Maryland

Review: ‘Nat Turner in Jerusalem’ at Forum Theatre

The unsettling sight of a young man in shackles sitting on a bare, plank-wood floor; a glimmer of night sky piercing the darkness through the barred window of a simple jail cell; and the tense,...

Magic Time!: ‘Nat Turner in Jerusalem’ at Forum Theatre

By coincidence, Nat Turner in Jerusalem opened at Forum Theatre the day that The Raid closed at Theater Alliance. The two plays seen in succession are powerfully connected. Idris Goodwin’s The Raid...

Review: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Metropolitan Ballet Theatre & Academy

Alice in Wonderland, the whimsical, magical story of a girl named Alice who follows a mysterious White Rabbit down a rabbit hole and into a mystifying dream world, strikes me as a difficult subject...

Review: ‘Quartet’ at The British Players

Growing old isn’t for sissies. In South-African-born, British playwright Ronald Harwood’s smart 1999 comedy Quartet, he gently wrestles with the indignities of aging in a British senior-citizens’...

Review: ‘The Glass Menagerie’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of The Glass Menagerie is a quietly powerful rendition of Tennessee Williams’ classic play, which premiered in 1944. Directed by Donald Hicken, this show...

Review: ‘The Big Apple Circus’ Brings Fun to the National Harbor

The Big Apple Circus has come to the DC area for their 40th Anniversary Celebration. Original founders, Paul Binder and Michael Christensen, established the BAC in 1977. Their European styled, one...

Review: ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ at Silhouette Stages at Slayton House

The classic musical farce, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, danced and sang its way on stage this...

Review: ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ at Other Voices Theatre

Frederick’s Other Voices Theatre puts a very large cast and a complex technical scheme to excellent use in its production of the 1971 Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice rock operetta Jesus Christ Superstar....

‘Peter Pan, Jr.’ Flies at the Kentlands Arts Barn (A KAT-2nd Stage Production)

KAT-2nd Stage is back at the Kentlands Arts Barn with their latest family offering: Peter Pan, Jr. Peter Pan tells the story of the flying boy who never wants to grow up, the magical world he...

Review: ‘Frankenstein’ by Bowie Community Theatre at Bowie Playhouse

Frankenstein by Bowie Community Theatre has blood, violence, and drama, all wrapped up in a Gothic shell. This version was adapted from Mary Shelley’s novel by Victor Gialanella and Director Brian...

Review: ‘This Little Light’ at Venus Theatre

This Little Light by Jennifer Faletto opened this week at Venus Theatre. Deborah Randall is the director of this remarkable play. In her director’s notes, Randall calls This Little Light a comedy....

Review: ‘The Texas Homecoming Revolution of 1995’ at Best Medicine Rep

Bullies in the bathroom, rampant rumors and petty one-upmanship. Whether in Texas, Iowa or Connecticut, the horrors of high school cattiness haunt many into their adult years. Texas Homecoming’s...

Review: ‘Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery’ at Center for the Arts/George Mason University

In turbulent times, escaping into a yarn that is as light and high-flying as a helium-filled balloon can be a welcome respite. So, the Great Performance Series at the Center for the Arts/George Mason...

Review: ‘Fool for Love’ at the Cumberland Theatre

The theme of a man and a woman who can’t live without each other and can’t live with each other is as old as theater. Often enough it has been played for comedy, as in the couples in Noel Coward’s...

Review: ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at Olney Theatre Center

Five minutes into the start of Every Brilliant Thing, most of the audience had already cried for the first time – and had laughed aloud. By the end of the show, the entire room seemed to be infused...

Review: ‘Gypsy, A Musical Fable’ by Ovations Theatre Senior Company

Gypsy, A Musical Fable, a Broadway classic that debuted in 1959, has become intertwined with the DNA of most Baby Boomers, Gen Xs, Gen Ys, and even Millennials. The book by Arthur Laurents was...

Review: ‘Of Mice and Men’ at Maryland Entertainment Group

An apt subtitle for Of Mice and Men, adapted from the 1937 novella by John Steinbeck, might be “the futility of hope.” In the small, corrosively lonely, universe of a California ranch during the Great...

In the Moment: Interview with Sound Designer Justin Schmitz

All too often the work of a theater sound designer can go unnoticed. In fact, not long ago the Tony Awards decided not to even provide an award category for sound design (now reinstated). Thankfully,...

Review: ‘Becoming Dr. Ruth’ at Theater J

Helmed by a trio of DC’s creative talent royalty, Theater J’s production of Becoming Dr. Ruth, penned by Mark St. Germain, goes beyond just facts and dates to become an engaging exploration of how Dr....

Review: Take the Stage Delivers with ‘Dynamic’ Revue

By Marco Mazzarino It isn’t often that you walk away from a performance of (mostly) adolescents giddy and excited. Especially if none of the performers are friends or family members. The production of...

Review: ‘All in the Timing’ at Silver Spring Stage

Ever wonder what would happen if you took theater, literature, linguistics, and film, put them into a blender, and then wrote a collection of witty comedic scenes with the reference puree that...

Review: ‘The Pillowman’ at Vagabond Players

Just about at the midway point of Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman, Katurian K. Katurian – the writer of macabre short stories who is the focus of the play – mutters the phrase: “There are no happy...

In the Moment: ‘Power and Lunch’ at Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival

In the DMV area, there are plenty in the political and social elite who can be found clicking away on their social media working hard to make us aware of what we should think. These same folks are...

Review: ‘Hobson’s Choice’ at Quotidian Theatre

Hobson’s Choice is a winner. The play – a sparkling comedy with a terrific cast – just opened at the Quotidian Theatre Company, a jewel of a playhouse tucked into the rear of the Writer’s Center in...

In the Moment: DIAVOLO ‘The Veterans Project: A Long Journey Home’ at The Kennedy Center

“We all move, we all walk, we all run, we all fall, we all can even dance.” said Artistic Director Jacques Heim of DIAVOLO. With a motto of “architecture in motion” DIAVOLO will be bringing its highly...

Review: ‘Light Years’ at Signature Theatre

How does someone pay honor to a deceased parent whom they loved dearly? How does a son give thanks to his father? And when does a son really come to learn what a father went through, in those many...

Review: ‘NSO Pops: West Side Story in Concert’ at The Kennedy Center

West Side Story remains glorious from its opening notes to its incredibly powerful final curtain. The National Symphony Orchestra’s (NSO) Pops concert version adds its own distinctive, intelligent...

Review: ‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

Have you ever had a day where absolutely every little thing goes wrong? Well, Alexander has. In the musical version of Judith Viorst’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad...

Review: ‘Death by Design’ at The Potomac Playmakers

By Karen Lane Walking into the elegant, bright theater hall of The Woman’s Club, the audience happily chatters away anticipating a fun-filled evening. Before them on the stage, a cozy English sitting...

Who’s in Town? Jamie Bernstein Reflects on Dad Leonard Bernstein’s Legacy in ‘The Bernstein Story’ at Strathmore

The first time music hit me – and it hit me hard – was when I was seven. My mom handed me Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, a bright-red album whose rhythms were as hot as the album cover...

Review: ‘The Princess and the Pauper – A Bollywood Tale’ at Imagination Stage

Imagination Stage proudly debuts The Princess and the Pauper- A Bollywood Tale, a musical adaptation of the classic Mark Twain novel. Written exclusively for Imagination Stage by Anu Yadav (read my...

Review: ‘Stick Fly’ by ANKH Repertory at the Gaithersburg Art Barn

Stick Fly is a boiling stew of classism, colorism, parent-child dynamics, unspeakable secrets, and marital choices. With a cast every bit the equal of Lydia R. Diamond’s Broadway-produced script, you...

Review: ‘Aubergine’ at Olney Theatre Center (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

There are certain meals that stay with you forever. It could be the pie that your mom makes every Christmas, the soup that you made for your son when he had the flu, or the casserole you made your...

Review: ‘I Hate Hamlet’ at Spotlighters Theatre

When attending a show whose premise is a “play within a play,” look around. All of those audience members who are cracking up at things that are going right over your head are theatre people, the term...

Review: ‘Michael Feinstein Presents Laura Osnes’ at AMP by Strathmore

DC-based Broadway lovers rejoice: Michael Feinstein, reigning king of the Great American Songbook, is bringing his signature cabaret-style show to the DC region. Feinstein has partnered with...

Review: ‘All She Must Possess’ at Rep Stage (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

An evening of wordplay on the meanings and messages of Modern art awaits audiences at All She Must Possess. This is another worthy world premiere from the venturesome Rep Stage Company at Howard...

Review: ‘The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940’ at Bowie Playhouse

Complete with double identities, hidden passages, murders, and mystery, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 is the type of comedy that blends the serious with the silly. Sharply directed by Jane B....

Review: ‘Titanic in Concert’ at the Heritage Players

Titanic in Concert, story and book by Peter Sone, lyrics and music by Maury Yeston, opened this weekend at the Heritage Players at the Rice Auditorium in Catonsville. This 1997 Tony Award-winning...

In the Moment: Interview with Patrick Lord, Projection Designer

For regular theater-goers, we have seen that projection design is not a fad or an eye-popping, one-time visual effect. Projection design has become an integral part of many a production’s overall...

Review: ‘Skeleton Crew’ at Baltimore Center Stage (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

As part of the Women’s Voices Theater Festival, to highlight the diversity and depth of new plays being written by women, Baltimore Center Stage showcases the fourth play of its 2017-18 season with...

The Cake is a Lie: ‘It’s the Rest of the World That Looks So Small’ at Flying V Theatre

I present to you this review of Flying V Theatre’s It’s the Rest of the World that Looks So Small: A Theatrical Revue of Jonathan Coulton, directed and conceived by Jason Schlafstein and Vaughn...

Review: ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ at Everyman Theatre

Long Day’s Journey Into Night chills to the bone. The wind was howling as the cold air clipper passed through downtown Baltimore last Friday evening. Inside Everyman Theatre, an even more ferocious...

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...

Review: ‘The Underpants’ at Rockville Little Theatre

Review by Bob Ashby The Underpants, an intermittently amusing adaptation by Steve Martin of a 1911 script by German playwright Carl Sternheim, concluded its run at Rockville Little Theater on February...

Review: ‘Hairspray’ an Adventure Theatre ATMTC Academy Student Production

Adventure Theatre and ATMTC Academy presented their student production of Hairspray over the weekend. Young artists, ranging from grades four through twelve, hit the stage with all the energy and...

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...

Review: ‘Waitress’ at the Hippodrome

You will want to leave a more-than-generous tip for the national tour of Waitress, especially if you appreciate top-notch service. It is currently bringing all the spicy baked sweetness of the...

Review: ‘The Dog Must Die’ at The Highwood Theatre

What is a life worth? What is the Earth worth? And what are we doing – what can we do, what should we do – to sustain and preserve them? These provocative questions, and other questions that are as...

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...

Review: ‘Almost, Maine’ at Greenbelt Arts Center

Almost, Maine, by John Cariani explores the upside and downside of love as experienced by the residents of its mythical, titular town. Playing as almost a comedic version of Our Town, the...