Interviews and Features

Who’s in Town? Adam Pascal Brings Rock Star Shakespeare to ‘Something Rotten!’ at the National Theatre

Adam Pascal is no stranger to iconic roles, having originated roles in Rent and Aida on Broadway, and stepped the role of the Emcee in Cabaret. He is now portraying an icon of a different sort:...

Interview: ‘Noura’ Playwright Heather Raffo, (Women’s Voices Theater Festival) at STC

Have you ever met someone who left you feeling as though there is nothing you can’t do? I got that feeling each time I sat down with four playwrights and a director who identify as women of color from...

Interview: Playwright Anu Yadav on ‘The Princess and the Pauper – A Bollywood Tale,’ Debuting at Imagination Stage

Playwright Anu Yadav’s first commissioned piece The Princess and the Pauper–A Bollywood Tale, debuts this February at Imagination Stage. This play is the perfect platform to introduce children to the...

Interview: Jeremy Goldman on ‘Cabaret Night’ by Silhouette Stages at Slayton House

Silhouette Stages is best known for its spectacular musical productions. However, every once in a while, they like to give some of their talented members a chance to shine on their own by presenting...

Interview: Nataki Garrett, ‘Jefferson’s Garden’ Director (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Have you ever met someone who left you feeling as though there is nothing you can’t do? I got that feeling each time I sat down with four playwrights and a director who identify as women of color from...

In the Moment Part 2: Interviews with Playwrights Dominique Cieri, Wendy Graf and Hope Villanueva (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

This is the second part of a two-part series of interviews with Women’s Voices Theatre Festival playwrights. In this series, I asked the same questions to a number of Women’s Voices Theatre Festival...

Interview: Anderson and Roe Piano Duo on Their Special Vibe and Upcoming Kennedy Center Performance

Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe are both world-class pianists and they love to play together. And that’s all you can say about them that fits any model. Their artistry is not patterned after any...

Interview: Kyla Garcia on Playing Sarah Ridge Polson in ‘Sovereignty’ at Arena Stage (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Kyla Garcia is starring as Sarah Ridge Polson in Sovereignty at Arena Stage. Sovereignty, by Mary Kathryn Nagle, tells two stories. One is of a modern Native woman (played by Garcia) fighting for her...

In the Moment: Interview with Director Stevie Zimmerman on Special ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Performance

Inspiring generations of theater-goers and music lovers alike is one of the aims of Director Stevie Zimmerman by connecting the talents of the professional Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) with the...

Interview: Annalisa Dias, ‘4,380 Nights’ Playwright (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Have you ever met someone who left you feeling as though there is nothing you can’t do? I got that feeling each time I sat down with four playwrights and a director who identify as women of color from...

An Interview with John Guare: Previewing the ‘Lydie Breeze Trilogy’ at Philadelphia’s EgoPo Classic Theater

With an illustrious career spanning the past five decades, John Guare has been the recipient of Tony, Obie, and Olivier Awards, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an Oscar nominee, among...

In the Moment: ‘Image China: Dragon Boat Racing’ at the Kennedy Center

Explore some of the modern culture and 20th-century history, the music and movement, of the world’s most populous country, China. Take in a full-scale epic tale, full of pageantry and a youthful love,...

Interview: Tracey Conyer Lee, ‘Rabbit Summer’ Playwright (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Have you ever met someone who left you feeling as though there is nothing you can’t do? I got that feeling each time I sat down with four playwrights and a director who identify as women of color from...

No Side Hustle Necessary: Justin Trawick on Life as a Working Musician and His Pearl Street Warehouse Album-Release Concert

Washington, D.C.-based musician Justin Trawick’s career can be traced back to the day he found a guitar under the steps of his parents’ pre-Civil War Virginia home. “Neither of my parents were...

In the Moment: ‘The Way of the World’ at Folger Theatre (Women’s Voices Theatre Festival)

There’s lots to like about Theresa Rebeck’s The Way of the World just as my DC Theater Arts colleague Sophia Howes points out in her review. The show is the Folger Theater’s Women’s Voices Theater...

In the Moment: Interviews with Women’s Voices Theater Festival playwrights – Part 1

This is the first part of a multi-part series of interviews with Women’s Voices Theater Festival playwrights. In this series, I asked the same questions to a number of Women’s Voices Theater Festival...

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...

Interview: Musical Improv Duo Tara and Rance Discuss their Critically-acclaimed Show ‘HERE’ Coming to Imagination Stage in Bethesda

Veteran Chicago improvisers Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto have traveled together to 20 countries and more than 50 U.S. cities to perform their improvised musical, HERE, recently called “nothing...

‘Women’s Voices Theater Festival’ and ‘Winterfest’ Present New Works in NYC from January through March

New York City is ringing in the New Year with a full slate of new works presented in January, February, and March, including a one-day event with the Dramatists Guild Foundation in support of the...

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...

An Interview with ‘The Summer Club’ – Previewing ‘A Big Band Valentine’s Day’ at Philadelphia Theatre Company

Since its premiere in the Jersey-shore town of Cape May in July 2014, The Summer Club has been bringing the retro sound of the Big Bands, the sophisticated stylings of the Swing era, and the...

In the Moment: Arts Council of Fairfax County Announces 2018 grant awards

As we well know, funding for the arts from all levels of government sources are under assault. Government funding is either static, or in worse cases has been reduced. As government revenue has still...

Interview: Meet the Playwright of ‘House.’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

The new year brings the opening of the original play by Daniel Johnston, House., to Laurel Mill Playhouse in Laurel, Maryland. House. is directed by Susan Brall – a reviewer at DCMTA – and produced by...

In the Moment: The National Symphony Orchestra at The Hamilton Live This Thursday, January 4th, 2018

Ready to un-compartmentalize your music tastes? Open to thinking differently about what some may call stodgy “High Art” for the well-fixed? Ready to have some new musical experiences that fuse classic...

In the Moment: Interview with Stage Manager Paul D. Michnewicz

One of the questions I often receive from theater-goers surrounds the mystery of what a stage manager does for a live theater production. The stage manager is rarely seen, and doesn’t seem to have a...

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,...

Magic Time!: Life Lessons of ‘The Real Americans’: A Q&A with Playwright-Performer Dan Hoyle

Dan Hoyle’s extraordinary solo show The Real Americans is based on his travels through small-town America and the folks he met, many of them part of Trump’s so-called base. When I reviewed the show, I...

Interview: Jazz Singer Sara Jones

“I don’t perform ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’ that often,” jazz singer Sara Jones admits. “I mean, the song’s a real downer. You have lyrics in that song like ‘lips that taste like tears’ or ‘lose...

Interview: ‘You and My Mother Can Purchase Sweaters for Obese People to Your Heart’s Content’ – A Conversation with Cameron Folmar

David, the character Cameron Folmar plays in The Santaland Diaries (now at Drafthouse Comedy Theater in DC through December 23), struggles with compartmentalizing his identity as a Macy’s Elf with...

Who’s in Town?: ‘The Piano Guys’ Performing at The National Theatre December 13th through 16th

The Piano Guys might just be one of the 21st century’s most notable social media success stories. Now a successful musical group known for their lush videos of classical and contemporary compositions...

Interview: Playwright Andrew Watring on ‘Shakespeare is a White Supremacist,’ Opening TONIGHT at American University Rude Mechanicals

Andrew Watring, a Junior at American University, has penned Shakespeare is a White Supremacist – a new play that analyzes race in the context of classical theater. Watring’s original play is being...

Singer Storm Large Discusses Her Mother, Loneliness, and Why She Plans to Strip on Her 50th Birthday

Before I interviewed Storm Large, I was a bit wary. She seemed like…a lot. A big, brash personality who might hug you to death if she liked you or punch you in the face if you pissed her off. Then I...

Preview and Appreciation: The Russian Chamber Art Society on Founder Vera Danchenko-Stern’s Festive Birthday Concert

There’s an addictive quality to the events of the Russian Chamber Art Society, sort of like discovering a pastime or sport that you just have to follow once you learn about it. Maybe that’s because...

Interview: Natalia Magnicaballi of The Suzanne Farrell Ballet Discusses ‘Forever Balanchine: Farewell Performances’

I had the pleasure to sit down with Natalia Magnicaballi, principal dancer with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, to talk about her work with the company and the upcoming concert series: The Suzanne Farrell...

Interview: Beyond ‘Seinfeld,’ Brian George Moves From Sitcom to Stage in ‘Vicuña’ at Mosaic Theater Company of DC

Chances are you’ve seen him before, either as an angry Pakistani cook on Seinfeld or a benign Indian doctor on The Big Bang Theory. That’s because Brian George – the character actor now dazzling...

Interview: Violinist Tessa Lark Discusses Her Career and Her Upcoming Performance at the Phillips Collection

Don’t just call Tessa Lark a crossover artist. The fast-rising classical violinist may also be known for playing at jazz clubs in New York and elsewhere, and for her country fiddling at bluegrass...

Interview: David Rohde Interviews Mezzo-Soprano Isabel Leonard

When Washington National Opera presents one of opera’s top examples of musical comedy next spring, it’s only fitting that the production will star a singer whose background sounds as ready-made for...

Interview: Submersive Productions Co-Artistic Directors GLENN RICCI and URSULA MARCUM on ‘H.T. Darling’s Incredible Musaeum presents: The Treasures of New Galapagos, Astonishing Acquisitions from the Perisphere.’

In April of this year, I wrote: Submersive Productions has outdone itself with its new production, H.T. Darling’s Incredible Musaeum presents: The Treasures of New Galapagos, Astonishing Acquisitions...

In the Moment: Interview with Theater Photographer Teresa Castracane

Often, images of a theatrical production help establish the initial interest and expectations for a potential audience. Photographs can draw an audience into a production even before reviews or...

Haunted by Loss and Abandonment: Talking with the Cast of ‘By the Bog of Cats’ at The Irish Heritage Theatre

By the Bog of Cats – a modern Irish drama by Marina Carr, who has taught in Ireland and the U.S., including at Villanova University – echoes classical Greek theater, especially Medea by Euripides. The...

Interview: Michael Brush & Zachary Michel of Charm City Fringe Fest 2017

DC Theater Arts was excited to speak to Charm City Fringe Festival founders Zach Michel and Michael Brush last week at the Lexington Market. We enjoyed a nice chat over crab cakes and local beer. Here...

In the Moment: Interview with Desiree Sanchez, Executive Artistic Director, Aquila Theatre

Shedding new light on Hamlet by William Shakespeare is what Aquila Theatre aims to do with its upcoming production at Fairfax’s Center for the Arts. Hamlet has been recognized for centuries as one of...

Interview: Nine Dollar Bill Theatre, performing ‘THEM’ at the Charm City Fringe Festival Nov 8-12

The Sixth Annual Charm City Fringe Festival, running through November 12 in the Bromo Arts District, has a ton of fantastic stuff happening. One of the things I am most looking forward to is a show...

Previewing ‘The Craftsman’ at Lantern Theater Company: An Interview with Artistic Director Charles McMahon and Playwright Bruce Graham

Philadelphia theater-goers have something extra to be thankful for this Thanksgiving month. Bruce Graham’s latest play The Craftsman, commissioned and developed through Lantern Theater Company’s New...

Who’s in Town?: Tony Award-Winner Cynthia Erivo to Perform at the Kennedy Center This Saturday, November 4th, 2017

In my mind, Cynthia Erivo’s name is synonymous with strength and confidence. But it’s not just me. “Diva,” “lion,” and “dragon slayer” are just a few of the ways people have described her since she...

Interview: ‘Mean Girls’ Star Kyle Selig Discusses Playing Aaron Samuels in the Broadway-Bound National Theatre Premiere

Broadway veteran Kyle Selig is no stranger to the role of teen heartthrob. “I was Prom King in high school,” he sheepishly admits, “but it is very important to us in Mean Girls that my character be...

Troubled Men: Talking with the ‘Father and Sons’ of Quintessence Theatre’s ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’

Eugene O’Neill, the only American playwright to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1936), a man who struggled with alcoholism but who had the courage to address problematic, taboo subjects,...

Interview: Cole Sitilides Discusses Peace Mountain Theatre Company’s ‘Lost in Yonkers’

Please give us your name, and a brief description of your theatrical background. My name is Cole Sitilides, and I will be playing Jay Kurnitz in the upcoming production of Lost in Yonkers. I started...

Interview: Jade Wheeler and Bueka Uwemedimo from Everyman Theatre’s production of ‘Intimate Apparel’

Intimate Apparel is the story of a woman named Esther. In 1905, Esther is a 35-year-old woman who lives in a rooming house with other single ladies. She is a skilled seamstress who makes her living...

In the Moment: ‘ReDiscovery Series’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

It was a festive, most satisfying evening of high-end arts entertainment and education. And it was totally free. What was it? It was a recent Monday evening at The Lansburgh with the Shakespeare...