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BILL RODRIGUEZ

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Review: The enduring pleasures of Gypsy

Gotta sing! Gotta dance!
There are stage mothers and then there is Rose in the musical Gypsy , who is to the rest of the lot what Godzilla is to geckos.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | April 06, 2011

Review: Daydream's Buster Keaton: Fade To Black

Laugh to keep from crying
In his time — the silent film era — he was more popular than Charlie Chaplin. Buster Keaton: Fade to Black does a fascinating job making clear to us why that was so, as Daydream Theatre Company presents it at Bell Street Chapel through April 16.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | April 05, 2011

Review: The Fish Market

Already has its sea legs
The first encouraging sign was that the two men greeting us beaming broadly were the host and, we later learned, the executive chef. These guys were clearly happy. Business must be doing well.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | April 14, 2011

Review: The Gamm's Paul examines the power of faith

True believer
Looking at Christianity objectively, historically, can appear to be critical, since religion is a matter of faith.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 30, 2011

Review: 2nd Story's uproarious The Good Doctor

When Neil met Anton
Neil Simon may not be the most subtle of playwrights, too often tempted beyond endurance to go for the gag at the expense of motivation.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 30, 2011

Review: Andreas

Greek (and American) classics
The Greek community in Providence isn't as large as, say Italian or Portuguese, so Greek restaurants are scarce, unless you count pizzerias. (Feta hasn't replaced mozzarella yet, but just you wait.)

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 30, 2011

Review: Next to Normal is part-musical, part-drama

Ordinary people
Musicals have been made about everything from finicky felines to a wheel-chaired victim pushed overboard by terrorists. So Next to Normal 's focus on bipolar disorder is hardly an eyebrow-raiser these days. An impressive touring production is at the Providence Performing Arts Center through March 27.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 23, 2011

Festival Ballet's latest 'up CLOSE on HOPE'

Natural grace
Watching a ballet or modern dance from eighth row center is a pretty privileged experience, but an "up CLOSE on HOPE" performance makes that seem like peanut gallery seating. Festival Ballet Providence is presenting nine company premieres through March 27 in their intimate Black Box Theater.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 24, 2011

Review: Cactus Grille

Mexican with an American accent
Longevity for a non-ethnic Mexican restaurant around here sometimes has less to do with quality than with the Americanization of tastes.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 22, 2011

Review: Tina's Jamaican Caribbean Restaurant

Fine fare with a tropical accent
Fed up with winter? Couple of options. Hit the web and book an impulse flight to some palm-tree-bedecked island. Or drive to Tina's Jamaican Caribbean Restaurant, bask in the colorful ambience, and prepare yourself to be fed as well as any Rastaman who strolls in.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 15, 2011

Review: Trinity's Yellowman gets beneath the surface

Pride and prejudice
With its usual acting prowess, distilled into two characters, Trinity Repertory Company is presenting an affecting drama about black-on-black prejudice, Dael Orlandersmith's Yellowman .

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 08, 2011

Review: Brown's As You Like It turns the tables

Role reversal
There can be too much of a good thing, as Rosalind in As You Like It brings up in the course of things, thereby introducing the phrase to the English language. In a related caution, familiarity breeds contempt, as an Aesop's fable had it.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 08, 2011

Review: Ebisu

Ingenuity instead of sushi
If you like Japanese food but you’re sick of sushi, then you’ll probably love Ebisu. Named after one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, who brings luck to fishermen and merchants, the place doesn’t even serve sushi, as if the offering would be too boringly obvious.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 09, 2011

Review: Yesterday's

Nostalgic setting, contemporary delights
Funny thing, nostalgia. When it's about an era you haven't personally experienced, the reminders can be all over the place. Yesterday's bills itself as an alehouse, so visual cues try to trigger images of clanking, frothing mugs.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 02, 2011

Review: RWU's rollicking Lucky Stiff

Life's rich pageant
If Lucky Stiff were any funnier, doctors would have to be standing by to attend all the knees being overenthusiastically slapped. The farcical musical is playing at Roger Williams University Theatre through March 5, and the production doesn't waste many opportunities for hilarity.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | March 01, 2011

Review: CTC's minimalist Romeo and Juliet

An amusing tragedy
Ah, young love. So sweet, so unguarded, so unwise. Parents can caution the younger of their teenagers all they want, but William Shakespeare has undermined their efforts by promoting the blissful aspect in Romeo and Juliet . Yes, it's a tragedy and they die at the end, but that's a minor annoyance next to their joy.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | February 23, 2011

Review: Noodles 102

Simply delicious
Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity — life is frittered away by too-fancy restaurants, to paraphrase Harry Thoreau if he were famished and looking for a good, quick meal.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | February 23, 2011

Review: Le Central

Cherchez la lunch
Their slogan is "Where the East Bay meets the Left Bank," and Le Central, in the middle of Bristol, usually does a fine job fulfilling the claim with more than good french fries. Gone are the days when the town had to settle for a Café La France on the spot.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | February 15, 2011

Review: Mirth and murder in Clue: The Musical

Games people play
The board game Clue has been entertaining families since the end of World War II, when people were especially eager for distractions.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | February 15, 2011

Review: Trinity Rep’s Crucible is potent

Hidden agendas
The Crucible is a profoundly moving story, especially when inhabited by the talents at Trinity Repertory Company. This is the third time the group has taken on Arthur Miller's masterwork of American theater, the last a quarter-century ago.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | February 17, 2011

Review: The Lion King inspires at PPAC

A roaring success
The Lion King is roaring at the Providence Performing Arts Center through February 20, and the theatergoing denizens of this urban jungle are happy.

By: BILL RODRIGUEZ | February 10, 2011

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