David Siegel

In the Moment: A Look at Jack Viertel’s “The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built”

Revealing the concealed underpinnings and durable structures of American musicals is no easy undertaking. Let alone covering and analyzing the past seven decades of musical theater history. But,...

Review: ‘They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay!’ at Ambassador Theater

How fortunate we are in the DC area, a locale that seeks status as a world class city, to have the Ambassador Theater in our midst. The Ambassador Theater has a mission to build international cultural...

In the Moment: Véronneau and Company Danzante at Atlas’ INTERSECTIONS Festival

Having separately followed two of the DC area’s delightful performing arts groups, one a jazz ensemble and the other a dance troupe, I was intrigued to learn they would be performing together at this...

In the Moment: Gin Dance Company at Atlas’ INTERSECTIONS Festival on March 5th at 5 PM

Gin Dance Company (GDC) is a Metropolitan DC/Northern Virginia based performing arts modern dance company. Founded in Reston, Virginia in 2011 by Artistic Director Shu-Chen Cuff, GDC performs works...

Review: ‘Road Show’ at Signature Theatre

First things first. One should not miss a chance to discover, or for some re-discover, a rarely produced Stephen Sondheim work. This is especially true for an appealing musical production called Road...

Review: ‘The Maid’s Tragedy’ at Brave Spirits Theatre

Death abounds in The Maid’s Tragedy. Be prepared for an avenging angel with a message and actions against the vicious power of a King and lascivious misogynist cultural values in Brave Spirits...

In the Moment: Reston Community Center Presents ‘If Music Be the Food of Love’ on 2/24 & Washington Chorus Presents ‘New Music for a New Age’ on 2/28 at National Presbyterian Church

Adventurous? Looking for something fresh, uplifting, and yes, even heavenly in contemporary classical music with ethereal, hypnotic voices? There are two upcoming musical events in close-by venues to...

Review: ‘Collaborators’ at Spooky Action Theater

In these days of a re-igniting Cold War between Russia and the United States, those old grainy black-and-white films of a long thought dead dictator, Comrade Joseph “Uncle Joe” Stalin are being dusted...

In the Moment: The Hub Theatre’s Emerging Writers Festival

If we in the theater universe want to nurture new and emerging playwrights, I would think the earlier we are there for them, the more likely we can be helpful. Once again, The Hub Theatre is providing...

In the Moment: Megan Graves as Snug in Folger Theatre’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Ha! Minor role indeed. It’s only Snug one of the Rude Mechanicals in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But special fan’s props are due to the gentle, shy Snug in the current Folger Theatre...

Review: ‘Father Comes Home from the War (Parts 1, 2 & 3)’ at Round House Theatre

Round House Theatre has crafted a formidable artistic statement for Suzan-Lori Parks’ inventive, no make that commanding, Father Comes Home from the War (Parts 1, 2 & 3). It is a quietly scorching...

In the Moment: Theater J’s ‘The Sisters Rosensweig’

What now, two decades after the lives depicted in The Sisters Rosensweig? Certainly Theater J has produced a polished, lovingly curated production of Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sisters Rosensweig. The...

Review: ‘SWEAT’ at Arena Stage

Permit me this before my actual review of Lynn Nottage’s bold, brave play SWEAT which is receiving a splendidly searing, raw, and real production at Arena (Co-commissioned with the Oregon Shakespeare...

In the Moment: Virginia Opera’s Quest for The Youngest Audience in America

“Opera is officially dead.” So read the headline for Christopher Ingraham’s Washington Post Wonkblog. And in “one chart” yet. Ah, yes big data says it all neatly and with great certitude. Maybe. Then...

Review: ‘Between Riverside and Crazy’ at The Studio Theatre

Such a bubbling, darkly comic world in which to our abundant enlightenment, all that is solid melts into thin air. This is the Studio Theatre production of the vinegary urban domain devised by Stephen...

Review: ‘Georgie: My Adventures with George Rose’ at Signature Theatre

What starts as a delightfully wacky lark of well-told tales perfectly suited for theater buffs of a certain age or for those who know Broadway’s eccentricities through television shows such as Glee or...

In the Moment: 1st Stage Gets Bigger: A Chat With Managing Artistic Director Alex Levy

The cranes are up and building is moving afoot in the “new” Tysons in Fairfax County, Virginia. So, what will Tysons residents do for their near-by cultural arts fix and live performing arts...

In the Moment: Dr. King Commemorations in Reston and McLean

In Northern Virginia, two community centers have had long-standing and continuing activities commemorating the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. They are the McLean Community Center and the Reston...

In the Moment: An Interview With the Creative Team of MetroStage’s ‘Shake Loose’

Shake Loose, the new musical bound for Alexandria’s MetroStage, aims to bear witness to a swirling whirlwind century of events in the lives African American people. Its purpose is “to bring order to...

‘Matilda the Musical’ at The Kennedy Center

Matilda the Musical, now at the Kennedy Center Opera House, is for all the disrupters and agitators out there in the world no matter what age. It is an insurrection fueled by children who are once...

‘West Side Story’ at Signature Theatre (Review)

Fabulous! Potent! Forceful! Tender! Let yourself fall in love again or for the first time with West Side Story. From the first note of the orchestra’s prologue, then quickly met with the syncopated...

‘A Broadway Christmas’ with Elaine Paige, Matt Doyle, and Julia Goodwin’ at The American Pops

What a gorgeous, festive evening The American Pops, under the direction and the quietly flowing baton of Luke S. Frazier, gave the Lisner audience last night with their entertaining and joyful A...

In the Moment: A Look at Synetic Theater’s ‘As You Like It’

Synetic Theater continues to winningly upend The Bard’s canon with its 12th production in the speechless, though far from silent, series that had its start in 2002 with Hamlet…the rest is silence....

‘Holiday Memories’ at WSC Avant Bard

“Imagine a morning in late November. A coming of winter morning” are the opening mood-setting words in the resplendent, gentle WSC Avant Bard production of Holiday Memories by Truman Capote. As...

In the Moment: Liel Leibovitz, Author of ‘A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption and the Life of Leonard Cohen’ to Appear at JCCNV on December 5th at 8 PM

The man with the famous blue raincoat who wrote many a reflective, if not prophetic song over the past decades will be arriving at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia Northern Virginia....

In the Moment: ‘Seussical’ Comes to NextStop Theatre Company December 4-20th

One of the most popular heartwarming family musicals, which is chock-full of youthful energy, charming songs and wise life-lessons, is coming to the Dulles Corridor. It is Next Stop Theatre’s...

In the Moment: Reflections on ‘Sons of the Prophet’ at Theater J

At the heart of Stephen Karam’s Sons of the Prophet are his Old-Testament Job-like questioning of an unseen, unknown higher presence. Questions abound around the matter of why do we (and, of course,...

‘In the Moment’: Thoughts on Folger Theatre’s ‘Pericles’

Dazzling. Indeed Pericles is quite dazzling in the contemporary creation from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival currently at the Folger Theatre. It possesses a radiance with its modern youthful vigor of...

In the Moment: Inner Voices Lecture with Roach Brown at Workhouse Arts Center at 2 PM

In collaboration with the Workhouse Museum and the History Committee Lecture series, the Workhouse Arts Center located in Lorton, VA will present an Inner Voices Lecture with Roach Brown. Brown is the...

In the Moment: Adam Turner Conducts ‘La Boheme’ at the Virginia Opera‏

The major joy in writing this column comes from getting to know the up and coming creative artists in the DC area, especially since a whole new generation is sweeping into the area. One does not need...

‘No Exit’ at Nu Sass

What better theater piece to consider for an immersive, “locked-away” experience than Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. For that alone, Nu Sass deserves and earns plaudits for its very nifty No Exit. No...

‘In the Moment’: ‘Unexplored Interior (This is Rwanda: The Beginning and End of the Earth)’

Unexplored Interior (This is Rwanda: The Beginning and End of the Earth), the production launching the inaugural season of Mosaic Theater Company of DC, met Founding Artistic Director Ari Roth’s...

In the Moment: Stephen Lang on Performing in ‘Beyond Glory’ on 11/10@8pm at Reston Community Center

There are many ways to commemorate Veteran’s Day and the over 21 million veterans of military service. Attending a live theater performance about Medal of Honor recipients is certainly one way to...

In the Moment: An Interview with William V. Madison Author of ‘Madeline Kahn: Being the Music-A Life’ Coming to JCCNV’s Book Fest on 11/10@7:30 pm

A terrific opportunity awaits those of us who enjoy delving deeper to examine the lives of actors that enthralled us over their careers. The upcoming occasion features author William Madison who will...

‘Girlstar’ at Signature Theatre

Ha! Ready to visit a Coney Island fun-house with plenty of resounding rock show ambiance? Ready to open up to plenty of utterly blazing showbiz; “tricks and treats”? Well, step right up and enter the...

In the Moment: Aaron Copland’s ‘The Tender Land’ by The In Series

How fortunate we are to have The In Series. Over the decades it has taken artistic risks for audiences to extend their knowledge and experiences with a creative artist’s more rarely produced works, or...

‘Vincent’ at the Workhouse Arts Center

“I want to get to the point where people say of my work that man feels deeply,” wrote Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo. For only a few performances, a DC area, favorite painter, Vincent Van Gogh,...

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘Salomé’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Turn aside all you think you know about the fabled Salomé and her brief mythic encounter with John the Baptist. Acclaimed Director Yael Farber has boldly and confidently reconstructed the...

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘Cake Off’ at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre’s Cake Off, is an appetizingly savory musical petite-four disguised as a mere head-turning sugary iced cutie. It is a whiz-bang production full of high-flying, screwball comic work...

In the Moment: BalletNova Center for Dance Presents A Global Dance Showcase on Saturday, 10/17/15@7:30 PM

BalletNova Center for Dance will present a Global Dance Showcase, featuring ethnic dance companies from around the DC metro region. The performances will be held in the Fredgren Studio Theatre – a...

‘Beautiful-The Carole King Musical’ at The Kennedy Center

Beautiful–The Carole King Musical takes the audience on a ride through songs that in three minutes or so, framed and reflected many a life; especially of the Baby Boomer generation. As directed by...

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ at Synetic Theater

Yes, a high time to be had. All you need to do is follow the simple directions; “eat me”; then “drink me.” And whoosh, with music building into powerful, echoing crescendos, I found myself swirling...

In the Moment: World Premiere Staged Reading of ‘Redder Blood’ at JCCNV on Monday, 10/19@7:30pm as Part of Women’s Voices Theater Festival

Playwright Helen Pafumi and the JCCNV/Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia have partnered to develop a staged reading of the world premiere play Redder Blood. The play was written by Pafumi,...

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘texts&beheadings/ElizabethR’ at The Folger Theatre

“The past cannot be cured” is a phrase attributed to Queen Elizabeth I (ElizabethR). But it certainly can be revisited. And that revisit comes some 400 years after her death. It is...

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘Queens Girl in the World’ at Theater J

Find my place in the world is a major question at the center of Queens Girl in the World now playing at Theater J. It is a beautifully engaging, semi-autobiographical personal and political memory...

‘The Midtown Men’ at Hylton Performing Arts Center

Ah, what a night! It was 1963 again, or there abouts. It was a carefree concert to recall a certain period in the ‘60’s full of happy days. A time of AM radio hits, high school and perhaps college...

In the Moment: Erica Rebollar on ‘Sacred Profane’ at Dance Place on October 3rd

With the ongoing Women’s Voices Theater Festival, I wondered if other performing arts in the DC area were highlighting the work of women artists. I didn’t have to search far to find that there is a...

In the Moment: Ava Spece Named President and CEO of Workhouse Arts Center

Taking the Helm at Workhouse “The selection of Ava Spece to lead the Workhouse was due to her vast, deep appreciation and passion for the Arts as well as her strength, poise and character to help us...

Women’s Voices Theater Festival: ‘Ironbound’ at Round House Theatre

There are grand political themes and exceptionally intimate granular-level personal matters splendidly illustrated in the Round House Theatre’s stunningly dark, world-premiere production of Martyna...

In the Moment: An Interview with Playwright Sam Chanse Appearing at ‘Fall for the Book’

There is lots of ground to cover for gender and demographic parity for playwrights and directors in the multi-cultural world that is the ever-changing DC metropolitan area. Beyond the current Women’s...