Cambridge Hotels

ImprovBoston

2009-02-18T08:14:00.000-08:00

Cambridge Hotels – This Cambridge fixture is the longest running improvisational theater in the Boston area. The Inman Square scene has launched many world famous comics including Saturday Night Live’s Jane Curtin, Steven Wright and Bobcat Goldthwait, and ImprovBoston has been continuing this rich tradition for over 25 years. During their spontaneous shows, the audience suggests an idea or throws out a word, and the troupe acts it out to hilarious results. At times, the actors will turn a suggestion into a situation comedy on the fly with an actual theme song and even commercials. The also have their Sgt. Culpepper’s Improvisational Jamboree, where after local improv troupes perform, audience members hop on stage for an improv contest (be wary when you go to the bathroom, you might be hauled up to participate in the action). Then there’s TheatreSports - acting teams competing in an uproarious comedy challenge judged by the spectators. In addition, they offer classes on stand-up comedy, sketch writing and improvisation. Recently, they have moved into a newly renovated 3,400-square-foot theater in Central Square from their long-time home in Inman Square. With a 100-seat main stage, a 40-seat cabaret space, and new wine and beer bar, ImprovBoston is the perfect place to get your laugh on.
ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Central Square, Cambridge, 617-576-1253.
http://www.improvboston.com/

American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.)

2009-01-27T07:56:00.001-08:00

Cambridge Hotels – Named “one of the top three theatres in the country” by Time magazine, this world-renown drama house has been associated with Harvard for twenty-eight years. Its dramatic works – which have won the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize – have featured premieres by luminaries such as Don DeLillo, David Mamet and Robert Wilson. And the resident company includes Oscar-nominated movie stars Marisa Tomei and Debra Winger. A.R.T. features new American plays, updated productions of the classics, and music/theater hybrids like “The Onion Cellar” with the punk duo, the Dresden Dolls. Their avant-garde plays are also infused with modern technology, marked by video projections, over-the-top music and arresting visuals. New and old clash in their unconventional productions - their interpretation of Samuel Beckett's Endgame angered the author by setting the play in a subway. The artistic staff teaches Harvard undergraduate classes in acting, playwriting and directing. Located at the 556-seat Loeb Drama Center at Brattle Street, A.R.T. also recently opened the Zero Arrow Theatre in Harvard Square for dramas that appeal to a younger audience. For innovative world-class theater right here in Cambridge, check out the American Repertory Theatre.
American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.)
Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street., Cambridge.
Zero Arrow Theatre, Massachusetts Avenue & Arrow Street, Cambridge.
617-547-8300.
http://www.amrep.org/

Central Square Theater

2009-01-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

Cambridge Hotels – This new state-of-the-art community theater - a collaboration between MIT and the city of Cambridge – features some of the world’s most unique stage performances. It’s called scientific theater, plays that deepen public understanding about science. The effort brings together the artistic and scientific communities through performances and popular post-show discussions by MIT faculty. Recent shows include QED, about Nobel Prize physicist (and bongo player) Richard Feynman; and Einstein's Dreams, which imagines the great one’s dream-world as he re-conceives time. These productions are joint projects with the Underground Railway Theater, also famous for its political and social plays for families and children, and their larger-than-life shadow puppet shows. Central Square is also home to the Nora Theatre Company which presents modern classics with a focus on women authors. This beautiful contemporary space has a magnificent lobby lit by a textured glass curtain, a cabaret late-night performance space, and a larger black box theater which holds up to 200 people. If you want a truly different stage experience that will engage both sides of your brain – and your heart – try the Central Square Theater. Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-576-9278.
http://www.centralsquaretheater.org/index.php