Reviews

‘The Wiz’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre

Ease on down the road to Winchester and join Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre for a fast-paced, campy, fun, and ultimately heart-warming journey down the yellow brick road with The Wiz, now playing...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Baba’

Whether you are looking for an interesting evening of theatre or a high end New York City apartment, Alex Mahgoub will not disappoint. As Mahgoub takes the stage in his solo show Baba, he hands out a...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Graceless’

Politics may be all about power, but who is really in control? In Graceless, written by Tom Slot and performed by Original Bindings Productions, it is pretty clear that Aaron Berniger, the Mayor of...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Squares’

Dog and Pony DC’s Squares, developed and scripted by Shannon Davies Marcus, Rachel Grossman, Danielle Mohlman, and Aaron Mosby, with Tyrone Giordano, is completely interactive theatre at its finest....

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Tammy Faye’s Final Audition’

Tammy Faye’s Final Audition is a whirlwind about a woman whose iconic eyelashes, televangelical devotion, and legal scandal have secured her a place in brightly lit pop culture heaven. The play is all...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Priest/Penitent’

Bob Lohrmann brings Wally K. Daly’s monodrama, a two-sided exploration of the world of Catholic confessionals, to the Capital Fringe this year. The play is a thoughtful, entertaining, and clever...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Experimental’

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” and Anne is Nan and Nan is Anne, but only on the west coast. This is Hollywood after all, and things can get a little crazy. XY Players’ comedy, Experimental,...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘I Am the Gentry’

The air is cool, the metro rumbles within earshot, and the buzz of people talking fills the space. A woman offers me a glass of water— a red solo cup filled from a plastic pitcher in her hand. She...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Dishwasher’

We all come as audience to any performance with our own personal histories and experiences through which we encounter the work, but rarely does the work come to visit at home- to do our chores. Brian...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Stuff’

Upon entering the Eastman Studio Theatre venue at Gallaudet University, I did not quite know how to respond as I was handed a book entitled Daybreak in Korea by Robert L. Sheldon. As I looked around,...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom’

Even casual horror fans will recognize the setup: An idyllic suburban neighborhood, populated by working dads, stay-at-home moms, and hormonal teenagers, soon becomes the setting for unspeakable...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘mostly the VOICE: a black lesbian journey’

There are many delightful and poignant moments in mostly the VOICE: a black lesbian journey. This engaging autobiographical amalgam of poetry, original music, and storytelling—written and performed by...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘IMPROV WARS’

IMPROV WARS is exactly what it sounds like. Ok – maybe it’s not exactly what it sounds like. No one is improvising a war onstage. Nor are any improvisers actually fighting to the death. However, Laugh...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Our Lady of the Clouds’

Exile, home, memories – these fundamentals are dreamily explored in an inventive interpretation of Argentinian playwright Aristides Vargas’ play, Our Lady of the Clouds, or Nuestra Senora de las...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Last Burlesque’

The Last Burlesque is a fun, sexy romp with much to delight – from spirited performances, creative dance numbers, eye-catching costumes, to (of course!) good old-fashioned titillating burlesque....

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘straight on til moUrning’

This is not the Neverland you remember. It’s grown-up, it’s grittier, nothing is certain; and with straight on til moUrning, local physical theatre company relEASE has presented a daring and fresh new...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘BoomeRaging: From LSD to OMG’

“I am not a human being. I don’t pretend to be a human being. I am a comic” are among some of the opening lines in Will Durst’s one-man comedy show BoomeRaging: From LSD to OMG. Written and directed...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Up For Debate’

Any show starting with a handsome actor wearing a gold lame vest while singing (in excellent baritone) an anthem to the state of Idaho cannot be accused of taking itself too seriously. Luke Mullan,...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Life of King John’

The Life of King John is a one-of-a-kind interpretation of Shakespeare’s historical play, directed by Alan Duda. The production weaves elements and references from Monty Python’s Spamalot into this...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘BellyFunkShun’

A critic is not supposed to be part of the show. A critic is not supposed to get up on the stage and “get down,” wiggling her fat belly/butt under the bright lights. But BellyFunkShun calls for it....

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘Twelfth Night: A Musical Remix’

There was never a dull moment in Twelfth Night: A Musical Remix directed by Justin Poole. This version of William Shakespeare’s well-known comedy, filled with confused identity, trickery and...

2015 Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Little Crane and The Long Journey: A Fable’

The Little Crane and The Long Journey: A Fable is the all-too-common story of an immigrant family dealing with prejudice in the United States. The story is a representation of the struggles Japanese...

2015 Capital Fringe Preview #47: ‘Domestic Animals’ by Jennifer Faletto

You were wild once. Don’t let them tame you. At the height of the Vietnam War, Lori’s brother dodges the draft and her boyfriend enlists. Left alone, she disappears into her imagination. Seduced by...

Meet the Cast of The Metropolitan Youth Theatre’s ‘RENT’: Part 2: Jordan Sledd

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Metropolitan Youth Theatre’s Rent, meet Jordan Sledd. Introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you before on local...

2015 Capital Fringe Preview #41: ‘Mine/Field’

Answer: Secrets. Data. Spying on other audiences. Charts and graphs made of dancers. Question: What is in a dance about debating data privacy vs. national security? Bonus Question: How do you make...

2015 Capital Fringe Preview #37: ‘To Err is Falstaff!’ by Louis James Brenner

Imagine one of Shakespeare’s dodgiest characters, John Falstaff, as a political advisor in modern day DC. Fired by the President he runs a K Street lobbying firm that employs Macbeth, Ophelia, and...

‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ at Aldersgate Community Church Theatre

There’s an old adage that states “time wasted having fun isn’t wasted.” The Aldersgate Community Church Theatre effectively explored this theme with its production of Cheaper by the Dozen, adapted by...

‘Catch Me If You Can’ at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Think back to when you were 16 years old. What were you doing? Going to football games? Getting ready for the Homecoming Dance? Obtaining a machine to make fraudulent checks and then tricking Pan-Am...

Nibbles and Sips Around Town: ‘America Eats Tavern Holds Inaugural Virginia Festival, Bloomsday Celebration, Blue Duck Tavern Rhapsodizes About Ice Cream, Mitsitam Gets a New Chef, and We Get His Wild Rice Bars Recipe’

As expected tons of events are crammed into the month of June. Why? There seems to be a totally unfounded impression that we are all darting off to faraway lands. We wish! Here’s where we went...

‘Peter Pan’ in the ThreeSixty Theatre

“Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough.” In its DC area premiere, Peter Pan in the ThreeSixty Theatre has plenty of stimulating ingredients providing an exciting, dreams-come-true...

‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ at The Puppet Company

The Puppet Co. presents Snow White and the 7 Dwarves, an adaptation of the Grimm’s classic with a mixed cast of actors and rod puppets. Playwright Christopher Piper uses intricately-detailed puppets...

‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ at The Keegan Theatre

The “hothouse,” loquacious and “southern-fried” appeal of Tennessee Williams’ classic Cat On A Hot Tin Roof is very evident in the scorching, white-hot production now inaugurating the new season of...

‘Impossible! A Happenstance Circus’ at Round House Theatre

A colorful celebration of classic circuses and clowns from the 1930s and ’40s, Happenstance Theater elevates old-fashioned, family-friendly entertainment to a fantastical new level with Impossible! A...

‘Double Trouble (AKA The Parent Trap)’ at Imagination Stage

Imagination Stage presents Double Trouble (AKA The Parent Trap), based on Erich Kastner’s novel, Lottie and Lisa. This production is adapted by David S. Craig, with music by Marc Schubring and...

‘The Miss Firecracker Contest’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

The Miss Firecracker Contest by Beth Henley opened this weekend at the Laurel Mill Playhouse, and is directed by Patrick Pase and produced by Julie Rogers. Maureen Rogers is the Executive Producer....

‘The Music Man’ at Charm City Players

The Music Man is Charm City Players’ summer production that is sure to dazzle and delight all ages. With Book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Wilson, The Music Man is based on a story written by Wilson...

‘The Producers’ at Olney Theatre Center

Camp it up with the comic free-for-all that is the Olney Theatre Center’s take on Mel Brooks’ Tony Award-winning musical The Producers. Become your very own disrupter of your very own straight-laced,...

Columbia Festival of the Arts Part 6: ‘The Best of Second City’

What do Anne Meara, Jerry Stiller, Joan Rivers, Jim Bulushi, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Steven Colbert and Steve Carrell have in common? Well, they are all very funny, of course,...

DC Black Theatre Festival: ‘Secrets of a Black Boy’

A theater troupe from Toronto brought this play to town for three performances only for the DC Black Theater Festival. Secrets of a Black Boy speaks with great honesty and artistry. It achieves on...

Columbia Festival of the Arts Part 5: ‘The Stoop/Stoop Storytelling Series: Kitchen Confidential’ and Comedian Max Silvestri

Friday, June 26, 2015 was a night of laughter at the Smith Theatre. First, the Columbia Festival of the Arts, presented The Stoop Stoop Storytelling Series: Kitchen Confidential which was followed by...

Maysa at The Birchmere Music Hall

There’s an earthy, primal kind of beat that pulsates through every song at a Maysa concert. It’s a sound akin to a heartbeat, a panting breath, or a sonic boom that touches the emotional core the way...

‘Million Dollar Quartet’ at Wolf Trap

Wow, just wow! There is a reason why Million Dollar Quartet is a Tony Award-winning musical. It features a talented cast, amazing singing, and musicianship, incredible music, awesome dance moves by...

‘Significant Other’ at Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City

Joshua Harmon’s first play Bad Jews introduced us to him as an imaginative writer with an uncanny ear for authentic dialogue. It also informed us that he could write with rage about matters that...

‘Blue Straggler’ at Source Festival

The Source Festival is a showcase of new works; not world premieres but workshops of 3 full-length works in progress (the 12 ten-minute plays are icing on the cake, so to speak). For example, last...

‘The Addams Family’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre

The full moon is rising, the ancestors are emerging from their slumbers, and Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre is offering up a creepily fun and spookily hilarious musical comedy version of The Addams...

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago at Wolf Trap

Eight dancers paused on an open-air stage. The curtain is up. No music, yet. A rustle from a small, brown mass as far downstage as can be: a bird, flicking wings. One more sits near the other quarter...

‘Pippin’ at Hippodrome Theatre at The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

Pippin is one glorious flashback to a time when musicals were happenings, Broadway casts called themselves “tribes,” and playwrights broke through the fourth wall to make profound statements on life,...

Polish National Ballet at The Kennedy Center

Grey, almost nondescript costumes, would not seem powerful. A lightly lit modern painting, blue, then back to grey, would not seem striking. Eight dancers, re-entering in lines from upstage to...

Audra McDonald with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap

Not even the heat and rising temperatures could keep the crowds away from Wolf Trap Monday night to hear the multi-talented Audra McDonald sing an extremely vigorous program. Both entertaining and...

New CDs from Washington Area Cellist Amit Peled and Pianist Thomas Pandolfi

It must be time for dessert! Two new recordings by prominent local classical artists coincidentally use the metaphor of desserts-after-a-meal in their concepts. They both provide delightful summertime...