Reviews

‘The Cole Porter Project: It’s Alright With Me’ at the In Series

How am I ridin’? I am ridin’ high after seeing the delightful, delectable The Cole Porter Project: It’s Alright With Me!, a cabaret-style show now playing at The In Series performing at Source. The...

‘The Mousetrap’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Crime fiction is a literary genre that has spanned the test of time. First appearing in the early 1800’s, crime novelists and playwrights have gripped audiences for centuries. Agatha Christie is...

‘Colossal’ at Olney Theatre Center

In his curtain speech prior to the opening night performance of Andrew Hinderaker’s Colossal at Olney Theatre Center, Artistic Director Jason Loewith mentioned ‘past, present, and future,’ and that...

‘Gidion’s Knot’ at NextStop Theatre Company

I walked into NextStop Theatre Company’s Industrial Park Theatre (where Johnna Adams’ riveting Gidion’s Knot has recently taken up residence after a critically acclaimed run at Forum Theatre) somewhat...

‘The Nighthawks’ and the ‘Kelly Bell Band’ at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

Of course The Nighthawks lived up to their reputation as “the quintessential bar band.”Forty plus years in, DC native Mark Wenner only gets better and a bit funkier. The surprise of the evening was...

‘Art’ at Vagabond Players

To put it bluntly, Art is not about “art.” While the “white painting with diagonal white lines” is the focus of the action, the gravitas below the surface is what makes this new production so...

‘White Suit Science’ at Single Carrot Theatre

Baltimore’s Single Carrot Theatre has a new theatrical home, a new artistic director, and a new season with a brand new series of contemporary plays. Shawn Reddy’s White Suit Science inaugurates...

‘Making Sparks’: Meet the Managing Director, Cast, and Director of Theater Alliance’s ‘Spark’ Part 1: Elliott Bales

Spark by Caridad Svich opens this weekend at the Anacostia Playhouse and runs through September 28, 2014. This gritty, powerful drama tells the story of a veteran returning from war, and the ongoing...

Nibbles and Sips Around Town: ‘Cambridge, Maryland’

In an area where watermen and their history have customarily been the prime subject of writerly interest, it was “Chesapeake” author James Michener who noted the architecture of Cambridge’s High...

‘Dirty Dancing- The Classic Story on Stage’ at The National Theatre

Dirty Dancing is a theatrical thrill ride that is waiting for you at The National Theatre! Based on the 1987 film of the same name, Dirty Dancing explores adolescent love, loss of innocence, social...

‘Yentl’ at Theater J

In Theater J’s beautiful, eloquent, and thrilling new production of Yentl, such profound new life has been breathed into Isaac Bashevis Singer’s beloved novella that at its heart this retelling is...

Scene Stealers-Week Ending 9/1/14

Here are this week’s Scene Stealers honorees, Congrats to all of you! ______ The Band Perry Singing “Pioneer’ at Wolf Trap on August 28, 2014 “My favorite moment of the night has to be when they...

Love The Three Stooges? Pay a Visit to ‘The Stoogeum’ in Ambler, PA

The Three Stooges made over 200 appearances in shorts – those knuckle-headed 15-minute misadventures – and full-length feature films with their usual trademark of hysterical mayhem. And if you are a...

‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ at Prince George’s Little Theatre

Neil Simon really made his mark as a great American playwright with Brighton Beach Memoirs, now playing at Prince George’s Little Theatre performing now at the Bowie Playhouse. Magnificently directed...

‘The Understudy’ at Everyman Theatre

Are you sick and tired of yet another big-budget Hollywood action-adventure film with angry tornados, humongous sharks, or killer asteroids? Are you sick and tired of yet another celebrity persona...

‘The Rat Pack Together Again’ at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

In the setting of the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club, I was expecting The Rat Pack to bring me on a nostalgic trip to the early 60s when Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...

Tomorrow at La-Ti-Do at 8 PM: “Fall for a La-Ti-Do Gentleman” with Vaughn Irving and David Carter

It’s that time of week again for La-Ti-Do: WINNER of DC Theater Arts’ Special Awards in 2012 and 2013. This week we kick off our fall programming and invite you to “Fall for a La-Ti-Do Gentleman” and...

The Band Perry with Special Guest: Lindsay Ell at Wolf Trap

Last night at The Filene Center at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA I was privy to one of the most energetic and just all out fun concerts I have ever been to (and I have been to A LOT of them!). One of the...

Wu Promotions Presents: Peking Opera — 120th Anniversary of Mei Lanfang: ‘Classic Plays of the Mei School’ at The Kennedy Center

What a fabulous immersion into the dazzling world of the Peking Opera as The Kennedy Center hosted two performances to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the birth of Mei Lanfang, a Jingju (Peking...

‘Face of America’ with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Band of Horses, and Oregon Ballet Theatre at Wolf Trap

Dancers face the wilderness in Pacific Northwest Celebration at Wolf Trap. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is a lovely place to spend a late summer evening. The setting is serene, and...

Two Cabarets at Creative Cauldron: ‘The Perfect Storm’ and ‘Ca-Bro-Ret’

Creative Cauldron Bubbled Over with Summer Cabarets The Perfect Storm Creative Cauldron is an intimate theatre in Falls Church, Virginia that was created in 2002, and for the last five years, has been...

Savion Glover at The Howard Theatre

There are those who have never heard of Savion Glover, those who have heard his name, and those who fly from England to see him dance at the Howard Theatre in Washington last night. Savion Glover is...

‘Molly’ at Scena Theatre

Scena has gone green, and I’m not talking about reusable grocery bags. Concurrent with their production of Conor McPherson’s Shining City, Scena is mounting the world premiere of Molly, an original...

Scene Stealers-Week Ending August 24, 2014

Here are this week’s Scene Stealers honorees, Congrats to all of you! ______ Natascia Diaz Performing ‘All That Jizz’ in The Summer Hummer “One of the highlights of the evening was Natascia Diaz...

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band at Wolf Trap

Lyle Lovett returned to Wolf Trap with his Large Band for a night of classic hits, crazy improvisation, and sheer fun for a perfect summer night. He repeatedly thanked the packed house for the...

‘1814! The War of 1812 Rock Opera’ at Silver Spring Black Box Theatre

What a kick to see this Capital Fringe hit back at it, better and badder. When 1814! The War of 1812 Rock Opera tore up the sweltering Baldacchino Tent in the summer of 2013, DCMetroTheaterArt’s...

‘Twelfth Night’ at Theatre Prometheus

Aaaah….Shakespeare. We Washingtonians love you! We love you so much that we have your library here! And we have 14 theater companies dedicated to your works! We, as an educated and civil town, love...

‘The Reel Deal’: Watch Kyle Osborne’s Movie Video of ‘Sin City: A Dame To Kill For’

Here are the Washington, DC area showtimes. Sin City: A Dame To Kill For website. LINKS Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of...

Josh Groban at Wolf Trap

Last night, Grammy-nominated, Billboard chart-topper, and actor Josh Groban dazzled a sold out audience with selections from his newest album, All That Echoes, and oldies but goodies from earlier...

Nibbles And Sips Around Town – A Conversation With Pastry Chef Joseluis Flores

You may have noted that I only occasionally report on desserts. Often they can be so cloyingly sweet, targeted to a juvenile palate, or just something to bump up the check total. And unless there is a...

‘She Kills Monsters’ at Rorschach Theatre

I knew that Qui Nguyen’s fantastical comedy She Kills Monsters had something to do with the famous (or infamous) role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons. But when I was confronted by the gigantic,...

‘Shining City’ at Scena Theatre

Conor McPherson loves the supernatural. His plays exude an otherworldliness that seeps into the dialogue and infects the players. But, his plays aren’t about the supernatural. They seem to highlight...

A Report on ‘Summer Hummer: Ménage à Trois’ at Signature Theatre

Summer Hummer: Ménage à Trois at Signature Theatre Benefits theatreWashington’s Taking Care of Our Own Summer Hummer: Ménage à Trois at Signature Theatre on Monday evening made Cabaret and Chicago...

Cheap Trick at Ram’s Head Live!

My first time to Ram’s Head Live! in Baltimore last night evening certainly delivered a magical evening, thanks to four guys I’ve been listening to for a lot of years. If you could take a walk down...

Jonny Lang at The State Theatre

Jonny Lang Rocks The Historic State Theatre Before we delve into Jonny Lang though, the talented, opening band Runaway Saints from Nashville, Tennessee via Rhode Island did a great job warming up the...

‘Sunday in the Park with George’ at Signature Theatre

Like the pointillist dots that fill the canvas of Georges Seurat’s masterful painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, each element of Signature Theatre’s stunning production of...

‘Godspell’ at Pasadena Theatre Company

Theatre lovers can hearken back to the days when “psychedelic” and “flower power” were prevalent in the American vocabulary at the Pasadena Theatre Company’s tuneful and energetic production of...

Scene Stealers-Week Ending August 17, 2014

Here are this week’s Scene Stealers. Congrats to our honorees! _______ Stacy Crickmer as Lady of the Lake singing ‘Diva’s Lament’ and “Find Your Grail’ in Monty Python’s Spamalot at Zemfira Stage...

Jim Van Slyke: ‘The Sedaka Show’ at NextStop Theatre Company

Paying tribute to Neil Sedaka’s career that spans almost 60 years and has generated more than 500 songs is a daunting task. Grammy nominee Jim Van Slyke, however, has found a way to do just that....

‘High School Musical Jr.’ at The Lopez Conservatory Program

It is difficult to overstate the impact that Disney’s 2006 original movie, High School Musical had on the drama geeks of the day. As a fourteen year old theatre kid, the tale of an entire school...

‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ at Zemfira Stage

The inner friskiness of the 20-member cast, many making their Zemfira Stage debuts, took over after intermission, to make the opening night of Monty Python’s Spamalot ultimately a lively evening of...

Interview with Jonny Lang Who is Performing Tonight at The State Theatre

Blues guitarist and singer Jonny Lang has had a blessed life. He was a musical child prodigy. He gets to make a living playing music, has a loving wife and four kids, and gets to travel the world. He...

‘Macbeth: The Instruments of Darkness’ at The Rude Mechanicals

Macbeth, a classic Shakespearean tale of one man’s quest for Scotland’s reign and the lengths he is willing to go for it, is often performed melodramatically with flawed characters that passionately...

‘The Laramie Project’ at Front & Center Stage

For Front & Center Stage’s first production, Director Steve Einhorn took on the Tectonic Theater Project’s The Laramie Project. Although they are a new theater company, this ensemble piece of...

‘The Elden Street Musical Experience’ at NextStop Theatre Company

For over 25 years the Elden Street Players were a successful community theater with a love for performing lesser known musicals. In January of 2013 they became the NextStop Theater Company and...

‘Pol Pot & Associates, LLP’ at Longacre Lea

This is a cunning conundrum of a play. It moves back and forth in time, sudden lighting changes signal shifts from realistic to magical, the characters speak like superliterate savants, one-line...

Matt Nathanson and Gavin DeGraw at Wolf Trap

Matt Nathanson made it very clear Sunday night at The Filene Center at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts that he was not the opening act for Gavin DeGraw. Telling a story about he and...

‘All in the Timing’ at The Heritage Players

David Ives’ All in the Timing, a collection of six one act plays first performed in 1993, focuses on human love, life, and death (and even manages to dive in to a primate’s view of the world) all...

‘Doc Scantlin and His Imperial Palms Orchestra’ at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

In 1998, Forbes magazine declared Doc Scantlin and His Imperial Palms Orchestra the “best band in America.” And that was before they attained a huge following for their entertainment value and focus...

‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ at Pallas Theatre Collective

A Gothic horror story that’s dense with symbolism, light on plot, and written in 1839 may not seem like ideal source material for a contemporary musical. But then again, few people saw Carrie or Night...