Entertainment

Watertown High School Presenting Musical Take on Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales

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Watertown High School will present “Into the Woods,” this weekend. The production is a modern, musical twist on the Brothers Grimm Fairy tales. There will be three performances in the Watertown High School Centennial Auditorium, 50 Columbia St., Watertown. The musical includes the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel. These tales are tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife on whom a witch has placed a curse.

Entertainment

Mosesian Center Winter Dates Includes Watertown Children’s Theatre, Jazz & Art Exhibitions

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The following announcement was provided by the Mosesian Center for the Arts:

Recently reopened after a major renovation of the lobby and gallery spaces, the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown has announced a winter season of performances, exhibitions, and classes for diverse art enthusiasts and creators of every age and type. “After waiting over eighteen months to reopen,” said Executive Director Darren Farrington, “we’re thrilled offer so much to do, see, learn, and create at Mosesian Arts this winter. While COVID has delayed the start of some January programming, we’re taking precautions seriously and we’re hopeful that audiences and students will see us as a safe and welcoming destination for the arts.”

Performances

The Dark House, a world premiere play by Rachel Maddox, explores technology, influencers, and popularity gone wrong in a contemporary thriller that reflects on the power of social media and how much control it has in our lives. The play features actors in grades 6 through 8 in the Watertown Children’s Theatre program. January 28-30. Clue: On Stage is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery based on the iconic movie and classic board game.

Entertainment

New Rep Theatre Plans to Relaunch After Suspending Operations During Pandemic

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Watertown-based New Repertory Theatre announced it plans to return to the stage after going dormant for several months. The company, which is based at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, halted operations in July after losing half of the 2019-20 season and all of the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Mosesian Center for the Arts was also unavailable during much of that time while main lobby was being renovated. This week, the New Rep Board of Directors sent out a letter that said the company plans to relaunch and will “prioritize new work, community partnerships that bring forth underrepresented voices, and experimental approaches to bold, innovative, and creative programming.” They may also expand performances beyond the Mosesian Center.

Entertainment

Mosesian Center Hosting Holiday Classic — Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

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Dick Terhune stars in “A Christmas Carol” at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. The following information was provided by Mosesian Center for the Arts:

The first theatrical production of A Christmas Carol took place in London just six weeks after the story’s publication in 1843. In 1853, Dickens began to perform the story himself, playing each character without individual props or costumes for each role. In a performance at Mosesian Arts this week, actor Dick Terhune returns to the origins of this holiday tale with a solo turn inspired by Charles Dickens himself. Terhune’s solo performance has been called “mesmerizing … breathtaking … brilliant … unforgettable … a wonder to behold.

Entertainment

Watertown High School Drama Presenting “Get Smart” This Weekend

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Get Smart will be performed three times at Watertown High School: Friday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The play is based on the 1960s television show by the same name, with Agent Maxwell Smart’s comedic interactions with the crime organization KAOS. 

Tickets are $8 for adults; and $5 for seniors and children 10 and under. Find out more about the play in this report by the WHS newspaper, the Raider Times (click here).

Entertainment

New Rep Theatre Suspending Operations Citing Pandemic, Uncertainty About Performance Space

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Watertown-based New Repertory Theatre announced it will be suspending operations beginning July 21. The company based at the Mosesian Center for the Arts had to cancel the end of its 2019-2020 season and its entire 2020-21 season. It has put on a pair of moving plays in outdoor locations around Watertown. 

“As with many cultural institutions, the COVID-19 pandemic led to fiscal challenges for the New Repertory Theatre,” said the statement from New Rep, which was published by the Newton Needham Regional Chamber. Along with the pandemic, New Rep faces uncertainty about its stage space. 

“Additionally, our performance venue, the Mosesian Center for the Arts, is undergoing renovations, which adds to the COVID-related uncertainty we are already experiencing regarding mounting in-person performances in the near future. With these challenges in mind, the Board of Directors of the New Repertory Theatre has made the decision to suspend operations until we determine next steps for the organization,” the announcement said. 

New Rep will be making more announcements in the near future, the announcement said. “We have informed the staff of this decision and the reasons for the suspension.

Entertainment

New Rep’s Newest Play Takes Audiences on Tour of the History of Local Indigenous People

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Jennifer KavanaughSipu, played by Maria Hendricks, addresses the audience during a performance of New Rep Theatre’s “Listen to Sipu.” Looking on is Emma the tour guide, played by Grace Wagner. New Repertory Theater has brought live theater back to Watertown with its second Historical Moving Play, Listen to Sipu. The production focuses on the Indigenous people who lived on land that is now Watertown, looking at both their past and present. Listen to Sipu features what New Rep calls Indigenous culture-keepers: actors Maria Hendricks (Mashpee Wampanoag) and Grace Wagner (Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah), script writer Morgan (Mwalim) J. Peters (Mashpee Wampanoag), and directed by Jaime Carrillo (Aymara).

Entertainment

Watertown Children’s Theatre Presenting “The Laramie Project”

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Children’s Theatre:

Watertown Children’s Theatre at the Mosesian Center for the Arts presents The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project. In October 1998, Laramie, Wyoming was the site of a violent crime against a young man named Matthew Shepard. Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to Laramie over the course of a year and a half, in the aftermath of the violent attack and during the trial of the two young men accused of killing Shepard. Kaufman and Tectonic Theater members have constructed a deeply moving theatrical experience that explores the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights of compassion of which we are capable. In this online production, WCT features a cast of 9th-12th graders exploring what this story means for a new generation of performers and audiences over twenty years later.