Reviews

The Gipsy Kings at Wolf Trap by Yvonne French

The crowd sat back and exhaled a soft “ahhh” at the opening notes of “Un Amor,” or “One Love” at the Gipsy Kings concert Thursday night at Wolf Trap. To see the lead vocalist Nicolas Reyes is to love...

“I Love Being Here With You” – The Music and Unbelievable Life of Miss Peggy Lee! Performed by Delores King Williams at Signature Theatre by Julia L. Exline

As part of its popular Sizzlin’ Summer Cabarets, Signature Theatre presented “I Love Being Here With You” – The Music and Unbelievable Life of Miss Peggy Lee!” performed by Delores King Williams....

‘Ballroom with a Twist’ at Wolf Trap by Eric Denver

“Dance: Ten; Looks: Three” is one of the songs from A Chorus Line, but doesn’t quite fit the Wolf Trap production Ballroom with a Twist at all. The best way to describe what was happening at the...

‘Circus’ at The Puppet Co. by Julia L. Exline

Juggling bears, flying trapezes, and tightropes! The Puppet Co. presents Circus, a spectacle of tricks and feats led by a band of marionettes, beautifully crafted by the talented Len and Pat Piper,...

‘Under the Sun 2013 Tour’ at Wolf Trap by Christina Frank

Wolf Trap understands it’s audiences. The Under the Sun 2013 Tour was a fun, well structured, family-friendly concert that suited the venue perfectly. As Gin Blossoms front man Robin Wilson put it...

‘One Republic’ with Serena Ryder and Mayer Hawthorne at Wolf Trap by Erica Laxson

Wolf Trap’s stunning architecture and wooded location set the perfect stage the popular group One Republic from Colorado Springs who felt right at home on the main stage and in front of their adoring...

‘Les Misérables’ at Riverside Center Dinner Theater by Julia L. Exline

I’ve been fortunate enough to review many of Riverside Center Dinner Theater’s productions over the past few years, and can tell you that for a long time now, something magnificent has been brewing....

‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ at Dignity Players by Amanda Gunther

Quirky. Adj.— having or full of quirks. The show I saw this afternoon sure was quirky. Q-U-I-R-K-Y. That is correct! The three things you can ask for, as clearly stated in the rules: pronunciation of...

‘Rodrigo y Gabriela’ at Strathmore by Keith Tittermary

In the early 1990s, Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero met playing in a metal band in their native Mexico City. After a record deal fell through, the platonic couple found themselves busking on the...

‘A Chorus Line’ at Olney Theatre Center by Amanda Gunther

One! Singular sensation is dancing its way into your heart as Olney Theatre Center presents the sensational Tony Award-Winning Best Musical A Chorus Line, with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by...

‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company by Amanda Gunther

Grab your beach towels and get ready for a sassy summer sizzler the likes you thought you could never experience with Shakespeare! Much Ado About Nothing slides into town for a limited three week...

‘Caroline, or Change’ at The Elden Street Players by John Stoltenberg

Caroline, or Change—the gorgeously resonant musical about race relations and resilience—has just opened in a gloriously heart-rending production by The Elden Street Players. Here in Herndon, Virginia,...

‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged’ at Flying Muskrat Theatre Company by Lauren Katz

Personally, I have always been a huge fan of Shakespeare. My teenage brother on the other hand was a bit hesitant as I drove him to the James Lee Community Center for The Complete Works of William...

‘Nova Y. Payton: An Evening with Nova’ at Sizzlin’ Summer Cabaret at Signature Theatre by Nicole Cusick

When a show opens with a Beyonce number and closes with some Chaka Khan there are two things you can be certain of. First is that you must be at Signature’s Sizzlin’ Summer Cabaret and second is that...

‘Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II’ at Wolf Trap by Erica Laxson

The child in all of us and actual children were delighted by Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II at Wolf Trap last night. The unique evening of classic cartoons and classical music was created and conducted...

‘Into the Woods’ at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre by Amanda Gunther

“I wish— I wish to go to the festival! I wish to lift the magic spell that’s cursed upon my house!” I wish — I wish— so many wishes, but they’ll only come true if you venture Into The Woods at the...

‘P.O. Box Unabomber’ at Single Carrot Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Summer stirs up a controversial new work over at Single Carrot Theatre in Baltimore as they present P.O. Box Unabomber, a new work by Zdrava Kamenova and Gergana Dimitrova. Presented in conjunction...

‘Roaring: The Musical’ has a Reading on Monday, August 5th at Takoma Station Tavern

Roaring: The Musical, a new musical by Dane Figueroa Edidi and Andrew Morrissey has its first reading this upcoming Monday, August 5th at 8 PM at Takoma Station Tavern – 6914 4th Street, NW, in...

‘Avenue Q’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Julia Exline

The Little Theatre of Alexandria presents the three-time Tony Award winning Best Musical Avenue Q, with Book by Jeff Whitty and Music and Lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Directed and...

Natalie Cole at The Music Center at Strathmore by Derek Mong

Natalie Cole wowed the audience Thursday night with her sultry, smoky-throated R&B and jazz at the Music Center at Strathmore, delivering a powerhouse performance that showed the dynamic voracity of...

SOJA (Soldiers of Jah Army) and John Butler Trio at Wolf Trap by Max Johnson

July 31st at Wolf Trap touted an exciting double header- Australian rock outfit John Butler Trio and Reggae group SOJA (Soldiers of Jah Army) from Arlington, Virginia. For me, John Butler Trio was the...

‘Stage IV’ at The Mobtown Players by Amanda Gunthers

An intriguing new look at life and death and all the things that go with it closes out the 15th season at The Mobtown Players. As a part of their Mobtown Playwright’s Group annual presentation, Stage...

‘Seussical the Musical’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse by Amanda Gunther

Oh the things you will hear! Oh the things you will see! Bring your kids! Bring your spouse! As Seussical the Musical Takes to the stage at Laurel Mill Playhouse! What wonders you’ll see, what...

Capital Fringe Audience Awards of 2013 Announced! Photos by Paul Gillis

Here are Theatermania’s Capital Fringe Audience Awards of 2013 1. Comedy The D.C. State Players Present Agamemnon 2. Drama Tell Tale 3. Musical Theatre & Opera The Young Wife 4. Dance & Physical...

‘America the Beautiful,’ With the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap by Yvonne French

America the Beautiful by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by the earnest and lively American conductor Emil de Cou soared at Wolf Trap. First of all, what a great place. It is so nice to sit...

Magic Time! ‘One Night in New York!’ by John Stoltenberg

The term “gay musical theater” is almost redundant, especially for countless closeted teens who found they could forget their troubles and get happy when they happened upon the uniquely American art...

DCMetroTheaterArts Reviews Every Capital Fringe Show Plus An Extra Performance

DCMetroTheaterArts has now reviewed all 125 productions and 126 performances of this year’s Capital Fringe Festival. We also reviewed both of Country Joe Rosier’s performances of Ulysses S. Grant and...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Bowen McCauley Dance presents: From the Ground Up’

What a great way to end DCMetroTheaterArts’ 2013 Capital Fringe coverage by watching graceful and talented dancers from Bowen McCauley Dance perform two dance compositions called Fire and Air and A...

‘NSO@Wolf Trap 1812 Orchestra and More!’ by Jessica Vaughan

On a perfect summer evening, the National Symphony Orchestra took on two Russians – Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff – during their popular NSO@Wolf Trap Summer Series for an explosive evening billed as...

‘The Mousetrap’ at Parlor Room Theater by Ramona Harper

The Mousetrap is a must-see rite of passage production for any bona fide theater-lover. Parlor Room Theater’s production superbly captures the mood and mayhem of Agatha Christie’s classic murder...

Film Review: ‘The Hunt’ by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

If you are only familiar with Mads Mikkelsen’s character work as the titled lead in the television series Hannibal, then you’ve only seen a microcosm of his range and talent. Mads possess a natural...

Magic Time: Oscar Wilde’s Salomé at Scena Theatre by John Stoltenberg

There’s some wondrous strange stuff in the Bible, but for out and out bizarro it’s hard to top the tale of the king Herod’s pervy thing for his stepdaughter (Salomé) and his macabre beheading (upon...

Ranting With Cyle: ‘Collaboration’ by Cyle Durkee

F%#k you! (Not you, sorry! {I should probably have explained that statement a bit first]) The reason I said that is that it’s not something that you typically hear in a collaborative process (but you...

Brandi Carlile With Special Guests Justin Townes Earle and The Lone Bellow at Wolf Trap by Max Johnson

Starting off with folk/rock outfit The Lone Bellow, the night’s atmosphere was set perfectly. With high-spirited belting in three-part harmony accompanied by sailing mandolin and banjo, The Lone...

‘A Murder is Announced’ at Cockpit in Court by Amanda Gunther

A murder is announced: to take place at the time of 8:00 pm, on Fridays and Saturdays, and recurring on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 pm in the upstairs cabaret space of Cockpit in Court. Do be present,...

‘Robert Plant Presents Sensational Space Shifters and Special Guest Bombino’ at Wolf Trap by Mike Spain

Robert Plant stopped by Wolf Trap’s Filene Center on Monday night July 22, 2013. There was no album to promote, no Alison Krauss or Patty Griffin to share the vocals, and no superstars of Americana...

‘Why A Same-Sex I Do! I Do! Is Important, and Why It Works’ by Director Jack Marshall

How did a theater company that specializes in reviving older, often dated plays and musicals become the first to produce an inclusive I Do! I Do! for a post-DOMA America? I originally told the...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Underneath the Lintel’ by Max Johnson

In Underneath the Lintel, Pat O’Brien weaves a complex mythology in an epic, globetrotting quest that spans continents and centuries, delving into the conflict of futility and purpose in life,...

‘I Do! I Do!’ at The American Century Theater by David Friscic

The phrase “I Do! I Do!” takes on new meanings in the newly-interpreted version of the classic musicalI Do! I Do! now playing at the The American Century Theater. Sharply directed by Jack Marshall and...

Magic Time: ‘ We Happy Few Productions’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at Capital Fringe by John Stoltenberg

Cross-gender casting of the classics can be sometimes a silly stunt, sometimes an earnest bemusement, and sometimes—as in Romeo and Juliet as staged for Capital Fringe by We Happy Few Productions—an...

‘Bye Bye Birdie’ at Prince William Little Theatre by Audrey Thornton

Some people, events, and songs are timeless as in the case of Bye Bye Birdie, a musical based on real life rock and roll superstar Elvis Presley’s 1958 induction into the U.S. Army. A fun production...

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Wolf Trap by Eric Denver

With 100 million records sold by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons (worldwide since its inception), this is the first time I was able to appreciate their music in-person. In 2009, I was in Chicago...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Sesquicentennial – The Civil War Remembered’ with “Country Joe” Rosier-Part 2-Ulysses S. Grant’ by Yvonne French

General Ulysses S. Grant returned to Washington on Sunday not seven blocks from where he was once turned away from the Willard Hotel when he was in town to visit President Abraham Lincoln. This time...

‘Me and My Girl’ at Cockpit in Court by Amanda Gunther

Your lordships, your worships, your fish ‘n’ chips, you are cordially invited to spend an evening at Hereford Hall in Hampshire to meet the new Earl of Hereford; a jolly ride out to the Essex...

‘A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World’ at The Contemporary American Theater Festival by Mark Dewey

Wonders Rattles Skeletons in America’s Closet A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World, the new play by Liz Duffy Adams, gets its water from the well Nathaniel Hawthorne used to great effect,...

‘The Lady in the Van’ at Unexpected Stage Company by Joel Markowiz

Alan Bennett, well known for his Tony Award-winning play The History Boys takes us back to his unique relationship with Miss Shepherd (a tour-de-force by Sally Anderson) in the 1960s. Her van (really...

‘A Chorus Line’ at Wildwood Summer Theatre by Maddie Gaw

God, I hope Wildwood Summer Theatre gets the recognition they deserve for this production of A Chorus Line! ‘God I hope they get it!’ “WST is the only fully independent youth-run summer theatre in the...

Magic Time!: 5 Reasons Capital Fringe is a DC Treasure by John Stoltenberg

More than 100,000 people have no earthly need for what follows, and you know who you are: You’re this year’s happy horde of audience members in DC’s most vibrant, creative, and unconventional culture...

‘The T Party’ at Forum Theatre by Christina Marie Frank

Audiences don’t like to feel like they are being taught. So how do you inform an audience without seeming preachy? How do you make educational theatre entertaining and fun? Ask Natsu Onoda Power, who...

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at Synetic Theater by David Friscic

Synetic Theater weaves a fusion of theatrical elements to bravura and mesmerizing effect in their current production of their acclaimed past Helen Hayes Award-winning hit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream....