artistic director | Ashland Theatre

"There is a truth to theater that you may not see out on the street." — Peter Alzado

As we sat in the darkened theater on a sunny day, Peter expanded on his vision of theater and the release of the soul.

EH: You have two plays coming up in the next season: “Golden Boy” by Clifford Odets and “Glen Garry Glen Ross” by David Mamet. What attracted you to present those plays?

PA: Both plays deal with the downside of the American economic system. I’m all there with free enterprise, but I think, taken as far as it can go, it becomes cannibalism, and we are seeing that now. There needs to be free market but there also needs to be a recognition that we’re all human and we need to treat each other in a fashion that respects that money is not the end of everything: the be-all and end-all. That’s what has brought us to the place we are now.

Continue reading OSW’s Peter Alzado →

I want to hold the mirror up to society. I try to do shows, that highlight the best in us, and sometimes it means highlighting the worst. — Livia Genise

With her fine bones and raven curls, Livia Genise is a musical comedy diva. But visiting over coffee at Bloomsbury’s café, I found she is also a serious artist with remarkable integrity.

EH: Does anyone ever call you the Queen of Camelot?

LG: You know, one of the reasons we call it Camelot is that I envision a round table where everyone is valued. There doesn’t need to be somebody that is at the head, but I’m responsible for the quality of what we do.

I try to do shows each year that are thoughtful, but also bring in the audience. It’s hard to sell shows with dark subjects. I usually do something each year that is not making Camelot’s political statement, but that is thought provoking. My first year the play was “The Music Lesson,” which was about the war in Sarajevo, the siege, and how it affected artists and children. That was powerful and very well attended.

Continue reading The Queen of Camelot →