August Wilson's The Piano Lesson

Actors’ Shakespeare Project is thrilled to continue and deepen our dedication to&nbsp;August Wilson’s American Century Cycle&nbsp;with one of his most celebrated titles:&nbsp;The Piano Lesson.&nbsp; Tensions are crackling under the floorboards of Doaker Charles’ household when his fast-talking nephew Boy Willie blows in from Mississippi with a scheme to set their descendants up for generations. The plan: sell the family’s ornate antique piano carved by an enslaved ancestor and use it to buy the land where his ancestors were enslaved. But half of the piano also belongs to Berniece, who refuses to let her brother pawn off the heirloom. As the siblings dig in their heels, they will search deeper into their lineage and uncover shocking revelations that will change them both forever.&nbsp; Winner of the&nbsp;1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama&nbsp;and a&nbsp;1990 Tony Award Nominee for Best Play, August Wilson’s&nbsp;The Piano Lesson&nbsp;is an explosive and incisive inquiry into the struggle between what we owe to our past and how we build our future.&nbsp; RUN TIME:&nbsp;Two hours and forty-five minutes, including one intermission.

Hibernian Hall

Jane Austen's Emma

EMMA by Kate Hamill | Based on the Novel by Jane Austen Screwball antics and wedding fever have struck Highbury in this high-octane adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved romantic comedy! The precocious Emma Woodhouse has sworn never to wed – and instead is intent on staking her claim as a matchmaker with an incomparable track record. As her machinations upturn the lives of her friends and rivals alike, Emma will need to navigate a minefield of proposals, love triangles, and extravagant balls to play Cupid… and perhaps find that love has been under her nose all along. With humor, heart, and a whole lot of amorous hijinks, audiences of all ages will swipe right on this Regency comedy of errors. RUN TIME: Two hours and twenty-five minutes, including one intermission.

Multicultural Arts Center

Romeo and Juliet

Actors’ Shakespeare Project finishes off our 2023-24 Season with a classic that hasn’t graced our mainstage in over a decade:&nbsp;Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare’s most famous duo return in a flurry of forbidden love, exhilarating fight scenes, and (spoiler alert) tragic fate. Brought to life by Resident Artist Company Member Marianna Bassham’s expert direction, this dynamic and vivid take on Romeo &amp; Juliet will thrill even those who fell asleep reading it in Sophomore English class. ASP will be working with Boston-area youth and teachers during this production to explore the themes of youth violence and alienation in the play, and how they still ring true in 2024.

The Calderwood Pavilion

August Wilson's King Hedley II

Following one of Actors' Shakespeare Project's most acclaimed and successful productions of all-time, Seven Guitars, Actors’ Shakespeare Project returns to Hibernian Hall in 2024 for another installment in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle: King Hedley II. Fresh off of a seven-year stint in prison, King Hedley II (named after his father, who was played by Johnnie Mack in ASP’s Seven Guitars) dreams of going straight. He’s going to open his own video store — even if he has to steal every refrigerator in Pittsburgh to make it happen. Returning home to the Hill District in 1985, King finds that his community is beset by violence, con men, and redlining. As King fights to keep his family afloat, the harsh realities of Reagan’s America threaten to drag him under.  Hailed by Variety in 1999 as “maybe the most passionate work that August Wilson has penned to date,” King Hedley II dives into family tensions and the Black experience in America with Wilson’s signature poeticism and power.

Actors' Shakespeare Project: The Taming of the Shrew

Actors’ Shakespeare Project kicks off our 2023-24 Season by tackling one of the most controversial entries in Shakespeare’s canon – The Taming of the Shrew.  After a long night of drinking, disruption, and harassing barmaids, Christopher Sly finds himself trapped in the worst of predicaments: a stage play. Thrown into the role of “The Shrew”, he tumbles headfirst into a world of witty wordplay, leering suitors, and the full force of the oppressive patriarchy. As the rest of the all-female/non-binary ensemble constructs the zany world of Padua around him, will Sly learn the error of his ways? Artistic Director Christopher Edwards and this talented cast will turn Taming inside out, flip it upside down, and stretch it to its limits in the way that only ASP can – to find what truly sits at the heart of this contentious comedy. CONTENT ADVISORY: This production will contain crude Elizabethan language, alcohol content, domestic abuse, portrayal of a brothel. Recommended for 13+. The runtime is two hours and fifteen minutes, which includes a fifteen minute intermission.

The Modern Theatre

AS YOU LIKE IT by William Shakespeare

Actors’ Shakespeare Project is proud to close out our 2022-23 Season with one of Shakespeare’s most timeless comedies. At a time when state legislatures across the US ban drag performances and police LGBTQ+ bodies, As You Like It leans into its famed crossdressing mayhem and gender euphoria, celebrating the inherent queerness of mythical Arden. Join some of the Bard’s most beloved characters — Jacques, Touchstone, Silvius, Phoebe, and many more — at Tufts’ Balch Arena Theater for a show filled with laughter, music, romance, and plenty of Shakespearean hijinks. Follow Rosalind’s chase after Orlando through the forest disguised as a shepherd boy, as the pair discovers themselves, and the true meaning of love (is love is love is love). With the precise vision of Director Harold Steward and in partnership with The Theater Offensive, ASP’s As You Like It seeks to illuminate the common ground between “All the world’s a stage” and “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag.” <a href="https://actorsshakespeareproject.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9b5c67911bbdeaa52df9666e2&amp;id=d583320297&amp;e=5d1bd31ccc">LEARN MORE</a> <a href="https://actorsshakespeareproject.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9b5c67911bbdeaa52df9666e2&amp;id=d488edcd15&amp;e=5d1bd31ccc">BUY TICKETS</a>

Balch Arena Theater

August Wilson's SEVEN GUITARS

Actors’ Shakespeare Project returns to Hibernian with a play from one of the great American playwrights: August Wilson. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, Seven Guitars is fifth in Wilson’s theatrical saga. Part elegy, part mystery, and infused with bluesy lyricism, this bawdy comedy takes an intimate look at seven African-American characters and the events leading up to the untimely death of an up-and-coming blues musician. Who or what killed Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton? Dear friends gather after the funeral to mourn and question the death of Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton. Set in the backyard of a rooming house in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1948, this tale, told in flashback, chronicles the last days of Floyd. He had returned home after a stint in prison to reconnect with the love of his life, Vera, with the hopes of setting off for Chicago to pursue stardom. What went awry? Please be aware that this production is intended for mature audiences and has depictions and language of racism, sexuality, physical violence, sexism, and death. Appropriate for ages 15 and over.

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 📈

S17: interest based

Your guide to everything free in and around Boston. From events, to fairs, to festivals, to outdoors. Joyraft has all the free events happening near you.

100+ free things to do in Boston and beyond

Free things to do in Boston

Free things to do

S19: interest based

Discover kid-friendly fun in Boston, Massachusetts, and surrounding areas! Enjoy hands-on exhibits at the Boston Children’s Museum, explore the New England Aquarium, and visit the Franklin Park Zoo. Find parks, playgrounds, and seasonal events perfect for families across Massachusetts.

Top 20 kid-friendly things to do in Boston, MA

Kid-friendly things to do in Boston

Kid-friendly events

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.