Current events, and an archive of Modern Theatre's past productions.
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Modern Theatre Events
Modern Theatre Past Productions
2022-23
Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman
November 17 – 20, 2022
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
Directed by A. Nora Long
Scenic design by Richard W. Chambers
A contemporary retelling of Ovid, invites us to reflect on the ways we are transformed. Whether through loss or love, the stories we tell shape who we are, and how we connect to one another, like water on rock slipping into the sea. Who will you be today?
Working
April 13 – 16, 2023
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
Directed by Wesley Savick
Working, a musical adaptation of the book, "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do" by Studs Terkel.
2021-22
Pilgrims of the Night
April 7-10, 2022
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
Directed by Wesley Savick
A play by Len Jenkin. Stranded at a ferry terminal during a dark, stormy, seemingly endless night, seven fellow travelers journey to the most fantastical places without ever leaving.
A Staged Reading of the Musical, Cabaret
May 6, 2022
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and
Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Marilyn Plotkins
Musical direction by Scott Nicholas
Wellkommen! Suffolk University students of THETR 437: A Staged Reading of a Classic Musical performing.
2019-20
Ubu Roar
September 19-21 & 26-28, 2019
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
Translated and adapted by Brenda Withers from Alfred Jarry’s King Ubu. Directed by Wesley Savick, Music by Joey Del, Class of 2018. Produced by Juvenilia, the Theatre Department’s professional production initiative for students and alumni in partnership with the National Theatre of Allston.
The Seven Deadly Sins
November 22-23, 2019
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
By Thornton Wilder
Directed by Wesley Savick and guest alumni directors. The world premiere of Wilder’s entire series of one-act plays in The Seven Deadly Sins.
View more about The Seven Deadly Sins published in American Theatre Magazine.
2018-19
Loss of Breath: The Unfinished Life and Death of Edgar Allan Poe
November 15-18, 2018
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
Written & directed by Wesley Savick with puppet creation by Puppet Showplace Theater
Scenic design by Richard Wadsworth Chambers
Draws from Poe’s stories and biography to invent a fantastical world between life and death. The Theatre Department in collaboration with the Puppet Showplace Theater showcases puppets and masks to depict the characters. Encounter Poe, his mother, spouse, Annabel Lee, ghosts and other ghastly beings.….and a middle-school English teacher from Indiana.
Everybody
April 4-7, 2019
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by guest artist Anna Kohler
This 2018 Pulitzer-Prize finalist is an adaptation of, “The Somonyng of Everyman” - the 15th century morality play about how to achieve salvation. Death informs Everybody: it’s time to die. After some negotiation, Death permits Everybody to bring someone along for company. Everybody asks Good Deeds, Kindred, Fellowship, Love and others to join in the plunge into the wormy grave.
Guys & Dolls Concert Version – A Musical Fable of Broadway
May 3, 2019
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street
Based on a story and characters of Damon Runyon. Directed by Marilyn Plotkins with musical direction by Scott Nicholas
2017-18
MIDNIGHT RIDE
From James Forrestal, First Secretary of Defense
To Donald Trump, Last President of the United States
A reading of a new play by James Carroll, directed by Wesley Savick
October 2, 2017
Modern Theatre
As the dust settles on World War II, the newly appointed Secretary of Defense James Forrestal makes a series of well-intended but tragic decisions which catapult us to the America of 2017 and beyond. James Carroll's Midnight Ride is a sweeping, mythological re-imagining of history, policy, and human fallibility.
Featuring Nael Nacer ’06, Nick Wilson ‘09, Ben Evett [Artistic Director of The Poet's Theatre], Robert Walsh [Artistic Director of the Gloucester Stage Company], and Marianna Bassham. Stage Manager Alycia Marucci ‘11.
Sponsored by The Suffolk University Theatre Department & The Poets' Theatre.
The Suffolk Story Slam: When I'm At Home
October 18, 2017
Modern Theatre
Presented by Suffolk University and the Boston Literary District.
Anton Chekhov's 3Sisters
A new version adapted & directed by Robert Kropf
November 16-19, 2017
Modern Theatre
2019: Moscow, Illinois. In the wake of a global disaster, a few survivors have taken refuge in the ruins of a decimated library. When they stumble upon Chekhov's masterpiece, this ill-fated population brings the play to life as a final act of resilience, courage and hope.
one state, two state
red state, blue state
An American Musical
April 5-8, 2018
Modern Theatre
Book, lyrics and direction by Professor Wesley Savick.
Music by Brian Bernhard (Suffolk '14), Scott Nicholas and Wesley Savick.
An uplifting, heartbreaking musical comedy about the volatile mix of drama and democracy in a nation divided by irreconcilable differences.
one state, two state /red state, blue state is inspired by Dr. Arlie Hochschild’s "Strangers In Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right" (National Book Award Nomination for Nonfiction). Dr. Hochschild will visit Suffolk University on April 6-7. She will participate in a post-performance talkback after the 3PM matinee on April 7.
Songs From Broadway's Golden Age
May 5, 2018
Modern Theatre
Conceived and directed by Dr. Marilyn Plotkins with musical direction by Scott Nicholas
A revue of songs written by some of America’s greatest musical theatre composers and lyricists.
2016-17
Miss Julie
September 15-25, 2016
Modern Theatre
By August Strindberg. Adapted and directed by Robert Kropf
Produced by Harbor Stage Company of Wellfleet in association with Suffolk University.
This fiery new version of Strindberg's volatile classic explores how passion and privilege ensnare the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat and an enigmatic hired hand. An unrelenting look at intimacy, status, and desire.
A More-Or Less-Perfect Union
October 18, 2016
Modern Theatre
A documentary film directed by Jim Gabbe
Presented by CitizenArts & the Suffolk Cinema Series
Co-sponsored by the Department of Advertising, Public Relations & Digital Media
This is the first feature-length film to explore in-depth the state-of-mind of the United States of America, whose Constitution was penned by the Founding Fathers to “form a more perfect union.” This unprecedented documentary probes into what really unites/divides us, getting beyond the noise from the pundits and news media entertainment megaphones.
Margo Veil
November 17-20, 2016
Modern Theatre
by Len Jenkin, directed by Wesley Savick
Startling, satirical and funny, drawing from 1950s paranoia, Margo Veilexplores the instability and volatility of the human experience and the fracturing of individual identity. We jump into the consciousness of failed actress Margo Veil who uses outlawed technology to leap from place to place, identity to identity - as her reality collides with illusion.
Orlando
April 6-9, 2017
Modern Theatre
By Virginia Woolf. Adapted by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by A. Nora Long
After a night of debauchery, Duke Orlando wakes up as a Duchess. During her/his/their frolic through 17th century Constantinople, Victorian and 20th century England, and places and selves in between, Orlando asks: "Who then am I?"
Voices for Now '17
May 5, 2017
Modern Theatre
Instructors Dr. Marilyn Plotkins and Scott Nicholas
A revue of songs about what it means to be a millennial today written by some of the most important young musical theatre writers of our day.
One Nation, Indeterminable
A theatrical response to our current national climate.
June 10, 2017
Modern Theatre
Readings of new plays by Robert Brustein, James Carroll, Wesley Savick, Theo Goodell & Nick Wilson
One Nation, Indeterminable continues the Suffolk University Theatre Department's commitment to alumni and students to support socially-engaged work for the stage. Join us for five new play readings by distinguished guest playwrights Robert Brustein and James Carroll, along with Suffolk Professor Wesley Savick and Suffolk alumni, Theo Goodell and Nick Wilson.
Sponsored by the Suffolk University Theatre Department and The Poets' Theatre.
2015-16
Othello
In association with the Actors' Shakespeare Project
September 26-October 25, 2015
Modern Theatre
by William Shakespeare, directed by Bridget Kathleen O’Leary
“Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus.” -Othello, Act I
Shakespeare serves up a searing and operatic tale of envy and manipulation. The Machiavellian mind of Iago yields machinations that wreak heartbreaking havoc for those around him while seducing us with his glee and gall.
Doris Day in Belarus
An original new play written and directed by Wesley Savick
A Mysterious Man in a Suit wanders into a room on the fourth floor and asks a theatre student: “Was this the Studio Theatre?” Inspired by the plays of Anton Chekhov and real-life events in the past year, Doris Day in Belarus is a hilarious, tearful goodbye to a beloved home and a celebration of the creative life it has inspired in generations of Suffolk students.
Rhinoceros
A professional co-production with the Boston Playwrights' Theatre
by Eugene Ionesco, adapted and directed by Wesley Savick
Sunny afternoon. Newbury Street. Meeting a friend for coffee.
You’re borderline depressed...crappy job, too neurotic to make the first move with a “gal pal” co-worker, wallowing in self-pity...and maybe just a little hung-over. Everything is normal.
And all at once, everyone you know turns into a rhinoceros.
A brand-new adaptation of Eugene Ionesco’s twentieth-century absurdist masterpiece, re-imagined for the twenty-first.
Sponsored by The Back Deck, Boston.
Little White Lie
Ford Hall Forum: Low Turnout in Municipal Elections
My Life in China
Journey with the Giant
Mistero Buffo
Lomas de Poleo
Sketchual Misconduct
Seriously Bent
Where I am From Story Slam
Singing for the Stage: Musicals from the Golden Age
2014-15
The Saint Plays
by Erik Ehn
directed by Wesley Savick
The Servant of Two Masters
by Carlo Goldoni
directed by Caitlin Langstaff
"Uncle Vanya"
Ram Slam Your Story
Moliere Magre Moi
The Pleasures of Being Out of Step
The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest
Innovation Hub live with Kara Miller
The Saint Plays
A Water Bird Talk and Miss Havesham's Wedding Night
The Word Exchange: The Music of Poetry in Translation
Ariadne Auf Naxos
Henry VI Part II
Our Town
Spoon River Anthology
Haymarket
2013-14
FAB! or whatever
Party at Hollywood's hottest indie film festival with the scandalous, promiscuous, dangerous starlet Fabulous Miamore, her stoned pals and vicious rivals. Find your place among glamorous entourages, hot-shot agents, truth-seeking sages and ruthless stalkers of the silver screen. Savick's new play is inspired by Luigi Pirandello's Ciascuno a suo modo.
Midsummer Night
A new musical based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, book and music by Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda, directed by Marilyn Plotkins. Titania and Oberon - rock stars and hot-blooded lovers - are locked in a nasty feud. Their quarrel boils over at a rock festival, entangling the lovers, an infatuated personal assistant and an ambitious roadie with unintended, hilarious consequences.