Michael Poandl

‘Sweeney Todd’ at Virginia Opera Company

Fog was already filling the vast Concert Hall at the George Mason University Center for the Arts when I settled in to watch the first show of Virginia Opera Company’s 2015 season, Sweeney Todd: The...

‘The Goddess Diaries’ at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

Like the circle of birth, death, and re-birth that is such an important symbol in the work, Carol Campbell’s The Goddess Diaries is back in a new incarnation at George Mason University. Directed by...

‘4.48 Psychosis’ at Iron Crow Theatre Company

For those theatre-goers wanting a jaunty escape from the daily grind of everyday life, Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis may not be for you. This bluntly dark and poetic play, which largely dispenses with...

‘Evita’ at The Kennedy Center

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s tango drenched Evita has achieved an iconic status that rivals that of its own subject, Eva Peron, the social-climbing, deeply flawed, yet popularly beloved wife of...

‘Driving Miss Daisy’ at Ford’s Theatre

It’s time to bring out the sweet tea and church crowns, because Ford’s Theatre has brought a taste of the South to Washington with its spectacular production of Driving Miss Daisy. Authentic,...

‘I Capuleti e i Montecchi’ at Washington Concert Opera

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I shuffled past elegantly dressed opera-goers in the cavernous Lisner Auditorium Sunday evening. My experience with opera is mostly limited to Bugs Bunny’s...

‘Three Sistahs’ at MetroStage

Who says lightning never strikes the same place twice? All MetroStage has to do is keep bringing back Three Sistahs, the foot-tapping, gut-busting and tear-jerking family drama now back in its third...

‘Take Me Out’ at 1st Stage

Just over ten years old, Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out has already been widely accepted into the canon of Great American Plays. This is for good reason, as Greenberg’s tale of a baseball superstar...

‘We Are Samurai’ at Venus Theatre

Experiencing Venus Theatre’s production of Daria Miyeko Marinelli’s We Are Samurai feels something like when your dad threw you into the deep end so you could learn to swim. At first, it is scary and...

‘Molly’ at Scena Theatre

Scena has gone green, and I’m not talking about reusable grocery bags. Concurrent with their production of Conor McPherson’s Shining City, Scena is mounting the world premiere of Molly, an original...

‘She Kills Monsters’ at Rorschach Theatre

I knew that Qui Nguyen’s fantastical comedy She Kills Monsters had something to do with the famous (or infamous) role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons. But when I was confronted by the gigantic,...

‘High School Musical Jr.’ at The Lopez Conservatory Program

It is difficult to overstate the impact that Disney’s 2006 original movie, High School Musical had on the drama geeks of the day. As a fourteen year old theatre kid, the tale of an entire school...

‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ at Pallas Theatre Collective

A Gothic horror story that’s dense with symbolism, light on plot, and written in 1839 may not seem like ideal source material for a contemporary musical. But then again, few people saw Carrie or Night...

Classic Albums Live Presents: ‘Pink Floyd—Dark Side of the Moon’ at Wolf Trap

I was first introduced to Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd’s psychedelic masterpiece, some three decades after the album’s initial release. But the passage of time has done nothing to diminish the...

‘The Imaginary Invalid’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

I started out with the cream of crab soup, and moved on to a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, with a side of French Farce; it is difficult to say which of the two was more delicious… Such was the...

‘Measure for Measure’ at The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

As one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” which is neither comedy nor tragedy, Measure for Measure is populated by morally ambiguous characters and includes a story that ends well… for some? Measure for...

‘The Musical Of Musicals (The Musical!)’ at Prince William Little Theatre

There is nothing more wickedly fun than biting the hand that feeds. Prince William Little Theatre does just this in their crowd-pleasing production of The Musical Of Musicals (The Musical!). This zany...

‘Abominable’ at The Hub Theatre

There’s no question: puberty can be a bitch. Or, more to the point, a beast… It is the latter metaphor that is explored extensively in The Hub Theatre’s intriguing new play, Abominable. Playwright and...

‘A Live Presentation of 2001: A Space Odyssey’ With the National Symphony Orchestra, Emil de Cou, conductor, and Woodley Ensemble, Frank Albinder, Music Director

After a week of cramped and un air conditioned Fringey-ness, it was a pleasure to step into the cavernous Filene Center at Wolf Trap last night. The massive open air space, illuminated by starlight...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘SELF’

There are countless plays (and movies, songs, paintings, stories….) about people falling in love with other people. But what about loving yourself? If you can’t love yourself, are you even capable of...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘The Name Game’

Before the show even begins, four dancers in full-body spandex suits float and twirl across the stage of the Lang Theatre. Vast and sparse, the set (designed by Thomas Carter II) for Mary Stone...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Love Song To Miss Kitty’

With their tight jeans, high heeled boots, and well endowed means of transport, cowboys have always been pretty gay. But the homo western vibe is taken to new and outrageous heights in LaGoDi’s...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Antigone’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) Fringe is well known for exposing audiences to exciting new works, but the festival can be equally exciting when it presents a fresh take on a theatre classic. Such was...

‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ at Pallas Theatre Collective

Were Betty Friedan and H.P. Lovecraft to have a baby, Pallas Theatre Collective’s new musical, might be their demented offspring. The show (with music by Sarah Taylor Ellis, book and lyrics by Lane...

‘Love is a Battlefield’ at Flying V

Pat Benatar never could have seen this coming. That her signature hit from yesteryear, “Love is a Battlefield” would be utilized so forcefully and literally in Flying V Theatre’s wonderful devised...

Source Festival: ‘Facebook in Memorium’

There is a ton of great theatre to see at this year’s Source Festival. But amidst the three full length and 18 ten minute plays running through this weekend, make time to see Facebook in Memorium, a...

‘Enter Ophelia, distracted’ at Taffety Punk Theatre Company

The madness and subsequent suicide of Ophelia is one of the most famous scenes from one of the most famous Shakespearean tragedies. It is this aspect of Hamlet that Taffety Punk Theatre Company...

“Spring Awakening’ at Little Butterfly Theatre Company

It wasn’t difficult to locate Little Butterfly Theatre Company’s production of Spring Awakening. All I had to do was follow the overpowering scent of teenage hormones coming from the theatre. Since...

‘Some Girl(s)’ at Unquiet Theatre Company

The message of Neil Labute’s Some Girl(s) is pretty well summed up by one of the characters, Bobbi, towards the end of Act II: “Guys always mean well right before they fuck somebody over.” Indeed, the...

‘Boeing Boeing’ at No Rules Theatre Company

An American, Italian, and German stewardess walk into an apartment in Paris… sound like a classic joke? Well, almost – in fact, it’s the basis for No Rules Theatre Company’s spectacularly funny...

‘Life is a Dream’ (‘La Vida Es Sueno’) at Shakespeare Theatre Company and Spain Arts and Culture

I’ll admit it – I came for the tapas. Recently, I’ve had the good fortune to review performances that feature culinary elements: last week it was Last Call by Nameless, which, as part of their Happy...

‘Last Call’ at Nameless’ Happy Hour Theatre

In Washington, D.C., there is probably no more sensitive and emotionally laden topic than gentrification. So it is refreshingly relevant that the new company Nameless chose to premiere the first show...

‘The Wiz’ at The Creative and Performing Arts Center at The Hylton Performing Arts Center

Since Judy Garland first went over the technicolor rainbow in 1939, audiences across America have been captivated by the story of Dorothy, Munchinland, and the Wicked Witch of the West. The story of...

‘The Fox on the Fairway’ at Prince George’s Little Theatre

Prince George’s Little Theatre Delivers the Laughs in The Fox on the Fairway A country club golf tournament would seem to be the perfect setting for a modern day farce. There are snobby members to...