesian Center for the Arts through December 23rd.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at New Rep Theatre in Massachusetts's gender-bent production of 1776 this holiday season! The production is set to run at the Mosesian Center for the Arts through December 23rd.

BroadwayWorld has learned that New Rep Theatre in Massachusetts will stage a gender-bent production of 1776 this holiday season! The production is set to run at the Mosesian Center for the Arts November 30th through December 23rd.

Theater UnCorked - Boston's newest small theater company - will present its debut production of Sweeney Todd in Concert - A Pop-Up Musical on Saturday, June 2nd, 2018 at First Church in Cambridge (11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA) at 7:30 pm. Attend the dark tale of love, murder and revenge for one performance only! Tickets for Sweeney Todd in Concert - A Pop-Up Musical are $30 and $40 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.ticketstage.com/THEATERUNCORKED.

Shana Dirik, Producing Artistic Director of Theater UnCorked - Boston's newest small theater company - today announced the full cast for the company's debut performance: Sweeney Todd in Concert - A Pop-Up Musical. This one-time-only benefit performance will take place on Saturday, June 2nd, 2018 at First Church in Cambridge (11 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138) at 7:30 pm.

Brown Box Theatre Project returns to Massachusetts May 12-20th with The Broadway Jukebox: A Musical Theatre Cabaret Event. Following a sold-out run of The Hotel Nepenthe in March, Brown Box continues to bring a wide range of theatrical experiences to audiences all across the East Coast with this glittering showcase of Broadway's finest compositions.

Actors' Shakespeare Project opens its 14th season, The Downfall of Despots, with a comedy about a narcissistic despot who is having difficulty accepting his mortality. Director Dmitry Troyanovsky has the good fortune to work with a stellar ensemble, lead by the inimitable Richard Snee, and Sarah Newhouse and Jesse Hinson as his two dissimilar wives. Rounding out the cast are Dayenne Walters, Rachel Belleman, and Gunnar Manchester.

SpeakEasy Stage Company's Boston premiere of Marsha Norman's (Book) and Jason Robert Brown's (Music and Lyrics) adaptation of Robert James Waller's novel is elevated by the luminescent Jennifer Ellis and hunky Christiaan Smith. The libretto wobbles, but the leads and ensemble warble Brown's soaring score beautifully. Bring tissues.

From May 6 - June 3, 2017, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the Boston Premiere of THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, a lush, lyrical musical by Tony Award-winners Marsha Norman (book) and Jason Robert Brown (music & lyrics), based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller.

FINISH LINE, a documentary play about the 2013 Boston Marathon, focuses on the people whose lives were impacted by the bombings, allowing their voices to be heard on the stage of the Boch Center Shubert Theatre. The world premiere production features a dozen actors who represent survivors, runners, doctors, rescuers, and media. Co-creators Joey Frangieh and Lisa Rafferty have taken great care to frame the play as a love letter to the Boston Marathon, the City of Boston, and her people.

Presented by the Boch Center in association with Boston Theater Company, the world premiere of Finish Line: A Documentary Play About the 2013 Boston Marathon opens this week at the Shubert Theatre.

One of Greater Boston's most beloved traditions, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's 'Free Shakespeare On The Common' takes up residence on the Boston Common July 20 - August 7, 2016, presenting William Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, directed by Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC), resident theatre at Babson College, announces A Midsummer Night's Dream as the second production by the CSC2 company, an ensemble of young professional actors in residence with CSC for the 2016 season. Directed by CSC Associate Director Adam Sanders, community performances (90 minutes) will be held Friday, May 6, 8:00 pm; and Saturday, May 7 at 3:00 pm (sold-out school matinees May 4 - 10) at the Carling-Sorenson Theatre at Babson College, 231 Forest Street, Wellesley. Tickets to community performances are $20 and general admission. For more information, visit commshakes.org or call OvationTix customer at 866-811-4111.

Brown Box Theatre Project and Icaro Theatro presents Boxer Shorts: A Cycle of Short Plays. From Water to Dust (del auga al polvo), playing at Boston's Atlantic Wharf through March 4th. This is Brown Box's second year presenting an evening of short plays. This year, the Project brings us four plays from Latin American Playwrights: Tape by Jose Rivera; Capricho by Nilo Cruz; Springtime by Maria Irene Fornes; and Bliss by Caridad Svich.