Reviews

‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ at Kensington Arts Theatre

Kensington Arts Theatre mounts a fun, funny, and intense production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This one-act musical premiered on Broadway in 2005 with book by Rachel Sheinkin and...

Kurt Elling’s ‘Passion World’ at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater

On the most romantic night of the year, Grammy Award- winning jazz vocalist, Kurt Elling’s Passion World concert at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater was a warm toddy to take the chill off the...

‘Love, Loss, and What I Wore’ at NextStop Theatre Company

This confection of a girl’s-night-out show deserves seven stars, one for each of the six actresses, who depict 29 characters in 28 vignettes about fashion, plus one for Director Lorraine Magee. The...

‘Jack’s Tale A Mythic Mountain Musical Adventure’ at The Kennedy Center’s Performances for Young Audiences

The Kennedy Center and Nashville Children’s Theatre (NCT) have joined forces to bring a new premiere family show called Jack’s Tale A Mythic Mountain Musical Adventure to the Kennedy Center’s...

‘The Arsonists’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Brilliantly directed by Gerard Stropnicky, The Arsonists at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre is a morality tale about how ordinary, everyday people can take part in evil acts without even knowing it....

Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: LaChanze at The Kennedy Center

The lithe and dynamic Tony Award -winning (The Color Purple) Broadway musical star (Once on This Island, IF/Then), LaChanze, proved herself to be almost a volcanic, spontaneous force of nature as she...

‘The Addams Family’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

If there is any theater role that Lawrence B. Munsey cannot master, he certainly keeps it hidden. The musical star drew huge laughs playing a cross-dressing ham in La Cage aux Folles then swerved into...

Cellist Amit Peled Recreates 100-Year-Old Concert at the Peabody Institute

Picture this: A leading classical performer finds a program from a century ago played by a legend on his instrument, sets the date to recreate the concert for the exact 100th anniversary of the event,...

‘The Mage Knights of the Eternal Light’ at The Catholic University of America

The Mage Knights of the Eternal Light is a smart, funny play by M.F.A. playwriting candidate Amanda Zeitler. This is her senior thesis project in Catholic University’s Department of Drama, but she has...

‘Boeing, Boeing’ at Montgomery Playhouse and Arts on the Green at The Arts Barn

When you have such a fun experience in the theatre you just want to email your friends right away and tell your facebook friends, and tweet it. And that’s what I did when I came home tonight from The...

‘Spring Awakening’ at American University

There’s no show quite like Spring Awakening, and the students at American University, directed by Amber Jackson, delivered a rousing performance of the beloved musical Thursday night at the Greenberg...

‘The Benefactor’ at StillPointe Theatre Initiative

StillPointe Theatre Initiative’s The Benefactor is a production that a million people will want to see, but there’s only room for about three dozen audience members at each show. Be a Theatre Insider...

‘King Hedley II’ at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater

Make no mistake about it. August Wilson is one of America’s greatest dramatists. Authentic, historically rich, and dramatically insightful — few playwrights have the gifts and the talent to create...

‘Love Rocks!’ at The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington‘s (GMCW) swinging, rhythmic, acapella-oriented Potomac Fever Musical Group and the stellar more traditionally chorale group, the Rock Creek Singers, have offered up...

‘Fires in the Mirror’ at Howard University

Anna Deavere Smith’s classic Fires in the Mirror is getting a fascinating production this weekend by a very talented ensemble of student actors at Howard University. And on two counts this iteration...

‘Chicago: The Musical’ at the National Theatre

There’s a reason they call it “Broadway’s Sure Thing.” Chicago: The Musical has been consistently wowing audiences for four decades with its jazzy tunes, cynical humor and slow cooked sexuality. The...

The National Philharmonic’s 10th Anniversary Concert at The Music Center at Strathmore

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 may be based on the poem “Ode to Joy,” but that doesn’t mean the epic symphony holds a monopoly on joyous music. If anything, the pieces accompanying Beethoven’s Ninth at...

‘Metromaniacs’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Zowie! Pop! Slap! Holy Cow. Karabonga! I write to highly praise Metromaniacs as a wild, wonderful, built-for-speed, audaciously performed game-of-deception, fantasyland comedy based upon a...

‘Other Desert Cities’ at The Highwood Theatre

“Relationships are hard-earned things” in The Highwood Theatre’s production of Other Desert Cities. Jon Robin Baitz’s beautiful play is a taut family drama involving a clan split by generations,...

‘Zero Hour: Tokyo Rose’s Last Tape’ at The Kennedy Center

Zero Hour: Tokyo Rose’s Last Tape, a new work written and directed by renowned Japanese visual artist Miwa Yanagi, made a brief Washington D.C. premier this past weekend at The Kennedy Center. The...

‘The Turn of the Screw’ at Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace

Creative Cauldron presents the World Premiere of The Turn of the Screw, a musical adaptation of Henry James’ novella, with Book and Lyrics written by Stephen Gregory Smith and score by Matt Conner....

‘Last of the Whyos’ at Spooky Action Theater

What do sea lions, circus freaks, and 19th century gang violence have in common? Nothing. But they all feature prominently in Spooky Action Theater’s intriguing, baffling, and brilliantly designed...

‘The Lieutenant of Inishmore’ at Constellation Theatre Company

Martin McDonagh is one of my favorite living playwrights, and I’ve loved his black comedy The Lieutenant of Inishmore every time I’ve seen it. So for me the Constellation Theatre Company production...

The Riot Grrrls Present ‘The Tempest’ at Taffety Punk Theatre Company

A salty sea breeze is in the air this season, at least in DC area theatres. A few weeks ago, Shakespeare Theatre Company closed its phantasmagoric production of The Tempest, directed by Ethan McSweeny...

Todd Ellison and Friends: ‘The Romance of Broadway’ at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

Todd Ellison and Friends delivered an early Valentine to audiences at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts Sunday afternoon. The Romance of Broadway delivered a charming musical afternoon...

‘Don’t Dress for Dinner’ at Old Opera House Theatre Company

Directed by Steven Brewer and written by Marc Camoletti (adapted by Robin Hawdon), Don’t Dress for Dinner at the Old Opera House Theatre Company is a frantic farce which left the audience in stitches....

National Philharmonic: Brian Ganz Plays Chopin at Strathmore

Brian Ganz is continuing to complete his performances, and ultimately, recording of “ever single note Chopin composed.” The Ganz Project is expected to take ten years as Chopin’s ouevra contains at...

‘Juiced’ at The Clarice

Tia Nina’s Juiced rocked the Dance Theatre at The Clarice for a solid hour on Saturday, February 7, 2015. This trio of fearless performers, Leah Curran Moon as J Van Stone, Ilana Silverstein as Sammy...

‘Frozen’ at Anacostia Playhouse

In The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell writes: “The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light.” And, to be sure, in...

‘Casa de Empeños’ (House of Desires) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Oh, what a tangled web we weave! The brilliant cast of GALA Hispanic Theatre’s Casa de Empeños (House of Desires) had the audience in stitches at last night’s official opening, as they wove their way...

The State Ballet Theatre of Russia’s ‘Swan Lake’ at Hippodrome Theatre at The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

The State Ballet Theatre of Russia brings an ethereal and breathtaking production of Swan Lake to Baltimore For over one hundred years the compelling and romantic ballet Swan Lake, set to the music of...

‘A Sense of Wonder’ at George Mason University

Kaiulani Lee’s enthralling one woman show was one of the most engrossing hours I have ever experienced. Lee’s piece, A Sense of Wonder, is based on the life and works of Rachel Carson, best known for...

‘Othello’ at WSC Avant Bard

T.S. Eliot’s great poem The Hollow Men is sometimes said to be about the shell-shocked soldiers of the First World War. (“We are the hollow men/We are the stuffed men/ Leaning together /Headpiece...

‘Godspell’ at Olney Theatre Center

Do you remember when “psychedelic” and “flower power” were prevalent in the American vocabulary? It doesn’t really matter, because Olney Theatre Center’s tuneful and energetic production of Godspell...

Savion Glover’s ‘STePz’ at The Music Center at Strathmore

Friday night an enthusiastic and sold-out crowd voraciously devoured Savion Glover’s show STePz featuring American tap dancing icon Savion Glover, Marshall Davis, Jr, and the 3 Controversial Woman aka...

‘Doubt’ at 1st Stage

No doubt you’ll recall Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis, and Amy Adams in the Hollywood 2008 adaptation of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, a Parable — simply titled Doubt and directed...

‘Deep Roots Wide World’ at Teatro de Danza Contemporanea at Dance Place

“Long title and long history,” said Dance Place Co-Director Deborah Riley to introduce DC Contemporary Dance Theatre, which has also worked under the moniker El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea. Its...

‘Ruined’ at Everyman Theatre

Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer-winning drama Ruined made its Baltimore premiere at Everyman Theatre officially opening last night, offering a powerfully poignant portrait of barbarically ravaged women who...

‘I Hate Hamlet’ at 2nd Star Productions

It’s one thing to hate a beloved Shakespearean work; it’s a major faux pas to say so out loud. Paul Rudnick wrote the book for I Hate Hamlet while he was living in an apartment once occupied by the...

‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ at Epic Productions, Inc.

Epic Productions, Inc.’s inaugural production of the popular musical I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change, with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, is being performed at Ciao...

‘Arlo Guthrie: Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour’ at Hylton Performing Arts Center

Fifty years ago this coming Thanksgiving, Arlo Guthrie and company take a truck load of garbage out of a friend’s house near Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Finding the local dump closed for the holiday,...

Wynton Marsalis’ ‘Blues Symphony’ at Washington Performing Arts at Strathmore

Last night, thanks to the generosity of Washington Performing Arts, DC audiences had the rare opportunity to see Wynton Marsalis in the fullest sense – as consummate performer, as bandleader, and as...

‘Menopause The Musical’ at Hylton Performing Arts Center

Menopause The Musical is still hysterical and fresh after 15 years and multiple thousands of performances. I use the word ‘hysterical’ on purpose: for many women who have gone through the mood swings...

In the Moment: Chamber Dance Project Prepares for 2015 Summer Season at The Lansburgh

Who wouldn’t find it fascinating to listen to a performing artist describe a path to creativity to “put myself in a box as a way to take on a task or a new problem. Then to force myself to go and find...

‘Dunsinane’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

As the guerilla war in Dunsinane intensifies, Siward, the English commander sent to Scotland to bring peace to the warring clans, admits to burning to death a village’s captured adult males. In light...

‘Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’ at The Kennedy Center

Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater returned to The Kennedy Center last evening with a tribute to its famous six-foot tall Texan director. Ailey died 25 years ago and filling his size-12 shoes has...

‘Rapture, Blister, Burn’ at Round House Theatre

Consistent with its mission to “captivate audiences with stories that inspire compassion, evoke emotions, and demand conversation,” Round House Theatre welcomed back DC native, award-winning...

The State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico at the George Mason Center for the Arts

World orchestras are at their most interesting when they bring a blend of their native musical language with the European tradition that defines “classical music.” With the help of two soloists, one...

‘Murder in the Cathedral’ at Compass Rose Theater

T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral, on stage at Compass Rose Theater, is a poetic drama about the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket (Charles Matheny) in Canterbury circa 1170. Director...

‘Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

Adventure Theatre MTC presents Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood, adapted from the book by Mike Artell and Jim Harris, with Book, Music, and Lyrics by Joan Cushing. Directed and choreographed by...