John G. McDaid is an award-winning science fiction writer and freelance journalist from Portsmouth, RI. He grew up in NYC, where visits to Broadway sparked a life-long love of theater. He worked both on-stage and off during college — including as tech director on a national tour — before moving into a career in corporate communications. A graduate of New School University with an MFA in fiction from Salve Regina Univeristy, he did doctoral work in media ecology at NYU and is an adjunct professor of communications at Roger Williams University. He is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, and sees as many shows as he can in Rhode Island -- and beyond.
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First Show:
Shenandoah (1975)Favorite Show:
Sweeney Todd (1979) Lansbury/CariouFavorite Stories:
- Review: GEM OF THE OCEAN at Trinity Rep - One of the awesome things about reviewing is sharing the news about a really great show, and this might have been the best I've seen in RI.
- Review: TRUE WEST at Brown/Trinity MFA - This was a such a surprising, fresh production that it made this a fun review to write.
- Review: ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE Offers Splashy, Frothy Fun in Tour Debut at Providence Performing Arts Center - I had such a different take from the NY critics that my review was retweeted by Jimmy Buffett.
BWW Review: Down-to-earth OUR TOWN at Burbage Theatre Company
March 20, 2019
March 20, 2019
Thornton Wilder's 'Our Town' is a poignant snapshot of a bygone America, a keenly observed drama which retains its relevance 70 years after it debuted - and more than 100 years after it's set. For those who've never seen the show, the Burbage Theatre Company offers an introduction to this classic with a few standout touches.
BWW Review: Epic Theatre Company's twisty, fabulist LIZZIE BORDEN, LIZZIE BORDEN
March 9, 2019
March 9, 2019
Among the delights of postmodern theater are carefree mashups of reality and fiction, blurred genres, and coaxing new meaning out of old material. The Epic Theatre Company's 'Lizzie Borden, Lizzie Borden' gleefully takes an axe to history, and in the process creates an intriguing, engaging evening that cleverly remakes well-known myths.
BWW Review: OUT LOUD theatre offers edgy, gripping CREATION X
February 9, 2019
February 9, 2019
From the moment you enter the theater - through a narrow hallway lit an antiseptic white - you are plunged into an immersive and disorienting experience in OUT LOUD's new one-act, CREATION X. The one-hour show, an intense character study of a scientist and 'monster,' is by turns enigmatic, thought-provoking, and viscerally terrifying.
BWW Review: FUTURITY offers 'singular' experience at The Wilbury Theatre Group
December 11, 2018
December 11, 2018
If you took two plutonium hemispheres labeled 'American folk tradition' and 'cerebral poetry' and smashed them together in a critical mass, the musical 'Futurity' would be the resulting atomic explosion. The Wilbury Theatre Group in Providence has captured the chaotic energy of this show in a production that is uplifting, thought-provoking, and totally enjoyable.
BWW Review: Contemporary Theater Delivers Delightfully Fresh A CHRISTMAS CAROL
December 8, 2018
December 8, 2018
In the 175 years since Charles Dickens penned 'A Christmas Carol,' there have been countless productions, featuring everyone from Patrick Stewart to Mr. Magoo. The Contemporary Theater Company (CTC) of Wakefield, RI has managed a holiday miracle: a highly theatrical version, enjoyable by the whole family, which manages to be both warm and seasonal as well as sharp and intelligent.
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