The Main Stage
At the Barker Playhouse in Providence, Rhode Island.
The performing season at the Barker Playhouse is from October to May and features five major productions, each of which will run for six performances over two weekends. Below is our lineup for Season 116.
They Promised Her the Moon
In 1960 the famed “Mercury Seven” trained at NASA to become the first American astronauts. But they weren’t alone.
Thirteen women also underwent the same rigorous psychological and physical testing. The first woman to be tested, Jerrie Cobb, even out-performed her male counterparts. But while Alan Shepard and John Glenn went on to become household names, Ms. Cobb never got that chance.
In vividly theatrical terms, They Promised Her the Moon tells the unknown true story of this exceptional and unjustly overlooked woman—skilled aviator, world-record-holding pilot, successful business executive—and the powerful forces that kept her from reaching orbit.
Written by: Laurel Ollstein
Directed by: Katie Preston
Show Dates
This show has completed the run in early October.
The Revlon Girl
Eight months after the Aberfan Disaster of 1966, in which 144 people were killed (116 of them children), a group of bereaved mothers meets weekly above a local hotel to talk, cry and even laugh without feeling guilty. The play takes place at one such meeting where some of the mothers have invited a representative from Revlon to come and give them a talk on beauty tips.
Written by: Anthony Docking
Directed by: Lynne Collinson & Karen Besson
Show Dates
December 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 2024.
I Hate Hamlet
This comedy follows successful television actor Andrew Rally as he struggles with taking on the role of Hamlet in New York City. After his real estate agent holds a seance, Andrew is visited by the ghost of legendary actor John Barrymore whoproceeds to train Andrew in preparation to play Hamlet.
Written by: Paul Rudnick
Directed by: Gia Yarn
Show Dates:
January 31, February 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 2025
Into The Woods
This classic musical follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk as well as appearances from other fairy tale characters such as LittleRed Riding Hood. When the Baker and his wife set off to break the witch’s curse keeping them from having a child, it sets off a chain of events where everyone’s wish is granted but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them.
Written by Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine
Directed by: Samantha Hudgins & Lydia Johnson
Show Dates
March 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, April 4, 5, 6, 2025
You on the Moors Now
Elizabeth Bennet from Pride & Prejudice, Jo March from Little Women, Catherine from Wuthering Heights, and the titular Jane Eyre set conventions aside when they turn down marriage proposals from the male suitors in their stories. What results is a confluence of love, anger, grief and bloodshed as the ensemble struggles to reconcile romantic ideologies of the past with their modern ideas of courtship.
Written by: Jacklyn Backhaus
Directed by: Morgan Salpietro
Show Dates
May 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 2025
Full Event List
Click the button below to view the full event list from plays to workshops, to musicals, and more!