Scot Colford

I’ve recently been elected to City Council and have been working tirelessly for the constituents of Big Cherry. That is to say, I’ll be appearing as Mr. Hanratty in the Greater Boston premiere of The Minutes by Tracy Letts at The Umbrella Stage Company in Concord, MA.

“The Smallest Towns Hide the Biggest Secrets”

An evening in Big Cherry – a small town in anywhere USA – and the city council meeting unfolds in real time, unmasking undercurrents that threaten to undo life as they know it … and driving the question, “How far would you go?”

Award-winning playwright Tracy Letts’ (August: Osage County) new play was called one of the most thrilling on Broadway in recent years. Nominated as Best New Play by the Tony Awards and Outer Critics Circle in 2022, and for the Pulitzer Prize in drama, The Minutes is part biting comedy, part Hitchcockian mystery, and at its dark heart an unflinching allegory about small-town politics and real-world power.

Umbrella Arts Center website

I am having a blast working with this perfectly cast, stellar ensemble under the direction of three-time Norton-winning director Scott Edmiston. The show is a wild ride that is certain to generate lively discussion amongst audiences. Don’t miss it!

The Minutes runs March 1-24, 2024 at the Umbrella Arts Center in Concord. Tickets are on sale now.

That line is from Act II of Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and it couldn’t be more appropriate for this post today. Tomorrow I start rehearsals for the play as Vanya, a role I’ve been hoping to play for a while now.

The play is Durang’s most accessible work, leaving the most absurd elements of his writing behind, but retaining a goofy and manic plot, wacky characters, and ridiculous spectacle. Beneath that, I also think this show whispers subtle truths about the connections humans form and the satisfaction we can achieve from life if we just take a moment to feel it. (But c’mon. It’s just flat out hilarious.) I’m stoked to get started with a (mostly) whole new group of artists on this project.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is produced by Titanic Theatre Company and will run at the BCA Plaza Black Box September 21 through October 8, 2022.

That short question is posed by the Countess in Act III, Scene 2 of All’s Well That Ends Well. And all’s well indeed, for I’ve returned thither to The Lyric Stage Company of Boston where I was last seen on stage more than two years ago!

I’ll soon be appearing as Ralph Crane, scrivener to The King’s Men theatrical troupe, in the heartfelt comedy The Book of Will. As the Lyric describes it:

Seven years after the death of Shakespeare, a small group of unexpected heroes with no money, resources, or experience come together to compile what would become Shakespeare’s First Folio. This rapid fire and buoyant play tells the story of those who knew Shakespeare best as they fight to collect 37 of his plays into one volume against all odds. Their translation of words from the stage to the page would forever change theater and literature.

The show is warm, funny, accessible to all, and chock full of some of Boston’s most charming actors. If you’re fully fully vaxxed and got a mask on you, I hope to see you there!

The Book of Will runs February 25 through March 27 at The Lyric Stage Company in Back Bay. Book tickets online.

I was scheduled to appear as Danny Maguire in the Footlight Club production of Xanadu at the end of this month, but due to the current health crisis, it has been postponed. We’re still hoping to mount the show at the end of spring 2021 (all the better to refine my rusty rollerskating skills), but in the meantime, get a load of this!

We hadn’t gotten terribly far into our rehearsal process by the time we had to shut things down, but we did manage to have a brilliant promotional photo session with Matt McKee. Meet Danny Maguire, erstwhile musician and dreamer, extant jaded real estate mogul. And check out the rest of the character photos on the FLC Instagram page.

After a weekend of previews, we’re ready to open Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express at Lyric Stage! We run through December 22, but I advise you to book your tickets soon, as Ms. Christie’s name has been remarkably good advertising on its own. It doesn’t hurt that we have a company of exceptionally talented and perfectly cast actors on board!

Before rehearsals for Murder on the Orient Express kick off, I’ll be appearing in the intimate and intense drama The Great God Pan at The Footlight Club. It’s part of the 7A Series that gives folks a chance to work on smaller shows in an intimate space. The cast is great and the show is quite a provocative conversation starter. Check it out — one weekend only! — October 25-27.

This just in: I’ll be appearing in The Lyric Stage Company production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express running November 22 – December 22!

I’m delighted to have been invited along on the journey. (I’m sure that won’t be the last transportation metaphor I use before 2019 is over.)

This is the first whodunnit I’ve been involved with since I played Allan Montgomery in The Scarlet Ghost in seventh grade. That show’s closed now, so I can tell you that I dunnit. I was the Scarlet Ghost. Am I the culprit on the Orient Express? I’ll never tell.

I made my first appearance at the 37th Elliot Norton Awards and had a fantastic time celebrating the work of Boston theatre artists. Our little Praxis Stage production of All My Sons was nominated for Outstanding Ensemble. Boston notices and appreciates the work of its small companies and for that I am truly grateful!

I most recently appeared as George in the world premiere of Marge Buckley’s The Earth Room. What a delightful trip it was with a marvelous cast and crew. I always enjoy working with Fresh Ink Theatre and director Rebecca Bradshaw.

The Earth Room ran May 3-18 at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. Check out production photos below.

Photos by Paul Fox