REVIEW: “The Nether” at the Ghent Playhouse

by Jess Hoffman The Nether originally premiered in 2013, but seems even more relevant today than it was then. The current production at the Ghent Playhouse makes it painfully obvious that we have only moved closer to the imagined future of The Nether in the last ten years. The Nether…

REVIEW: “Invitation to a March” at the Ghent Playhouse

by Paula Kaplan-Reiss [Production photos coming soon!] “Why do you sleep? Is it because of me?” asks Schuyler Grogan (Matt Benincasa)  of his betrothed, Norma (Leigh Fisher-Troche), who constantly, narcoleptically nods off three days before their wedding. In Invitation to a March, a play by Arthur Laurents, this question is…

REVIEW: “Buyer and Cellar” at the Ghent Playhouse

by Jeannie Marlin Woods The season opener at the Ghent Playhouse is a charmer. Sam Reilly turns in a totally endearing performance in this solo piece. BUYER & CELLAR may best be described as a “fantasia.” The actor tells us at the beginning it is fiction, not a real story.…

REVIEW: Panto 2021 “Rapunzel: Tale of a Quaran-Teen”

by Gail M. Burns The PantoLoons are back! The Ghent Playhouse has reopened its doors post-pandemic with its signature family-friendly laugh-fest, based on the British holiday tradition of the Panto. What is a Panto? Well, it is a British theatrical tradition for the holiday season. Basically you take a familiar…

Ghent Playhouse Presents the Family-Friendly Panto “Rapunzel: The Tale of A Quaran-teen”

November 26-December 12 [GHENT, NY] – After being shuttered for more than 11 months, The Ghent Playhouse is delighted to kick off its 2021-2022 season with a new take on the annual Panto production. “Rapunzel: The Tale of a Quaran-teen” is a zany twist of the classic story, written, acted, produced…

An Inside Look at the Newest David Mamet Drama

by Alexandra Pool David Mamet is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright whose work in theater and film keeps him based in LA. So how did his latest drama, The Christopher Boy’s Communion, arrive at an upstart theater company in the Berkshires of Western, Massachusetts? Chalk it up to a longtime artistic collaboration between…

REVIEW: “The Chalk Garden” at the Ghent Playhouse

by Fred Baumgarten Every generation, it seems, must have its “Chalk Garden.” Major revivals pop up every decade or so like crocuses sprouting in spring. And then there’s the popularity the 1955 Enid Bagnold play enjoys in regional theater, perhaps owing to its meaty dialogue and eccentric characters. Is it…