URI THEATRE SEASON PREVIEW
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| The URI Theatre Department will produce a mix of Broadway classics, including “Cabaret” in December, and the children’s classic “Charlotte’s Web” in April during the 2026-27 academic year. Pictured is the cast of URI’s 2026 production of “Ride the Cyclone. (URI photo/Seth Jacobson) |
This season, the University of Rhode Island’s Theatre Department will take audiences on a journey through the trials and tribulations of a brilliant mathematician’s family, a nightclub in 1930s Berlin, the French Revolution, and an enchantingly unique friendship between a young pig and a spider.
All the while, student actors, designers, directors and
stage managers will bring their creativity to the URI Fine Arts Center’s
various stages to both delight the public and also develop the necessary skills
to thrive in the performing arts realm.
“Proof” and “Cabaret,” will premiere in the J Studio and
Robert E. Will Theatre, respectively, this fall at the Fine Arts Center, 150
Upper College Road, on the Kingston Campus. In the spring, “The
Revolutionists” and “Charlotte’s Web” will be staged under the bright stage
lights.
The season commences Oct. 16 with “Proof” by David
Auburn, directed by URI alum and Providence College professor of theatre Jimmy
Calitri ’01—with URI theatre student Princess Johnson serving as student
assistant director. Calitri returns to URI to lead “Proof” after previously directing
“Guys and Dolls” and “Little Shop of Horrors” on campus a few years ago.
The Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play centers around Catherine, the daughter of a recently deceased, brilliant yet mentally ill mathematician, Robert, and a complicated family dynamic about handling grief. “Proof” explores themes of loss, love, legacy, and the elusive nature of truth—blending science with human emotion.
“This play will most importantly shed light on mental
illness and our responsibility toward anyone with any such illness. It’s about
understanding dementia and the decision to be responsible for that person with
it,” Calitri said. “Also, this play is about how we process grief. The goal is
for the audience and actors alike to identify with the characters and to either
have it be therapeutic for them if they experienced similar situations or to
understand it if they never previously experienced it.”
Invoking history and thought
The season also includes a student-led full-length
production of Adam Bock’s dark comedy “The Receptionist,” Nov. 12-14 at 7:30
p.m., and Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. at J Studio. Directed by Jay Harkness—a senior
from North Carolina, majoring in theater—“The Receptionist” centers around a
cheerful office receptionist whose daily routine is upended by an unsettling
visitor from the central office.
Harkness, a first-time director, says “The Receptionist” is
a “whiplash play,” where it begins a certain way and then changes direction
leading the audience to begin questioning what everything previous was about.
He is looking forward to the challenge of leading the production from start to
finish.
“With where I’m at in my academic career, directing a play
will be a true test for me to achieve my goal of working in theater,” Harkness
said. “I am also a firm believer that theater is both meant to be entertaining
and make people think about things that they normally don’t think about.”
Then, beginning Dec. 4, John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe
Masteroff’s landmark play “Cabaret”—originally performed on Broadway in
1966—will perform live at URI for the first time since 1992. URI Professor of
Costume Design David
Howard will direct the 1998 revival version of “Cabaret” by Sam Mendes.
Howard describes this version as a “very aggressive adaptation” of the Broadway
classic. Parker Frenze, a senior majoring in theatre, will serve as the student
assistant director.
The dance-driven musical is set in 1930s Berlin in the
shadow of the Nazi’s rise to power, focusing on the Kit Kat Club and the lives
of American writer Cliff Bradshaw and English performer Sally Bowles. Howard
says “Cabaret” will be an opportunity for URI to educate the audience both
about how life was during Nazi Germany and ask a simple, yet difficult question
of what they would do in a similar situation.
“Doing a play like this on a university campus affords us
the opportunity to do deep-diving into the world of these young people for
those who never truly experienced ‘Cabaret’ before,” Howard said. “We are
thrilled to bring back an iconic Broadway standard to once again delight the
URI community and beyond.”
On Feb. 26, URI Associate Teaching Professor of
Voice/Movement and Acting Tracy Miller and
student assistant director Sonia Thomas, a junior majoring in theater, will
explore themes of feminism, activism, violence and legacy—all while leading to
the guillotine—with Lauren Gunderson’s “The Revolutionists.” Using contemporary
language, the comedic play centers around four real women during the French
Revolution’s Reign of Terror: playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte
Corday, former queen Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle, who
meet in a Parisian prison cell.
Miller says this production will also highlight the power of
the written word. Additionally, history is not always told through the female
lens, thus bringing “The Revolutionists” to the J Studio stage is all the more
important, she says.
“Telling this story through the female perspective gives us
a broader picture of what it was like during the French Revolution and what it
meant. The stakes are different for these lead characters,” Miller said. “When
we’re considering women who at the time had less rights, their risk and stakes
are much higher.”
“I’m really excited to help portray a story that has
audiences thinking deeper about what women and women activists went through
during the French Revolution,” said Thomas, who helped Miller lead URI’s
production of “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream” last year. “Plus, assisting in directing the play
helps me build experience and knowledge of different directing styles.”
“Charlotte’s Web,” based on the classic E.B. White
children’s book that was adapted by Joseph Robinette—directed by Associate
Professor of Acting and Directing Rachel Walshe—will
close URI Theatre’s 2026-27 season beginning April 23. Robinette’s
adaptation brings to life on stage the story of Wilbur the pig and his spider
friend, Charlotte, to showcase the power of friendship that will enchant
audiences throughout.
“Charlotte’s Web” also touches on a topic that Walshe says
is powerful for young people: death, and how one lives their life—and how they
impact others—in a short period.
“This is a beautiful story where we further understand that
we all have an expiration date in life. But, living a life with purpose in the
time we have has a powerful effect on others,” Walshe said.
“Proof” by David Auburn
Oct. 16-17 and 21-24, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18 and 25, at 2 p.m.
J Studio, URI Fine Arts Center
“The Receptionists” by Adam Bock (student-led production)
Nov. 12-14, at 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 15, at 2 p.m.
J Studio, URI Fine Arts Center
“Cabaret” by Joe Masteroff, John Kander and Fred Ebb
Dec. 4-5 and 9-12, at 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 6 and 13, at 2 p.m.
Robert E. Will Theatre, URI Fine Arts Center
“The Revolutionists” by Lauren Gunderson
Feb. 26-27 and March 3-6, 2027, at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 and March 7, at 2 p.m.J Studio, URI Fine Arts Center
“Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White and Joseph Robinette
April 23-24 and 30, and May 1, at 7 p.m.
April 24-25 and May 1-2, at 2 p.m.
Robert E. Will Theatre, URI Fine Arts Center
Tickets are available now by visiting URI Theatre’s website.
