Feb 18

The Merchant of Venice Pounds for Justice

(L to R) Trinity Rep resident company members Stephen Thorne, Rachael Warren and Brown/Trinity Rep MFA actor Mary C. Davis in The Merchant of Venice at Trinity Rep. A bold new setting brings to light the timelessness of Shakespeare’s controversial play. Directed by Artistic Director Curt Columbus, the show runs through March 11 in the Chace Theater. Set Design by Eugene Lee, Costume Design by Olivera Gajic, Lighting Design by Keith Parham. Photo by: Mark Turek.

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Trinity Repertory Company, 2/3/12-3/4/12, http://www.trinityrep.com/on_stage/current_season/TN.php.

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Providence, RI) . The Merchant of Venice is one of Shakespeare’s most difficult plays but also one of his most satisfying. Shakespeare’s play examines the intricacies of love, loyalty, and ethics among the citizens of Venice. Trinity Rep’s current production provides a clear straightforward rendition of the tale.
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Jul 22

1001: Do we make the stories or do the stories make us?

1001 by Jason Grote, Company One, Boston Center for the Arts, 7/15/11- 8/13/11,  http://www.companyone.org/Season12/1001/synopsis.shtml.

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

Clockwise from left: Ruby Rose Fox, Ben Gracia, Hampton Fluker, Lonnie McAdoo, Lauren Eicher, Nael Nacer

Scheherazade is back with new tales to tell. Based on 1001 Arabian Nights, Jason Grote takes the ancient tales and reworks them within a twenty-first century context.  The frame story and first inner story remain close to the time and arrangement of the original tales, but the further Scheherazade takes us in, the closer we get to our own reality.  Stories make up a large part of our lives from the fairy tales of childhood to the novels of our adulthood.  Is it what we bring to them that gives them life or what they bring to us that give us life? Company One’s 1001 attempts to answer these questions. Continue reading