Western Mass Theatre News - March 13-April 2
Easthampton Theatre Company presents On Golden Pond
March 15-23 at Williston Theater in Easthampton
Tickets and More Information
Serious Play Theater Ensemble presents Physical Actor Training Workshop
March 29 and 30 in Eastworks
Email to Register
World and Eye presents Bite Size Blends
March 22 at 7:00 PM at CitySpace Easthampton
Tickets and More Information
Holy Smokes Theatre presents auditions for Dandy in the Underworld
March 13 and 16 at CitySpace in Easthampton
No appointment needed, email with questions.
YOUR EVENT HERE
$5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing!
Email me to reserve your dates.Click to Access: Western Mass Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet
PERFORMANCES
AUGUST WILSON’S FENCES ONSTAGE AT MAJESTIC THEATER MARCH 13 – APRIL 6
West Springfield’s Majestic Theater will present Fences, the Tony Award and 1987 Pulitzer Prize Winning Drama by August Wilson onstage February 27 through April 6.
Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the play focuses on Troy, a 53-year-old working class head of the household who struggles with providing for his family. He lives with his wife, Rose, and his teenage son, Cory. In his younger days, Troy was an excellent baseball player and even played in the Negro Leagues, but that was before the color barrier in Major League Baseball had been broken. Fences explores the evolving challenge of a family attempting to build a safe home in the racially stratified 1950s suburban America.
The play will be directed by Michael Ofori. Danny Eaton is producing director, and Sue Dziura is associate producing director. Stephen Petit is production stage manager, and the associate production manager is Aurora Ferraro. Amari O’Connor is stage manager, Calypso Michelet is scenic designer, and Dan Rist is lighting designer. Costume design is by Dawn McKay and Alan Schneider is technical director.
The cast includes Dominic Carter (Troy), Martinez Napoleon (Gabriel), Greg Alexander (Jim), Kyle Boatwright (Rose), Silk Johnson (Lyons), Mike Daniel (Cory), and Louise Coly/Malayah Charland (Raynelle).
According to Eaton, “Fences is a great, classic story in the way is provides a snapshot of the struggles faced in keeping a family together through everyday challenges. August Wilson was a remarkable American playwright who wrote about his lived experience. Fences is set in Pittsburgh, and Wilson channeled his understanding of growing up and living in that particular community to tell a compelling story. His plays are character-driven, and he creates incredibly interesting characters who draw an audience in.”
Tickets to the show range from $35-$38 and can be purchased in person at the box office or by calling (413) 747-7797. Box office hours are Monday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Doors to the theater will open one hour before the start of a show, which is also when the café opens. For more information, visit www.majestictheater.com
Unfinished Women Cry in No Man's Land While a Bird Dies in a Gilded CageBy Aishah Rahman
Directed by Judyie Al-Bilali
March 13 at 7:30 p.m.
The Curtain Theater
$5 students, seniors, Card to Culture, $17 general admissionContent advisory: Racial slurs, discussions of sexual activity and assault, discussions and depictions of drug and alcohol use and death. Recommended for children age 15 and up.Tickets on sale through the Fine Arts Center Box Office (413-545-2511 and online), as well as at the door on the night of the show (subject to availability). To make our shows more affordable, we offer Card to Culture pricing for qualifying patrons.
There's past, present, and future wrapped up in our production of Aishah Rahman's Unfinished Women Cry in No Man's Land While a Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage, which opens in the Curtain Theater on March 7.
In dual story lines, virtuoso saxophonist Charlie Parker contemplates his life as he dies, while a group of young unwed mothers wrestle with their sense of the future and the fates of their children. Music suffuses the atmosphere as the breath of life in these parallel stories where pleasure, pain, heartbreak, and desire comingle.
Aishah Rahman’s text provides the blueprint for Theatrical Jazz, an approach to theater-making that centers Black aesthetics and creativity. This play was co-produced in the department with New WORLD Theater in 1987 as a part of a conference celebrating Black Theater. Director and Professor Judyie Al-Bilali's early training was in Theatrical Jazz and she brings this form to a new generation of theater students — who, in turn, are looking ahead to how they'll make their mark on theater.
"It helps us to look backwards to that earlier performance and to support Black theater now. This production affirms our commitment to the ongoing legacy of Black theater on our campus," said the play's dramaturg, Dr. Priscilla Maria Page.
The play was originally proposed for the season by Professor Gilbert McCauley, who planned to direct. McCauley, also an accomplished actor, has since stepped into the titular role of Charlie Parker, with Al-Bilali taking on directing duties. The three faculty members are frequent collaborators; they participated in the first national conference on Theatrical Jazz at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where Page was a key organizer.
Theatrical Jazz practitioners follow tenets that include a focus on breath, deep listening, presence, virtuosity, community, the holding of simultaneous truths and being in one's body — all important values for moving through life as well as art. Both for the theater-makers and the audience, Page said, our presentation of this play is "beautiful and necessary."
Unfinished Women is presented in the Curtain Theater, an intimate space, so make your reservation now before performances sell out!Unity House Players
Catch Me If You Can
3/14 7:30PM, 3/15 7:30PM, 3/16 2PM
Unity
Based on the hit film and the incredible true story, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is the high-flying musical comedy about chasing your dreams and not getting caught. Featuring a swinging score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray).
Director: Robert H. Clark, III
Music Director: Elisabeth Weber
Tickets
Unity House Players provides theatrical shows, Arts Education, and outreach including plays, concerts, musicals, improv, and more. Their summer show will be HADESTOWN-Teen Edition.Tickets Are Now On Sale for Easthampton Theater Company's March Production of On Golden Pond.
Performed at Williston Theater, Easthampton, MA March 15-23. Directed by Jason Rose-Langston (Director, Torch Song)
Produced by Michael O. Budnick (Producing Director, God of Carnage)
On Golden Pond is a masterpiece of emotional depth, wit, and tenderness. In this production, we’re not only bringing this timeless story to the stage — we’re honoring its exploration of universal themes that are more relevant today than ever. Audiences will experience both light-hearted humor and poignancy while characters confront aging, bridge generational divides, and find home, family and love along the way.
On Golden Pond may be best known from the Academy Award-winning 1981 cinematic version. But the 1979 Broadway Tony and Golden Globe nominated play is arguably funnier and more emotionally engaging. Live on stage, On Golden Pond is an experience that will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever grappled with love, loss, or the complexities of familial bonds. It is also one of only a handful of popular theater pieces to feature the life-long love affair of a senior couple. Set against the serene backdrop of a tranquil lake in New England, the story of Norman and Ethel Thayer, an elderly couple returning to their annual summer home, is a stirring meditation on life's inevitable changes.
Easthampton Theater’s On Golden Pond brings a fresh emotional intensity to a play that has captured hearts for decades. This production proves that the themes of family, aging, and reconciliation are more timeless and relatable than ever. Plus, this play reminds us that families, whether related or blended, are made up of all-too-fallible humans who can be quirky and funny. Ernest Thompson is a master of subtle humor and mood shifts.”
The cast features outstanding regional talent, including veteran actor and former Ashfield theater director William Spademan as Norman Thayer, Jr. His portrayal of the sharp-tongued but endearing patriarch promises to be both hilarious and deeply moving. Joining him is the talented and amiable Patricia Perlman as Ethel, Norman’s warm-hearted and loving wife, whose unwavering optimism provides a comforting counterbalance to Norman’s gruff exterior. The cast also includes Kim Gaughan as Chelsea, the Thayers’ adult daughter, who is navigating her own complex relationship with her aging parents. Travis Maider plays Chelsea’s love interest Bill, and Jaxon Reddy plays his 13-year old son Billy. Patricia, Travis and Jaxon may be familiar to ETC audiences from 2024’s The Man Who Came to Dinner. Shelton Windham rounds out the cast as Charlie, Golden Pond’s resident mailman and childhood friend of Chelsea.
The beautiful Williston Theater and the innovative set design and lighting add to the immersive experience, enveloping the audience in a peaceful, nostalgic atmosphere. On Golden Pond offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on the beauty of life’s quiet moments and the importance of connection. This is a unique theatrical event that will leave audiences laughing and reflecting long after the final curtain falls.
Performance Schedule: March 15th, 21st and 22nd at 7:30PM, March 16th, 23rd at 2PM
Tickets, more information about the company and production announcements are available HERE or via our website at easthamptontheater.com.
You can also visit our facebook page at the link below:
facebook.com/easthamptontheatercompany
Not In Charge: Improv Comedy Inspired By True Stories
Saturday, March 15 @7pm
Don't miss this talented group of friends in an improvised show inspired by true stories from the cast! Not In Charge is Mandy Anderson, Maddy Benjamin, Sally Ekus, Julie Waggoner, Jim Young, and Kate Zak.
Tickets and more info.UMass Fine Arts Center
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show
Mar 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM
UMass Bromery Center for the Arts, Frederick C. Tillis Performance Hall
For a decade, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show has been enchanting audiences worldwide, bringing Eric Carle’s beloved classics to life. Created by Jonathan Rockefeller and based on the works of renowned illustrator and author Eric Carle, who made a home in Northampton for more than thirty years, this acclaimed production features a menagerie of over 75 magical puppets, including the star of the show – The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Along with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, audiences will enjoy three other stories: search the night with The Very Lonely Firefly, travel the world with 10 Little Rubber Ducks, and explore and share with Brown Bear, Brown Bear. These cherished tales brought to life by a captivating cast of storytellers, enchanting original music, and breathtaking puppetry, educate and celebrate the power of creativity. This performance delights generations of Eric Carle readers — children, parents, and grandparents — who get to create lasting memories together experiencing what is often a child’s first theatrical experience. It’s truly one VERY magical hour.
Join us in our big glass lobby before the performance to visit the Pop-Up Bookshop from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art!
Presented by the UMass Fine Arts Center with sponsor support from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, El Sol Latino and Florence Bank.
Tickets and More Info.
Tickets for school and homeschool groups are still available to the Fine Arts Center's Global Arts Performances for Schools showing of this performance on Monday, March 17 at 10am! (Concessions and the bookshop will not be available at the Monday performance.) Please visit this link to register your education group: tinyurl.com/GlobalArtsRegistrationFormThe Performance Project First Generation Ensemble
Mother Tongue
March 20, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Easthampton High School Auditorium, 70 Williston Ave, Easthampton 01027
On Thursday March 20th at 6:30pm, Easthampton Public Schools is hosting the performance Mother Tongue at Easthampton High School. Mother Tongue, created by the Performance Project’s First Generation Ensemble, is a powerful and extremely relevant performance, especially in light of recent national and global events. The performance is free.
Mother Tongue is an original multilingual physical theater performance created by the Performance Project’s First Generation Ensemble. The piece highlights local and global social justice issues, and is inspired by the lived experiences of Ensemble members, their families, and communities. The Ensemble originates from Congo/Tanzania, Bhutan/Nepal, South Sudan/Darfur, Puerto Rico, Holyoke, and Springfield, MA.
The 90 minute performance weaves together movement, music, dance, theater, and stories in Arabic, Swahili, Nepali, Spanish, and English and incorporates themes of language, culture, identity, diaspora, hypermasculinity, transphobia, racism, education, the school to prison pipeline, personal liberation and revolution. Appropriate for ages 12 and up.
Following the performance, the ensemble will offer a 20 minute post-show conversation with the audience, inviting reflection on the themes of Mother Tongue.
Tickets: free, donations accepted at the door.
More Info
The development of Mother Tongue was supported by the Mass Cultural Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and Mass Humanities. The performance, graciously hosted by Easthampton Public Schools, is also supported by the Easthampton Cultural Council.Silverthorne Theater Company
the birds the birds the birds
Mar 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Holyoke Media, 1 Court Plaza, Holyoke, MA
Join us for our first Theater Thursday reading of the 2025 season: Harley Erdman’s new musical, the birds the birds the birds, with music by Gregory Boover. Directed by Gina Kaufmann, with music dramaturgy & direction by Kyle Boatwright, and starring Tahmie Der, Hia Ghosh, Aaron Mancaniello, and Sam Samuels, the reading will take place at 7:00pm on Thursday, March 20th, 2025 at Holyoke Media.
Tickets are free, but space is limited, so reserve your tickets now at https://tinyurl.com/STCBirds. Silverthorne welcomes donations for this event so that we can continue making our work accessible to all.
https://tinyurl.com/STCBirdsStarlight's Youth Theatre
Frozen Jr
Mar 22, 2025 at 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM
Amherst Middle School
Starlight's Youth Theatre students in grades 1-6 will be performing the musical Frozen Jr. Based on the hit Broadway musical and blockbuster Disney film, the show features iconic songs like “Let It Go” and “Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?” Attending youth theatre productions is an easy and fun way to support your local community, as well as a good opportunity to introduce your young child to the world of theatre.
Tickets $8 at the DoorWorld and Eye Arts Center
Bite Size Blends
Mar 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The Blue Room at City Space- 43 Main St. Easthampton, MA. 01027
Bite Size Blends gathers performing artists who speak truth to power. Artists have long been the philosophers and truth tellers of their time. Listen to poignant personal and social commentaries on justice told through story, physical theater, satirical clown, and poetry by accomplished performers. Included are: Magdalena Gomez, Amy Dawn Kotel, Jean Minuchin and The Performance Projects' First Generation Ensemble.
https://wande.betterworld.org/events/bite-size-blends-2025
For more Information www.worldandeye.com/showsScripted/ Unscripted
Saturday, March 22 @7pm
One scripted actor sticking to their lines...
One improviser with no idea what scene they're in...
One unique, messy, beautifully wild ride!
Experience the fan-favorite mashup of theater and improv comedy, Scripted/Unscripted! Inspired by the original show Gravid Water, which ran at the UCB Theatre in NYC.
Featuring a rotating cast of experienced improvisers and talented local actors!
March's Scripted actors are Stephanie Carlson, Michael Charland-Tait, Gabriel CiFuentes, and Cate Damon!
March's Unscripted actors are Scott Braidman, Laura Patrick, Pam Victor, and Julie Waggoner!
Tickets and more info.Join PIC for the public reading of our first Development Workshop* of 2025: IN CLINIC by Julio Nogueira Varella.
Dramaturgy by Meena Cunniffe with cast coordination by Sarah Marcus and Wynn Mackenzie. Featuring Gabriel Cifuentes, Pedro Eiras, Shaun Lamory, Sherine Levy, Aracelli Sierra, Aaron Mancaniello, and Patricia Mew.
The reading begins at 7:30pm. Doors will open at 7:00pm. Please enter the 33 Hawley Building via the downstairs courtyard. The reading will take place in The Workroom.
Development Workshop readings are $10 to attend, but no one is turned away from lack of funds. If the ticket price is out of reach for you, please select the subsidized ticket option. If you are able to contribute to our subsidized ticket fund, there will be an opportunity to do so at time of registration. Reserve your ticket now by any form of payment. Cash or check only at the door.
*What is Development Workshop?
Development Workshop is reserved for pieces that have a first full draft and could use an intensive period of writing and hearing the work out loud with actors. This opportunity provides developmental worksessions with actors and other support artists over the course of a number of consecutive days, culminating in a reading and developmental discussion with an audience.Tickets are now on sale for Leonora, la maga y la maestra at the Farm. This performance is conceived and directed by DE Founder and Vision Strategist Stacy Klein. Inspired by the visual art, writings and life of British-born Mexican artist Leonora Carrington and her mentorship of a long line of male artists, this surreal performance unfolds an encounter between Leonora and Adán (everyman) and portrays the magic, mystery, and humanity found in Carrington’s work.
"a peek into an expansive world -- a hallucinatory symbol-heavy tour of Carrington's fervid mind"
-New York Times, Critic's PickK and E Theater Group Presents the Tony Award Winning Spring Awakening
at Northampton Center for the Arts, March 28-30 & April 3-5, 2025
K and E Theater Group invites audiences to experience the electrifying, Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening, opening in at the end of this month at the Northampton Center for the Arts. Running March 28-30 and April 3-5, 2025, this groundbreaking production explores the exhilaration, heartbreak, and rebellion of youth in a way that is as relevant today as it was when it first premiered on Broadway in 2006.
Based on the 1891 play by Frank Wedekind, Spring Awakening features a hauntingly beautiful Tony Award-winning score by Duncan Sheik and a powerful book and lyrics by Steven Sater. The musical follows a group of teenagers in late 19th-century Germany as they navigate the challenges of coming of age in a rigid, repressive society. With its gripping storytelling and high-energy rock music, the show remains a deeply moving and thought-provoking theatrical experience.
K and E Theater Group's production of Spring Awakening features Shealyn Berube as Thea, Michael DeVito as Melchior, Nikki Gorts as Adult Women, Kaihla A. Laurent as Martha, Kerrie Maguire as Ilse, Nicco Palazzi as Georg, Emma Rucci as Anna, Andre Ruiz as Ernst, Carina Savoie as Wendla, Tiernan Michael Shea as Hanschen, David Wallace as Adult Men, Chris Webber as Moritz, and Dante Woods as Otto. Eddie Zitka serves as director and choreographer. The band is led by musical director Devi Badea.
Performances are:
Friday, March 28, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Friday, April 4, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, April 5, 2025 at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
All performances are at Northampton Center for the Arts, located at 33 Hawley Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Tickets are $27 and general admission.
*Spring Awakening contains mentions of abortion, verbal and sexual abuse, adult language, as well as depictions of suicide, partial nudity, and sexual content. This production is not recommended for audience members under the age of 13.
Tickets and performance information for Spring Awakening are available at www.KETG.org.NEGASS invites you to join us for a sing-through of
Iolanthe
Sunday, March 30, 2025, 2 PM
Wesley United Methodist Church
98 N. Maple St.
South Hadley, MA
with John Dreslin at the piano
Role requests can be emailed to elainebcrane@gmail.com by February 28, 2025.
Members of NEGASS in good standing will have first consideration of role assignments; popular roles may be shared with one singer per act.
(Please consider joining NEGASS if you love these kinds of events—https://www.negass.org/membership.html)
The audience is the chorus. Bring your own score, or borrow one from the NEGASS library.
AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES
Smith College New Play Reading Series looking for readers!
Nuestra Corrido: A Villanueva Tale by Aria Acevedo
Reading will be on March 27, 7:30 PM with 2-3 rehearsals beforehand.
If interested, reach out to Nikki Beck, Production Manager - ncbeck@smith.edu
Larissa/Lari: Second granddaughter, Celia’s oldest daughter, struggling to live up to her moms high standards and live her own life Mexicana/Indigena/Latina, woman, early-mid 20s
Emilia: Eldest granddaughter struggling to find her place in her family. Soli’s daughter. Mexicana/Indigena/Latina, woman, mid-late 20s
Andres: Eldest grandchild/grandson, filled with regret for not living up to his mom’s expectations and fed up with being the family joke Mexicano/Indigeno/Latino, man, late 20s
Nev: youngest grandchild/grandson, senior in high school scared of what comes next and unsure where his life will take him or where he wants to go in life, living with immense pressure of undoing his cousins’ fuck ups Mexicano/Indigeno/Latino, man, late teens
Yesena: youngest granddaughter who lives by her own rules Mexicana/Indigena/Latina, woman, late teens - early twenties
MAJESTIC CHILDREN’S THEATER ANNOUNCES AUDITIONS FOR TWO SUMMER SHOWS
