Darby DeJarnette

Review: ‘La serva padrona’ at Loudoun Lyric Opera

La serva padrona (or “The Maid as Mistress”) by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi opened for a special engagement this weekend at the Loudoun Lyric Opera, performing at the Carver Center in Purcellville,...

Review: ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ at Damascus Theatre Company

Directed by Stephanie Bonte-Lebair and presented in conjunction with Gaithersburg Arts Barn/Arts on the Green, Dasmascus Theatre Company’s The Bridges of Madison County is a crowd-pleasing musical...

Review: ‘Patience’ at The Victorian Lyric Opera Company

If you’ve ever found fleeting social trends to be disconcerting- never fear, so did Gilbert and Sullivan. In their comedic operetta Patience, now on stage at The Victorian Lyric Opera Company, they...

Review: ‘Top and Bottom’ at Rainbow Theatre Project

Top and Bottom— written by Kevin Michael West, directed by Christopher Janson and produced by the Rainbow Theatre Project— is a unique comedy exploring the ways in which people express themselves via...

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington Performs Durufle’s ‘Requiem’ with Soprano Breanna Sinclairé

Maurice Durufle’s Requiem, adapted for tenor and bass chorus by Artistic Director Thea Kano and presented by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, was performed at the Church of the Epiphany on March 3,...

Online Lives/Offline Drama: Writers Have Superb ‘Sex with Strangers’ at Colonial Players

Sex with Strangers, written by Laura Eason, is now on stage at Colonial Players. Directed by Dave Carter, this play about two writers navigating the difficulties of love in the digital age stars...

Diverse City: A Chat with Matt Ripa, Founding Artistic Director of the DC Queer Theatre Festival

Welcome to the Diverse City column on DC Theater Arts. My name is Darby DeJarnette and I created this column to highlight, through interviews, the different experiences of individuals from various...

Turning Trauma Into Art: Amy Oestreicher on ‘Gutless and Grateful’ and PTSD in Theater

Amy Oestreicher was a theatre-obsessed teen until her world changed overnight after waking from a coma, caused by her stomach literally exploding. After 27 surgeries and six years being unable to eat...

Breanna Sinclairé’s Revolution: On Being a Transwoman in Opera and Performing With the GMCW

Recently, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, announced that transgender opera singer Breanna Sinclairé will join the Chorus for two concerts in 2018— first for the world premiere of the...

Ferocious, Compelling ‘Coriolanus’ Emerges at Brave Spirits Theatre

“Destroy’d his country, and his name remains to the ensuing age abhorr’d.” Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, as directed by Charlene V. Smith, takes the audience at Brave Spirits Theatre through the frenzied...

Local Music: Pearl Street Warehouse February Preview Playlist

At Pearl Street Warehouse, rock, country, folk, soul, bluegrass, rhythm and blues acts from around the country take the stage nightly, offering every seat in the house a front-row music experience....

The Cake is a Lie: ‘It’s the Rest of the World That Looks So Small’ at Flying V Theatre

I present to you this review of Flying V Theatre’s It’s the Rest of the World that Looks So Small: A Theatrical Revue of Jonathan Coulton, directed and conceived by Jason Schlafstein and Vaughn...

Review: Patriots and Scoundrels: Dominion Stage Presents a Biting ‘Assassins’

Written by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman and directed by Melissa Jo York-Tilley, this production of the musical Assassins comes to Dominion Stage at one of the most politically tumultuous times in...

DC Theater Arts Announces New Collaboration Initiatives with TodayTix

As DC Theater Arts continues to grow in its mission to provide theater fans with the best critically-engaging coverage, we are happy to announce that we will be exploring additional affiliate...

Enter the TodayTix 5 for 5 Preview Lottery for ‘The Wolves’ at Studio Theatre

What is the TodayTix 5 for 5 Lottery? Studio Theatre and TodayTix are offering a mobile Lottery for $5 preview tickets! Enter the 5 for 5 Lottery for a chance to win exclusive tickets to The Wolves‘...

Interview: Lawrence Grey, Jr. Chats About Receiving La Ti Do Productions’ Inaugural Joel Markowitz Award

La Ti Do, DC’s premier cabaret series, will award Lawrence Grey, Jr. the inaugural Joel Markowitz Audience Award at their 6th Anniversary Celebration on January 22, 2018. This award, named in honor of...

Enter the TodayTix Free First Preview Lottery for ‘Jefferson’s Garden’ at Ford’s Theatre

What is the TodayTix Free First Preview Lottery? There’s nothing better than seeing a great show for free. TodayTix and Ford’s Theatre are offering a mobile lottery for each first preview production...

Review: ‘Wit’ at Silver Spring Stage

Wit, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Margaret Edson and directed at Silver Spring Stage by Jeff Mikoni, graces the stage with a darkly comedic tale of a strict university professor dying of...

Interview: La-Ti-Do Co-Founder Don Mike Mendoza Reflects on 6 Years of Cabaret

DC Theater Arts had a chance to sit down with local producer Don Mike Mendoza to discuss the upcoming 6th anniversary of his company La-Ti-Do Productions. La-Ti-Do gives the DC scene a cutting-edge...

Diverse City: Interview with Artistic Director and Activist Elena Velasco

Welcome to the very first Diverse City column on DC Theater Arts. My name is Darby DeJarnette and I created this column to highlight, through interviews, the different experiences of individuals from...

Review: ‘Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert’ at Strathmore

Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert, conducted by Maestro Bernhard Schneider and featuring the vocal talents of German tenor Tilmann Unger and soprano Micaëla Oeste, waltzed in to The Music Center at...

Report: Keegan Theatre’s ‘An Irish Carol’ Performance on December 29 to Benefit Nonprofit Shatterproof

The holidays are a difficult time for those with loved ones fighting with the effects of addiction. The Keegan Theatre will be holding a benefit performance of An Irish Carol this Friday, December 29,...

Report: La-Ti-Do’s Cabaret and Spoken Word Shows Will Be DC’s Hot Ticket in 2018

Imagine a company that blends the drama of Broadway with the talent of spoken word artists: this is just scratching the surface of what to expect at a La-Ti-Do show. The brainchild of Don Michael...

Preview: ‘Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert’ Promises to Transport Modern Audiences with Dazzling Old World Charm

Salute to Vienna has been a staple of the holiday season for more than 20 years in North America, and Washington welcomes it back for a 17th year on December 30, 2017. Based on the Vienna...

News: Exclusive La-Ti-Do 2018 Season Feature Announcement

Curated and hosted by co-founders Don Michael Mendoza and Regie Cabico, La-Ti-Do is DC’s premiere musical theatre cabaret and spoken word series. Cabaret and spoken word performances appear in New...

Review: ‘The Christmas Revels: A French-Canadian Winter Celebration’ at Washington Revels

Washington Revels presents us with a festive holiday offering for a 35th year. This season, we take a trip to the winter wonderland of Quebec in The Christmas Revels: A French-Canadian Winter...

Review: ‘An Operetta Holiday’ at The In Series

The In Series’ An Operetta Holiday, written and directed by Nick Olcott, is a charming aural journey through the era between opera and musicals. Four male and four female singers delivered a wonderful...

News: DC Theater Arts Unveils Two New Show-Promotion Opportunities

DC Theater Arts (DCMTA)—continuing to grow as the foremost performing arts review and news site in the DC Metro area—today introduces two new opportunities for show promotion on the site. • The first...

Report: Reflections on ‘A Master Class with Denyce Graves’ at the Kennedy Center

Denyce Graves is an absolute force of nature. This is apparent any time she takes the stage, whether it is in a role or as an instructor. She has a strength of presence that radiates when she is...

Review: ‘The Goodies’ at Iron Crow Theatre

The Goodies, a devised play conceived by Director Susan Stroupe and the eight women of color who have taken on the roles of the main characters, is a challenging and thought-provoking look at how...

Review: The Kansas City Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ at The Kennedy Center

The Kansas City Ballet’s The Nutcracker, with its classic composition by Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Artistic Director Devon Carney, is a stunning and opulent spin on a classic ballet. This...

Review: ‘Bound to the Rocks’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

Bound to the Rocks, written by Laura Katherine Hayes and produced by Something About KAZ, deals with domestic violence in a relationship. Based on the music of Sylvan Esso, this play is full of...

Review: ‘Childish Things’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

Hamlet Cooper is an archaeologist. In Childish Things, they use real artifacts from their childhood to recreate scenes which take the audience back to ages six, twelve, thirteen. Cooper always wanted...

Interview: ‘Dandy Darkly’s Myth Mouth!’ Creator and Performance Artist Neil Arthur James at Charm City Fringe Festival

It’s a bit of an understatement that Fringe festivals lead you to encounter some very interesting people. Every now and then you run into a kindred spirit, as I did when I was getting ready to see...

Review: ‘The Structure of Us’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

The last time I was in NYC, I visited the Rubin Museum; there was an that exhibit allowed you to listen to different Buddhist chants representing performances of ceremonies marking various transitions...

Review: ‘NDE’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

NDE, directed by Nikoo Mamdoohi and produced by the Vahee Art Collective, is an immersive theatre experience about near death experiences, which are described here as, “an unusual and personal...

Review: ‘Fruit of the Sea’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

FLORIDA MAN DRESSES UP 13-FT ALLIGATOR IN NOVELTY HAT AND SUNGLASSES FOR HALLOWEEN. News stories about the tragic exploits of Florida Man and Florida Woman are the first thing to greet you when you...

Review: ‘Smack ‘Em in the Snout’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

Confession: I saw the audition notices for Smack ‘Em in the Snout, written and directed by Rufus Drawlings, a few months ago and I thought to myself, “Wow, what a strange concept for a show!” Now,...

Review: ‘You’re in Danger’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

You’re in Danger, written and performed by Lucius Robinson, is an absolute delight for those who enjoy creepy tales. Lucius commits fully to the role of middle-aged Mitchell Barnes, telling his...

Review: ‘The Pink Hulk’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

The Pink Hulk, written and performed by Valerie David and directed by Padraic Lillis, with artwork by Rebecca Kalant, is not your typical sad cancer story. After surviving lymphoma and breast cancer,...

Review: ‘The Hairy Ape’ at Spotlighters

The Hairy Ape, written by Eugene O’Neill and directed at Spotlighters Theatre by Sherrionne Brown, is a testament to the human condition. Written in 1922, this expressionist play is about a man that...

Review: ‘Magnificent Machines & Astonishing Tales’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

Steampunk fans! Your moment has arrived on the deck of a time traveling airship in Night Watch Paradox’s Magnificent Machines & Astonishing Tales. With lead singer Kaya Kismet weaving her spell over...

Review: ‘Godly Chaos’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

Oh, gosh. What to say about Godly Chaos? This show, produced by QuaQuaQua, is highly ambitious. It takes place, primarily, on a large screen where the movements of the artist/actor are captured in a...

Review: ‘Cody Clark: A Different Way of Thinking’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

Cody Clark is obsessed with magic. At the start of Cody Clark: A Different Way of Thinking, the audience is handed a Rubik’s cube to play with. Everyone passes it around and, when Cody comes on stage,...

Review: ’Foodless Food’ at Charm City Fringe Festival

For every good ad there are a hundred bad ones. This is where Foodless Food by BlueShift Dance starts. The projections of advertising for unhealthy food products takes us from the advent of television...

Review: ‘Little Women’ at Annapolis Opera

Little Women, composed and with a libretto by Mark Adamo and based on the book by Louisa May Alcott, sweeps into the Annapolis Opera with gusto. This opera, directed by Artistic Director and Conductor...

DC Theater Arts’ Charm City Fringe 2017 Sponsor: Lexington Market

Baltimore’s historic Lexington Market is joining DC Theater Arts in support of our coverage of the Charm City Fringe Festival. The Market closes at 6 PM on weekdays and is closed Sundays, but we...

Review: ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Iron Crow Theatre

“Don’t dream it, be it!” Iron Crow Theatre brings back their annual fundraising production of The Rocky Horror Show with music and lyrics by Richard O’ Brien, directed by Sean Elias, to benefit...

Review: ‘Aida’ at Reston Community Players

Aida bursts onto the Reston Community Players’ stage in an explosion of color and sound. With music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, this show, directed here by Andrew JM Regiec, seems almost too...

Review: ‘Night Witches’ at Ground Rush Productions

“We all had things we had to let go of,” says the woman flanked by her six sisters-in-arms in Night Witches, directed by Kathleen Anne Hefferon, and created by the seven women who comprise the...