How will the Gamm Theatre celebrate its 40th year? With a season filled with surprises
Forty years ago, seven actors launched the artist collective Alias Stage in Olneyville and began to produce challenging pieces and rollicking interpretations of Shakespeare and other classics.
That legacy – built painstakingly through four moves and a renaming as the Gamm Theatre – is evidenced in deliberate choices made when deciding the company’s 40th season lineup.
“You only turn 40 once!” says artistic director Tony Estrella. "Because of the anniversary, we always knew we wanted to do one show that honored our history.”
That choice was obvious, he says.
“No play is more important to the world in general and to us in particular than 'Hamlet,’” Estrella notes of the Shakespeare classic. “We did it last back in 2011, so almost a decade and a half later it is more than ripe for revival.”
While he promises “some surprises,” Gamm’s 2024-2025 season announcement includes:
“The Effect,” opening in October. By Lucy Prebble, Emmy Award-winning writer of “Succession,” this piece centers on a man and woman who fall in love when volunteering for a clinical drug trial and evolves to become an intriguing look at the chemical nature of love, Estrella says. The audience is taken along on their provocative journey as their relationship interferes with the trial itself, forcing a clash between ethics and emotions. “What is ephemeral? What is material? Is love no more than a series of chemical reactions? If so, what does that mean? It's relentless and probing,” he says.
“Amadeus,” opening in November. Calling it “the other beast in the lineup,” Estrella describes the Tony Award-winning play, adapted into an Academy Award-winning movie, as “a one-of-a-kind masterpiece about ambition, obsession, self-knowledge, genius and mediocrity.” Playwright Peter Shaffer examines the death of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as murder at the hands of his bitter rival. “We get to see and hear Mozart in action. We’re hoping to have fun with some live music elements in this,” Estrella says, adding, “It’s a thrilling, epic piece and a great companion to ‘Hamlet.’ They both interrogate humankind’s relationship with an unforgiving universe, a world devoid of any absolute meaning, and they explore art as our vehicle for understanding the ineffable. ‘Amadeus’ through music and ‘Hamlet’ through theatre.”
“Girls & Boys,” opening in January 2025. This New England premiere, Estrella notes, “is just pure direct-as-a-heart-attack storytelling.” The only character is a woman examining her failing marriage in a way he calls “harrowing, tragic, often shockingly funny, heartbreaking cathartic.” Playwright Dennis Kelly, like Shakespeare, understands the power of soliloquy and direct audience address, Estrella says. “’Girls & Boys’ grabs us by the throat with the first line and doesn't let go,” he adds.
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“Between Riverside and Crazy,” opening in February. Estrella calls this Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy one of the best American plays of the past decade. Stress piles on a retired New York City police officer who fights to keep his rent-controlled apartment shared with a son fresh out of jail, sues his former employer and fends off constant calls from his church. “Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis is a singular voice – raw, hilarious, provocative. It's an astonishing play where cultures and history are in constant confrontation, asking perhaps the most fundamental question of all – ‘How am I going to pay the goddamn rent?!’” Estrella says.
“Hamlet,” opening in April. Estrella, who twice played the title role in this Shakespearean tragedy, teams with Associate Artistic Director Rachel Walshe to direct the season finale. The tale combines ghosts with family drama, politics and murder, and the Gamm team promises a fresh exploration of the human condition. “These plays are huge, and having as many incredibly smart and passionate collaborators makes anything possible,” Estrella says. “This season, we produced the greatest comedy ever written in ‘Twelfth Night.’ Next year, it's the greatest tragedy. That they share a lot in their inception and deep link to Shakespeare and his family makes producing ‘Hamlet’ feel like the second part of one incredible story.”
For ticket information, go to gammtheatre.org.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Gamm Theatre 2024-25 preview: 'Hamlet,' 'Amadeus' highlight 40th year
