Bob Goepfert

To fully appreciate “A Beautiful Noise - the Neil Diamond Musical,” playing at Proctors through Sunday, you have to create a no-judgment zone.

If you want to experience a good play written by a potentially great playwright rush to Cohoes Music Hall before “The Comeuppance” closes on Sunday.

Paula Vogel’s newest work “Mother Play: a play in five evictions” confirms the theory that if American playwrights did not suffer childhood family dysfunction there would be no drama on our stages.

As predicted, a lack of funding at the state and federal levels are hurting local not-for-profit organizations. Just as problematic are the increases for material needed for theatrical productions and the much higher costs for utilities.

The lesson to be learned from the Barrington Stage Company production of “King James” is that a play does not have to be profound in order to enjoy and learn from it.

Shakespeare & Company is closing its summer season with an erratic production of “The Taming of the Shrew.”

A sign that summer is almost over is that the Travers race, which is held annually at Saratoga Race Track, has come and gone. Another is that almost every summer theater company has opened its final show.

The Shakespeare & Company production of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” proves why the play, first produced on Broadway in 1990, deserved winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama as well as the Tony Award for Best Play.

My first impression of “Joan,” a play about Joan Rivers playing at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA, was that it felt like a juke box musical without any music.

One of the best things about theater is when a show without a strong reputation proves a very special experience. That was my experience with “The Little Mermaid” which is being presented by Playhouse Stage at Cohoes Music Hal through August 17.