Shepherd University

Yesterday, students from Shepherd University's Contemporary Theatre Studies Program in West Virginia saw Thornton Wilder's Our Town on Broadway. Check out a photo here!

The Kennedy Center has added new Jazz programming to take place in the River Pavilion next month. Learn how to purchase tickets.

Playwright Donja R. Love refers to 'Beauty' as an offering, in the spiritual sense of the word; and it truly is one of the most uplifting cycles, in times of trouble and misunderstanding, we are likely to see.  Director Malika Oyetimein has marshalled a stellar cast, and guided this show with great care and compassion.

The Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd University opened its 2024 season on July 5. Get a first look at photos below!

With her play Enough to Let the Light In, Paloma Nozicka has crafted one of those great psychological thrillers; the build-up is slow but steady, the characters finely drawn, and the climax will make you jump.  But there’s no need for blood, it’s all in your head.  And if you are looking for an evening that gives you a few of those none-too-subtle psychological shocks, this year’s Contemporary American Theater Festival has just the ticket.

With Harmon dot aut’s semi-autobiographical play, Tornado Tastes Like Aluminum Sting, audiences at CATF will have that rarest of encounters—a play that reveals the world as it is experienced, and processed, by a profoundly autistic, synaesthetic pre-teen who can only communicate with the outside world through their first love, the world of film.  Oliver Butler has created an intensely intricate evening, demanding logistically and dramatically, which holds together in truly remarkable ways.

Believe it or not, Summer is coming.  After we sneeze our way through a way-too-flowery Spring, we get to contemplate the joys of those little weekend getaways here and there, sneaking out of town to enjoy some solid artistry in friendly locales. 

Although the results are a bit chaotic—truth be known, this is a sprawling epic of a show which could use some trimming—the timeliness of its topic and its glorious performances make “The Overview Effect”, by rights, a major attraction for theatre goers this July.  A mix of straight drama and rock-musical-fantasy, “The Overview Effect” reaches for the stars while contemplating some of the more pressing issues surounding space exploration.

Dael Orlandersmith reigns supreme in the Studio 112 space at CATF, telling the story of Virgil, a native of the Bronx.  Curated and written with care, and based on Orlandersmith’s interviews and research, the humanity of the piece shines brilliantly. 

Rivera's 'Your Name Means Dream' creates a spectacle of actors at the top of their game, with a script that gives both Anne O'Sullivan and Sara Koviak ample opportunity to shine—and to shine a light on the mysteries of the human heart and the human-generated machine.

Chisa Hutchinson's latest offering, “Redeemed,” is as vitally important a piece as the Festival has to offer this year.  Rooted in the often-distorted dialogue this country continues to have about race, Hutchinson uses the play to address the under-explored question of what it really might take for true reconciliation and redemption.

For years, I have had the incredible privilege and pleasure of reviewing shows, every July, at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. But I have a small confession to make:  the plays are good, sure, but I’m really in it for the Afternoon Tea at Shepherdstown’s treasured pub, the Devonshire Arms. The triple-tier of delights the Arms offers will leave you with what my sainted grandmother would call “a sufficiency” to last the rest of the weekend. 

BroadwayWorld's Classifieds, the largest theater-industry job and listing resource on the web, is now going global! You can now submit and search for jobs/listings by region - including West Virginia!

BroadwayWorld's Classifieds, the largest theater-industry job and listing resource on the web, is now going global! You can now submit and search for jobs/listings by region - including Raleigh!

This Week's New Classified Listings on BroadwayWorld for 3/2/2023 include new jobs for those looking to work in the theatre industry.