The Gamm Theatre will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a Gala on May 8. “The theme will be like a movie opening,” said Tony Estrella, the Gamm’s Artistic Director. “We’re having it at the Graduate (in downtown Providence). A great place for it.”
The gala is called A Grand Night, and the Gamm “will roll out the red carpet Old Hollywood style” and “take a nostalgic and playful look back at memorable Gamm productions of works written for the stage that enjoyed a second life on the silver screen.”
Estrella has been with the Gamm since 1996. “My first show was ‘Antony & Cleopatra,’ in the old garage on Elbow Street.” Originally established as Alias Stage, the theater had several venues in mill buildings in Olneyville.
Estrella’s first show was also the first Shakespeare that the company had done. “Bob Colonna directed it, and that spurred the company to do ‘Hamlet.’ That was the show that got the ball rolling.”
As part of its 40th season, the Gamm is bringing back “Hamlet” in the month of April. Estrella will direct local actor Jeff Church in the title role.
The Gala will also celebrate another local actor, Andrew Burnap. Burnap, a South Kingstown native and graduate of the University of Rhode Island, is featured as Jonathan, a character based on Prince Charming, in Disney’s live-action remake of “Snow White.” He is also appearing on Broadway with Denzel Washington in “Othello.”
In 2020, Burnap won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in “The Inheritance.” Burnap says he got the “theater bug” when he was 3 or 4 years old “watching Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. I would dance on the table for my two grandmothers and their friends. And seeing Ron Moody as Fagin in ‘Oliver!’ was huge.”
Estrella met Burnap when Burnap was a student at URI. “He’s a wonder to behold. Always as a teacher, you love to watch a student fly. When his potential catches, it’s pretty extraordinary.”
Burnap’s first performance ever was playing Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Curtis Corner Middle School in his hometown. His favorite role ever – so far – was Doctor Frankenfurter in a production of “The Rocky Horror Show” at URI.
“We’re deeply connected to URI,” says Estrella “The engine room of the Gamm is URI.”
Burnap, says Estrella, “cares so deeply about his friends and teachers here. He grew up with us. Such talent, charisma, self-assuredness. It’s a rare combination for someone coming out of high school. To watch him grow into one of the most exceptional young actors in America was no surprise.”
Estrella worked with Burnap in Boston, where he did a short play with Rachel Dulude, a member of the Gamm family. After Burnap’s graduation from the Yale School of Drama with an MFA, “we tried to put him into service (at the Gamm), but his agents at that point had other plans.”
The Gala will feature some sort of performance, says Estrella. “We’re not going to waste Andrew’s presence. I don’t want to say ‘exploit,’ but we’ll figure out a way for him to participate meaningfully.”
Fred Reinhardt, president and CEO of Greenwood Credit Union, will be presented with the David Wax Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Arts. Reinhardt has been instrumental, according to the press release, in “providing crucial philanthropic support and fiscal guidance for the theater since its move to Warwick in 2018.”
The Gamm’s 41st season will also be announced at the Gala. “We’re finalizing it as we speak,” said Estrella.
The Gala, he says, “is a celebration of 40 years. A good time will certainly be had by all.”
For tickets to and information about the Gala and the Gamm’s various productions, visit www.gammtheatre.org.
