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Britney Coleman as Bobbie in the North American Tour of “Company,” playing at Providence Performing Arts Center through April 28.

Theater Review: Touring ‘Company’ at PPAC

PROVIDENCE – Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim redefined the Broadway musical form by being at once intelligent and heartfelt, melodic and musically enigmatic, traditional and highly unconventional. For many in the audience, Sondheim’s challenging, … more

BOB ABELMAN | 4/25/24

A red dress shoe belonging to a female deportee at "Auschwitz. Not long ago. No far away." at The Castle at Park Plaza in Boston through Sept. 2.

Review: Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away

BOSTON, MASS. – Dramatic narratives built from historical and archival materials have been called “testimony’s ambitious sister” by the late South African Nobel Peace Prize recipient Desmond Tutu. They provide a voice for ordinary, silenced people who have lived through or died during extraordinary circumstances, and have the power to break stereotypes, enhance understanding and foster empathy.

“Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away” provides that narrative for the approximately one million Jews and tens of thousands of Polish political prisoners, Sinti, Roma and Soviet POWs, Jehovah’s Witnesses and those the Nazis deemed homosexual, disabled, criminal, inferior or adversarial in countless other ways who met their demise at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. The traveling exhibition is having its New England premiere at The Castle at Park Plaza after opening in Madrid’s Arte Canal Exhibition Centre in 2017. more

BOB ABELMAN | 3/21/24

Caroline Bowman (left) as Elsa, Lauren Nicole Chapman as Anna, and ensemble members in the North American tour of “Frozen,” playing at Providence Performing Arts Center through March 17, 2024.

Theater Review: Touring ‘Frozen’ at PPAC

PROVIDENCE – A “tale as old as time” is more than just a lyric from Disney’s animated film “Beauty and the Beast.” The story about a prince who is transformed into a hideous beast as punishment for his selfishness and must gain the love of a selfless woman to recover his humanity was first published as a French … more

Bob Abelman | 3/8/24

Meet Bob Abelman, Jewish Rhode Island’s new theater critic

Bob Abelman, an award-winning former theater critic for the Austin Chronicle and Cleveland Jewish News, is now writing reviews of the Providence Performing Arts Center’s Broadway and Encore … more

JEWISH RHODE ISLAND STAFF | 3/1/24

Richard Thomas as Atticus Finch and members of ensemble of the touring “To Kill a Mockingbird” at the Providence Performing Arts Center through Feb. 11.

Theater Review: Touring 'To Kill a Mockingbird' at PPAC

PROVIDENCE – When it was announced in early 2016 that an adaptation of Harper Lee’s benchmark novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” was heading for the Broadway stage, it did not take … more

BOB ABELMAN | 2/7/24

(l-r) Harrell Holmes, Jr., Jalen Harris, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, E. Clayton Cornelius, and Michael Andreaus from the touring “Ain’t Too Proud” at Providence Performing Arts Center through Jan. 28

Touring ‘Ain’t Too Proud’ at PPAC

PROVIDENCE – Biographical jukebox musicals are, by their very nature, highly predictable and easily digestible creatures. They all use the immensely familiar music generated by a popular … more

BOB ABELMAN | 1/24/24

Robert Petkoff as Harold Zidler and members of the ensemble of the touring "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" at Providence Performing Arts Center through Dec. 31.

Theater Review: Touring ‘Moulin Rouge’ at PPAC

PROVIDENCE – “Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, da-da (hey, hey, hey)/Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, here.” This inane lyric from LaBelle’s 1974 hit song “Lady Marmalade,” which opens John Logan’s Tony Award-winning "Moulin Rouge! The Musical," speaks volumes about everything that comes after. more

Bob Abelman | 12/21/23

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