Reviews

‘How the Other Half Loves’ at the British Players

Alan Ayckbourn is a renowned British playwright and director well known for his flair for the bedroom farce. One of the more successful of his works is How the Other Half Loves which premiered in...

Focus Events: Susan Greenbaum and John Flynn

Welcome to Focus‘ 100th birthday party where over 60 folk music fanatics were in the audience to help celebrate the group’s centennial concert in Alexandria, VA. This is DCMTA’s first review of Focus...

‘Bye Bye Birdie’ at Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theatre

Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theatre presents Bye Bye Birdie, with Book by Michael Stewart, Music by Charles Strouse, and Lyrics by Lee Adams. Carolyn Burke directs a large cast of young actors...

‘Laugh’ at The Studio Theatre

To be sure, name a play Laugh and the gauntlet is thrown. Laugh or die trying. The Studio Theatre’s world premiere production of Beth Henley’s new play, based on the antics of silent films from the...

‘An American Southwest Carmen’ at Ballet Theatre of Maryland

To close its 2014-2015 season on March 14, 2015 at Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, Ballet Theatre of Maryland chose An American Southwest Carmen – a work originally choreographed by BTM Artistic...

‘Shrek The Musical’ at Charm City Players

Charm City Players once again delivers a family-oriented ensemble show that is certain to delight all ages. This time, it’s Shrek The Musical, with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, and music...

Pianist András Schiff at Washington Performing Arts at Strathmore

One of the most charming moments I’ve seen at a concert in years occurred yesterday at The Music Center at Strathmore. András Schiff, one of the world’s leading pianists, brought a program of the...

‘Pride and Prejudice’ at Aldersgate Church Community Theater

Aldersgate Church Community Theater presents Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, dramatized by Jane Kendall and directed by Mary Ayala-Bush. This particular adaptation highlights the lighter,...

‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre

This weekend, the classic Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof was brought to life in spectacular fashion at the Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre. With music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick,...

‘Other Desert Cities’ at Providence Players of Fairfax

In 2012, Other Desert Cities written by Jon Robin Baitz, was a Tony nominee for Best Play as well as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The Providence Players find both delightful comedy and poignant...

‘The Jungle Book’ at Creative Cauldron

Olivia Laurine’s fantastic performance as Mowgli, plus original music and artful masks, make for an absolutely mesmerizing rendition of The Jungle Book at Creative Cauldron in Falls Church, VA. The...

‘The Revelation of Bobby Pritchard’ at Iron Crow Theatre Company

Sex. Love. God. Truth. People risk everything for them. They are eaten by lions. They are burned at the stake. They die on crosses. And did I mention politics, the arena where such questions do...

‘Don Giovanni’ at The In Series

The In Series takes Mozart to a 1920s bible belt Revival in a creative and fun reimagining of Don Giovanni. Artistic Director Carla Hübner commissioned a new English language libretto by Bari Biern to...

The Reel Deal: Watch Kyle Osborne’s Movie Review Video of ‘The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’

DC AREA SHOWTIMES. LINKS Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of 50 Shades of Grey. Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of of The Boy Next Door and Still Alice. Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of Taken 3...

DCMetroTheaterArts Turns 3 Today!

DCMetroTheaterArts is 3 years old today. I want to thank the 90+ writers who have contributed their talents to the site and to my brother Bruce for founding the site and to our Assistant...

‘When You Wish’ at Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

The seeming “spontaneity,” humor, and freshness of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC‘s (GMCW) repertoire and their current concert When You Wish, which is being presented at Washington, DC’s...

‘A Bright Room Called Day’ at Nu Sass Productions

With its Small Batch Audience Series created for an especially limited number of patrons per performance, Nu Sass Productions is out to transform the way DC theater audiences experience the performing...

‘Rumors’ at The Heritage Players

The Heritage Players’ uproarious production of the farce Rumors is written by Neil Simon. Yes, the word farce and Neil Simon usually don’t go together, but if you are old enough you will remember that...

Nibbles and Sips: Around Town: SER: A Reboot of the Classic Dishes of Spain and The Kennedy Center Embraces Spain and Portugal

SER: A Reboot of the Classic Dishes of Spain Last summer when the Ballston Business Improvement District sent out an all-call seeking innovative restaurant concepts, the husband and wife team of...

‘Mozart’s Great Mass’ with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

If I told you that the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra may be the most dynamic classical music organization in our region, you’d probably expect me to prove it with a report on a daring program featuring...

‘Nibbles and Sips’: Great Pre-Theatre Dining Deals From Area Restaurants Near Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth, Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint, and Theatre Lab

When friends ask me where to dine before the theatre I try to respond authoritatively. But, alas, my brain turns to porridge as I mentally scroll through the limitless options. I try to hone it down...

‘Doctor Caligari’ at Pointless Theatre Company

The Pointless Theatre Company troupe has taken on a major “dare” in adapting a landmark silent expressionist cult film into to a live stage production. Doctor Caligari from Pointless evokes the...

‘West Side Story + Roméo et Juliette’ at Young Artists of America and Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras at Strathmore

What makes a standout performance that leaves the audience gushing long after leaving the theater? The Young Artists of America at Strathmore seems to have hit upon the perfect recipe – combine a...

‘Just Be’ at Revision Dance Company

On Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 4 pm, the audience at Dance Place was treated to an enlightening and entertaining dance-video performance titled Just Be, by ReVision Dance Company, a resident company...

‘Time Stands Still’ at Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions

Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions presents Time Stands Still, a poignant drama by Donald Margulies and beautifully directed by Stevie Zimmerman. When a couple settle back home after spending years in...

’65 Years of Broadway! The Best Musicals, Abridged’ at 2nd Star Productions

Come to the Cabaret – 2nd Star style! 2nd Star Productions is hosting its 4th annual cabaret. This year’s theme was inspired by the Broadway shows that, since 1949 when it was first introduced, took...

IBERIAN SUITE: Concha Buika with Iván “Melon” Lewis & Continuum Quartet at The Kennedy Center

Last night the audience at The Kennedy Center Concert Hall was blessed with Buika. If being blessed by Buika wasn’t more than enough for a single evening, the audience at the Concert Hall had another...

‘The Mad: A Fracking Fairytale’ at Theatre du Jour

In the words of Countess Aurelia, the title character in Jean Giraudoux’s comedy The Madwoman of Chaillot, ”Nothing is ever so wrong in this world that a sensible woman can’t set right in the course...

‘Altan’ at the Barns at Wolf Trap

Altan played a high-energy show of jigs and reels and American bluegrass at the Barns at Wolf Trap. They may have also invented a new genre of music called “Greengrass.” For their latest album, they...

‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ at Prince William Little Theatre

Jesus Christ Superstar remains among my favorite musicals and was the first cast album I ever owned. It broke new ground in 1970, starting out as a concept album for a rock opera before plans were...

‘Anything Goes’ at Howard University

Howard University’s Department of Theatre Arts’ Anything Goes, currently on the boards at the Ira Aldridge Theater, is a show to which everyone should go see. It is not to be missed. This production...

Fantasy & Fate: Tchaikovsky Masterworks: Lang Lang in Recital at The Kennedy Center

Virtuosity of the highest caliber graced The Kennedy Center Concert Hall this past Saturday afternoon as renowned piano superstar Lang Lang returned to perform at the established Washington venue for...

Here Are the 2014 WATCH Awards Winners

Here Are the 2014 WATCH AWARDS WINNERS In the Order As They Were Announced Outstanding Choreography (5) Nick Carter – The Addams Family – Kensington Arts Theatre Ivan Davilla – Ragtime – Little...

‘The Mundo Perfeito’ (Perfect World) As part of the Iberian Suite at the Kennedy Center.

The Mundo Perfeito (Perfect World) has arrived in DC’s America. As part of the Iberian Suite. At The Kennedy Center. Presenting a full evening of theatre, Mundo Perfeito offers two productions: Three...

‘The Flying Dutchman’ (‘Der Fliegende Holländer’) at Washington National Opera

The Washington National Opera takes to the seas for Richard Wagner’s first major work, The Flying Dutchman (Der Fliegende Holländer). WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello has staged a series of...

‘Doubt: A Parable’ at City of Fairfax Theatre Company

There is a dilemma in this play, as in life, regarding who should be believed and who should be trusted. Are a character’s suspicions groundless or based on evidence? If someone with wisdom from years...

‘Circle Mirror Transformation’ at Rep Stage

The 2009 Obie-winning play Circle Mirror Transformation is like a five-finger exercise minus a digit or two. In its well-mounted area debut at Rep Stage in Howard County, it makes for a pleasant night...

‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ at Silhouette Stages

Silhouette Stages’ hilarious production of Monty Python’s Spamalot opened last night at Slayton House in Columbia, MD. It is based on the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with Book and Lyrics by...

Arts Collective Dance Company Concert at Arts Collective @ HCC

HCC puts cutting edge moves on display Those looking for a quick introduction to what’s hot in contemporary dance could spend a small bundle on a whirlwind expedition to New York. Or they could stop...

‘Evil Dead: The Musical’ at Greenbelt Arts Center

Wildly exaggerated acting work, referential cinematic poses, bad touching, and lots and lots of blood spatter come together in this unapologetically absurd production of the George Reinblatt, Frank...

‘Bigger Than You, Bigger Than Me’ at Field Trip Theatre

If there is a post-9/11 theater in America—the way there was, for instance, a postwar theater in Europe—it just got bigger than before. A new play opened last night that offers a sharp new take on our...

Moveius Dance in World Premiere ‘Glacier’ Intersections Festival at Atlas Performing Arts Center

My phone told me it was 14 degrees as I made my way to the Atlas Friday evening. A fitting temperature for the world premiere of a work titled Glacier, by Moveius Contemporary Ballet. By day Diana...

‘Hot Mikado’ at Glenelg Country School

For a show with more moving parts than a clock museum, it’s surprising how often Glenelg Country School’s Hot Mikado is in the groove. Revivals of this 1986 Ford’s Theatre staging are very hard to...

‘Chicago’ at Hippodrome Theatre at France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre is having its hottest season ever. Indeed, if you shovel out of your snow and ice fast enough, you will find its current offering of Chicago making things even hotter...

‘Haddon Hall’ at The Victorian Lyric Opera Company

Haddon Hall is an enjoyable English ‘light opera’ with a melodic score by Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) and a libretto by Sydney Grundy. It retells the legend of Dorothy Vernon and...

‘Harvey’ at Tantallon Community Players

The great Sanford Meisner once said that “the key to great acting is living truthfully in imaginary circumstances.” The cast of Tantallon’s latest production, which is Mary Chase’s Harvey, certainly...

‘Rabbit Hole’ at Vagabond Players

Celebrating 99 seasons, Vagabond Players continues its time-honored tradition to present rich, relevant high-quality shows in its recent production of Rabbit Hole. A work of the prolific playwright,...

‘Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp’ at The Puppet Co.

The Puppet Co. presents a gorgeously delivered production of Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, written by Vera C. Hughes and Allan Stevens and inspired by its original version in One Thousand and One...

‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Other Voices Theatre

A stage production of the beloved musical The Wizard of Oz is always difficult, because of the inevitable comparisons with the 1939 classic movie engrained in our popular culture. However, the cast in...

‘Grounded’ at Olney Theatre Center

Grounded provides a unique look into one woman’s journey from top-notch fighter pilot, on which her self-image is staked, to a drone pilot sinking daily into the shrouds of PTSD. There have been many...