Sophia Howes

In miniature, two children seek safety, in ‘Flight’ at Studio Theatre

The immersive journey of two young Afghan refugees, an unforgettable tour de force.

‘Tootsie’ on tour at the National Theatre is a triumph

The comedy musical based on the famous movie shines with romantic insanity.

A touching tribute to love and faith in ‘Secret Things’ at 1st Stage

Heartfelt, ironic, and mystical writing, a beautiful production, and a historical backstory of religious persecution.

ExPats’ prison drama ‘Pankrác ’45’ is moving and unforgettable

It is 1945. Five women share a cell in the famous Pankrác Prison in Prague. Their meeting is fictional, but the events they describe are true.

Explosively beautiful ‘Hadestown’ gets down at Kennedy Center

The music steals the show, but there is much, much more to enjoy.

How to be a hero: The lesson of ‘Remember This’ at Shakespeare Theatre

David Strathairn’s spectacularly affecting performance as Jan Karski becomes not only an emotional but a moral experience.

‘Teenage Dick’ at Woolly Mammoth is entertaining and revelatory

A funny, scary adventure rife with incandescent ideas.

‘Good People’ kicks off Keegan’s 25th season with a blazing success

A play deeply attuned to the ways people from disparate backgrounds interact and feel, it will bring you straight to the essence of what it is to be human.

A ‘Twelfth Night’ love fest by Her Majesty & Sons, with wit as leitmotif

At the DC War Memorial, genders are bent, love is lost and found, and a good time is had by all.

‘We’re Gonna Die’ at Round House is a thin take on a big theme

After the harrowing events of the last year, the production is a noble effort—but something of a misfire.

‘Will on the Hill’ asks, ‘What’s the deal with Shakespeare?’

Members of Congress and A-list actors join Shakespeare Theatre Company in fun and frolic for a good cause.

Apropos Edgar Allan Poe: a reminiscence and a ringing listen

Growing up in Baltimore, it was impossible to avoid the story of Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849). He was conceivably our most famous resident. There was the mysterious stranger, known as the “Poe...

In a child’s voice, a magical and moving portrait of the South from Round House

Beth Hylton solos as a fourth-grader in Lucy Alibar’s poetic and comic ‘Throw Me on the Burnpile and Light Me Up.’

A daughter’s family dramas drive a hilarious and moving ‘2.5 Minute Ride’

“2.5 minutes is a really long time on a roller coaster if you are having a good time. If you think it’s killing your father it’s a really, really long time.” —Lisa Kron in 2.5 Minute Ride The first of...

In brilliant ‘Children of Medea,’ a Korean American girl hopes to cope

Conformity can be difficult for some of us at the best of times. But it is especially difficult in adolescence for a girl. Cynthia, 17, the main character in Sue Jin Song’s brilliant Children of...

STC’s ‘A Winter’s Tale’ mock trial submits evidence that spring is coming

Critic Marjorie Garber suggests that A Winter’s Tale is “a hall of mirrors” and that the main character, King Leontes, lives in a solipsistic universe. The beloved tradition of STC’s Mock Trial, which...

The relevance of ‘The Mountaintop,’ beautifully played at the Arts Barn

Eddie S. Glaude Jr., author of Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own (2020) and a Princeton professor, writes in The New Yorker about an encounter at a fundraiser...

O villainy! Patrick Page slays in ‘All the Devils Are Here’ from STC

“This rough magic I here abjure.” This phrase, from Prospero’s farewell in The Tempest, is among the most exquisite in Shakespeare. In All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain,...

Why Trump has made Shakespeare matter more than ever in DC

There is something inherently Shakespearean about DC. It’s easy to picture Lincoln wandering the corridors of the White House reciting his favorite passages. In his journal, John Adams once observed a...

A hauntingly lovely ‘Christmas Carol’ from PG County Shakespeare in the Parks

A Christmas Carol, produced by PG County Shakespeare in the Parks and set in Victorian England, is a hauntingly lovely radio drama. It’s free and family-friendly, and a welcome reminder of the value...

In two live shows at Keegan Theatre, a transwoman and two Black men get real

The Keegan Theatre’s streamed live performances from their stage are the closest thing I’ve seen so far to theater as we remember it avant le deluge. They are presenting two pieces in repertory, which...

E. Faye Butler speaks out on playing Fannie Lou Hamer right now

“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” —Fannie Lou Hamer Anyone who has ever seen E. Faye Butler perform knows that they are witnessing something truly extraordinary. A two-time Helen Hayes Award...

‘Macbeth’ as fast-moving radio drama from PG County Shakespeare in the Parks

How, exactly, does one make theater in the middle of a pandemic? People are sitting on the couch streaming The Umbrella Academy. Broadway is closed until January 3, 2021. Much of local theater is now...

Pols and players perk up ‘Will on the Hill’ for Shakespeare Theatre Company

For one brief shining moment, there was bipartisanship in Washington. It occurred with the 2020 online edition of STC’s 18th annual Will on the Hill, broadcast on Monday, September 14, 2020. The...

A tribute to Brave Spirits as it calls off Shakespeare’s histories due to COVID

There are certain theater experiences that you look forward to with extraordinary excitement. Brave Spirits Theatre’s Shakespeare’s Histories 2020 was one of them. To their credit, Brave Spirits,...

Five great films about theater (to help you survive staying home)

Karen Richards (Celeste Holm) the playwright’s wife: A part in a play. You’d do all that for a part in a play? Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) conniving actress: I’d do much more for a part that good....

4615 Theatre’s world premiere ‘Museum 2040’: An extraordinary immersive installation

Museum 2040, a world premiere written by Playwright Renee Calarco and directed by Artistic Director Jordan Friend, is an extraordinary immersive installation, which confirms 4615 Theater Company’s...

The room where it happens: ‘Henry IV, Part 2’ at Brave Spirits Theatre

The HBO hit Succession centers around a wealthy media family reportedly based on the Rupert Murdoch dynasty. Its central dilemma: who will succeed the ruthless Logan Roy as the head of his...

‘Richard the Second’ at Brave Spirits Theatre: a tale of two kings

Brave Spirits Theatre (BST), led by Artistic Director Charlene V. Smith, has taken on a spectacular challenge: Shakespeare’s eight history plays. Richard the Second, Henry the Fourth Parts I and II,...

Top five theater ghosts…before ‘The Woman in Black’ arrived at Shakespeare Theatre Company

The Woman in Black, the long-playing London ghost story now perturbing a Shakespeare Theatre Company stage, reminds us that spine-chilling horror can be the most delightful of sensations. To put us in...

The (in)discreet charm of Daniel Kitson’s ‘Keep’ at Studio Theatre

Stand-up comedian and monologist extraordinaire Daniel Kitson enjoys a devout following in the UK and in Australia. He first made his reputation at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where he won a...

We Happy Few brings ‘Lovers’ Vows’ into the twenty-first century

Elizabeth Inchbald’s Lovers’ Vows, first produced in 1798, is every bit as amusing as the unfortunately named Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place, or any other contemporary comedy. Inchbald, an actress and...

Dangereuse: An interview with Nigel Rowe, a cabaret star as Ariel in IN Series’ ‘Stormy Weather’

IN Series’ Stormy Weather, inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest, features the music of Billie Holiday and a stunning cabaret performance by Nigel Rowe as Ariel. In the new Sybil Williams play,...

Review: ‘The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice,’ presented by the Taffety Punk Riot Grrrls

The all-female production of Othello at Taffety Punk, directed by Kelsey Mesa, is a breath of fresh air. Because all the characters are played by women, you forget that they are female after a few...

Review: ‘1 Henry IV’ at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre

1 Henry IV at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, directed by Rosa Joshi, is perfectly cast and beautifully executed. Edward Gero is a superb Falstaff, and he is surrounded by gifted actors and strikingly...

Review: ‘Betrayal’ at 4615 Theatre Company

Betrayal, one of Harold Pinter’s finest works, will open on Broadway September 5 after an extended run in London’s West End. Thanks to 4615 Theatre, a young professional company, you can see a...

Review: ‘Bootleg Shakespeare: Richard III’ by Taffety Punk Theatre Company at the Folger Theatre

Taffety Punk’s Bootleg Shakespeare, a beloved DC tradition, is like attending a party with dozens of friends you never knew you had. The lines are long. The audience is enthusiastic. And the acting is...

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting Presents Three Plays in Rep

Where can you find one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, most passionate “problem plays,” and most famous tragedies, performed with conviction and flair? At the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy...

Review: ‘Hamlet’ at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free for All

Hamlet is the most produced play in the world. It is said that Hamlet is being performed somewhere every single minute of every single day. Now, the Shakespeare Theatre Company is presenting a superb...

Review: ‘Be More Chill’ at Monumental Theatre Company

If you can’t get to the Broadway sensation Be More Chill, which closes August 11, there is no need to despair. Monumental Theatre Company is presenting the DMV’s first professional version of this...

2019 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Beyond These Walls’

Beyond These Walls is a provocative contribution to the Capital Fringe, and well worth seeing. It was originally devised in 2018 under the direction of Matt Bassett, Artistic Director of the Hub...

Interview: Alec Wild, Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University

Soft, behold! This summer DC offers first-rate Shakespeare everyone can enjoy. The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting (ACA) at the George Washington University, starting in...

Dangereuse: Brecht and the History Behind ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui’

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) left Berlin in February 1933, the day after the Reichstag fire, an attack on the home of the German Parliament. President Paul von Hindenberg had named Hitler Chancellor on...

Review: ‘The Oldest Boy’ at Spooky Action Theater

Sarah Ruhl’s The Oldest Boy is a graceful meditation on motherhood: its joys, its sorrows, and its unforeseeable costs. Director Kathryn Chase Bryer offers a visually lovely and emotionally moving...

Review: ‘Richard iii’ at Synetic Theater

“The future is already here—it’s just not very evenly distributed.” –William Gibson, author of Neuromancer. Synetic Theater, a beloved DC-area institution, has come up with a luxuriantly detailed...

‘The Oresteia’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company: Not Your Typical Chorus Line (Interview)

The Oresteia, freely adapted by Ellen McLaughlin from Aeschylus (c. 525 BCE-c. 456 BCE) promises to be a fitting conclusion to Michael Kahn’s last season as Artistic Director of the Shakespeare...

Review: ‘The Burn’ by the Hub Theatre

The Hub is off to a remarkable start under new Artistic Director Matt Bassett with their production of The Burn by Philip Dawkins. Featuring snippets from the Arthur Miller classic The Crucible...

Review: ‘Black Pearl Sings!’ At Alliance for New Music-Theatre

Black Pearl Sings! by Frank Higgins, at Alliance for New Music-Theatre, is an absorbing production with an uplifting message. This witty play was successfully produced here in 2016 at MetroStage,...

Michael Kahn & Friends Off the Record: The Folger Years: A Celebration in Pictures

“I think you have to define who you are–and that definition can change–but you have to be as uncompromising as you possibly can about who you think you are, and to fight for that, in bad times and...

Review: ‘Vanity Fair’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

“I think I could be a good woman if I had five thousand a year.” –Becky Sharp William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) is considered a great writer. Vanity Fair, despite its flaws, is his finest novel....