RED Thomas Derrah stars as Mark Rothko in SpeakEasy Stage’s production of John Logan’s Tony-winning play about the abstract-expressionist artist. |
Although the whirlwind of Scrooges and Rockettes will soon be exiting stage left, the storm of winter theater continues unabated. Fear not: all your local favorites will spend the coming months beckoning you with winter offerings that run the gamut from classic comedies and tragedies to brand-new dramatic debuts.GOD OF CARNAGE | Huntington Theatre Company | January 6–February 5 | Daniel Goldstein directs the Christopher Hampton translation of this comedy by French playwright Yasmina Reza (also being adapted this season as a film by Roman Polanski; see page 18). The story follows two sets of parents whose young sons have been fighting; the two couples try (and fail) to mediate without devolving into childish brawling themselves.
Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave, Boston | $25-$89 | 617.266.0800 or huntingtontheatre.org
RED | SpeakEasy Stage Company | January 6–February 4 | David R. Gammons helms John Logan's Tony Award–winning play (and that's six Tonys, by the way, not just one). Beloved Boston talent Thomas Derrah stars as abstract-expressionist painter Mark Rothko; Logan's biographical play studies Rothko's methods and his relationship with art as he tackles a huge commission, with some help from his young new assistant Ken (Karl Baker Olson).
Wimberly Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St, Boston | $25-$50 | 617.933.8600 or speakeasystage.com
SUPERIOR DONUTS | Lyric Stage Company | January 6–February 4 | Spiro Veloudos directs this contemporary play by Tracy Letts, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of August: Osage County. The comedy-drama about the unlikely friendship between a donut shop owner and a young aspiring writer with a gambling addiction stars Steven Barkhimer and De'Lon Grant.
Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon St, Boston | $27-$60 | 617.585.5678 or lyricstage.com
AS YOU LIKE IT | American Repertory Theater | January 18-29 | The ART/MXAT Institute for Advanced Theater Training takes on the Bard's pastoral comedy about mistaken identity, love triangles, and political intrigue. David Hammond directs the cast, which includes Alexandra Wright as Rosalind, Matthew Christian as Orlando, and Carl James as Dennis and Jacques, the latter of which requires him to breathe new life into that familiar "all the world's a stage" monologue.
Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St, Cambridge | $25-$35 | 617.547.8300 or tickets.americanrepertorytheater.org
GREEN EYES | Company One | January 18-February 12 | After this show's sold-out run in New York City, Company One hosts the Boston debut of Travis Chamberlain's production of Tennessee Williams's erotic drama, written in 1970 but unpublished for almost 40 years. NYC actress Erin Markey stars.
Ames Hotel, 1 Court St, Boston | $20-$35 | 617.292.7110 or companyone.org
SUGAR | ArtsEmerson | January 20-29 | Maureen Shea directs Robbie McCauley in her one-woman autobiographical show about her struggle with diabetes. Chauncey Moore provides live musical accompaniment.
The Jackie Liebergott Black Box at the Paramount Center, 559 Washington St, Boston | $25-$49 | 617.824.8400 or artsemerson.org