Reviews

‘La Perdida’ at Catholic University

La Perdida, a re-imagining of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, occurring in Mexico during the celebration of The Day of the Dead, opened last evening at the Callan Theater at Catholic University. The...

‘Catch Me If You Can’ at Walt Whitman High School by Jason Landrone

Fly, Fly Away with Whitman Drama’s Catch Me If You Can Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away … 1960’s style as Whitman Drama presents Catch Me If You Can directed by Christopher Gerken. The...

‘Five Guys Named Moe’ at Arena Stage at The Mead Center for American Theater

Who can resist the youthful, sensuous, energy of five high-stepping, superfine dudes who can sing and dance? “Jump blues” back to the rockin’ days of guys and dolls for an entertaining evening of...

The Count Basie Orchestra at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

The Count Basie Orchestra is a perfect paring with The Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club as it rises to its stated goal of being “The Copacabana of the mid-Atlantic.” The packed dinner crowd,...

‘Wake Up Brother Bear’ at Imagination Stage

Imagination Stage is renowned for its inventive children’s theater, their very popular interactive theatrical experience for youngsters, Wake up Brother Bear is no different. First produced in 2010,...

‘Little Dancer’ at The Kennedy Center

Little Dancer Offers a Glorious, Unique Addition to the World of Musical Theater Little Dancer is sheer perfection for ballet and musical theater fans alike – enchanting dancing, a glorious score, and...

‘The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures’ at Theater J

This is a big play,” the playwright Tony Kushner has said without understatement, and without an argument from anyone. It’s sprawling and sweeping and awesome in depth and breadth. It’s also long,...

‘Oedipus the King’ at Lean & Hungry Theater

In an age of 24 hour cable news and social media saturation, the good ole’ fashioned radio play may seem like an artifact of a simpler time. But for Lean & Hungry Theater, a DC based company that...

‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ at Magruder High School

Bright shiny objects in unexpected places often draw our attention. This weekend’s bauble, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, drew the spotlight to Magruder High School. The evening was...

‘Cats’ at Compass Rose Theater

Compass Rose Theater puts on an abbreviated version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats. With a cast that sings and dances their way through the top numbers, this is a likable production that is both...

‘Translations’ at The Masqueraders at The United States Naval Academy

I will be honest with you – at first I thought I might need a translator to help me write this review because Brian Friel’s Translations is filled with several languages – Greek, Gaelic, Latin, and...

‘The Secret Garden in Concert’ at Young Artists of America by Brent and Linda Stone

Young Artists of America (YAA) presented classics from the musical The Secret Garden for their annual fall concert, held at the Cultural Arts Center at Silver Spring. The 80 high-school aged...

‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’ at Act Two @ Levine

Alex Stone and Rachel Lawhead showed so much chemistry that you would have thought that their roles were written for them. in Act Two @ Levine’s stunning production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber...

‘Welcome to the White Room’ at Glass Mind Theatre

Welcome to the White Room by playwright, Trish Harnetiaux, is a world premiere and how fortunate we should consider ourselves to have such a provocative, new show in Baltimore. Director Chris...

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at Brave Spirits Theatre

There is a cheerful insouciance to the Brave Spirits Theatre production of that war-horse of Shakespeare comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Chalk it up to youthful, well-rehearsed nonchalance, with an...

‘My Fair Lady’ at Damascus Theatre Company

“Why Can’t the English Teach Their Children How to Speak?” laments phonetics professor Henry Higgins upon hearing a cacophonous Cockney accent from a poor flower girl on a rainy night in London. The...

‘In the Heat of the Night’ at L.A. Theatre Works at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

L.A. Theatre Works delivered a searing, disturbing, and flat-out brilliant rendition of In the Heat of the Night – John Ball’s sizzling 1965 noir thriller, adapted for the stage by acclaimed...

‘Join in the Dream’ at ClancyWorks at Dance Place

Join in the Dream featuring ClancyWorks Dance Company and Guest Choreographers, Deborah Riley and Susan Shields, performed this weekend at Dance Place, and provided a contemplative evening of modern...

Violinist Yevgeny Kutik at Peoples’ Symphony Concerts in NYC

Challenging or dissonant music can be a slog for both the classical music performer and the listener. If you’re at all fearful to see live concerts because of the reputation of 20th-century “serious”...

‘Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

Adventure Theatre MTC presents the world premiere of Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol, based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by father-and-son team Ken and Jack Ludwig. Seen through the...

‘Disney’s The Little Mermaid’ at Olney Theatre Center

Just in time to celebrate the holiday season and experience an artistically-enriching live performance, Olney Theatre Center concludes its critically-acclaimed 76th anniversary season with the area...

‘Crazy for You’ at Blake High School

Will we ever get tired of the classic narrative, “boy meets girl—boy loses girl—boy gets girl”? Never! Especially when it’s presented as a singing, dancing, comedic extravaganza such as Blake High...

‘Missa Solemnis’ at The Washington Chorus

Wow, talk about a moving experience! Sunday night, the Grammy Award-winning The Washington Chorus performed Missa Solemnis by Ludwig van Beethoven to a sold-out and appreciative crowd at The Kennedy...

‘Some Kind of Wonderful: Bayla Whitten Sings Carole King’ at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia

Just this past weekend, a sunny, very talented Bayla Whitten held the audience enthralled making her solo cabaret debut covering singer, song writer Carole King’s many hit tunes. She performed Some...

‘The Laramie Project’ at Indian Creek Upper School

The Indian Creek Upper School production of The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and Members of the Tectonic Theater Project on Saturday evening at the Jack and Nancy Becker Center for the Performing...

‘Love Stinks!’ at The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

Love and song go together so well they’re a compound noun. Who doesn’t love a love song? But what about love that is disappointing, unreciprocated, wounding—all the loves that dare not speak their...

The Czech Philharmonic at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

Sometimes there’s reason to doubt why a symphony orchestra needs all those violins. Many of the labor disputes that are running around the country’s major professional ensembles, including a recent...

Kim Coles at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

It is not easy to make a successful come back in the entertainment business, but comedian-actress Kim Coles demonstrates that she has accomplished that feat in the Bethesda premiere of her heartfelt...

‘The Rez Sisters’ at American University

Had you asked me moments before The Rez Sisters, American University’s tremendous and thought provoking new play, began, I would have told you I didn’t think bingo was all that interesting. Well, that...

‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ at Robert E. Lee High School by Allison Fantz

Last night, November 13, 2014, the Robert E. Lee High School Drama Department presented a very unconventional version of a very popular play, directed by Shannon Lynch. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest...

Catching Up With ‘Filichia on Friday’: ‘Penelope Daulton: In Comes Company Manager’;’A Busy Time for Musicals’;’October’s Leftovers & November’s Brainteasers’;and ‘It’s Time for ‘A Time for Singing”

It’s an honor to bring Peter Filichia’s column every week on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday’ to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. Time to catch up : November 14, 2014: *Penelope Daulton: In...

Meet the Cast of ‘My Fair Lady’ at Damascus Theatre Company–Part 4: William T. Fleming

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the director and cast members of Damascus Theatre Company’s My Fair Lady, meet William T. Fleming. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where...

‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Arena Stage at The Mead Center for American Theater

Fiddler on the Roof remains a musical theater audience pleaser, as it has been for five decades. The Arena Stage production is handsome and solid. Under Molly Smith’s direction, the Arena’s Fiddler...

Act Two @ Levine Presents Sondheim’s ‘Sweeney Todd’ Tomorrow through Sunday at Georgetown Prep

Act Two @ Levine is proud to present: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Attend this dark and witty tale of love, London, murder and revenge Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street...

‘Dial “M” for Murder’ at the Greenspring Players

It’s that time of the year where the Halloween spirit becomes a major player in what the subject matter of theatrical events around town hang their hat on. What a fitting selection for Greenspring...

‘Handbag’ at Scena Theatre

In the past week, I’ve had the mixed blessing of seeing some very good shows that put the very bad side of human nature on gruesome display. The characters in Scena’s Handbag, a daring pitch black...

In the Moment: Hub Theatre’s 2014-2015 Season Announced: Interviews with Helen Pafumi, Matt Bassett, & Kristen LePine

The Hub Theatre recently announced its full 2014-15 season. The season includes several mainstage productions and the annual Hub Playfest, along with developmental play readings. There will also be...

‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ at Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage & Studio presents The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, based on the classic ghost story by Washington Irving and stage-adapted for a younger audience by Vera Morris. Director Susan Alison Keady...

Pianist Thomas Pandolfi’s ‘One Singular Night’ at the Todd Performing Arts Center

Standing alone on the stage of the Eastern Shore home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, pianist Thomas Pandolfi joked that no orchestra was magically going to materialize before the audience’s...

The Ying Quartet at the Kreeger Museum

No type of ensemble works harder these days than string quartets to make classical music “cool” and relevant. From hip, funky websites to innovative performances in unusual spaces, string quartets –...

‘Touch’ at The Montgomery Playhouse

Written in 1999, the play Touch by award-winning playwright Toni Press-Coffman, is sure to tug at the heartstrings of any who watch. The earnest drama about a young scientist and the death of his...

‘Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe’ at Molotov Theatre Group

Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe is an adaptation of four of Poe’s better known tales of horror: The Raven, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Tell-Tale Heart. Playwright...

‘Bad Jews’ at The Studio Theatre

Bad Jews beggars genre naming. “Comedy of ideas” doesn’t hold a Shabbat candle to it. Bad Jews is so over-the-top funny, so razor-sharp smart, and so plumb-the-depths profound that it left me...

‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ at Anne Arundel Community College

The plot of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, by Christopher Hampton, makes those old TV soap operas, Peyton Place and Dynasty look like child’s play. The main characters are corrupt, malicious and cruel....

‘Urinetown: The Musical’ at Heritage Players

Urinetown: The Musical satirically and hilariously poses the question: what would it be like if water supplies became so scarce that people, including the poor, had to a pay a fee to pee? All bets are...

‘Green Porno Live on Stage’ With Isabella Rossellini at Lisner Auditorium

Green Porno. Now that’s a show title to bring interest. Add that it was adapted from a well-viewed Web series aired on the Sundance Channel and your reviewer wondered how it would be accomplished live...

‘Virus Attacks Heart’ at Venus Theatre Company

Virus Attacks Heart, a new play by Australian playwright Shannon Murdoch, is a romance for people who don’t do romances. It’s a horror story of a relationship that makes you ache for an intimacy as...

‘Roald Dahl’s ‘Willy Wonka’ at Reistertown Theatre Project

“Who can take a sunrise? Sprinkle it in dew; Cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two? The candy man can…’cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good.” And that is what Willy Wonka...

‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at West Potomac High School

Beyond The Page Theatre Company of West Potomac High School presents the audience favorite musical Little Shop of Horrors, with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken. With a trophy...

‘Death by Design’ at Greenbelt Arts Center

The appreciative audience at the Greenbelt Arts Center tonight found themselves transported to a 1930’s English manor house, complete with dead body and amateur detective! It was their adept...