Shakespeare’s Macbeth was presented with no timid wariness about “the Scottish play” but instead a dark, mysterious exploration full of visual and emotional surprises, including a sexy young Macbeth and a terrifying, shifting landscape dominated by the three witches, not the royal killer couple. Stratford’s Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino is clearly the star of the production, directing it where it usually doesn’t go.

In a world gone utterly mad, for a great escape, there is nothing quite like an evening at Barrington Stage and the swashbuckling production of the perennial Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert & Sullivan. It has been masterfully created by that other theatrcal partnership Rando and Bergasse the pair that brought Barrington's On the Town to Broadway.

In his 80th birthday year, Reich is being celebrated by Tilson Thomas in San Francisco and in a train station outside London in September. He is in New York now with multiple concerts as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. We are fortunate indeed for this native New Yorker.

We welcome the distinguished critic Herbert Simpson and his coverage of Stratford Festival of Canada. Here he reviews Breath of Kings: Rebellion Richard II and Henry IV Part 1I which will be performed through September 24.

In “Broadway Bound,” Neil Simon shines a light on people who are flawed. You not only forgive them at the end, you feel as though you’re leaving part of your own family as the curtain closes.

The well-known historical musica "1776" about our founding fathers’ mission to make America independent from England is on stage through July 24 in the intimate, semi-circular Don and Ann Brown Theatre in Palm Beach, Florida.

Bathed in blue light, the stage could be anywhere, in the heart of Africa or New York CIty. Steve Reich, one of the titans of modern music, captured mainstream attention with Drumming. Now everyone loves the iconic piece. Lincoln Center offers it and other works of Reich in their summer festival.

The hilarious comedy The Chinese Room by the Irish playwright Michael West is having its world premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival. The current production allows for fine tuning for when the play transfers Off Broadway to Manhattan Theatre Club. It is sure to be a hit in New York.

Even if you don't know the conventions of Noh Theater, developed over 600 years in Japan, there is great pleasure in its performance. The Kanze Noh troupe sports players whose descent can be traced back 22 generations. Deep emotions are generated by performances of dramas from this rich history.

Returing to Jacob's Pillow for the twelth time Hubbard Street Dance Chicago presented a complex, varied and demanding evening of dance.

The Knights, a Brooklyn based chamber music band, play music from numerous genres and somehow unite the opposing styles into a wonderful evening of entertainment. From Hadyn to Dylan, with a little Schubert thrown in for good measure, The Knights journey begins.

Composer Huang Ruo talks about dimensionalism. You don't have to understand what the term means to get totally caught up in new dimensions in his opera Paradise Interrupted which opens the Lincoln Center Festival. Ruo's music, and Jennifer Ma's libretto based on the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden are enmeshed in The Peony Pavilion, a truncated version of the 16th century Chinese Opera. The original lasted 22 hours and has been performed by Qian Yi, a force of nature who weaves the song of the central character in the new opera.

Between Riverside and Crazy is a rowdy, raunchy play with lots of action. (Sensitive ears alert: When I said raunchy, that’s what I meant.) Yasen Peyankov directs it with style and glee.

Seth MacFarlane is known for his several tv projects, including the 14th year of the syndicated program, Funny Guy, as well as his skill in writing the movie, 'Ted.' What we didn't know was that he is a professionally trained singer, who could have had a second career if the first didn't work out.

Wastwater by Simon Stephens is a loosely connected trilogy of stories, skillfully directed by Robin Witt. They’re set near London’s Heathrow Airport, where the village of Sipson is threatened with obliteration for the sake of a new airport runway. The playwright is best known for his Tony-winning adaptation, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Under the deft direction of Brian Kulick, this ‘Macbeth’ production has been updated to a visual setting more or less around the time of World War I. However, the language, spirit, and the murderous intrigues that Shakespeare loved so dearly are still present. It’s a clever way to update the core story that is familiar to all without sacrificing any dramatic elements or story points as conceived by the Bard.

On the occasion of the national gathering of the American Theatre Critics Associaton our correspondent visited the City of Brotherly Love. In addition to theatre she allowed time to explore other attractions.

A great production of Merchant of Venice requires inspired casting. The Tina Packer production has a truly magnficent Shylock in company member Jonathan Epstein taking on the complex and demanding role for the fifth time. It is his second with Packer. This version also has a first rate Portia in Tamara Hickey and suitably apathetic and melancholy Antonio played with nuance by John Hadden. It was Packer's intent to take the gloves off in attacking issues of race, religion, gender, homosexuality and racism.

Whatever mood you are in, Zonin research has designed a Prosecco that fits your 'state of mind'

A lot of theatre this season is feeding us heavy duty, pc, brain food. But for pure fun release and esape the best show in the Berkshires, Little Shop of Horrors, is presenting a hilarious musical comedy about a man eating plant which is chewing the scenery and devouring audiences at the Colonial Theatre.

After three weeks of pop concerts drawing an audience of some 100,000 opening night of official Tanglewood 2016 seemed more like mid season.

Nine years ago the Montreal born choreographer Eric Gauthier started a company with six dancers. The Stuttagart based group is performing with week with 16 international dancers. It is thriving with the generous support of Mercedes and Porsche which manufacture luxury cars in that industrial city.

Scale is an important factor in how we respond to objects, art and theatre. Using the small frame of a puppet theatre, Torry Bend tells the story of a man who distributes paper hats on the Chicago Transit system. We could be anywhere in this intriguing take on urban life.

Fifty years ago, Olana was saved from the brink of destruction. The Olana Partnership is celebrating the past fifty years of art and style with a lawn party

Puck, the 19th century literary-political-humor magazine, was revolutionary in ridiculing everything about Gilded Age society through cartoons created by gifted artists of the period. With a Wink and a Nod: Cartoonists of the Gilded Age is the new exhibit from Puck magazine on view at the Driehaus Museum, a magnificent 19th century mansion just off Michigan Avenue in Chicago.