Reviews

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Bayou Blues’ by Shaina Lynn

Growing up in New Orleans I’ve experienced a unique culture that can be foreign to the rest of America. How we eat, speak, and live is very specific in our culture. We call it “The Spirit of...

‘Tartuffe’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company by Amanda Gunther

Bodies are humorous! A fact well proven by Annapolis Shakespeare Company in their highly physical comedy being presented this summer. Playing on Tuesdays throughout July and August the company brings...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Carry a Big Stick’ and Interview with Catherine Aselford by Cate Brewer

Cate Brewer asks Catherine Aselford about her Capital Fringe show Carry a Big Stick. Cate: Why is your production of Carry a Big Stick a ‘must see’ for DC Fringe audiences this summer? Catherine:...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Sesquicentennial – The Civil War Remembered’ by “Country Joe” Rosier

As a trial lawyer I have made closing arguments before countless juries over the past 4 decades. Because I love to tell stories it was natural for me to become a storyteller. In 1983, I created my...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Haute Mess’ by Landless Theatre Company

This summer, The Landless Theatre Company (winner of the 2008 Best Musical Pick of the Fringe) returns to CapFringe with Haute Mess, a comedy by NYC’s The Other Baldwins, creators of Landless hits...

‘Heartless’ at Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) by Mark Dewey

Shephard’s Heartless Probes an In-between Existence All I remember from my first encounter with Sam Shepard’s plays is that one of the characters in La Turista works and works at making sense of his...

‘The Rainbow Plays’ at Baltimore Playwrights Festival by Amanda Gunther

Kicking off the first of four productions in this year’s Baltimore Playwrights Festival, area playwright Rich Espey presents his newest work The Rainbow Plays, a series of seven ten-minute productions...

‘Annie’ at Pasadena Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

The sun has come out at the Pasadena Theatre Company as they present their summer production of Annie. A children’s classic and a favorite of the young and young at heart, this well-recognized fun...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview “Photo Gallery: Behind The Scenes at ‘Legal Tender’ Rehearsal” by Hunter Styles

What does one dollar mean to different people? Five actors explore the possibilities in the new show Legal Tender at the Capital Fringe Festival this month. Directed by Robert Michael Oliver, and...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Love, NY’ by Actor Samantha Keogh

On my way to rehearsal for Love, NY I come through the metro gates at Dupont Circle to find that the huge escalator leading to the streets above is out for the second time… this weekend. Shit! Just...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Almost Together’ by Mary Leaphart

When I was in college, my bipolar disorder showed up. It would be twenty years before I knew what to call it. But trust me; this disease did not need a name to wreak total havoc in my life. And even...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ by Kevin Finkelstein

In this city of Washington, DC, the seat of political power in American rests. Despite our inescapable connection to the government workings of the nation, however, we as a theatre-going crowd lacked...

‘Mouse on the Move’ at Imagination Stage by Lauren Katz

Typically when I review a show, I bring a friend whose feet reach the ground while sitting in the audience. However, for this particular performance, I decided to take a different route. When I...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘La Voce to Me’ by Christin Green

La Voce to Me is a powerful original play about love, sacrifice, death, and rebirth. And believe it or not, it all started with a mermaid. “Since I was a child, I loved the story of The Little...

‘The Pavilion’ at Critical Point Theatre at DC Arts Center by Max Johnson

The Pavilion by Craig Wright is a uniquely self-aware piece. But even as the script constantly reminds the audience that they are in fact watching a play, it is almost impossible to not become lost in...

‘Becoming Human’ by The Flying Muskrat Theatre Company by Yvonne French

A group of young adults in Flying Muskrat Theatre Company in Falls Church has produced three thought-provoking one-act plays: a sad futuristic tale, an absurdist love story, and a collage of pieces...

Harry Connick, Jr. at Wolf Trap by Teal Ruland

Grammy Award winner, Emmy Award winner, Tony Award nominee, Hollywood heartthrob, and all around dreamboat Harry Connick, Jr. took over Wolf Trap’s Filene Center last night. The talented musician,...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview ‘Urban Legends’ by Cynthia Mullins

Remember those stories told as children or recounted tales whispered around a campfire? Beyond the Page Theatre Company of West Potomac High School proudly presents Urban Legends, a student...

2013 Capital Fringe Preview: ‘Detective Pimbley and the Case of the Rich Dead Lady’ by Ann Fraistat

It was a dark and stormy night, and a wealthy heiress lay dead on top of a parked car. After being shot, poisoned, crucified, and hurled out a window, Madge Silver left behind a massive inheritance....

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘The Black-Jew Dialogues’ by Kristen Gaydos.

Comedy Show Explores Issues of Diversity What’s so funny about two American minorities that have slavery, the KKK, and chicken livers in common? That’s what you’ll find out in this extraordinary...

2013 Capital Fringe Preview and Interview with ‘They Call Me Q!’s Qurrat Ann Kadwani

Joel: You have won many awards for They Call Me Q. What will Fringe attendees see when they you perform your show? Qurrat: I’m so excited to perform my solo play,They Call Me Q! at Capital Fringe...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Disco Jesus and the Apostles of Funk’ by Vaughn Irving

Who’s the only son of God who really knows how to get it on? It’s Jesus…Disco Jesus. There is no energy in the world quite like a live funk band. You don’t even have to enjoy funk music. When the bass...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Tragedy Averted’ by Alexandra Petri

If there’s one thing we know about the Tragedies of William Shakespeare (regardless of authorship, date, and a heck of a lot of other stuff) it’s that they, well, tend to end on a sour note. And no...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Nephrectomy’ by Elizabeth Hagerty

The life of a twenty-something: young enough to make mistakes, but old enough you should’ve know better. Utter confusion at the label ‘adult’. This frustration lead to both the creation, and plot, of...

‘Rabbit Hole’ at The Keegan Theatre by Justin Schneider

“You’re not in a better place than me, just a different one.” An entire play is summed up in that one line, and when Susan Marie Rhea utters it you can feel all the carefully set pieces beginning to...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Recovery’ Part 2: by Michael R. Burgtorf

Cancer is never something that one would expect to find hope out of. However, hope out of the hardest times is precisely what is examined in Mark Jason Williams Recovery, which opens at the Capital...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Kids in Space’ by Matt Fox

Join the Global Interplanetary Space Corps. See the Solar System. Captain Blappten and First Mate Kate want YOU to join their crew. See the Earth shrink to the size of a tennis ball as you take off,...

2013 Capital Show Fringe Preview: ‘WIGGERLOVER’ by James Anthony Zoccoli

WIGGERLOVER [whiteboy+blackdad=greyareas] writer+performer=jamesanthonyzoccoli deejay+sounddesign=djgregormortis lights+slides=elizabethboros-kazai Where did the term “Caucasian” originate? What does...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Kubrilesque’ by Crystal Swarovski (Director)

Kubrilesque is a chronological parody of the films of Stanley Kubrick, told through burlesque and comedy. Each piece fits together into a cohesive story of a man making his final film. There is some...

‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse by Amanda Gunther

Summer is well underway as the Laurel Mill Playhouse presents its Annual Summer Youth Shakespeare Theatre and their production of Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Michael V. Hartsfield, this...

‘Pink Martini’ at Wolf Trap by Teal Ruland

When I listen to Pink Martini, I often feel that I should either be sipping a martini in a dark and cool lounge, or else drinking delicious, hot cAdd Mediaoffee outside a café in Paris on a summer...

‘Ring of Fire: The Johnny Cash Musical Show’ at Riverside Center Dinner Theater by Flora Scott

There used to be a time when going to the county fair was the highlight of everyone’s summer. There’s be the agricultural and livestock show for Pop, the arts and crafts for Ma (or vice versa), and...

‘Baby Universe’ at The Studio Theatre by Justin Schneider

Baby Universe starts out dark. Actually, dark may not even be a strong enough term for the mood. Grim. Fatalistic. The last man to escape the Earth’s surface for the safety of underground bunkers is...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs: The Musical’ by Meghan Long, Producer

Do you ever wonder where your sh%t comes from? Those in the theatre community are no stranger to Mike Daisey and his work. His engaging and epic work has spanned a vast array of topics – from the...

2013 Capital Fringe Preview: Interview with ‘Fallbeil’ Playwright Liz Maestri by Cate Brewer

Cate Brewer interviews Liz Maestri on her play Fallbeil, which will be playing at this year’s Capital Fringe Festival . Cate: What peaked your interest in historical fiction as a genre? Liz: I didn’t...

Straight No Chaser at Wolf Trap by Jessica Vaughan

Straight No Chaser, the 10-man a cappella phenomenon, put on a great show of top forty hits, enduring classics and crowd favorites on a steamy night at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap. They rose to...

‘Frozen Planet In Concert’ at Wolf Trap by Erica Laxson

Frozen Planet in Concert is a High Definition Arctic adventure brought to new life with live orchestration performed by Washington’s own talented NSO. Explore a vivid and unbelievably close up look at...

‘Taming of the Shrew’ at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company by Amanda Gunther

Be prepared to wrangle up a tempest in the form of a lady, that is, as Chesapeake Shakespeare Company presents the second half of its rotating repertory outdoor summer series at the Patapsco Female...

‘Red Herring’ at Silver Spring Stage by Jessica Vaughan

Silver Spring Stage puts on a 1950’s screwball comedy murder mystery, espionage, romance – about communists and a whole lot of fish in Red Herring to close out their 2013 season. It’s a sweet and...

‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ at Imagination Stage by Julia L. Exline

Imagination Stage presents Peter Pan and Wendy, a musical adaptation of a longtime family favorite by Alyn Cardarelli and Steve Goers. Kathryn Chase Bryer directs this hilarious and enthralling...

2013 Capital Fringe Preview: ‘Thank You for Staring’ by Patrice Gerideau

You are so Ugly… Can you imagine hearing those words everyday of your life? I can. In my twenties, I developed a skin condition, vitiligo, which caused me to lose pigment on the right side of my face....

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘How to Have it All: The Musical ’ by Jessica North Macie

Alumni of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts return to the Fringe stage for the fifth straight year, now with a new company name and a brand new musical. Fully Charged Productions debuts How...

‘Ass Chronicles’ at DC Black Theatre Festival by Yvonne French

Ass Chronicles is a booty call and a call to booty power. Playwright Empress Joyner was inspired by The Vagina Monologues, for which she was cast in New York. Her own play starts with ‘Musical...

Landless Theatre Company’s Third Annual Mashup Festival: ‘Re-Animated Edition’ by Amanda Gunther

Landless Theatre Company’s Third Annual Mashup Festival brought two teams of super creative genius together to form one long running festival of hilarity and hysterics, combining the most unlikely...

‘XX Chromosome Genome Project’ at Hamilton Arts Center by ZSun-nee Matema

XX Chromosome Genome Project, playing at the Hamilton Arts Center Black Box Theater in Baltimore, is a sensuous, riveting tale of women on the brink of self-acceptance and emancipation. Written &...

‘Pasties & Popcorn’ at DC Shorts by John Harding

The VisArts Center in Rockville is a rather respectable venue for a program titled Pasties & Popcorn. But there you are, amid a nearly full house in the upstairs convention room on Friday, June 28,...

June 28, 2013 Capital Fringe Festival Preview by Jessica Vaughan

It’s July in DC, which means it’s hot, it’s humid, and it’s time for Fringe! On the last day of June at the Baldacchino Gypsy Tent Bar, 21 shows brought their A game for the annual Fringe Preview. The...

The Temptations at Wolf Trap by Anne Tsang

Just like in The Temptations song “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” I sure did love the way the Temptations and The Four Tops did the things they do last night at the Filene Center at Wolftrap. The...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Kiersten Dittrich

This year, We Happy Few Productions tackles the perennially-staged ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare at the Capital Fringe Festival. In 2013, which seems like the year of ROMEO AND JULIETs, why...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Godiva Dates & One Night Stands’ by Matthew Ripa

DOORWAY ARTS ENSEMBLE AND REGIE CABICO PREMIERE HIS NEW SOLO SHOW: GODIVA DATES & ONE NIGHT STANDS AT CAPITAL FRINGE FESTIVAL Godiva Dates & One Night Stands is a tour de force of poetic virtuosity &...