ASP Brings Modern and Relevant ‘Little Women’ to Watertown

February 9, 2026April 8, 2026 Julie-Anne WhitneyLeave a comment

Kaila Pelton-Flavin, Olivia Fenton, Sarah Newhouse, Aislinn Brophy, and Chloe McFarlane in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s *Little Women*. Photos by Benjamin Rose Photography.

Little Women by Kate Hamill; Directed by Shana Gozansky; Set Design by Jenna MacFarland Lord; Scenic Design by Danielle Ibrahim; Costume Design by Zoe Sundra; Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan; Sound Design by Julian Crocamo; Intimacy Direction by Liv Dumaine; Stage Managed by Dominique D. Burford. Produced by Actors’ Shakespeare Project (ASP) at the Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. Runs through March 1, 2026.

By Julie-Anne Whitney

It takes courage to adapt such a widely beloved novel as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Playwright Kate Hamill’s bold theatrical reimaginings of classic literature have, themselves, become hugely popular amongst regional theater companies. Hamill has been named one of the most produced playwrights in America every season since 2017, and Boston theater companies have been producing her plays for years (i.e., The Odyssey, Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, Emma, Dracula, Vanity Fair, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility). Hamill’s unique skill is taking a well-known story, maintaining its core themes, and then turning it on its head by presenting the story through a decidedly contemporary and/or feminist lens and offering a fresh, unexpected perspective of characters we know and love.

GSC’s ‘Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson’ Delights

September 16, 2025April 8, 2026 CJ WilliamsLeave a comment

Breezy Leigh, Stephen Shore, Erin O’Sullivan in Gloucester Stage’s ‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson’
Photos by Shawn G. Henry

By C.J. Williams

Gleeful send-up and homage, this gender-swapped Holmesian adventure set in 2021 London, featuring a New Yorker Watson and a cast that clearly delights in the havoc of playing multiple roles at speed (one-man Lestrade-Moriarty-Sleazy Politician, anyone?) Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson by Kate Hamill is a quirky, funny-bone-prodding sprint for its full two-hour runtime.

Eryn O’Sullivan Lifts Gloucester Stage’s ‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson’

September 10, 2025April 8, 2026 Shelley Sackett1 Comment

Breezy Leigh, Stephen Shore, Erin O’Sullivan in Gloucester Stage’s ‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson’

‘Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2b.’ Written by Kate Hamill. Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw. Set Design by Kristin Loeffler; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan; Sound Design by Julian Crocamo. Presented by Gloucester Stage, 267 East Main St., Gloucester, through September 27.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Playwright and actor Kate Hamill, known for putting a feminist spin on adaptations of classic literature, turns her droll pen on the iconic partnership of Detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson in the hit-and-miss Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2b, in production at Gloucester Stage through September 27. While set design (Kristin Loeffler), crisp direction (Rebecca Bradshaw), and a captivating Eryn O’Sullivan as Holmes dull the play’s dull edges, its 2-hour, 45-minute (one intermission) length at last Sunday’s matinee was as unwarranted as it was irritating.

A.R.T.’s ‘The Odyssey’ Catapults Homer’s Ancient Epic Poem into the 21st Century

February 20, 2025April 8, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Members of the cast in A.R.T.’s world-premiere production of *The Odyssey*.
Photo Credits: Nile Scott Studios and Maggie Hall.

‘The Odyssey’ – Written by Kate Hamill. Based on the epic poem by Homer. Scenic Design by Sibyl Wickersheimer; Costume Design by An-Lin Dauber; Lighting Design and Projection Design by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew; Sound Design and Music Composition by Paul James Prendergast. Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA, through March 16.

By Shelley A. Sackett

“If you’ve gone through something traumatic, can you ever go back to who you were? Can you ever go back home?” is the essential question American Repertory Theater’s Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus asks audience members to consider as they experience the world premiere of Kate Hamill’s A.R.T.-commissioned newest work, ‘The Odyssey.’ This spectacularly produced reimagination of Homer’s 8^th/7^th century B.C. epic poem is the latest retelling of a classic tale by Hamill, who, once again, displays her special talent for penning plays that magically remain true to the original while interweaving parallel contemporary issues, culture and language.

ASP’s ‘Emma’ Is Deliciously Incisive, Ingenious and Impudent

November 26, 2024April 9, 2026 Shelley SackettLeave a comment

Lorraine Victoria Kanyike, Fady Demian, Josephine Elwood, and Liza Giangrande in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of ‘Emma’. Photo by Nile Scott Studios.

‘Emma’ — Written by Kate Hamill. Based on the novel by Jane Austen. Directed by Regine Vital. Scenic Design by Saskia Martinez; Costume Design by Nia Safarr Banks; Lighting Design by Deb Sullivan; Sound Design by Anna Drummond. Presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project at Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge through December 15^th.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Jane Austen’s 1815 novel “Emma,” like all her other novels, explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England. Her Emma Woodhouse is a bright, wealthy, and confident young woman who basically has it all — education, intelligence, beauty, and money. She also has a surplus of self-confidence, pride and time. She is as spoiled, meddlesome, and self-deluded as she is witty, charming, and pithy.

It’s a Mad, Mad (Victorian) World in Central Square’s ‘Vanity Fair’

February 5, 2020April 8, 2026 Julie-Anne WhitneyLeave a comment

Cast of Nora Theatre’s ‘Vanity Fair; at Central Square Theatre

By Julie-Anne Whitney

Vanity Fair (an im-morality play) – Written by Kate Hamill, adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel; direction and scenic design by David R. Gammons; lighting design by Jeff Adelberg; sound design by David Wilson; costume design by Leslie Held; properties coordinated by Ciara McAloon; dramaturgy by Hilary Rappaport; stage managed by Elizabeth Yyvette Ramirez. Produced by Underground Railway Theater through February 23, 2020 at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA.

William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fairwas first published in 1847 as a 19-volume serial novel released in monthly installments for Punch, a British magazine known for its satirical content. The 800-page work was published in a single volume in 1848 with the subtitle A Novel Without A Hero. Arguably Thackeray’s most successful and enduring work, Vanity Fair has been adapted into radio broadcasts, silent and sound films, television series, and plays.