Reviews

‘The Actor’s Nightmare’ and ‘Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All’ at Bay Theatre Co. by Amanda Gunther

We’ve all had that nightmare— showing up in our underwear and not knowing what we supposed to say or how we got there? Now imagine that magnified tenfold; being on stage in front of a huge live...

‘Shakespeare’s R&J’ at Signature Theatre by David Friscic

Shakespeare’s R&J, the somewhat hip title ascribed to Joe Calarco’s creative adaptation and intertwining of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set in a Catholic all-male boarding school, is highly...

‘Living the Dream… Singing the Dream Celebrating the Legacy of MLK’ at The Kennedy Center by Audrey Thornton

Kudos to another sold-out season performance of The Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS). For the third year, the societies commanded a musical feast of...

‘The Glass Menagerie’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre (MET) by Mike Spain

Maryland Ensemble Theatre continues its tradition of producing thought-provoking theatre with their heartfelt and powerful production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. Director Peter Wray...

‘Black Comedy’ at No Rules Theatre Company by Doug Poms

No Rules Theatre Company gets off to a fantastic start at its new location at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, with Peter Shaffer’s hysterical Black Comedy. This classic British farce by...

See DC Metro Area Reviews in ‘OTHER REVIEWS’ – Click on the Menu Bar

Want to see what other reviewers/critics in town have to say about the shows that are playing in professional, community, children’s, and university theatres? Click on OTHER REVIEWS. Check back during...

‘Hughie’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company by Jessica Vaughan

Shakespeare Theatre Company has a quiet hit with Eugene O’Neill’s one-act Hughie. It is a deceptively simple production about an old guy, Erie Smith (Richard Schiff) who returns to his Broadway hotel...

‘La casa de los espíritus’ (The House of Spirits) at GALA Hispanic Theatre by Veronique MacRae

“What do you know about life? Its torment, its pain…” Based on the pivotal, impassioned and ground-breaking novel by Chilean-American novelist, Isabelle Allende, La casa de los espíritus, or The House...

‘Good People’ at Arena Stage by Mark Dewey

Arena Stage Makes Good People Great The pivotal character in David Lindsay-Abaire’s new play Good People, directed at Arena Stage by Jackie Maxwell, has no lines and never comes onstage. All she does...

‘The Pirate Laureate of Port Town’ at Flying V Theatre by Jessica Vaughan

The Pirate Laureate of Port Town by one-year-old DC Company Flying V Theatre is flat out hilarious and great fun. I love the DC metro area because companies like this can thrive here and produce plays...

‘Spring Awakening’ at Olney Theatre Center by Amanda Gunther

A poignant and passionate journey from adolescence into adulthood; an electrifying musical that is touching the nation; Olney Theatre Center starts off its 75th Anniversary season with their potent...

‘9 Circles’ at Forum Theatre by Natalie McCabe

With soldiers still encountering difficult conditions, to say the least, in Afghanistan and more veterans attempting to reconcile acts committed in the intensity of war with the decorum expected at...

‘The Bubby Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin’ at StillPointe TI & Strand Theater Company by Amanda Gunther

If you’re ready to find your groove, and get your bubbly on than The Bubby Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin is the musical for you. A co-production between StillPointe Theatre Initiative and Strand...

Bill T. Jones and Anne Bogart’s ‘A Rite’ at Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center by Carolyn Kelemen

Just when you think there’s nothing new under the sun, leave it to MacArthur Genius award-winner Bill T. Jones to find a new outlet for his creative talents. And a new term, “dacting,” dance and...

‘The Curious Savage’ at Jewish Theatre Workshop by John Harding.

Baltimore’s Jewish Theatre Workshop kicked off its eighth season Feb. 7 with a curious choice of plays — The Curious Savage, that is. This 1950 social satire may strike some as ripe for rediscovery,...

‘The Tropic Of X’ at Single Carrot Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Picture a world where the rules are constantly changing and if you can’t keep up you slip through the cracks of society into something altogether undetermined. Polyglot America— where Latin and South...

‘Moon Over Buffalo’ at Prince George’s Little Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Picture an aging theatre company whose has-been actors just won’t call it quits; a daughter desperate to break away from it all, a loony mostly deaf grandmother who just adds to the lunacy and to top...

‘The Grand Parade (of the 20th Century)’ at Arena Stage by Natalie McCabe

Take key events of the past century. Add some music by a Russian composer. Throw in television, radio, and video game transmissions and broadcasts. Frame it with Marc Chagall’s paintings, focusing on...

‘John Denver: A Rocky Mountain High Concert’ at Strathmore by Eric Denver

It was a ‘Montgomery County High’ at The Music Center at Strathmore last night as five musicians took to the stage along with John Denver on video shared a heart-rendering evening of songs, stories,...

‘Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’ at The Kennedy Center by Carolyn Kelemen

Watching Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform is a spiritual experience. Beauty, power, and strength reach out from the stage to grab hold of an audience. Now, more than ever, it’s time to...

‘The Motherfucker with the Hat’ at The Studio Theatre by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Life is messy, and sometimes painful, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. For many, love hurts. As our experiences grow and we mature, hopefully it is learned that true love isn’t...

‘Teahouse of the August Moon’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse by Amanda Gunther

Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable. A lesson in life well learned beautifully illustrated as Laurel Mill Playhouse presents The Teahouse of the August Moon. John...

‘Les Miserables – the Film – Revisited’ by John Harding

Watching yet another of my theater friends join the barricades over the filmed version of Les Misérables, I decided it was time for a fresh viewing. Was it really a failed take on the international...

‘Robin Hood’ at Elden Street Players’ Theatre for Young Audiences by Julia L. Exline

Elden Street Players’ Theatre for Young Audiences presents Robin Hood, a childhood favorite about a lively outlaw and his gang of followers, whose life of adventure and merriment is threatened by the...

‘Anime Momotaro’ at Imagination Stage by Julia L. Exline

Imagination Stage presents Anime Momotaro, adapted from the traditional Japanese folktale by Alvin Chan, Eric Johnson, and Honolulu Theatre for Youth, and directed by Eric Johnson. While the tale is...

‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ at Opera AACC (Anne Arundel Community College) by Andrew L. Baughman

The last local production of Jesus Christ Superstar I attended was Open Circle Theatre Company’s acclaimed 2004 production. It boasted a brilliantly original concept and some of the region’s most...

‘Kafka on the Shore’ at Spooky Action Theater by Erica Laxson

Spooky Action Theater has wrapped their creative story telling capabilities around Haruki Murakami’s mysterious, dream weaving story Kafka On The Shore. Adapted by Frank Galati and wonderfully...

‘Out of Order’ at The Arlington Players by Julia L. Exline

The Arlington Players presents Ray Cooney’s Out Of Order, an outlandish, fast-paced British farce. Malcolm Edwards directs this madcap production, with so many twists, turns, and roundabouts that they...

‘Next to Normal’ at Kensington Arts Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Musical brilliance comes to Kensington Arts Theatre as they present the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical Next To Normal (N2N). Directed by Craig Pettinati, N2N has a breathtakingly...

‘Italian American Reconciliation’ at 1st Stage by Colleen Sproull

On a snowy night, I longed to stay inside and hibernate, but I braved the bad drivers and salt trucks to trek to 1st Stage for John Patrick Shanley’s Italian American Reconciliation. I’m so glad I...

‘The Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour 55th Anniversary Celebration’ at The Kennedy Center by Mike Spain

The Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour 55th Anniversary Celebration concert at The Kennedy Center Friday night brought together six talented jazz musicians and an overabundance of pure joy and fun. If the...

‘Twelfth Night or What You Will’ at Taffety Punk Theatre Company by Jessica Vaughan

For the Taffety Punk Company’s latest production of Twelfth Night, calling it by Shakespeare’s complete title makes the best sense, Twelfth Night or What you Will. You know something new and different...

‘Next to Normal’ at McLean Community Players by Kim Moeller

Next to Normal is the story of the Goodman family as they try to survive despite the fact that things are not normal, or even close to normal. It is a story of love, loss, commitment, worth, survival,...

Part 3: Wanderlust Theater Lab: Meet the Cast of ‘Butterfly’ by Tom Block and Roselie Vasquez-Yetter

THE CAST OF WANDERLUST’S BUTTERFLY Wanderlust Theater Lab comprises a growing collection of theatrical talent to draw from for its productions. It augments its repertory actors with open calls for...

Laurie Anderson’s ‘Landfall (Scenes from My New Novel)’ with The Kronos Quartet at University of Maryland

Tonight’s world premiere of Laurie Anderson’s Landfall (Scenes from My New Novel) at University of Maryland with The Kronos Quartet was certainly an experience. A masterful mixed-media performance...

Our new ‘Other Reviews’ Feature

Starting today, we will be posting other reviews plus DCMTA’s reviews that have been written for shows playing in the DC Metro Area in our new ‘Other Reviews.’ I hope you like it. Click on the ‘Other...

Opening Tonight at The Writer’s Center: ‘The Pirate Laureate of Port Town’ by Playwright Zachary Fernebok

The Pirate Laureate of Port Town is a mouthful…like most good things! Movie popcorn, a drink at 5:00 Friday, and air after being submerged under water for a particularly unpleasant amount of time....

‘Our Town’ at Ford’s Theatre by Amanda Gunther

You have to love life to have life and you have to live to love it. But so few of those who have life even realize that they have it let alone love it. That dawning realization flashes through words...

‘FELA!’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company by Grace Kim

FELA! is perfect pleasure for your senses! From the moment you enter the theatre, the sounds of the pulsing drums and Afrobeat rhythms envelope you and draw you into another time and place. That time...

‘Barefoot in the Park’ at Compass Rose Theater by Amanda Gunther

A comedic romp up five flights of stairs (six if you count the stoop but who’s counting?) An empty apartment; a newlywed couple currently on the rollercoaster ride of their six whole days of being...

‘Cabaret’ at The Keegan Theatre by Don Michael Mendoza

I walked into the Keegan Theatre expecting the usual production of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret. I got to my seat, quickly took in my surroundings and noticed the basic set with banners telling me that I...

‘Henry V’ at The Folger Theatre by Mark Dewey

Appelman and Cisek Plumb the Depths of Henry at the Folger Theatre For a long time I’ve associated Shakespeare’s Henry V with men who go to war to come of age, or men who start a war to come of age,...

‘Steel Magnolias’ at Way Off Broadway by Amanda Gunther

Half of Chinquapin Parish would give their eye teeth to see a stage production of Steel Magnolias. With all the beauties in the beauty shop gossip going non-stop you will too! And The Way Off Broadway...

The Helen Hayes Nominations Announced by Cate Brewer

Did you know there are 84 professional theatres in the Washington area? 84! Tonight, DC area theatre artists, press, Helen Hayes Award judges, and the folks from theatreWashington gathered at The...

‘Ain’t Misbehavin” at Riverside Center Dinner Theater by Julia L. Exline

Riverside Center Dinner Theater presents Ain’t Misbehavin’, a Tony Award-winning musical that celebrates the life and music of Thomas “Fats” Waller. Conceived by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horwitz...

‘Ladies Swing the Blues’ at MetroStage by Audrey Thornton

The world premiere of the musical Ladies Swing the Blues, book and lyrics by Thomas W. Jones II and music by William Knowles, was presented on Sunday, January 27, 2013 at MetroStage in Alexandria,...

Part 3: ‘On the Road From Canterbury to Pointless Theatre’ by Scott Whalen

Found Object Puppetry Puppetry is one of the world’s oldest performance styles. It is an art that spans millennia, continents, cultures, and mediums. Whether it be banraku puppets from Japan or shadow...

‘The Unexpected Guest’ at Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre by Julia L. Exline

The Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre presents famed crime writer Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest, a thrilling murder mystery directed by Jeffrey Davis. Filled with surprising plot twists, this...

’30th Annual Choreographers’ Showcase’ at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center by Rick Westerkamp

When I attend a showcase of multiple artists’ works, I expect that the program will be distributed evenly between those that intrigue, and those that bore. It’s a good evening in the theatre when one...

‘La Clemenza de Tito’ at The In Series by Jessica Vaughan

The In Series wishes happy birthday to Mozart with a fresh, modern take on his opera La Clemenza de Tito. This classic story of a conspiracy to take down a leader by a woman scorned is set in a 1960s...