Carolyn Kelemen

A vibrant ‘Godspell’ brings back the joy at Toby’s

A lively reprise of the first show on its stage 41 years ago with the parables updated to the minute.

The fun begins ‘After Midnight’ in big band musical from Signature

The singing, dancing, and songs are all highpoints. The filming, editing, and lighting are all superb.

Next Ice Age dancers carve out haunting moves

Looking for something really cool to do this Halloween weekend? Check out The Next Ice Age (NIA), an amazing ice dancing troupe that will provide both tricks and treats. The company performs its...

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater kicks off a week long run at the Kennedy Center

Looking for a respite from the political chaos that surrounds us? Care to leave your troubles behind? How about an escape to the world of energizing, uplifting dance? Catch America’s favorite dance...

Olney Theatre Center’s ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ entertains from start to finish

Once again, Olney Theatre Center (OTC) has put on a tap-happy show. This time it’s Singin’ in the Rain, where the audience hums the familiar tunes as they ratta-ta-tap back to their cars. That was the...

Review: ‘Harlequinade’ by American Ballet Theatre at The Kennedy Center

Marius Petipa must have been smiling from his grave last night when the American Ballet Theatre presented another brilliant Russian choreographer’s staging of Petipa’s Harlequinade. This sweet,...

Review: ‘Don Quixote’ by Ballet Nacional de Cuba at the Kennedy Center

With apologies to T.S. Elliot, Ballet Nacional de Cuba ends the Kennedy Center Ballet 2017-2018 season not with a whimper but a bang. A big bang! An explosive Don Quixote opened last night and repeats...

Preview: The Kennedy Center’s 2018-19 Season Brings Theater Front and Center

We were promised surprises – guest artists and other treats – at the Kennedy Center’s 2018-2019 Theater Season announcement Tuesday in the Center’s cozy Terrace Theater. And, as expected, Kennedy...

Review: ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ at Vagabond Players

The opening night performance of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by the Vagabond Players in America’s oldest continuously operating theater in historic Fells Point turned out to be a festive...

Review: ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ at Everyman Theatre

Long Day’s Journey Into Night chills to the bone. The wind was howling as the cold air clipper passed through downtown Baltimore last Friday evening. Inside Everyman Theatre, an even more ferocious...

Review: ‘Inherit the Wind’ at Baltimore’s Vagabond Theatre

On a cold winter’s night, nothing heats up faster than a fiery debate. And when it comes to political grandiloquence – as timely today as 100 years ago – the Vagabond Players opening night performance...

Dance Preview: ‘Bald Ballerina’ Maggie Kudirka Dances for Life

There wasn’t a dry eye when Margaret “Maggie” Kudirka ripped off her headscarf and fell to the floor during her poignant Loss and Survival solo, set to the familiar Edith Piaf song of no regrets. Just...

Review: ‘Forever Balanchine Farewell Performances’ at The Kennedy Center

It was bittersweet last evening when The Suzanne Farrell Ballet performed the Forever Balanchine Farewell at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House. Sweet because the muse of dance master George Balanchine...

Review of the Mariinsky Ballet in ‘La Bayadère’ at The Kennedy Center

If you’ve never seen the Mariinsky Ballet dance a full-length classic (or missed its previous 2008 production of La Bayadère,) rush to buy tickets for this current engagement at The Kennedy Center...

Review: Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Project Performance of ‘EroSpace’ and ‘When Snails Collide’ at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

It’s often difficult to shake off the pre-conceived notions and expectations of what a particular dance concert is going to be like. I am not exactly clear on what I expected with from EroSpace and...

Review: ‘Memphis -The Musical’ at Motor House

As a teenager growing up in the 1950s in a small New Jersey town just across the river from Philadelphia, I was hooked on R&B music, my transistor radio tuned to WDAS-AM, 1480 on the upside of the...

Review: ‘New York City Ballet: Works by Balanchine, Peck, and Ratmansky’ at The Kennedy Center

Last evening’s ballet concert at The Kennedy Center was one of those magical evenings of dance. Sipping champagne and not talking politics, balletomanes gathered on the sprawling deck that surrounds...

TODAY Only: ‘Tribute to Classical Ballet’ at L’Etoile, The Classical Ballet Theatre of Maryland

Dance Preview: L’Etoile Dances a Ballet Gem Pretty, pastel costumes, new ribbons on the toe shoes, tiaras that sparkle bright as a shiny new penny – these are signs of spring recitals where young...

Review: ‘Little Women: The Musical’ at Third Wall Productions

Mother’s Day afternoon was spent in a Baltimore church basement where we gathered for the musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale, Little Women. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have wanted to...

Review: Ballet Across America Showcases a New Day in Dance at The Kennedy Center

Since its debut in 2008, The Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America series continues to showcase the best of ballet from regional companies across the nation. This fourth time around, there are the...

Review: ‘Faun’ at The Next Ice Age

The Columbia Figure Skating Club put on its annual spring show at the Columbia Ice Rink last Saturday and Sunday. The theme this year was Sing into Spring with two distinct parts. The first part...

Howard County Community Dance Festival Tomorrow and Sunday Events

Dance Pros Will Chase Away the Winter Blahs For local aficionados who cherish those rare professional dance appearances in Columbia, note two unique concerts this weekend. Misako Ballet Company...

Review: Mariinsky Ballet’s ‘The Little Humpbacked Horse’ at The Kennedy Center

Movement and merriment abound in Mariinsky’s The Little Humpbacked Horse Restraint and sutlety are generally not traits associated with Russian comedy ballet, and that proved true last evening at The...

Review: American Ballet Theatre’s ‘Swan Lake’ at The Kennedy Center

American Ballet Theatre Offers Magical Moments of Escapism The grey cloud of uncertainty that hovers over all, especially dance, lifted last evening at The Kennedy Center Opera House, if only for a...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play’ at Howard Community College’s Arts Collective

We all could use a bit of good tidings during this winter of our discontent. Fortunately for Howard County theatergoers, this weekend is filled with holiday cheer with four productions of The...

Review: ‘The Zero Hour’ at Iron Crow Theatre

Madeleine George asks a lot of questions in her award-winning 2011 play, The Zero Hour at The Baltimore’s Theatre Project through the weekend. How do you tell the truth about yourself when that truth...

‘Dancing for Divas: A Labor of Love’ Benefit at Howard Community College TONIGHT, Saturday, October 22nd at 8pm

The Bald Ballerina stages a dance in the name of Love Her many Howard County supporters would probably be pleased if Maggie Kurdirka, The Bald Ballerina, merely walked on stage and posed in her...

Review: ‘DEMO by Damian Woetzel: Heroes’ at The Kennedy Center

The New York City Ballet’s “main man” for 25 years, Damian Woetzel is a hero to many, certainly one of my favorite dancers. Dressed in stylish jeans and midnight blue t-shirt, his dark curly hair...

Dance Preview: Misako Ballet Reflects Asian Culture

It’s very quiet – quite lovely, in fact – in the upstairs studio where visiting guest artist Fumihito Shimizu is rehearsing the Misako Ballet Company and guest dancers from Tokyo for a special...

Review: ‘Juliet and Romeo’ by the Royal Swedish Ballet

The Swedes take on an old classic and make it relevant. Mats Ek’s Juliet and Romeo for the Royal Swedish Ballet, at The Kennedy Center for only four more shows, is a bold retelling of Shakespeare’s...

Review: ‘New York City Ballet Program A’ at The Kennedy Center

The Yankees of ballet are in top-notch form after a successful winter season in Manhattan. Someone recently asked me why I favored the New York City Ballet above all other American ballet companies. I...

Dance Preview: Misako Ballet Celebrates Cultural Diversity

Classical ballet director Misako Aoki began her dance training in her native Japan where she later received a scholarship to study at the Royal Ballet School in London. From there she joined the...

Review: ‘First Date’ at Drama Learning Center

Looking for a respite from the winter doldrums and a glimpse of color, hope, and light-hearted entertainment? Go no further than the Drama Learning Center where founding director Stephanie Lynn...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #12: ‘Memorable Dance in Baltimore and Beyond’ by Carolyn Kelemen

There were many big, wonderful dance events in 2015, including world premieres, new renditions of the warhorse ballets, made-for-TV series (Flesh & Bone),dance documentaries, and grand dance on the...

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet: ‘Balanchine, Béjart, and the Bard’ at The Kennedy Center

Suzanne Farrell – still fairest of them all From the early 1960s until the late 1980s (except for a five-year escape to Belgium), Suzanne Farrell reigned as George Balanchine’s muse at the New York...

‘As You Like It’ by Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It is fun for the family. The Meadow, just below the historic Evergreen House, is a lovely place to spend a late afternoon or early summer evening. Spread a blanket on...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘District of Cara’

District of Cara is like a huge pajama party where your best friend dishes on boyfriends, past and present. In this one-hour monologue/skit/therapy session, actor/writer/storyteller Cara Foran is...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘At Your Service, Mr. President!’

This Butler serves up juicy tidbits in his one-man show It’s got to be tough to do a solo show on a sultry summer night, but cool, calm, and seemingly tireless Alan DeValerio pulled it off without a...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Tomato Beard’

Raunchy, irreverent, and just plain silly, Tomato Beard is a series of skits much like those early Saturday Night Live spoofs. This Pennydog production, billed as a “rock musical,” is a work in...

The Royal Ballet’s ‘Don Quixote’ at The Kennedy Center

Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote is a Royal treat Sometimes balletomanes can only distinguish between a truly great dance concert and a very fine one by noting how many goose bumps pop up on their arms....

Daisha Graf and Alicia Graf Mack Share Their D(n)A with Local Dancers on May 17th in Columbia, MD

Sisters Daisha Mack and Alicia Graf Mack, co-creators of D(n)A Arts, will host The D(n)A Xperience, which aims to draw aspiring dancers from across the region. They have achieved extraordinary success...

The Washington Ballet’s ‘Swan Lake’ at The Kennedy Center

Swooning over the first ‘Swan’ Step aside, Baryshnikov. There’s a new kid on the block and he’s taking the dance world by storm. The Washington Ballet’s Brooklyn Mack took his royal place last night...

New York City Ballet at The Kennedy Center-Program A: 20th Century Classics

There’s no company like the New York City Ballet, performing the old, new, and, especially, Serenade. Last night was one of those magical evenings of ballet and beauty. First it was a smooth ride to...

‘Shrek The Musical’ at Reisterstown Theatre Project

Shrek is back in full green glory Last year Jonah learned to ride a bike. More recently he picked up a hockey stick. During the holidays my seven-year-old grandson tolerated three “Nutcrackers” – one...

Arts Collective Dance Company Concert at Arts Collective @ HCC

HCC puts cutting edge moves on display Those looking for a quick introduction to what’s hot in contemporary dance could spend a small bundle on a whirlwind expedition to New York. Or they could stop...

Why You Must See The Final Performance of ‘Uncle Vanya’ at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company at 2 PM

“Time is of the essence” is a term in British and United States contract law. It serves as a jumping off point in this short, sweet review of Uncle Vanya that wraps up its three week run today at 2 PM...

‘Sleepy Hollow’ at The Washington Ballet

‘Sleepy Hollow’ ballet premieres at the Kennedy Center: D.C. Ballet shakes up expectations Yes, even classical ballerinas let their hair down once in a while. They relish tossing off those stiff upper...

‘Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’ at The Kennedy Center

Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater returned to The Kennedy Center last evening with a tribute to its famous six-foot tall Texan director. Ailey died 25 years ago and filling his size-12 shoes has...

Mariinsky Ballet Featuring Hodson’s ‘Le sacre du printemps,’ Fokine’s ‘Le Spectre de la Rose’ and ‘The Swan,’ and Petipa’s ‘Paquita Grand Pas’ at The Kennedy Center

Russians return to the glory days of ballet Ulyana Lopatkina could have wrapped up The Kennedy Center and taken it home with her after her performance in The Swan, a.k.a. The Dying Swan, created by...

‘Interlock’ at Vagabond Players

Purple lights illuminated Charm City on the eve of the Ravens playoff game. Downtown in the cobblestone village of Fells Point, folks were celebrating in the streets as well inside the Vagabond...