Cyle Durkee

‘Lobster Alice’ at Flying V

Oh Frabjous Day!! I must say, the toves were slithy! And gyring and gimballing were happening all over the stage! And, this take on the creation of Alice in Wonderland really lived up to its promise....

‘Metamorphosis’ at Alliance for New Music-Theatre

How does one begin a review about a boy turned into a dung beetle? I suppose, just like that. And, no, I’m not giving anything away, unless you have never had even a cursory acquaintance with foreign...

‘Spark’ at Theater Alliance

For all who were wondering: there is, in fact, a whole world across the river in Anacostia. In that world sits a lovely little theater called the Anacostia Playhouse. And, if you ever have the...

‘Twelfth Night’ at Theatre Prometheus

Aaaah….Shakespeare. We Washingtonians love you! We love you so much that we have your library here! And we have 14 theater companies dedicated to your works! We, as an educated and civil town, love...

‘Shining City’ at Scena Theatre

Conor McPherson loves the supernatural. His plays exude an otherworldliness that seeps into the dialogue and infects the players. But, his plays aren’t about the supernatural. They seem to highlight...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Capital City Showcase #5-July 27, 2014

The final Showcase! And my final Fringe review…..sigh. Well, let’s get to it! This final installment of the Capital City Showcase was a bit more subdued than the other I saw, which could be expected...

Capital Fringe Review: Capital City Showcase #3-July 23, 2014

Showcases! Sometimes amazing, and sometimes appalling, and this time pretty darn good! This is the Capital City Showcase (which can be seen outside the walls of Fringe {check their website for more...

‘The Veil’ at Quotidian Theatre Company

Conor McPherson’s play The Veil is a play set in an Irish mansion in the country in 1822. It’s story takes us through two weeks of time seeing hopes being sprung, dashed and meekly born again....

Capital Fringe 2014 Review ‘Mobile Personal Series’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) If you were to walk up to what looks like a hot dog vendor with a surgical mask on, you might ask: “What’s the mask for?” You might then look down and realize that the...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Feisty Jew’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) There are story tellers. There are actors. There is a difference between the two. In one we find a desire to live the character. To be a new person on stage so that the...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Relationsh!t’

There is something to be said for idiosyncratic behavior contributing to the spice in any relationship (there is something else, entirely, to he said for the same behavior wrecking any and all...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘La Llorona’

La Llorona is a Hispanic folktale about a woman who is spurned by her lover and goes on to murder her children. She then wanders the land as a ghost called the wailing woman and hearing her cries...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘The Duchess of Malfi’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) Setting aside certain things about this performance is difficult. They are greedy, selfish, and cruel. Greedy for deciding they should hoard such a mountain of talent in...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘The Mutualistic Melody’

In a show who’s concept is so interesting I was surprised to find so many flaws in both script and execution.The script was unwieldy and suffered from many freshman mistakes. For instance, the three...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘The Interpersonal Underworld’

This review will be in two parts. One part about the dance (yes, this is a dance show) and one about the spoken aspects of the show (which, due to a proclivity for answering any question asked in my...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: “Master Harold”…And the Boys

The Rude Mechanicals of Virginia present “Master Harold”… and the Boys, a play by Athol Fugard. It’s a piece of theater that lends itself to subtle choices in order to express complex ideas...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘I Fucked Your Country’

Twanna Hines is fun and sexy. Which is great for someone who talks about sex for a living. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this show, so I was happily surprised when I discovered it wasn’t going to...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Bitch: A Play About Antigone’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) Though you travel the perilous river of the Fringe and are beset on all sides by ravening flyer bearers and incoherent plots. Though you are forced to cringe so forcefully...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘To The Outside/D.C. al Coda’

I attended In To The Outside/D.C. al Coda last night with my editor. As you may have heard, one of the actors sustained an injury the night before opening night. Playwright and Director John Sowalsky...

Ranting With Cyle: ‘Here’s Where I’ve Been and I’m Back Now!”

I write to you all after a long absence (no, I didn’t get abducted by aliens {but wouldn’t that be a cool story to share [with the other inmates of the psych ward]}) and come to realize that there is...

Ranting With Cyle: ‘Collaboration’ by Cyle Durkee

F%#k you! (Not you, sorry! {I should probably have explained that statement a bit first]) The reason I said that is that it’s not something that you typically hear in a collaborative process (but you...

Ranting with Cyle: Chatting with Eric Tipler on His Musical ‘One Night in New York!’ by Cyle Durkee

There are certain shows that hit you with a sledgehammer (Rent) to get their point across. There are others that cut you slowly and nimbly until you realize that your heart is exposed and you’re...

Ranting with Cyle: ‘Theatrical Community’ by Cyle Durkee

How do you know that it’s too early in the morning (on a Saturday, no less), and no one has gotten enough sleep (we all know that sleep is something that happens to people outside the arts)? You begin...

Ranting With Cyle: What is an Artist? In Memory of Jason Cook by Cyle Durkee

What is an artist? An artist is many things. An artist is an individual who creates, certainly. But, there is so much more to the description. Artists are those who strive for something new, even if...

Ranting With Cyle: ‘When the Show Speaks to Me’ by Cyle Durkee

In our last foray into the philosophies of theater we began our journey into the relationship that we, as people, have with the art that we call theater (and pretentious people call theatre). We began...

FallFringe Review: ‘Burlesque + Belly Laughs’ by Cyle Durkee

Burlesque. Comedy. Together. Right? Can you go wrong with this? No. Let’s begin with the opening of the room. As people enter they are personally greeted by Justin Purvis. He is not a character, he is...

FallFringe Review: ‘R.U.X.’ (Rockwell’s Universal seXbots) by Cyle Durkee

Robot Sex. Perfect Fringe show, right? You would think so. And it almost is. R.U.X. is about an embattled businessman named Rockwell. Rockwell Jr. to be precise. His father’s company has been...

FallFringe Review: ‘The Brontes’ by Cyle Durkee

I used to think that the best thing about the old west was that you could ride around doing just about anything you wanted, as long as you had a big gun (and you were willing to mortgage your soul for...

FallFringe Review: ‘McGoddess’ by Cyle Durkee

Imagine a story of a man’s life. Now imagine that it is told by his daughter. Now imagine that that daughter is hilarious. Got it? Great. That is where we begin this journey. So keep that in mind as...

fallFringe: ‘Double Consciousness Redux’ by Cyle Durkee

Double Consciousness Redux (DCR){carpel tunnel is something that is going to happen to other people}) begins with a haunting scene in which comes onto the stage assisted by two nurses in white. The...

‘Medieval Story Land’ at fallFringe by Cyle Durkee

Medieval Story Land’ – the fun sendup of adventure stories is plain fun. We begin our journey with the “hero,” a young elf named Todd (played joyfully by Forrest Rilling). Todd is an idiot and he...

‘Galactica’ with Jeffrey Johnson at Black Fox Lounge by Cyle Durkee

Galactica is the drag queen. Jeffrey Johnson is the man behind the makeup. It’s important that you know that as you go into his cabarets, because you get to spend the night with both. And what a...

Ranting With Cyle: ‘Sounds of Silence’ by Cyle Durkee

Silence. Makes people…. Nervous. Which I find a bit odd. You would think that it would take the pressure off, right? We could all just not talk, and everyone should be fine with that (now replace...

‘Hemispheric Dysfunctionalism & the Cortical Titanic’ at Capital Fringe by Cyle Durkee

I scarcely know where to begin. Hemispheric Dysfunctionalism & the Cortical Titanic moves through the treacherous waters of involved philosophical musings like the Titanic maneuvered through the north...

‘La-Ti-Do’ at Black Fox Lounge by Cyle Durkee

In one word: Amazing (I wish people would just trust me on that and go see it, but I also understand that I should probably let you know why {so here goes})! Ok, this is unique. La-Ti-Do (Monday...

Gia Mora’s ‘Sweethearts and Singletons’ at The Black Fox Lounge by Cyle Durkee

Are you a little nerdy (I certainly am)? Do you think the hottest thing about someone is their ability to discuss the almost science fiction levels of technology we are creating (shout out to the...

Ranting With Cyle: ‘Come to the Cabaret’ by Cyle Durkee

Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre. It is mainly distinguished by the performance venue, a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances with the...

Ranting With Cyle: ‘On the Fringe After the Fringe’ by Cyle Durkee

Well, that was quite a Fringe! The revelry (drunkeness), the pageantry (drunkeness), and the ecstasy (there were several moments where I could have used some)!! I can’t wait for next year! I was truly...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ by Cyle Durkee

Delusions of Grandeur is a fun romp through many things clown and a few things Shakespeare (though the only actual monologue comes from Matthew Pauli {and is beautiful}). There is a clownish heist,...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Cloudism Project’ by Cyle Durkee

Ok…this one is a bit different. Start with one of the best curtain speeches (designed to get everyone to turn off their cell phones) I’ve ever seen, delivered by Karen Beriss who is telling her mom on...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Superhero Celebrity Rehab: The Musical’ by Cyle Durkee

Who hasn’t wondered what keeps Superman up at all hours? Why can’t Batman sleep? Why are Wonder Woman’s breasts so perky? The answer to the first two is obviously drugs (the answer to the third is, of...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Sweet Painted Lady’ by Cyle Durkee

Oh, the oldest story in the world. Boy has girl. Girl buys boy’s painting. Boy takes drugs and painting comes to life. Boy has affair with painting. Boy freaks out. Boy overdoses and kills painting. I...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The City of God’ – A New Opera’ by Cyle Durkee

Here goes. First, I’m not going to mention any names because these are college kids and they will learn better (and I’d like for them to get a chance to do so without the albatross of a bad review...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘3rd Annual “Fool for All”: Tales of Marriage and Mozzarella’ by Cyle Durkee

Over the years I have seen Faction of Fools develop beautifully. They are developing a cast of regulars that have real chemistry and obviously enjoy working with each other enormously. Let’s just get...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Colony’ by Cyle Durkee

Enter a room with no chairs. There are two women in striped leotards running in place (Kelly Bond and Melissa Krodman {Melissa has the curly hair}). You mill about looking for a place to sit and...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Circle’ by Cyle Durkee

The Circle is a walking tour of an area surrounding the Fringe office. You first download an audio file onto your IPOD or other handheld electronic device. Then you get into a group and your “tour...

Cyle Raving: ‘On the Brink of the Waterfront’ by Cyle Durkee

There are few relationships as complex as those that are created by actors and directors working together. They’re soggy with shared experience and emotion. They’re dry and cracked like the kindling...