William Shakespeare

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Snapping towels

Fenix's Taming of the Shrew gets wet
Through the rest of June, a classic battle of the sexes will be waged at the wading pool of Deering Oaks Park. The Fenix Theatre Co., Portland's premier purveyor of outdoor Shakespeare for the summer, stages a smart, wet, and aggressive Taming of the Shrew as its first summer show.
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | June 17, 2009

Play by Play: June 19, 2009

Plays from A to Z
Boston theater this week
By JEFFREY GANTZ | June 16, 2009

More Bard, please

Lots of Shakespeare for summertime
The sultry season is soon upon us, and as always, it will bring area theater-goers such dependable balms as Shakespeare (both in and out of the park), classic musicals, and giddy misbehavior of various sorts. Between that manna and a few original productions, written and performed by local artists, we've got a rich season line-up.
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | June 10, 2009

Play by Play: June 12, 2009

Plays from A to Z
Boston theater this week
By JEFFREY GANTZ | June 11, 2009

Play by Play: June 5, 2009

Plays A to Z
Boston's theater schedule
By JEFFREY GANTZ | June 02, 2009

Play by play: May 29, 2009

Plays from A to Z
Boston's theater schedule
By JEFFREY GANTZ | May 27, 2009

Interview: Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs

The BEMF does Poppea
"Opera fans have often puzzled over the fact that Poppea does not appear to have a character the audience wants to root for, since everyone has seriously objectionable traits."
By JEFFREY GANTZ | May 27, 2009

Booty call!

The Huntington plunders Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance
"Ladies and gentlemen," a cheerful female voice informs the Huntington Theatre audience, "the Caribbean Light Opera Society is proud to present Pirates! (Or, Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder'd)." The governor, she continues, wants to assure us that there is almost no danger of a pirate attack during the performance.
By JEFFREY GANTZ | May 27, 2009

Monkeying around

Going ape at the urinal + WJAR. Plus, a compelling reason to stay healthy
Dire fiscal conditions at most media outlets have led major local players like the Providence Journal and WJAR/Channel 10 to pursue a unique employment strategy. Both organizations are apparently looking into securing the services of trained gibbons to provide much of the support work and eventually the writing and reporting of the news.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | May 27, 2009

Cracking the wise

Mamet’s Romance with ART; ASP’s Much Ado About Nothing
I don’t know that David Mamet’s is a fine Romance , and it certainly doesn’t conjure love at first scene.
By CAROLYN CLAY | May 20, 2009

Rise and fall

Naked Shakespeare's Richard II
For years now, the Naked Shakespeare Ensemble has brought its signature fare — stripped-down productions and ravishingly acute attention to the Bard's language — into a slew of non-traditional settings, including the Wine Bar on Wharf Street, SPACE Gallery, and the Sacred and Profane festival.
By MEGAN GRUMBLING | May 20, 2009

Play by Play, May 15, 2009

Plays for A to Z
Theater in town
By JEFFREY GANTZ | May 12, 2009

Play by Play, May 8, 2009

Plays from A to Z
Theater around town
By JEFFREY GANTZ | May 07, 2009

Derailed

2nd Story strips Streetcar of its angry soul
If A Streetcar Named Desire were a person, it wouldn't be able to sleep at night, tossing and turning in a fever sweat, aching for basic human connection.
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | May 05, 2009

Spare Change?

At the 100-day mark, Barack Obama still doesn't have a clear mandate for sweeping reforms
A tension lies at the heart of the Obama presidency. After 100 days in office, the public still seems uncertain how to interpret the historic nature of the election last November.
By STEVEN STARK | April 28, 2009

Play by Play: May 1, 2009

Plays from A to Z
Theater around town
By CAROLYN CLAY | April 28, 2009

Play by Play: April 24, 2009

Plays from A to Z
Theater around town
By CAROLYN CLAY | April 22, 2009

Shuffling off to infamy

Buffalo doesn't have a counterfeiting problem — but it does need to curb its bad Bills
Tasering Donte . Sounds like a movie title, doesn't it?
By MATT TAIBBI | April 22, 2009

Bard in the USA

Next season's greetings from the American Repertory Theatre
"You know," Paulus observes, "we are the American Repertory Theatre, and we haven't spent a lot of time in the repertoire on American drama."
By CAROLYN CLAY | April 15, 2009

Play by play: April 17, 2009

Plays from A to Z
Theater around town
By CAROLYN CLAY | April 14, 2009

Vintage Aquarius

Diane Paulus lets down her Hair
Hair co-creator James Rado recalls a shady doc who showed up backstage to give the original cast amphetamine-laced "vitamin shots."
By CAROLYN CLAY | April 15, 2009

Play by Play: April 10, 2009

Plays A to Z
Plays around town
By CAROLYN CLAY | April 08, 2009

Play by play: April 3, 2009

Plays A to Z
Plays around town
By CAROLYN CLAY | April 01, 2009

Crucibles

The Wrestling Patient at the BCA; the Lyric's Speech & Debate
There was room for more than one young Jewish diarist in the occupied Amsterdam of World War II. Anne Frank, who died as a teen, is a 20th-century icon. But until recently, her feisty innocence hid Etty Hillesum's fire.
By CAROLYN CLAY | March 31, 2009

Axel Willner , Eric Schlosser , Sergei Prokofiev , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Sonia Sotomayor , Rush Limbaugh , Barry Goldwater , AS220 , Mike Tyson , William Shakespeare