Reviews

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Rock Bottom [A Rock Opus]’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) If one way to tell whether a rock musical is really good is that it makes you want to come back and see it again, The Landless Theatre Company’s Rock Bottom [A Rock Opus]...

‘Rodney King’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

“Can we all get along? Can we all get along?” is the urgent, impassioned five word plea that became a cultural touchstone for the nation twenty-two years ago. The 1991 videotaped brutality of 25 year...

‘The Pirates of Penzance’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

Thar she blows! Land-ho! Those singing, dancing, prancing pirates have cast their ship upon the great shores of Columbia and weighed anchor at Toby’s the Dinner Theatre of Columbia for the summer!...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘The Hello Girls: Unknown Heroines of WWI’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) Ellouise Schoettler enlightens us in her one-woman show. US history provided little to inform us about the role of women in “The Great War.” However, Ellouise Schoettler...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Coosje’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) Every now and then CapFringe makes a divine pairing of venue and production. Such is the case with No. 11 Productions’ Coosje at the Goethe Institut, where the art house...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Chesapeake’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) Chesapeake by Lee Blessing – A One-Man – Er, Dog – Show! Chesapeake by Lee Blessing opened last night in the intimate Bedroom, in a 110-minute, single-act, star turn...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘TAME.’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) When the DC Women’s Voices Theatre Festival rolls around in October, 2015, I sincerely hope Playwright Jonelle Walker will be among the voices represented. In TAME. (ably...

Matthew Morrison With Special Guest Laura Benanti and The NSO at Wolf Trap

Undeterred by Thursday night’s rainstorm, it was a slightly soggy yet enthusiastic crowd that turned out for Matthew Morrison in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra and special guest Laura...

Tom Goss at Signature Theatre’s Sizzlin’ Summer Nights Series

From the first downbeat of his powerhouse opening song, “It Only Takes One” off of his fourth album Wait, Tom Goss delivered a powerhouse performance to the very last note on Thursday night at...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Dream Love’

(Best of the Capital Fringe) Ryan Tumulty’s devised movement piece Dream Love is a surreal combination of dance and theater, switching back and forth from scene to choreography to illustrate the story...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Interrogation’

(Best of the Fringe!) In his play Interrogation, John Feffer, a foreign policy analyst who writes widely on privacy issues, pokes gentle fun at U.S. intelligence agencies as if to say, “I love my...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Four Dogs and a Bone’

(Best of the Fringe!) Welcome to the savage world of moviemaking where success-hungry humans, snarl and growl at each other like dogs fighting for a bone. Welcome to Hollywood, as experienced...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘The Man in the Desert’

(Best of the Fringe!) Stephen Mead is no stranger to Fringe—or to one-man shows: his “Dark. Powerful. Mysterious. Magnetic. Suspenseful” performance in Murder on the Bare Stage, as lauded last year by...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: “C-“

(Best of the Fringe!) C-, a SPNP Tech production is a one-man play featuring writer and director Eric Jaffe. The performance, based on Jaffe’s interviews of his former hard-partying fraternity...

Capital ‘Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Everybody Know This is Now Here’

Everybody Know This is Now Here, by Mountain Empire, is a disappointing multi-media performance that takes an exploratory look of female friendship over a year – in both physical and virtual distance...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘The Program Assistant’

(Best of the Fringe!) Fringe favorite John Krizel is at it again with his new show The Program Assistant, which he wrote, directed, and produced. It is a polished, fast-paced, painfully funny comedy...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘Tomorrow’s Dawn’

(Best of the Fringe!) What would you get if you crossed a French High School Musical with some of the characters from The Breakfast Club? You’d get Tomorrow’s Dawn, a bright, original musical in...

Capital Fringe 2014 Review: ‘The Old Man Never Let It Go’

(Best of the Fringe!) If Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea strikes you as an interesting choice of subject for a movement theatre piece, you are where I was prior to seeing The Old Man Never...

‘The King and I’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre

Allow the Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre to transport you back in time to an exotic land ruled by a stubborn King who is confronted by an even more stubborn schoolteacher. Under the able direction of...

Capital Fringe 2014 Preview: ‘Homeboy Thanksgiving’ by Rhiannon Cooper

What do you get when you combine gaming, gangs, and a family meal? A recipe for disaster. Homeboy Thanksgiving tells the story of two estranged brothers struggling to find some common ground…on...

‘God of Carnage’ at The Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre

Behaving well gets you nowhere. Courtesy is a waste of time. In the end we’re all like children, bashing each other’s teeth in with sticks to settle our differences. Or that’s what Yasmina Reza would...

Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 7/5/14

Here are our Top Scene Stealers for the week ending July 5, 2014. Congrats to all our honorees! ______ (1) Mary Ellen Cameron Singing “I Dreamed a Dream’ at Les Misérables at Way Off Broadway Dinner...

‘Verdict’ at Thunderous Productions

Agatha Christie. The name immediately draws to mind thrilling murder mysteries of the ‘who-dunnit’ era of the utmost suspenseful caliber. Thunderous Productions in the black box theatrical space at...

Capital Fringe Preview: ‘As We Are’ by Emily Sucher

Out-Side the Box Theatre is thrilled to present its fourth staged production in this year’s Capital Fringe: As We Are, by Larry E. Blossom. Each Blossom play seeks to explore a weighty subject,...

Capital Fringe 2013 Show Update: Life After “In Search of the Perfect G-String’ by Yvonne Caruthers

Capital Fringe ’14 opens in a month, but in spite of my best intentions, I won’t be taking to the stage this time around. I thought I would be, because I wanted to follow up on the thrills, chills,...

Cinema Speak by Sydney-Chanele: Film Review: ‘Life Itself – Roger Ebert, A Cinematic Celebration’

Roger Ebert is an indomitable spirit, and Life Itself is a definitive, inspired love letter to and from this man who loved movies and championed film – especially lesser known, independent films....

Capital Fringe 2014 Preview: ‘Four Dogs and a Bone’ by Vanessa Terzaghi

Back­stabbing, greed and the pursuit of fame are just a few of the issues in John Patrick Shanley’s Four Dogs and a Bone. The four dogs are two actresses (Brenda and Collette), a producer (Bradley)...

‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ at Pallas Theatre Collective

Were Betty Friedan and H.P. Lovecraft to have a baby, Pallas Theatre Collective’s new musical, might be their demented offspring. The show (with music by Sarah Taylor Ellis, book and lyrics by Lane...

Capital Fringe 2014 Preview: ‘Ligature Marks’ by Mac Rogers

Funny, twisted, suspenseful, funny again, and then suddenly mind-blowing, Ligature Marks is a play unlike any other you’ll see at this year’s Fringe. A comedy about a pair of losers that gradually...

‘Jumpers for Goalposts’ Added to The Studio Theatre’s 2014-2015 Lineup

Artistic Director David Muse is pleased to announce the fifth show in Studio Theatre’s 2014-2015 season subscription series will be British playwright Tom Wells’ hilarious and heartbreaking comedy...

Broadway Royalty Returns to Broadway: A Chat with John Rubinstein on Joining the Cast of ‘Pippin’

Actor, director, teacher, and composer John Rubinstein has taken on the role of King Charlemagne in the critically acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin until the end of July. He’s Broadway’s...

Pinkalicious-The Musical at Adventure Theatre MTC

Adventure Theatre MTC presents Pinkalicious-The Musical, based on the book by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann and with lyrics by John Gregor. Carl Menninger directs this colorful production. Scenic...

‘Les Misérables’ at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre

There, out in the darkness, a fugitive running— and he has ran his way all the way up to Frederick, MD landing with his epic tale at the Way Off-Broadway Dinner Theatre. The musical epic that is...

‘Nibbles and Sips’: Freak Show Without a Tent, Dino’s Grotto Opens, Erin Dickins Spices Up Her Repertoire, Mio Brings Puerto Rico to DC

Freak Show Without a Tent, Dino’s Grotto Opens, Erin Dickins Spices Up Her Repertoire, Mio Brings Puerto Rico to DC On DC-Based Food Writer Nevin Martell’s Latest Book Partiality Alert Based on...

Magic Time! DC Black Theatre Festival: ‘The Laundry Room’

The DC Black Theatre Festival this year offered some 45 self-produced shows, most one time only. Organized annually by the DC Drama Department, a nonprofit educational theater company, the festival...

Diana Ross at Wolf Trap

Last night at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap, I got to be in the presence of the amazing, legendary Diana Ross. Ross, named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful female music...

‘The BFG’ at Imagination Stage

Imagination Stage presents The BFG (The Big Friendly Giant), based on the book by Roald Dahl, adapted for the stage by David Wood, and directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer and Eric J. Van Wyk. Before you...

‘Shout! The Mod Musical’ at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

Now wai-a-ait a minute! You know Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre is going to make you want to shout! Kick your heels up and shout! Throw your hands back and shout! With their groovy new musical midway...

Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 6/28/14

Here are our Top Scene Stealers for the week ending June 28, 2014. Congrats to all our honorees! ______ Nick Cordileone and Ben Lipitz Singing “Hakuna Matata” in The Lion King at The Kennedy Center...

‘Love is a Battlefield’ at Flying V

Pat Benatar never could have seen this coming. That her signature hit from yesteryear, “Love is a Battlefield” would be utilized so forcefully and literally in Flying V Theatre’s wonderful devised...

‘Good People’ at Silver Spring Stage

Silver Spring Stage closes their 46th season with a riveting production of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People. This captivating dramadey about life struggles from rock bottom is both humorous and...

The Midtown Men with NSO Pops at The Kennedy Center

“Oh, What a Night!” There’s something special that happens when you bring together four supremely talented men on a single stage, couple them with one of the nation’s finest orchestras and conductors,...

Contemporary Ballet With an Edge . . . and Live Music by Chamber Dance Project at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater

This contemporary ballet with the string quartet performing onstage fuses sound and movement in four contemporary dances featuring two world premieres, including the tango-inspired “Sur” by guest...

‘The Reel Deal’ Watch Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’

Kyle Osborne reviews Transformers: Age of Extinction. Here are showtimes for Transformers: Age of Extinction in the DC area. LINKS Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of Jersey Boys. Kyle Osborne’s...

‘Spamalot’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre

Summer Silliness: Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre Invites you to Spamalot What happens in Camelot stays in Camelot…and you really want to be there for the hijinks, the chaos, and the fun! Shenandoah...

Ben Folds and The National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap

Ben Folds Rocks the Suburbs with the NSO at Wolf Trap Ben Folds grew up playing drums and was always inspired by the orchestra. His lush music received a new spin by playing with the National Symphony...

Capital Fringe 2014 Preview: ‘Will Work For’ by Dacyl Acevedo

Will Work For is a fearless, farcical, huge wake-up call! It’s a rollercoaster ride through the dangers of today’s job market: dodging through booby-trapped interviews, facing demons of employment...

Capital Fringe 2014 Preview: ‘Saving Private Poo’ Interview With Steven Custer

It’s that time of year when The Capital Fringe Festival rolls into town. Everyone has a show, there are over 100 every year. An exciting new preview-interview of goodies to come is right here for your...

‘West Side Story’ at Riverside Center Dinner Theater

Riverside Center Dinner Theater presents the musical classic West Side Story, based on a Conception of Jerome Robbins, with Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, and Lyrics by Stephen...

‘Disney’s The Lion King’ at The Kennedy Center

Disney’s The Lion King musical has electrified audiences for almost 17 years. The Lion King is an adaptation of the 1994 film of the same name, and is still roaring after all these years. Disney is...