Theater

‘The Rocky Horror Show’ is a joy ride at Central Square Theater

By Nate Hall | November 15

Every year, around Halloween, audiences pack into theaters to see “The Rocky Horror Show” (1975). Richard O’Brien’s musical, beloved by generations of fans who attend both live performances and screenings of the film, is known for its cult following. Audiences often play an important role in the show, calling out lines and sometimes shouting ad-lib responses to performers. If you’ve ever seen “Rocky Horror,” you’ve witnessed this infectious energy. It’s no different at Central Square Theater’s production of “Rocky Horror,” running now through Nov. 26 in Cambridge.

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Theater

Marie Antoinette: The price of womanhood

By Odessa Gaines | November 3

“Marie Antoinette” (2012), written by David Adjmi, is a theatrical retelling of the life and death of the infamous queen who led France up until its revolution. The Tufts Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies’ production follows Marie’s life as her reputation becomes ruined and the French citizens turn on the royal family.

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Theater

WEEKENDER: Tufts theatre department prepares for ‘Marie Antoinette’

By Nate Hall | October 26

For its fall production, the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies is staging David Adjmi’s play, “Marie Antoinette” (2012). A contemporary take on the story of the young French queen who witnessed the country’s collapse into revolution in the late 18th century, the play reflects many of the challenges women face in the modern world.

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Theater

‘POTUS’ takes on the patriarchy with humor and wit

By Nate Hall and Odessa Gaines | October 20

It’s a normal day at The White House until the president, in a meeting with international diplomats, calls his wife a “c—t.” After controversy erupts, his chief of staff and press secretary are left to clean up the mess. This is the opening scene of “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” a political farce that just wrapped up a month-long run at the SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston. Written by playwright Selina Fillinger, the play follows seven women in the president’s inner circle as they navigate a day full of scandals that bring the country to the brink of crisis, combining over-the-top physical comedy with timely political commentary.

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Theater

‘Fat Ham’ has a feast with Shakespeare at The Huntington

By Nate Hall | October 10

“Hamlet” is one of William Shakespeare’s most popular tragedies. At over 4,000 lines, it’s also his longest. But in the hands of playwright James Ijames, it turns into something completely different: a fast-paced, darkly comedic adaptation for the modern era that explores family, identity and toxic masculinity in an exciting way.

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Theater

‘Prayer for the French Republic’ tackles antisemitism at The Huntington

By Nate Hall and Odessa Gaines | September 19

When the whole world seems to hate you, where do you go? This is the question that Joshua Harmon’s “Prayer for the French Republic” (2022) seeks to answer. Playing through Oct. 8 at the Huntington Theatre in Boston, the play tells a sweeping, multi-generational story of a Jewish family grappling with antisemitism in France. Directed by The Huntington’s new Artistic Director, Loretta Greco, “Prayer” follows the Salomon Benhamou family through generations of love, pain and difficult choices.

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Theater

Keep your eyes on Company One’s ‘Morning, Noon, and Night’

By Odessa Gaines | April 19

For the second year now, Tufts’ Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies and Company One Theatre have collaborated to put on a reading workshop of a play with Tufts students. This year’s workshop was “Morning, Noon, and Night.”

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Theater

'Clyde's' will pull at your heartstrings and leave you craving a sandwich

By Nate Hall and Odessa Gaines | April 5

What does it take to make the perfect sandwich? And how do you rebuild a life that’s been taken away from you? “Clyde’s” (2021), a new play about the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of a sandwich shop, seeks to answer both of these questions. Now playing at the Huntington Theatre in Boston through April 23, “Clyde’s” explores the challenges of making a fresh start.

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Theater

WEEKENDER: Zadie Smith's ‘The Wife of Willesden’ puts modern spin on a classic Chaucer tale

By Nate Hall and Odessa Gaines | March 9

“The Wife of Willesden” (2021), a new play written by British novelist Zadie Smith, is a distinctly modern work of theater. It’s full of references to Beyoncé, Jordan Peterson and #MeToo. Thus, it might come as a surprise that the play, now playing at the American Repertory Theatre, is based on a poem that’s more than 600 years old.

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University

Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies announces changes to major requirements

By Layla Kennington | March 7

The Tufts Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies recently announced changes to its major requirements, including increasing flexibility in terms of electives and a decrease in certain required classes. Students matriculating in fall 2023 will be the first class required to adhere to the new curriculum for TDPS.

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Local

'Fairview':  Performing the white gaze in Boston

By Elizabeth Foster | February 24

Boston’s SpeakEasy Stage opened “Fairview” (2018), written by Jackie Sibblies Drury, on Friday, Feb. 17. Running through March 11, this production depicts the white gaze with a Pulitzer Prize-winning script and commanding cast.

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Theater

Envision’s ‘How We Got On’ hits play on Black joy and creativity

By RaiAnn Bu | February 16

“How We Got On” (2012) debuted Friday night to a packed Curtis Hall as the first production by Tufts’ Black theater company, Envision, created by sophomores Chance Walker and Elias Swartz. The show tells the stories of three suburban Black teens and their growing passion for the art of rap during the inception of the hip-hop genre. As the show goes on, main characters Hank (Dylan Bell), Julian (Moriah Granger) and Luann (Marsha Germain) cycle through the stage like tapes in a boombox, telling their stories of growing pains and an MTV-fueled passion for rap.

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Theater

'Life of Pi': The survival story comes to life at the A.R.T.

By Nate Hall | January 24

Note: At the Jan. 15 performance of “Life of Pi,” the traditionally male role of Pi was played by understudy and ensemble member Uma Paranjpe, a female performer, and Pi was presented as a girl. To reflect this change, this article will use she/her pronouns to refer to Pi.

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Theater

4 Seniors brew up a reinvented production of ‘Macbeth’

By Henry Chandonnet | May 22

Four seniors gathered around their ‘cauldron’ of a show, each adding their own ingredients and flair. The result was an experimental, redefined “Macbeth” (1623), which intentionally diverted from the standard practice of show-making. These seniors are Tatyana Emery, Caitlin Morley, Margaret Parish and Abi Steinberg. Coming together for the completion of Emery’s thesis and Morley’s and Steinberg’s capstone, the group struck down the traditional rehearsal process, eliminating the role of the director and reformulating the power structures within theater.

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Theater

Senior Profile: Emma Downs inspires change at Tufts through JumboSwipes, theater

By Mark Choi | May 21

As soon as Emma Downs discovered that Massachusetts had the nation’s highest increase in food insecurity rates during the pandemic, she knew something had to be done.

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Theater

'The Tragedy of Macbeth': Something wicked (so wicked) this way comes

By Miranda Feinberg | January 21

Joel Coen’s "The Tragedy of Macbeth" (2021) — a modern cinemascape of the iconic Scottish Shakespearean tragedy — is told in vivid pools of light and sharp-edged voids of shadow. Every point within and throughout the film opposes all other points; it is so expansive and amorphous and yet full of clean cut lines and sharp pointed corners. “Macbeth,” which follows the titular newly appointed Thane of Cawdor as he loses himself to his hunger for power, has been released in theaters and is available to stream through Apple TV Plus. The iconic story has had countless adaptations across film and theater, and here Coen and his team blend those two mediums to create a unique and singular atmosphere which shrouds the story in visual markers that match the emotion and madness central to the story. 

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Theater

'Tick, Tick... Boom!' celebrates the legacy of theater composition

By Henry Chandonnet | November 30

On Nov. 26, legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim died. Sondheim leaves behind a changed fate for the modern musical, having reinvented the standard with classics such as “Into The Woods” (1987), “Company” (1970) and “West Side Story” (1957). Just a week before Sondheim’s passing, “Tick, Tick… Boom!” was released on Netflix. The film celebrates musical theater and composers, namely through the original writer Jonathan Larson. These two consecutive events call on us to reminisce upon the icons of composition and reinvestigate the simple joys of live theater. 

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