Epic’s innovative ‘Leaving Rhode Island’

Posted 7/24/14

Kevin Broccoli is at it again!

The prolific actor/writer/

director has come up with another innovative, accessible, enjoyable night of theatre that is a hoot, especially if you are a Rhode …

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Epic’s innovative ‘Leaving Rhode Island’

Posted

Kevin Broccoli is at it again!

The prolific actor/writer/

director has come up with another innovative, accessible, enjoyable night of theatre that is a hoot, especially if you are a Rhode Islander.

Engaging over 100 local actors, different ones at each performance, Broccoli has created dozens of short vignettes, some funny, some nostalgic, some poignant and one that is laugh-out-loud hysterical. As each performance is completely different, I can only write about the one I saw, confident that the others lived up to the talents of all involved. Talking to a number of the actors, many of whom I have seen on stage with other theatre companies, they all tell me that they love the experience.

The premise is that in 2009 a large group of Rhode Islanders were told to leave the state for an unspecified period of time, not being told why, leaving friends, family, jobs and the state they may have loved or hated, to start over in a new place within the U.S. or abroad. Five years later they were abruptly told that they could return.

Each vignette presents a different situation. Some couples are divided on returning, for a variety of reasons. A mother who has moved to Hawaii has found a better life there. A straight woman who has moved to San Francisco has found a home with the gay community that offers her more caring than her husband could. One scene involves five children who argue over bringing home their elderly mother, who has found a new life with a younger man. Cleverly written, acted and directed, it could be the seed for a full-length play.

You get the idea. Why leave Rhode Island? And if you do, why return?

The good news is that if you don’t like one of the dozen presentations, another one will come along in the two-hour production.

It is a fun evening that continues through July 26. Go online at www.epictheatreri.org or www.artists-exchange.org for more information and reservations. Chairs were added last weekend to accommodate the sold-out crowd at the Artists’ Exchange Black Box Theatre, 50 Rolfe St. in Cranston.

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