The Tony Award for best play went to Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing.” “Amadeus” was playing in movie theaters. And in Rhode Island, the lights went up for the first time for Alias Stage in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence. The year was 1984.
Since then, Alias has moved across three Rhode Island cities, changed its name once, and earned countless recognitions of its own. Now known as The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) is in the midst of celebrating its 40th anniversary season.
The initial idea for today’s Gamm was born out of Trinity Repertory’s Conservatory. According to the website, seven graduates of Trinity Rep Conservatory (Dan Devine, Lucinda Dohanian, George Marcincavage, Pam Powers, Steve Sookikian, Kate Stone and Dan Welch) began performing as an artist collective out of the abandoned Riverside Mills in Olneyville. After several years in Providence, The Gamm moved to Pawtucket in 2002.
Tony Estrella, who started as an actor in 1996 with Alias Stage, was named artistic director in 2002 and believes The Gamm has made a tremendous impact on the community.
“We are a great example of one theater — a great theater like Trinity — birthing another theater,” Estrella said. “Hopefully we’ve contributed to that by continuing to train and work with artists who want to stay in the area and make a vibrant community.”
One of his first charges as artistic director was to professionalize the acting company. “This work led to becoming the second year-round professional theater in Rhode Island. It opened us up to actors not only locally, but in the Boston area and New York. It helped make for a stronger theatrical community,” he said.
According to its website, The Gamm is a member of New England Area Theatres, a bargaining unit of Actors’ Equity Association. The theater is also home to a robust set of educational programs, from camps to classes and community partnerships.
To help mark their anniversary season, The Gamm team turned to a fictional account of the rivalry between the classical composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. “Amadeus,” the award-winning play first produced in 1979, just had its run at The Gamm extended through Dec. 7, 2024. It was adapted for the big screen in 1984, and Estrella says that seeing it at their theater on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick makes for a unique experience.
“I think most people know ‘Amadeus’ as the amazing Academy Award-winning movie that came out 40 years ago, but it’s a stage play first and foremost,” he said.
The Gamm has pulled out the stops for this massive production. “It’s really, really hard to do because it’s so big and it changes so much,” he said. “We’ve even made it more difficult by adding live music.”
Judith Stillman, distinguished pianist, composer, music director and filmmaker, is the production’s music director, pianist, and creator of the musical score.
“So, people get to see live Mozart in our intimate space that has only 185 seats,” he continued.
“You get this massive piece of theater that’s epic, epic, epic while being done in an intimate space that has amazing music making and is up close and personal. ‘Amadeus’ is the kind of play that you usually see in a very large theater. You might see it being revived on Broadway, but to get to see something like this where you’re breathing the same air as the actors is really powerful.”
On the heels of the ‘Amadeus’ run, The Gamm team is hosting “A Winter’s Delight” on Dec.12, 2024, its year-end fundraising event.
“In the past, we’ve had a holiday show, but last year we started this winter benefit to bring the community together and have a great holiday celebration. It’s lovely to be with everybody to celebrate the ‘home for the holidays’-feel,” said Estrella.
Looking towards the future, Estrella says that The Gamm aims to build on the momentum of this milestone year. He also recognizes the importance of people being together, in-person to experience live theater or watch a movie.
“We need stories, we love stories, we need the light, and we need entertainment,” said Estrella. He urges people to come to experience live entertainment together. “I think this is so important in a time where we spend too much of our time interfacing screens,” he continued.
The theater’s schedule has expanded to include free movie nights, which are running through June, plus ticketed shows from the National Theater Live screenings.
“We really want to turn our space into a vibrant center for arts and culture, not only in Warwick, but in Rhode Island,” said Estrella. “We have all sorts of things going on, so we want people to know that The Gamm is here. It’s vibrant. It’s alive.”
The Gamm’s main offering will still be producing five or six plays annually. “But once people enter the building, they can see what else is happening there. It’s really a place for the community that starts with theater, but branches out to a lot of other things as well,” he said.
Visit The Gamm website for the calendar of events through June 2025. In addition to being entertained, “maybe folks can make a few new friends or hang out with some strangers, you never know what can happen,” said Estrella.
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