The Gamm Theatre (previously the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre) is a non-profit theater in Warwick, Rhode Island.
History The theater was founded in October 1984 as Alias Stage by seven members of the graduating class of Trinity Rep Conservatory. They performed at the Riverside Mills in Providence's Olneyville neighborhood, but that space was destroyed by a fire on December 18, 1989. Alias reopened at the Atlantic Mills with a production of "The Dragon" on January 18, 1990, immediately adjacent to the Riverside Mills. The group moved to a semi-permanent garage space in the Providence Jewelry District in 1994, backed by a board of directors.
In 1998, the theater staged its last performance as the Alias Stage with King Lear. They then changed their name to the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre after receiving a donation of $100,000 from Alan Shawn Feinstein in memory of his sister. The theater remained in the cramped Jewelry District until October 2002, when they were in need of a larger space and financial re-organization. The Gamm announced a hiatus following a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Shortly after, they hired Tony Estrella as artistic director and Yvonne Seggerman as managing director, and the Gamm reopened in November 2003 with a 135-seat house in an old police garage, part of the Pawtucket Armory Center.
Their 34th season, in 2018–2019, was the first full season after relocating from Pawtucket to their new, permanent home on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick at the old Ocean State Theatre building. A renovation is underway while they still produce their 35th season in 2019–2020, using elements of the original building fused with newer elements and technology to upgrade the theatre.
Awards
Elliot Norton Awards 2008– Outstanding New Script (Paul Grellong, Radio Free Emerson) 2009– Outstanding Production by a Small Company (Awake and Sing!) 2010– Special Citation for having "firmly established itself as a theatrical jewel in our region" celebrating its 25th season
Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts 2013– Artistic Director Tony Estrella
Seasons
2019–20 Season Admissions (Joshua Harmon) JQA (Aaron Posner) A Doll's House, Part 2 (Lucas Hnath) Assassins (music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by John Weidman) Mary Jane (Amy Herzog) It's A Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play (adapted by Joe Landry)
2017–18 Season The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Incognito (Nick Payne) dir. Tyler Dobrowsky The SantaLand Diaries (Joe Mantello, adapted for the stage from the story by David Sedaris) Uncle Vanya (Anton Checkov) Translated and Directed by Curt Columbus A Human Being Died That Night (Nicholas Wright, adapted for the stage from the book by Pulma Gobodo-Madikizela) dir. Judith Swift As You Like It (William Shakespeare) dir. Tony Estrella and Rachel Walshe
2016–17 Season Arcadia (Tom Stoppard) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. American Buffalo (play) (David Mamet) dir. Tyler Dobrowsky The Children's Hour (Lillian Hellman) dir. Rachel Walshe The Nether (Jennifer Haley) dir. Judith Swift King Elizabeth (Freely adapted from Mary Stuart (play) by Friedrich Schiller) Adapted and Directed by Tony Estrella
2015–16 Season A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams) dir. Tony Estrella The Rant (Andrew Case) dir. Tyler Dobrowski Grizzly Mama (George Brandt) dir. Rachel Walshe A Skull in Connemara (Martin McDonagh) dir. Judith Swift A Winter's Tale (William Shakespeare) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr.
30th Anniversary Season (2014–15) Grounded (George Brant) dir. Judith Swift Hedda Gabler (Henrik Ibsen) adpt. and dir. Tony Estrella Morality Play (Tony Estrella, adapted for the stage from the novel by Barry Unsworth, World Premiere) dir. Tyler Dobrowski The House of Blue Leaves (John Guare) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Marie Antoinette (David Adjmi) dir. Rachel Walshe
2013–14 Season A Number/Far Away (Caryl Churchill) dir. Judith Swift/Tony Estrella Good People (David Lindsay-Abaire) dir. Rachel Walshe The Big Meal (Dan LeFranc) dir. Tyler Dobrowski Macbeth (William Shakespeare) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Blackbird (David Harrower) dir. Tony Estrella
2012–13 Season After the Revolution (Amy Herzog) dir. Tony Estrella Red (play) (John Logan) dir. Tony Estrella Anne Boleyn (Howard Brenton, US Premiere) dir. Rachel Walshe The Real Thing (Tom Stoppard) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Martin McDonagh) dir. Judith Swift
2011–12 Season Circle Mirror Transformation (Annie Baker) dir. Rachel Walshe Hamlet (William Shakespeare) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Festen (David Eldridge, based on the Dogme film and screenplay by Thomas Vinterberg, Mogens Rukov and Bo hr. Hansenir) dir. Tony Estrella Boom (Peter Sinn Nachtrieb) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. 1984 (George Orwell, adapted by Nick Lane) dir. Tony Estrella
2010–11 Season Glengarry Glen Ross (David Mamet) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Mauritius (Theresa Rebeck) dir. Rachel Walshe A Child's Christmas in Wales (Dylan Thomas) adpt. and dir. Tony Estrella A Doll's House (Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Tony Estrella) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Paul (Howard Brenton, US Premiere) dir. Tony Estrella Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them (Christopher Durang) dir. Tony Estrella
25th anniversary season (2009–10) Much Ado About Nothing (William Shakespeare) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare) dir. Tony Estrella The SantaLand Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted by Joe Mantello 4:48 Psychosis (Sarah Kane) dir. Tony Estrella The Glass Menagerie (Tennessee Williams) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Rock 'n' Roll (Tom Stoppard) dir. Judith Swift
2008–09 Season Don Carlos (Friedrich Schiller adapted by Tony Estrella) dir. Tony Estrella An Ideal Husband (Oscar Wilde) dir. Judith Swift Awake and Sing! (Clifford Odets) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Grace (Mick Gordon & A.C. Grayling) dir. Tony Estrella The Scarlet Letter (Phyllis Nagy adapted from the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne) dir. Judith Swift
2007–08 Season The Elephant Man (Bernard Pomerance) dir. Tony Estrella Nixon's Nixon (Russell Lees) dir. Judith Swift The Pillowman (Martin McDonagh) dir. Peter Sampieri Boston Marriage (David Mamet) dir. Judith Swift The Taming of the Shrew (William Shakespeare) dir. Peter Sampieri
2006–07 Season Mother Courage and Her Children (Bertolt Brecht) dir. Tony Estrella The SantaLand Diaries and Season's Greetings (David Sedaris adapted by Joe Mantello) dir. Chris Byrnes and Wendy Overly Enhanced Interrogation Techniques: A Hand Witch of the Second Stage (Peter Barnes) dir. Peter Sampieri, One for the Road, Press Conference (Harold Pinter), Catastrophe (Samuel Beckett) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr Sin: A Cardinal Deposed (Michael Murphy) dir. Judith Swift Radio Free Emerson (Paul Grellong) dir. Peter Sampieri
2005–06 Season Crime and Punishment (Adapted by Marilyn Campbell & Curt Columbus, from the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky) dir. Peter Sampieri Twelfth Night (William Shakespeare) dir. Tony Estrella The Lonesome West (Martin McDonagh) dir. Judith Swift Top Girls (Caryl Churchill) dir. Wendy Overly La Bête (David Hirson) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr.
2004–05 Season An Enemy of the People (Henrik Ibsen adapted by Arthur Miller) dir. Tony Estrella The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Jim Cartwright) dir. Judith Swift Red Noses (Peter Barnes) dir. Peter Sampieri Oleanna (David Mamet) dir. Judith Swift The Beard of Avon (Amy Freed) dir. Tony Estrella
2003–04 Season The Crucible (Arthur Miller) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. A Child's Christmas in Wales (Dylan Thomas) dir. Tony Estrella Aunt Dan and Lemon (Wallace Shawn) dir. Tony Estrella Barrymore (William Luce) dir. Fred Sullivan Jr. Julius Caesar (William Shakespeare) dir. Judith Swift
References
External links The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre Website News coverage in Providence Journal