The Minutes - Opening Night

THE FOOTLIGHT CLUB presents: Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominated play by acclaimed playwright Tracy Letts. This dark comedy portrays the town council of Big Cherry planning its Founders’ Day celebration. September 5-6, 11-13, 18-19 Friday and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sensory Friendly Performance - Saturday September 19 2pm Mr. Peel comes to the town council meeting for Big Cherry having missed the last one, and learns that Mr. Karp has resigned. He asks for last week's minutes. The rest of the board instead stress their primary responsibility, to plan the Big Cherry Heritage Festival.&nbsp;A fountain is proposed to honor a founding figure. Mr. Peel continues to askf for the minutes. The resignation. the missing minutes, and the town’s real history converge to make this board meeting like no other. Tickets $28 adult $25 senior/student. Available online or at the box office, the night of the show.

Eliot Hall

Head Over Heels

Jamaica Plain’sThe Footlight Club, closes out its 149th season in a celebration of radical joy, presenting the Go-Go’s jukebox musical, “Head Over Heels” . In its Broadway debut, the show became part of Broadway history, with RuPaul Drag Race legend Peppermint becoming the first transgender woman to originate a principal role on Broadway.&nbsp;Tickets are $28, $25 for seniors and students. Performance dates are May 2-3, 8-10, 15-16, Friday and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. Queer Joy Pre-Show Celebration Friday May 8, 7pm;&nbsp; Sensory Friendly Performance - Saturday May 9 2pm Featuring the infectious music of the Go-Gos, “Head Over Heels” is a musical comedy conceived by Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q) as a reinvention of the medieval romance, Arcadia. It is a celebration of love that follows a royal family as they race to save their kingdom, only to discover the key to its survival&nbsp;lies within their own hearts.&nbsp;This hilarious and exuberant musical shows us the joyful power of radical love and openhearted community connection, which can unite us all in a world beyond gender, categories, binaries and ‘shoulds’. The show’s creative team is led by director Jill Tokac, producers Esther Daube-Valois and Valerie Tracy-Indrakaran, music director Bethany Aiken and choreographer Carly Martin. Rob Nunes, Adena Walker, Morgan Kaplan, Tori Vance, Jasper Pasciuto, Kat O’Connor, Peter Tone and Dayna Reichert lead an unforgettable ensemble of players, singers and performers on stage overrun with enthusiasm and good vibes.&nbsp; Founded in 1877, the Footlight Club is the country’s oldest continuously operating community theater.&nbsp;For over a century, the Footlight Club has brought the residents of JP and nearby Boston neighborhoods together to share, expand and experience the joys of creating and presenting theater.&nbsp;.

After the Revolution

Jamaica Plain’s own community theater, The Footlight Club, is proud to present its next 7A Black Box program, “After the Revolution” .&nbsp; Written by Amy Herzog, the play focuses on the impact to a family when its cherished history is challenged by new information. The play opens April 11 at 8pm, in the Parker Room of Eliot Hall at the longtime home of America’s longest continuously operating community theater. Tickets are $20 to the public, free to members. In “After the Revolution”, brilliant, promising Emma Joseph proudly carries the torch of her family's Marxist tradition, devoting her life to the memory of her blacklisted grandfather. But when history reveals a shocking truth about the man himself, the entire family is forced to confront questions of honesty and allegiance they thought had been resolved.&nbsp; The New Yorker called the play “a shrewd, ironic meditation on what we do with history, how we appropriate it for our own psychological needs. Among the play's many pleasures, the most satisfying is the way the characters struggle through their differences to listen to one another. The ability to listen is, perhaps, the definition of love”. Directed by Michael Colford, “After the Revolution” stars Abby Kesselman as Emma, with Scot Colford as father Ben, Susan Diller as grandmother Vera and Samuel Dinnar as Uncle Leo.&nbsp; Jenn Bean, Marie Sioby, Oscar Villeda and Andy Moore round out the cast.&nbsp; The 7A Black Box program of The Footlight Club provides members the opportunity to present smaller or more experimental shows, new work, staged readings, cabarets, stand-up comedy, and other reimaginings of theatrical productions.&nbsp; For more information about the 7A Black Box program, the Footlight Club, or “After the Revolution”, please go to the club’s website, <a href="http://www.footlight.org">www.footlight.org</a> where you can also purchase tickets. WHEN: April 11-12, 17-18, Friday and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm.&nbsp; w.

Into the Breeches

The Footlight Club presents INTO THE BREECHES by George Brant! Much like the Footlight Club, the Oberon Playhouse found itself down most of its male performers in 1942 as they went off to war.&nbsp; The wife of the long time director decides to keep the theater going and directs an&nbsp;all-female production of Henriad, keeping the theater open despite the lack of men. Join us for this funny and moving play running three weekends at the Footlight Club. Performances run Fridays &amp; Saturdays, 8pm, February 7 - 21, with matinees on Sundays at 2pm, and Saturday, February 14, 2pm. On Saturday, February 21, a Sensory Relaxed show will run at 2pm. Tickets are 28.00; Seniors &amp; Students, $25.00; pay what you can for the Sensory Relaxed Show. Purchase tickets at https://www.footlight.org/blog/2026/breeches

The Footlight Club

Into The Breeches

Jamaica Plain’s own community theater, The Footlight Club, is excited to present its next main stage show, “Into The Breeches” this February.&nbsp;This comic play tells the story of a community theater whose director and most of its male performers are away at war.&nbsp;Determined to keep the theater going, the director’s wife decides to save the season by casting women in the male roles. “Into The Breeches” opens Friday February 7 at 8pm, at 7A Eliot St, Jamaica Plain, the longtime home of America’s longest continuously operating community theater. Tickets are $28, $25 for seniors and students. It is 1942 Rhode Island during the height of World War II, and Oberon Playhouse is on the verge of collapse because so much of its main cast and crew, including its director, are fighting overseas. Maggie, the director’s wife, decides a way must be found to save the planned season of Shakespeare’s Henry plays by asking everyone in the community left behind or looked over to step in and take on the backstage jobs and onstage roles instead.&nbsp;Will first time director Maggie and her band of mostly first time theater sisters manage to come together and challenge social conventions and themselves, and convince an audience to go with them?&nbsp;This heartfelt comedy is an up and down adventure, as it follows this cast of characters falling in love with the power of Shakespeare, and community theater. Directed by Eric Roberts and produced by Benn Salter, “Into The Breeches ” features a strong ensemble cast led by Allison Rudmann Putnam as Maggie, and including Rachel Renton, Alicia Powell, June Maguire, Eden Sanders, Cassidy Guimares, Victor Brandalise, and Peter McElhinney.&nbsp;&nbsp; Come see this show at a community theater that was itself addressing similar issues during not just World War II, but World War I. Founded in 1877, the Footlight Club is the country’s oldest continuously operating community theater.&nbsp;It is located in Eliot Hall, which is itself a historic building, built in 1832.&nbsp;For over a century, the Footlight Club has brought the residents of Jamaica Plain and nearby Boston neighborhoods together to share, expand and experience the joys of creating and presenting theater.&nbsp;For more information about Eliot Hall, the Footlight Club, or “Into The Breeches”, please go to the club’s website,<a href="http://www.footlight.org/"> www.footlight.org</a> where you can also purchase tickets. PERFORMANCE DETAILS WHAT: The Footlight Club Black Box 7A Series presents “Into the Breeches” by George Brant WHEN: February 7-8, 13-15, 20-21 Friday and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sensory Friendly Performance - Saturday February 21 2pm WHERE: The Footlight Club, Eliot Hall, 7A Eliot St, Jamaica Plain, MA.&nbsp;&nbsp; MORE: Tickets $28 adult $25 senior/student. Available online at www.footlight.org or at the box office, the night of the show. IMAGE CREDITS: Matt McKee Photography

MATILDA the musical Opening Night

The Footlight Club, America’s oldest continuously operating community theater and one of JP's hidden gems, is proud to present the beloved family musical MATILDA Saturday November 1 at its historic Eliot Hall home.  MATILDA tells the story of a little girl at a boarding school with astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers.  She is loved by her teacher, but treated cruelly by her parents and Head Mistress.  But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils' saving grace! Tim Minchin (music and lyrics) and Dennis Kelly (book) adapted the beloved 1988 children’s book “Matilda’ by author Roald Dahl.  The team managed to maintain the book’s dark humor, clever wordplay and rebellious spirit while adding to the mix unforgettable songs and high-spirited energy.  Minchin believes MATILDA is still so beloved because it “advocates for a life of the mind.  Knowledge is your weapon, and imagination is your escape.” Ably shouldering the lead in Footlight’s production is Clara Curtis as Matilda Wormwood. The key adults in Matilda’s story are Shayna Plotnik as Miss Honey, Adam Sell as Miss Agatha, David Brown and Katie Kobold as her parents, and Gabrielle Holme-Miller as Mrs Phelps.  Her schoolmates are performed by  Herman Xu (Bruce), Emilia Carapezza (Lavender), Jonathan Drapinski (Rudolfo), Esme Martinez (Eric), Rowan Mitchell (Tommy), Ekaksha Joga (Nigel), Ava Gerrie (Hortensia), Jaclyn Burns (Alice) and Avyakta Rohit (Amanda). Ensemble players are  Maria Barrett, Alexander Quilty, Mia Kania, Nikki Shah, Olivia Troyer, Ryder Nguyen, Ruby Price,  Phillip Matos, Miriam Abbet, and Rosalie Shapiro. At the helm of it all is the production team, Director Emma Neary, Musical Director Steven Bergman, Choreographer Bradford Robinson,  and Producers Julie Joyce and Elizabeth Bean. PERFORMANCE DETAILS MATILDA opens Saturday November 1 &amp; runs for 8 shows through November 15. Performances are at 2pm or 8pm. A sensory friendly performance will be presented Saturday November 8 at 2pm, designed to be more relaxed, allowing for movement and noise, as well as providing more context to minimize starling or sharp sounds or effects. Tickets are $28 adult/$25 senior, student.

POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumb**s Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive Opening Night

Jamaica Plain's community theater, The Footlight Club, kicks off its 149th season 8pm Friday September 13 with POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumb**s Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a roaring comedy by Selina Fillinger. Join us in the laughter while we examine the many women who work together to prop up ONE dumb**s man...in The White House.&nbsp; They risk life, liberty, and the pursuit of sanity to protect the nation's reputation. Come on down to Footlight's home, the historic Eliot Hall, at 7A Eliot St in JP center, around the corner from the Monument. POTUS runs September 13, 14, (2pm matinee) 19, 20 (2pm &amp; 8pm shows), 21 (2pm matinee), 26 &amp; 27, 2025. Tickets $28 for adults, $25 for seniors and students. Visit us at footlight.org for more information about POTUS, the rest of our season, or the history of The Footlight Club, the nation's oldest community theater!

The Footlight Club’s 7A series presents Cut Three reality television writers find themselves just as "desperate" as the housewives they are shooting. Danno, a stressed-out editor, harbors secret guilt for deserting his sick sister. Renee is in the midst of a divorce and at a turning point in her career. The overly ambitious Colette finds herself in a world of trouble when she guns for Renee's job and Danno's respect. Amongst the "Ladies of Malibu" show that they produce, the trio finds that it is much easier to yell "cut!" on set, rather than in one's own life. The 7A program at The Footlight Club is a wonderful opportunity for members to work in intimate settings and make creative decisions with limited tools. 7A shows are presented on the first floor of Eliot Hall in the Parker Room. Eliot Hall is now fully accessible.

The Footlight Club presents The Prom

The Prom May 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16 &amp; 17, 2025 Fri. and Sat. 8pm Sun. matinees 2pm Book &amp; Lyrics by Chad Beguelin Book by Bob Martin Music by Matthew Sklar Based on an original concept by Jack Viertel Synopsis: Based on a true story out of Fulton, Mississippi, the musical follows four Broadway actors lamenting their days of fame, as they travel to the conservative town of Edgewater, Indiana, to help a lesbian student banned from bringing her girlfriend to high school prom. While it is based on one specific story, similar discriminatory practices continue across our country today. PROMAPALOOZA! For one night only on May 10th, the Footlight Club will be partnering with the Loring Greenough House for a special event. Your combined ticket gets you entrance to a prom-themed party at the Loring Greenough House 5:00 - 7:30pm (Dance! Dress up in prom attire! Buy drinks from the Hive and nibble prom refreshments!)

Yellow Face

Based on the true story of David Henry Hwang and set against the backdrop of his reaction to the casting of actor Jonathan Pryce as a Eurasian character in the Broadway musical Miss Saigon in 1990, this semi-autobiographical self-mocking drama examines the idea of casting shows in accordance with race/ethnicity while also examining family dynamics, immigrant status, and cultural misappropriation.

Out of Sight…Out of Murder

The Footlight Club, America’s oldest continuously operating community theater and one of Jamaica Plain’s hidden gems, is proud to announce the first show of its 148th season: the mystery comedy “Out of Sight…Out of Murder” for seven performances this September at its Eliot Hall home, 7A Eliot St, Jamaica Plain. A witty meta take on mystery thrillers, “Out of Sight…Out of Murder” tells the tale of Peter, an author struggling to finish a murder story while holed up in an infamous old mansion where another author was murdered back in the day. Crazy weather and a cosmic snafu results in Peter’s and other fictional characters coming to life, and soon wresting control of their own narratives. Soon murders follow – will Peter figure out how to resolve both mysteries, in time to save his skin and finish his book? All will be revealed ingeniously with romance, suspense and ready wit.

The Footlight Club, Eliot Hall

Tuck Everlasting

The Footlight Club presents Tuck Everlasting! Book by Claudia Shear &amp; Tim Federle Lyrics by Nathan Tysen Music by Chris Miller Dates: April 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, May 3 &amp; 4, 2024 Special Relaxed Performance on Saturday April 27, 2pm Tickets are $28, $25 for Seniors (60+), Students, or Children (18 and under) Free for Footlight Club Subscribers Synopsis: &nbsp;What would you do if you had all eternity? Eleven-year-old Winnie Foster yearns for a life of adventure beyond her white picket fence, but not until she becomes unexpectedly entwined with the Tuck Family does she get more than she could have imagined. When Winnie learns of the magic behind the Tuck’s unending youth, she must fight to protect their secret from those who would do anything for a chance at eternal life. As her adventure unfolds, Winnie faces an extraordinary choice: return to her life, or continue with the Tucks on their infinite journey. Based on best-selling children’s classic by Natalie Babbitt and adapted for the stage by Claudia Shear and Tim Federle, Tuck Everlasting features a soaring score from Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen.

Sweat at the Footlight Club

Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, Lynn Nottage's Putlizer Prize-winning play, SWEAT tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat. Running February 10 - 24, on Fridays and Saturday at 8pm, Sunday matinees at 2pm, Sweat looks at a tight-knit community of friends and family are torn apart by economic and racial tensions that emerge during the great recession of the early 21st Century in the industrial, mid-sized city of Reading, PA. Tickets are available at <a href="https://footlight.org">https://footlight.org</a>, and at the box office The Box office opens 45 minutes before each show. Tickets are $25; $22 for Seniors (60+), students, and children (under 18) Footlight Club subscribers receive free admission

Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, Lynn Nottage's Putlizer Prize-winning play, SWEAT tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat. Running February 10 - 24, on Fridays and Saturday at 8pm, Sunday matinees at 2pm, Sweat looks at a tight-knit community of friends and family are torn apart by economic and racial tensions that emerge during the great recession of the early 21st Century in the industrial, mid-sized city of Reading, PA. Tickets are available at https://footlight.org, and at the box office The Box office opens 45 minutes before each show. Tickets are $25; $22 for Seniors (60+), students, and children (under 18) Footlight Club subscribers receive free admission

S22: conversations

Wondering what to do in Boston? Places to eat? Free activities? Good for a group? Date night spot? Girls night out? The best things to do? Ask Joyraft!

Best places to go in Boston? Things to do? Places to eat?

Questions & answers about things to do in Boston

Recs 💬

Community recs 💬

S4: top picks

The most fun, cool and unique things to do in Boston. Can’t miss events, shows and experiences. Concerts, restaurants, bars, free things in Boston and beyond.

The most fun and cool events happening around Boston

Hot and new things to do in Boston

Hot & new

Hot & new 🔥

S11: happening this weekend

What to do in Boston this weekend? From festivals, concerts, performances, free events, screenings and more, Joyraft has the best things to do in Boston.

25+ things to do in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville this weekend

Things to do in Boston this weekend

This wknd

This weekend for you

S21: roundups

Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

Top picks of the best things to do in and around Boston

Joyraft picks: Boston’s best things to do

Roundups ⭐️

Curated by Joyraft ⭐️

S28: calendar experiences

This week in Boston

This week in Boston 📆

This week 📆

S20: c+d experiences

Discover new, unique events and experiences happening in and around Boston. Perfect for date night, good for a group or with a friend. Be the first to know.

The newest events happening in and around Boston

The newest events on Joyraft

Just added

Just added to Joyraft

S16: editor picks

The most unique and can’t miss things coming up in Boston / Cambridge / Somerville and beyond. Festivals, food, drinks, fairs, concerts, art and free activities.

Unique and Can’t Miss Things to Do in Boston

Can’t-miss things to do in Boston 🚨

Can't-miss things to do 🚨

S2 (A): top experiences

The most popular things to do on Joyraft. Concerts, restaurants, bars, events, parties, openings, kid friendly, date ideas, free things in Boston and beyond.

Top 20 things to do in Boston

Top 20: Joyraft’s most popular

Top 20

Top 20 on Joyraft

S3 (A): trending experiences

Discover can’t miss events and things to do in Boston. The most fun, unique and cool events coming to the Boston area this spring and summer.

The hottest events happening in Boston

Trending events on Joyraft

Trending 📈

S19: interest based

Kid-friendly events in Boston

S18: interest based

Where to eat and drink in Boston? Joyraft has Boston’s newest bars, restaurants and specials. Drinks and pre fixe dinner menus. Cambridge & Somerville too.

Where

joyraft.host20296

Experiences

The Minutes - Opening Night

Head Over Heels

After the Revolution

Into the Breeches

Into The Breeches

MATILDA the musical Opening Night

POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumb**s Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive Opening Night

Cut

The Footlight Club presents The Prom

Yellow Face

Out of Sight…Out of Murder

Tuck Everlasting

Sweat at the Footlight Club

Sweat at the Footlight Club

Sweat at the Footlight Club