Event

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

There's a new theatre company in town! Well, maybe not completely new. Jason Robert LeClair has brought Shakespeare to the stage for the last four years here in Northern Rhode Island. His educational youth programs have been associated with Beacon Charter High School for the Arts and Mount Saint Charles. This summer he launches a new division of Rhode Island Stage Ensemble (RISE), The Left of Center Stage Players.

This year's offering marks the new company's move away from just the classics, Tom Stoppard's absurdist comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. This hilarious take on Hamlet from the point of view of two minor characters, is replete with witty humor and blatantly absurd situations. The two lead characters find themselves coming into existence at the beginning of the show. Their lives intersect with the scenes from Shakespeare's masterpiece, Hamlet much to their confusion and dismay. A rowdy band of tragedians are "encountered along the way" and brought with the two gentlemen to entertain the king.

Matthew Newton of Lincoln and Evan Crocker of Uxbridge bring Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to life upon the stage. Both veterans of LeClair's program, these young men capture the whirlwind trip of these characters with every line. Austin Mazza-Venditelli of Warwick, ayoung but seasoned veteran of the Woonsocket stages, takes on the role of The Player, a god-like omniscient who hints and eludes to the main characters eventual and unavoidable demise.

RISE and the Left of Center Stage Players in cooperation with Theatre Works, will present this silly and fun romp through Shakespeare on July 18, 19, and 20. (18 at 7:00, 19 at 2:00 and 7:00, and 20 at 2:00). Come join us for a laugh and to support an educational experience like no other!

Company Members speak on what Left of Center Stage Players means to them.