Eric Denver

Review: Two One-Act Plays at Greenspring Players

This isn’t the first time that Greenspring Players have focused their expertise on one act plays, nor the first time I have reviewed such shows for our website. Each show was about 45 minutes long,...

Review: ‘Catch Me: A Magic Dual’ at The Mayflower Hotel

DC Audiences are cramming into a Dupont Circle Hotel to catch this monthly show. After experiencing this supercalifragilisticexpialidocious performance of abracadabra, I still don’t know the answer to...

Review: ‘Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver’ at Infinity Theatre

You might want to “Take me Home, Country Roads” to the latest production Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver, which for the first time is playing in the Washington, DC metropolitan area in Annapolis,...

Review: ‘Spring Trio’ at The Greenspring Players

One Act plays comprise a three-course menu of The Greenspring Players for their 2016 Spring Trio. It’s another home run for these theatrical mavens. When I pondered a connecting theme for the evening,...

David London’s ‘Magic Outside the Box’ at The Writer’s Center

How many magic shows have you seen where the magician spends an inordinate amount of time making up magic words to distract you while performing his trick? Big news… David London does not use magic...

‘The Unexpected Guest’ at the Greenspring Players

As one of the early arrivals to the Village Theater complex last night, I watched as the many residents of the Greenspring retirement community entered the venue for the first of four performances of...

David London’s ‘Magic Outside the Box Cabaret Show’ at The Writer’s Center on Fri & Sat 11/13 & 14th

So, how many magic shows have you been to in your life? You know, the ones that use coded words like “Abracadabra” while the magician swings around a wand decked out in a black tux and bow tie and a...

A Report on ‘En Garde! The Art of Fight Choreography’ at The Smithsonian’s Dillon Ripley Center

As I strolled into the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center (shared with the Sackler Museum of Asian Art and the National Museum of African Art), I was surprised to see over 100 people eagerly...

‘Summer Hummer IV: Foreplay!’ at Signature Theatre Benefits theatreWashington’s ‘Taking Care of Our Own’

Summer Hummer IV: Foreplay! made its two-show debut last night at Signature Theatre. If you didn’t plan properly or were on vacation, you missed a provocative evening of fun and frolic at Signature’s...

‘The Meeting’ at Clifton Town Hall

“Hello – my name is … and I am an alcoholic.” These powerful words reverberated in the Clifton Town Hall as myself (and I am sure each member of the audience) recalled our personal experiences with...

An Interview with Lori Muhlstein on Directing ‘The Meeting’ Playing This Friday, July 24-August 1, 2015 at The Clifton Town Hall

The Meeting is an original play by local playwright Greg Powell and directed by Lori Muhlstein. It will be performed by The Clifton Arts Council on Friday and Saturday evenings, July 24th, 25th, 31st...

An Interview with Lori Muhlstein on Directing ‘The Meeting’ July 24-August 1, 2015 at The Clifton Town Hall

The Meeting is an original play by local playwright Greg Powell and directed by Lori Muhlstein. It will be performed by The Clifton Arts Council on Friday and Saturday evenings, July 24th, 25th, 31st...

‘P is for Perfect’ and ‘Man of the House’ at The Greenspring Players

This Double Feature Production of two One-Act Plays is presented by The Greenspring Players for their Washington DC community Spring offering. Although P is for Perfect may be considered a hyped-up...

Focus Events: Susan Greenbaum and John Flynn

Welcome to Focus‘ 100th birthday party where over 60 folk music fanatics were in the audience to help celebrate the group’s centennial concert in Alexandria, VA. This is DCMTA’s first review of Focus...

Derek John Tatum: From DC to NYC and Back to Olney for ‘The Producers’

Derek John Tatum has been performing professionally for 10 years. Although he got his start in the DC theatre scene, he spent several years auditioning and living in NYC, performing in regional...

An Interview with Isaac Solomon

On the evenings of November 14, 15, 21, and 22, 2014 Isaac Solomon performed the role of Link in Hairspray at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD. I had a chance to talk with Isaac about...

‘The Illusionists-Witness the Impossible’ at The Kennedy Center

The Illusionists – Witness the Impossible, now playing at The Kennedy Center’s Opera House, is not your typical abracadabra magic show, and when you leave after the show is over…you will most likely...

‘Dial “M” for Murder’ at the Greenspring Players

It’s that time of the year where the Halloween spirit becomes a major player in what the subject matter of theatrical events around town hang their hat on. What a fitting selection for Greenspring...

Greenspring Players-A Retirement Community Theatre Troupe-Performs ‘Dial M for Murder’ From November 11-15th

This year is the 11th Anniversary of the Greenspring Players (GP) based at the Greenspring Retirement Community‘s Village Theater in Springfield, VA. I was fortunate to have a roundtable discussion...

Remembering Dick Cerri: A Celebration in Song at Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

For those who are fans of folk music, there was only one place to be in the Washington, DC Metro area on Saturday night in order to be folkin down memory lane. The World Folk Music Association (WFMA)...

‘Gidion’s Knot’ at NextStop Theatre Company

I walked into NextStop Theatre Company’s Industrial Park Theatre (where Johnna Adams’ riveting Gidion’s Knot has recently taken up residence after a critically acclaimed run at Forum Theatre) somewhat...

Love The Three Stooges? Pay a Visit to ‘The Stoogeum’ in Ambler, PA

The Three Stooges made over 200 appearances in shorts – those knuckle-headed 15-minute misadventures – and full-length feature films with their usual trademark of hysterical mayhem. And if you are a...

‘A Prairie Home Companion’ with Garrison Keillor and Special Guests: Heather Masse & Vince Giordano

“I hear that old piano…”. These famous words open Garrison Keillor’s weekly program every Saturday night throughout the year. Wolf Trap has returned to tradition once again as it premiers its 2014...

Interview with H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program’s Bill Podolski on ‘Les Miserables’ by Eric Denver

I was so impressed by the quality of H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program‘s production of Les Misérables School Edition that I asked Director/Producer/Musical Director Bill Podolski to take us...

‘Les Misérables School Edition’ at H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program by Eric Denver

Les Misérables School Edition played at H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in Arlington, VA on January 30, 2014 to a sold-out four-performance run. Under the capable and expert leadership of Producer,...

‘La Cage aux Folles’ at McLean Community Players by Eric Denver

La Cage aux Folles, with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman (Hello, Dolly! and Mame), and book by multiple Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy and Kinky Boots), opened on Broadway in...

‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ at First Act at Act Two@Levine by Eric Denver

In the small intimate confines of the blackbox theater within the Strathmore complex, Saturday afternoon was a spectacular day for Chapter 39 of Genesis. First Act, a new program of Act Two @ Levine,...

‘Pippin’ at The Theatre Lab’s Musical Theatre Institute for Teens by Eric Denver

If you were unable to participate in the “Magic to Do” that The Theatre Lab had percolated during this weekend’s four performances of Pippin, then you missed the opportunity to witness a superb...

The Capitol Steps at The Ronald Reagan Building by Eric Denver

So, it’s a Friday night and you had it with a week of work and all you want to do is crash. Now, it’s Saturday night and you want to find a great place to go on a date. Fret no more…I have the perfect...

Derek Tatum on Playing Don Kerr in Olney Theatre Center’s ‘A Chorus Line’ by Eric Denver and Joel Markowitz

The very talented Derek Tatum is a member of ‘the line’ in Olney Theatre Center’s production of the Tony Award-winning A Chorus Line. Derek takes us behind-the-scenes of his audition, rehearsals, and...

‘Ballroom with a Twist’ at Wolf Trap by Eric Denver

“Dance: Ten; Looks: Three” is one of the songs from A Chorus Line, but doesn’t quite fit the Wolf Trap production Ballroom with a Twist at all. The best way to describe what was happening at the...

An Interview with Magician Max Major by Eric Denver

With a packed house of 250 audience members, Max Major made his appearance for Arlington, Virginia patrons at the Arlington Drafthouse at 7:30 on June 29, 2013 for a one-night only performance of...

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Wolf Trap by Eric Denver

With 100 million records sold by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons (worldwide since its inception), this is the first time I was able to appreciate their music in-person. In 2009, I was in Chicago...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Dance of the Wasp and Spider’ by Eric Denver

As Dance of the Wasp and Spider opens, there is a five-minute monologue by the leading actor Tyler Brody who provides a more in-depth analysis as to the play’s title. As the wasp dominates the spider,...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Last Train to NIBROC’ by Eric Denver

As Arlene Hutton’s Last Train to NIBROC opens, it is December 28, 1940 and you hear the sound of train whistles and May (Lena Winter) is sitting on one of two chairs stage right. The train is bound...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Encyclopedia Show Series 1, Volume 7 Vice Presidents’ by Eric Denver

Although Encyclopedia has played throughout the DC area, tonight is my first exposure to the Washington’s ABCs of theatrical education. Each show is a vaudevillian extravaganza and focuses on...

Source Festival: ‘Perfect Arrangement’ by Eric Denver

History 101 is a great place to begin to understand the ramifications of a Perfect Arrangement, which opens in the Spring of 1950. We find ourselves at the play’s outset smack in the middle of the...

‘Fiddler on the Roof JR’ at BRAVO@KAT by Eric Denver

“A Fiddler on the Roof, sounds crazy, no?” That quote is the book’s first line of this classic musical which opened on September 22, 1964 on Broadway. One may ask…how could you possibly compare a...

‘Mame’ at Bucks County Playhouse by Eric Denver

You “Open a New Window” at the beautiful and newly renovated historical landmark – Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) in New Hope, PA., and look what happens- a fabulous production of Jerry Herman’s Mame....

‘Shakespeare with a Twist – Revisited’ at The Greenspring Players by Eric Denver

Shakespeare’s famous quote – “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves” certainly rings true to the Greenspring Players. Within the Greenspring Retirement Community the twice-a-year...

‘Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo’ at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts by Eric Denver

I have attended in the past year an American Ballet Theatre Production at The Kennedy Center, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake in the Big Apple, a Boshoi Ballet HD Production at a local movie theater, and...

‘Guys and Dolls, JR.’ at Thoreau Middle School by Eric Denver

You didn’t have to take Amtrak to Broadway this past weekend to find “The Oldest Established Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York.” All you had to do was to drive out to Vienna, Virginia to...

‘Holly Near’ at Wolf Trap by Eric Denver

The packed Holly Near concert last night at the Barns at Wolf Trap was a coming home for me. The last time I saw Holly was in the exact same venue about ten years ago. The 90-minute non-stop concert...

Reflections on Signature in the Schools’ ‘Revolution’ by Eric Denver

Back in November 2012, “about 250 student/Signature meetings ago,” playwright Joe Calarco and director and Signature Theatre’s Education Department Director Dave Zobell began their yearly...

‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ at Chalice Theatre by Eric Denver

“Joseph he was one of Jacob’s favorite sons,” are the words of the lead song of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and they were meandering around in my head as I walked up the steps of the...

‘John Denver: A Rocky Mountain High Concert’ at Strathmore by Eric Denver

It was a ‘Montgomery County High’ at The Music Center at Strathmore last night as five musicians took to the stage along with John Denver on video shared a heart-rendering evening of songs, stories,...

‘Finishing the Hat: A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim’ at Signature Theatre by Eric Denver

On December 11th, an article by James Gardiner and his cast of Putting It Together: A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim from George Mason University was posted on DCMetroTheaterArts. In it, they talked...

‘Will Gartshorez: Underappreciated & Overexposed’ at ‘Sizzlin’ Summer Cabaret’ at Signature Theatre by Eric Denver

Last night, Signature Theatre continued the second day of its sixth annual ‘Sizzlin’ Summer Cabaret’ series with an outstanding solo performance by Will Gartshore (with a surprise). Will performed...

Matthew Scott and Kirsten Scott at ‘Sizzlin’ Summer Cabarets’ at Signature Theatre by Eric Denver

Last night, Signature Theatre opened its annual ‘Sizzlin’ Summer Cabaret’ series with a smashing performance by Matthew and Kirsten Scott. This is the first cabaret out of the batting cage of 16...

‘Double Indemnity’ at Round House Theatre by Eric Denver

I was honored to be in the audience last night to catch this last production under the stewardship of Artistic Director Blake Robison. What a way to complete his seven year tenure as Producing...