Interviews and Features

Faction of Fools’ Paul Reisman on Commedia dell’Arte Day and ‘Bravo, Zan Angelo!’

February 25 is a special day for fans of physical comedy: Commedia dell’Arte Day! Founded in 2010 in order to petition that the Italian art form known for slapsticks and masks be recognized as a World...

In the Moment: ‘Among the Dead’ at Spooky Action Theatre

Spooky Action Theatre continues to beguile with its distinctive play selections. Under Artistic Director Richard Henrich’s open mind, Spooky Action regularly produces the usually unexplored: women’s...

The D.C. Sideshow on ‘The Official DC Hootenanny Pie Show’ Fundraiser

I often view Sideshow peeping through my fingers. It’s an art form born of immense courage and skill, with a dose of high pain threshold thrown in for good measure. I had an opportunity to chat with...

Scott Ward Abernethy on ‘The Master and Margarita’ and Acting in DC

The extension of Constellation Theatre’s nifty The Master and Margarita provided an opportunity to interview Scott Ward Abernethy, who portrays the Devilish Woland in the production that runs through...

4615 Theatre’s Director and Design Team Discuss World Premiere of ‘Separate Rooms’

True to its current mission of producing a provocative blend of classical and contemporary work, inspiring audiences to explore the echoes and resonances of storytelling passed down through the ages,...

Synetic Theater’s Vato Tsikurishvili on ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ and the Nature of Time

Impressed with his debut as a director for Synetic’s touching Cyrano de Bergerac, I took the opportunity to interview Synetic Theater’s Vato Tsikurishvili. It was a chance to delve deeper into the...

Pianist Lara Downes on ‘Holes in the Sky’

With a singular mission to expand the music universe for diverse audiences, ground-breaking pianist Lara Downes will be gracing DC’s Sixth & I Historic Synagogue stage in a live event co-commissioned...

‘Nell Gwynn:’ A London Hit Brings Laughter, Love (and a Few Flying Oranges) to the Folger Theatre

Nell Gwynn – as brash and bawdy as a play could be – has arrived on Capitol Hill. And what a triumph it is! The play, which had a successful run in London’s West End and won Britain’s top award for...

Shu-Chen Cuff and Gin Dance Company Return to Atlas Intersections Festival with ‘Next’

Shu-Chen Cuff and her Gin Dance Company are returning to perform at the celebrated DC Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival. “We are thrilled to be part of the 10th anniversary of the Atlas INTERSECTIONS...

In the Moment: Impressions on STC’s ‘Richard the Third’

Complex villains are irresistible on stage and screen. They can be so magnetic. Their restlessness and shadings of evil keep my brain’s neurons firing. I have always thought of the fictional King...

Preview: Piano Legend Leon Fleisher’s 90th Birthday Celebration

Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor has long been a feeder line for pilgrimages by aspiring performing artists to Juilliard and other New York institutions. Not everyone realizes, though, that the pilgrimages...

Jane Franklin and Fax Ayres Meld Dance and Photography in ‘Second Glance’

The upcoming Second Glance at Alexandria’s Athenaeum promises to cross artistic boundaries to produce the uniquely dramatic in a highly original venture. So what is Second Glance? It is strikingly...

Maestro Antony Walker Previews ‘Le vin herbé’ by Wolf Trap Opera and Washington Concert Opera

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, the composer’s operatic meditation on the metaphysical nature of love, sex, and death, is generally accepted to be the “before/after” point in the history of Western...

Misha Kachman: A Russian-born Designer Sets the Stage for ‘Kleptocracy’ at Arena Stage

One of the scariest moments in Kleptocracy – Kenneth Lin’s drama about the struggle for power in post-Soviet Russia – occurs when the shadow of a tiger prowls the length of an elevated cage. The cage...

Broadway Legend Baayork Lee Comes to Reston CenterStage February 9

An evening of conversation with Broadway legend Baayork Lee is coming to Reston’s CenterStage. Baayork Lee has performed in some of the most far-reaching musical theatre events of the past decades....

Yael Weiss Premieres “32 Bright Clouds: Beethoven Conversations Around the World” at Strathmore January 24

At some point in their careers, most concert pianists tackle some, if not all, of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas. Many pianists also commission new music for their instrument by living composers, to...

Russwin Francisco on Art, Creativity and Receiving LA TI DO’s 2019 Joel Markowitz Award

LA TI DO Productions will present its second annual Joel Markowitz Award at LUCKY: A 7th Anniversary on January 28, 2019. Russwin Francisco, a film actor, producer and business owner, was chosen to...

In The Moment: ‘Image China: Xuanzang’s Pilgrimage’ Makes U.S. Premiere at The Kennedy Center

A far-reaching cultural exchange production from China by the China Performing Arts Agency (CPAA) is making its United States premiere at The Kennedy Center. It is Image China: Xuanzang’s Pilgrimage,...

Local Favorite Margo Seibert Comes Home for Signature Theatre Concert

Fans of Margo Seibert – the Broadway star of Rocky and In Transit – may face some unusual competition for tickets to her upcoming concert at Signature Theatre. That’s because metro DC is no touring...

Dante’ Pope Is Center Stage in Strathmore’s Artist in Residency Program

Raheem Devaughn. Dom Flemons of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Erykah Badu: Soul vocalist and Strathmore Artist in Residence Dante’ Pope has performed or shared the stage with them all. From sideman to...

Past Is Prologue in New Musical About Suffragists

When Nancy Pelosi accepted the gavel as Speaker of the House last week, she expressed pride at presiding over Congress during the 100th anniversary of women having the right to vote (coming in 2020)....

American Opera Is Becoming Its Own Genre and It’s Happening Here in DC

Opera in America has had the stink of death upon it for some time now. Lavish productions of period piece love stories and power struggles set largely during the time of kings and courtesans in Europe...

David Lowery of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven Is Not Afraid to Testify

Musician David Lowery is a fascinating mix of contradictions. The co-founder of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven is a learned college math professor and a cool rocker musician, a proud and loving...

Is God Dead? Or Just Depressed, Lonely and Fed Up With Humankind?

The verdict is in. God is not dead. And rumors of his death, to paraphrase Mark Twain, have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, the deity—He, She or That Which Transcends All Else—is alive and well at...

Neil Goldberg: A Most Wonderful Conversation with the Man Behind Cirque Dreams ‘Holidaze’

This holiday season, New York City isn’t the only town with a seasonal spectacular. Cirque Dreams is bringing you the 11th season of Holidaze – the winter entertainment explosion that celebrates all...

Vocalist Vuyo Sotashe with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis

South African jazz singer Vuyo Sotashe returns to Strathmore this week on December 14 and 15 to perform holiday standards with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis. Following the...

‘From Here to There’: Reston’s Elizabeth Bishop Shares Her Musical Journey With Hometown Audience

A perfect fit for a convivial concert on a winter’s night is coming to the acoustically rich Reston CenterStage. It is a cozy evening of personally selected music and song with critically acclaimed...

Soloman Howard: Southeast’s Operatic Superstar Reprises ‘The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me’ at the Kennedy Center

Growing up in Southeast DC, Soloman Howard had a godfather who saw to it that the young singer’s obvious basso gift did not languish for lack of training and opportunity. “My godfather, Thomas Dixon...

‘Indecent’ at Arena: Victor Raider-Wexler Returns to Washington in the Role of a Lifetime

The role of Otto in Paula Vogel’s Indecent—the Tony Award-winning play at Arena Stage—is an actor’s dream. The play, about a Yiddish melodrama that scandalized Broadway nearly a century ago, opened on...

Magic Time!: On Acting with a Conscience: A Q&A with Lianne Harvey, now appearing in ‘An Inspector Calls’

The character Lianne Harvey plays in J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, Sheila Birling, really fascinated me. Sheila stands out as no ordinary ingenue. During the course of the play, Sheila goes...

Interview: Jordan Friend Previews NextStop’s ‘A Kosher Christmas Cabaret’

Northern Virginia’s NextStop Theater has announced a very special cabaret event for the Holiday season. It is called A Kosher Christmas Cabaret. The performance is a follow-on to NextStop’s big summer...

Interview: Playwright Sonya Kelly on ‘How To Keep an Alien’ at Solas Nua

Can love really cut through red tape and conquer all even when there are stringent immigration rules? D.C.-area audiences will find out in Solas Nua’s upcoming production of How to Keep an Alien from...

An Interview with Jeffrey Higgins of ‘Jeffrey Higgins: A Deafening Sound’

Jeffrey Higgins: A Deafening Sound is an apt title for the anguish and turmoil that singer and pianist Jeffrey Higgins went through after being fired as a singer in the Archdiocese of Washington, DC...

“I Never Expected to See a Shakespearean Lover Like Me”: An Actor Declares

By Ezra Tozian Editor’s note: In Avant Bard’s production of Illyria, or What You Will—freely adapted from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night by Jonelle Walker and Mitchell Hébert—the character of Cesario...

Trying to Fall Out of Love in a Laundromat: Playwright Bob Bartlett on ‘The Accident Bear’

With its title, The Accident Bear, and its performance location, a laundromat in Annapolis, I was most intrigued to learn more about local playwright Bob Bartlett’s new work. The production of The...

In the Moment: Looking Forward to ‘A Night of Suffrage Theater’ at Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument

It has been 100 years since suffrage pickets began in front of the White House for women to have the legal ability to vote in the United States. Over 70 of the suffrage picketers were arrested and...

In the Moment: Sound Design Enriches ‘King John’ at The Folger Theatre

Folger’s rendering of the seldom-produced King John is more than impressive Shakespearean rhetoric and the checking off on a bucket list of plays to produce. With a deft touch, director Aaron Posner...

A Youthful Fresh Take on ‘Our Class’ at Georgetown University

Long before the recent shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Derek Goldman had planned to direct a production of Our Class with student actors at Georgetown University. It is a play...

Dramaturg Becomes Playwright with The Welders ‘In This Hope: A Pericles Project’

The DC playwright collective The Welders bills itself as “the only playwright collective devoted exclusively to developing and producing new work.” When the second grouping of The Welders – whose...

Shaina Taub Lovers Rejoice! ‘As You Like It’ Lands at Keegan

I’m a big fan of composer Shaina Taub. Her unique blending of socially conscious theater and pop-folk tunes has brought her great acclaim in recent years. After adapting and musicalizing two...

Sharing the Joys of Close Listening and Music: Rob Kapilow on ‘What Makes It Great?’

For the past 10 seasons, conductor/composer/commentator/author Rob Kapilow has brought his acclaimed series What Makes It Great? to D.C. under the auspices of Washington Performing Arts. With his...

Talking Shakespeare with Ted van Griethuysen at the Shakespeare Theatre Company

How do you interview a legend? This was the question I pondered on the way to the Lansburgh Theatre to interview Ted van Griethuysen, one of the finest actors of his generation. Shakespearean par...

Desdemona Chiang Directs ‘King of the Yees’ at Baltimore Center Stage

If you haven’t already heard, Baltimore Center Stage is producing Playwright Lauren Yee’s King of the Yees. And in case you weren’t aware, this play is kind of a big deal. The story, which takes place...

Ann Hampton Callaway on her new album, ‘Jazz Goes to the Movies’

Cabaret icon Ann Hampton Callaway just released her 16th album, Jazz Goes to the Movies—renditions of songs from classic Hollywood films. On her way to New York to perform at Feinstein’s 54 Below,...

A Conversation with Playwright Naomi Iizuka and Director Jon Jon Johnson

By Sophie Herreid, Caitlin Partridge, Lauren Patton I had so many hopes. I had so many dreams. But I died I died I died along the way. – Chorus of Refugees, ‘Anon[ymous]’ Playwright Naomi Iizuka...

Five Questions for PUBLIQuartet

PUBLIQuartet is not a typical string quartet. Violinists Curtis Stewart and Jannina Norpoth, violist Nick Revel, and cellist Amanda Gookin make up this unique ensemble dedicated to improvising,...

Michael Bobbitt’s ‘Aida’ Mixes Grandeur and Intimacy at Constellation

Michael Bobbitt gets around. This master-of-all-trades, whose adaptation of Aida is now playing to sold-out audiences at Constellation Theatre, has danced, directed and choreographed his way around...

Magic Time!: Actor Michael Kevin Darnall Opens Up About Being Open on Stage

When Michael Kevin Darnall plays a character who is the focus of a long scene and we can watch every nuance and shading of his emotional expression without interruption, he can be transfixing. When I...

Choreographer Cathy Marston Talks Kennedy Center Debut With San Francisco Ballet

In San Francisco, the Unbound Festival included twelve choreographers and was a massive undertaking filled with phenomenal risks, tremendous creative freedom and the excitement of new territory. For...

Interview: San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson Brings ‘Unbound’ to The Kennedy Center

In San Francisco, the Unbound Festival included 12 choreographers and was a massive undertaking filled with phenomenal risks, tremendous creative freedom and the excitement of new territory. For their...