Bev Fleisher

Review: ‘Derek Jeter Makes the Play’ by Best Medicine Rep

The resources of upstart Best Medicine Rep are optimized in this charming production of Robin Rothstein’s new work, Derek Jeter Makes the Play. Tucked in a corner of Lakeforest Mall, Best Medicine’s...

Review: ‘Altar Boyz’ by Rockville Musical Theatre

Promoted as a hilarious send-up of Christian boy bands, Altar Boyz, with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker, delivers witty lyrics sprinkled among twelve songs. The storyline...

Review: ‘I Did It My Way In Yiddish (In English)’ by Deb Filler at MetroStage

Deb Filler’s love note to the world wends through near-universal musical touchstones, bawdy humor, the joys (or not) of Yiddish, coincidental connections, and the impact of one important musical...

Review: ‘The Texas Homecoming Revolution of 1995’ at Best Medicine Rep

Bullies in the bathroom, rampant rumors and petty one-upmanship. Whether in Texas, Iowa or Connecticut, the horrors of high school cattiness haunt many into their adult years. Texas Homecoming’s...

Review: ‘Monty Python’s SPAMALOT’ at Rockville Musical Theatre

Top-notch performers, frequent laughter, applause, audience sing-alongs, and an all-in standing hymn recital characterized a night at Rockville Musical Theatre’s production of Monty Python’s SPAMALOT....

Review: ‘A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline’ at Infinity Theatre Company

Patsy Cline’s spirit inhabited the theater when Laura Stracko sang some of Cline’s later and best known songs including “Sweet Dreams,” “She’s Got You,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy.” Directed by...

Report: The 2017 ‘Kennedy Center Arts Summit’

Two-hundred and fifty artist citizens, teachers, members of arts non-profits, business executives, scientists and technologists from around the world, came together for a full day at the fourth annual...

Review: ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ at Ovations Theatre

How often are you torn between the demands of a profession and finding a satisfactory work/life balance? James Lapine’s book about George Seurat examines the difficulty of finding a solution to this...

Review: ‘Spring Awakening’ by Ovations Theatre

The cast of Ovations Theatre’s production of Spring Awakening could sing the phone book and still be entrancing. Director Darnell Patrick Morris brought a fresh approach to the Tony Award-winning...

Review: ‘Urinetown’ at Wilson Theater at Woodrow Wilson High School

Urinetown,The Musical, the totally odiferous sounding but truly entertaining musical, comes up smelling like a rose in its production by the students and faculty at Woodrow Wilson High School. The...

Review: Joey Alexander at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

To say that 13-year-old jazz pianist Joey Alexander is a child prodigy is an understatement. He is the future of jazz. According to his bio on his website, he has appeared in performance with Wayne...

A Report on ‘The Bohemian Girl’ Semi-Staged Concert at The Victorian Lyric Opera Company

The Victorian Lyric Opera Company (VLOC) presented a semi-staged concert version of the 1843 opera, The Bohemian Girl. The opera has music by Michael William Balfe and a libretto by Alfred Bunn....

Review: ‘Sultans of String’ at AMP at Strathmore

The Sultans of String delight and excite. This is World Music as you’ve never heard it before. The music is, quite simply, a soul satisfying mash-up of European gypsy, classical, punjabi, jazz, and...

Review: Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Violinist Joshua Bell at Strathmore

All eyes were on Joshua Bell during the Academy of St Martin in the Fields performance, although only one of the three pieces played by the world-renowned chamber orchestra featured him. Although the...

Review: ‘Calendar Girls’ at The British Players

This show is outstanding! At its heart, Calendar Girls is about the ability of women “of a certain age” to continue to flex and grow for all of the right reasons. The sensitivity of Co-Directors...

Review: ‘Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Musical’ at Olney Theatre Center

Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Musical, in its world premiere at The Olney Theatre Center, is worthy of an endless stream of accolades including ‘dazzling,’ ‘amazing,’ ‘stupendous,’ ’emotional’, and...

Review: ‘Big Love’ at American University

The cast of American University’s Big Love, written by Charles L. Mee and directed by Isaiah M. Wooden, was masterful in communicating the big and complex issues raised in the play. Without harangues...

Review: ‘Legally Blonde, Jr.’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

The performance of the student version of Legally Blonde Jr.at Adventure Theatre MTC was a rollicking ride through the highlights of the extended version. The story is one of female empowerment; a...

Review: ‘A Change Gon’ Come’ by ANKH Repertory Theatre Company, The Finest! Performance Foundation, Inc., and Arts on the Green at The Arts Barn

One concern of many parents and grandparents is that their children will lose sight of family history. A Change Gon’ Come, by Kashi-Tara, dramatically ties together the civil rights issues of today...

‘Hair’ at Woodrow Wilson High School

Lorin Kayla Holland (Dionne), in all her tranquil beauty, set the mood perfectly for Wilson High School’s production of Hair. Action jumps in as Kellik Dawson (Hud), and Zac Nachbar-Seckel (Berger)...

‘Flamenco Men 2’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

It is said that there are four elements of flamenco: Cante, or voice; Baile, or dance; Toque, or guitar, and; Jaleo – audience participation. All were in full force at GALA Hispanic Theatre’s...

‘The Great Gatsby’ at Rockville Little Theatre

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is considered one on the finest books in 20 th century American literature. The production, adapted for the stage by Simon Levy, is a huge project for the...

MOMIX’s ‘Alchemia’ at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

Both Roger Catlin, in his April 24, 2015 article in The Washington Post, and GMU Dance Professor Dan Joyce, during his pre-performance discussion, describe MOMIX as “dancer-illusionists.” They also...

A Report on ‘A Prude’s Guide to Good Sex’ at DC Women’s Theatre Group

Previous positive experiences with the DC Women’s Theatre Group primed me for a touching performance. A Prude’s Guide to Good Sex needs some fine-tuning before it lives up to the expectations set by...

The Soul Crackers at The Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

33 years after they began, The Soul Crackers deliver tight, in-the-pocket covers from all-star soul, Motown and 70’s Funk bands. For over three hours, the band drove from one song directly to the...

‘An Experiment with an Air Pump’ at George Mason University

Shelagh Stephenson’s 1997 An Experiment with an Air Pump toggles between the dawn of the 19th and 21st centuries to examine the role of science in society, bioethics and the status of women at the...

‘Grounded’ at Olney Theatre Center

Grounded provides a unique look into one woman’s journey from top-notch fighter pilot, on which her self-image is staked, to a drone pilot sinking daily into the shrouds of PTSD. There have been many...

‘A Sense of Wonder’ at George Mason University

Kaiulani Lee’s enthralling one woman show was one of the most engrossing hours I have ever experienced. Lee’s piece, A Sense of Wonder, is based on the life and works of Rachel Carson, best known for...

‘Menopause The Musical’ at Hylton Performing Arts Center

Menopause The Musical is still hysterical and fresh after 15 years and multiple thousands of performances. I use the word ‘hysterical’ on purpose: for many women who have gone through the mood swings...

‘The Comedy of Errors’ at The Arlington Players

Many recent productions of The Comedy of Errors set Shakespeare’s language within a more recent environment, and in this case The Arilngton Players have set their production in Chicago in the 1920s –...

‘Bessie’s Blues’ at MetroStage

Drive, ride, or run down to MetroStage for Bessie’s Blues! Bessie’s Blues is one big shiny bauble-filled with song, dance, and more than a few double entendres, smack downs and hilarious patter about...

‘Raisin’ Cane: A Harlem Renaissance Odyssey’ at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

Inspired by the 1923 novel, Cane, by Jean Toomer, and the work of other renaissance artists, this multimedia presentation fronted by Jasmine Guy provided a look into the general trends and opposing...

Young Playwrights’ Theater Presents The 20th Anniversary Festival at Theater J

“Really? A pre-teen wrote this? No way!They did? Wow!” Those were my thoughts as I was drawn into the celebration of “the best of” twenty years of playwriting by elementary and middle school students...

‘Into the Woods’ at Woodrow Wilson High School’s Theatre Arts

Into the Woods is magical in two ways: the performance is out of this world, and; some time travel must have been involved to get Yana Madrid (the Witch) and other characters back from their...

The Count Basie Orchestra at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

The Count Basie Orchestra is a perfect paring with The Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club as it rises to its stated goal of being “The Copacabana of the mid-Atlantic.” The packed dinner crowd,...

‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ at Magruder High School

Bright shiny objects in unexpected places often draw our attention. This weekend’s bauble, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, drew the spotlight to Magruder High School. The evening was...

‘A Little Business at the Big Top’ at TheaterSpace at George Mason University

Masterful! David Gaines solo performance was clever, skilled and totally engrossing. Using only his body, facial expressions and some gibberish, he transported the audience to the circus, both in the...

‘Africa Umoja’ at the National Theatre

The energy of Africa Umoja virtually leapt off the stage. At times, the performer’s enthusiasm was nearly matched by the shout-outs, ululations, whistling, foot stomping, singing, arm-waving and...

‘SPUNK’ at Howard University

As Alicia Mitchell-Mangual sings and the lights come up, I anticipate another fantastic production by the Howard University Department of Theatre Arts. The six actors and keyboardist Kayla V. Waters...

Nation Beat and Alma Tropicalia at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

The music to celebrate Brazilian Independence Day at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club Saturday night drove most of the attendees onto the dance floor. Both Alma Tropicalia and Nation Beat amped up...

‘The Nighthawks’ and the ‘Kelly Bell Band’ at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

Of course The Nighthawks lived up to their reputation as “the quintessential bar band.”Forty plus years in, DC native Mark Wenner only gets better and a bit funkier. The surprise of the evening was...

‘The Rat Pack Together Again’ at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

In the setting of the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, I was expecting The Rat Pack to bring me on a nostalgic trip to the early 60s when Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...

‘Doc Scantlin and His Imperial Palms Orchestra’ at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

In 1998, Forbes magazine declared Doc Scantlin and His Imperial Palms Orchestra the “best band in America.” And that was before they attained a huge following for their entertainment value and focus...

Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

FRESH was the defining feeling at Zydeco Trouble’s dance party at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club. Lead by Curley Taylor, the five-piece band consistently delivered a straight up zydeco beat that...

‘Dani Girl’ at Unexpected Stage Company

Dani Girl is a gem worthy of placement at the highest point in a royal’s crown. Go see it before it closes its brief run on August 10th! Every member of this musical’s cast and creative team deserves...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Oh, What Can’t A Woman Do?’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) This production is not to be missed! It is clearly one of the ‘Best of the Capital Fringe.’ Hilary Morrow’s solo performance is riveting.Morrow is both playwright and...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Call Steve Guttenberg’

If you are familiar with H.P. Lovecraft’s early writing about the fictional deity called Cthulhu, this play is hilarious. If you are not familiar with Lovecraft’s writing, take just a moment to look...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Balloon Plays’

Balloon Plays is a great way to introduce kids to the wonders of Fringe. It is, to my knowledge, the only offering directed towards a younger audience. The approximately 10 kids and 40 adults...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Boy Meets Girl and Other Dilemmas’

Four good comics, eight short skits and one ‘ha, ha, not so funny’synopsis made for a sporadically funny performance of this collection written by Robert Kittredge and directed by Lisa Hilling. Jackie...

‘Louisiana Swamp Romp’ at Wolf Trap

This much-anticipated yearly event at WolfTrap was a winner once again. The Stooges Brass Band, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet and Big Sam’s Funky Nation showcased the breadth of music in New Orleans...