Reviews

Capital Fringe Review: ‘AARP the Musical and Harriet 2.0’ by Doug Poms

The Capital Fringe Festival constantly reminds us that art and theater have no boundaries. AARP the Musical and Harriet 2.0 is another fine example of this. Part-performance art and part- speech class...

Capital Fringe Review: R.U.X. (Rockwell’s Universal SeXbots) by Ally Jenkins

Originally produced as a serial play as part of the 2011 Hope Operas, an annual charity event, R.U.X. has remounted for this year’s Fringe Festival. Taking place in the “not so distant future” in a...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Hamlet’ by Lauren Katz

When I accepted the program for We Happy Few Productions’ experimental approach to Hamlet, I have to admit I felt a little apprehensive. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the brilliant...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Madwoman in the Attic: An Evening of Short Plays’ by Grace Kim

Madwoman in the Attic: An Evening of Short Plays by Theresa Rebeck and directed by Aniko Olah unfold through six short skits that amusingly portray the theme of the how whacky the darker side of human...

Fringe Review: ‘Cabaret XXX: Love the One You’re With’ by Grace Kim

Cabaret XXX: Love The One You’re With are the four ladies of Pinky Swear Productions, Toni Rae Brotons (director), Christina Frank, Allyson Harkey, and Karen Lange and backed by the excellent band,...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Dreams in the Arms of the Binding Lady’ by Grace Kim

Dreams In The Arms of The Binding Lady is a deliciously dark and weird (in a good way!) performance by Izumi Ashizawa and her performers, Izumi production members Nick Horan, Raechel Nolan, Vanessa...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Gorgeous Raptors’ by Jessica Vaughan

The Disreputables is a theater company dedicated, as they say, to “giving voice to those people deemed unfit by society.” Lee Mikeska Gardner directs this production about a few teenagers on the,...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Tight Assets’ by Jessica Vaughan

Amelia Adams, Michael Cavanaugh, and Alex Corby are all well-trained, incredibly gifted performers in the ancient Italian art of Commedia Dell’Arte. They call themselves AlulA, a group they founded...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Barter (Or, Stealing Other People’s Credit Cards)’ by Jessica Vaughan

The first thing to know about Barter is that it has very little to do with bartering. In 75 fascinating, touching, and amusing minutes, the characters spent roughly 5 minutes bartering. Nor does the...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Confines of Flattery’ by Jennifer Georgia

It is no mere flattery to say that Triptych Productions’ The Confines of Flattery provides a delightful and intriguing hour at the theater. A trio of short plays from three quite different eras, with...

‘The Last Five Years’ at The Heritage Players by Amanda Gunther

It’s the Off-Broadway sensation; the love story told from beginning to end and from the end backward to the beginning, join in the amazement as The Heritage Players presents Jason Robert Brown’s The...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Children in the Mist’ by Anne Tsang

Children in the Mist, written by and starring Sean Pflueger and directed by Gregory Stuart, is an adaptation of Steven King’s The Mist in which a father (Pflueger as David Drayton) and son (Henry...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Colony’ by Cyle Durkee

Enter a room with no chairs. There are two women in striped leotards running in place (Kelly Bond and Melissa Krodman {Melissa has the curly hair}). You mill about looking for a place to sit and...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Circle’ by Cyle Durkee

The Circle is a walking tour of an area surrounding the Fringe office. You first download an audio file onto your IPOD or other handheld electronic device. Then you get into a group and your “tour...

Part 4: ‘Finding Big Love’ By Kristen Kelly

“Things happen so suddenly sometimes.” In Charles Mee’s Big Love, Nikos says this to Lydia. And sometimes that’s the only thing you can say. In the theatre, your family becomes the people who are...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Domino’s Pizza Saved My Life’ by Sydney- Chanele Dawkins

The art of oral storytelling is a dying one. The natural grace and easy that monologist Dylan Fresco has sharing the intimate details of his personal life, and the heartaches and triumphs of his...

‘Buddy Guy With Special Guest John Mayall’ at Wolf Trap by Mike Spain

It is not often you get to see two living legends on one night. However, that is what happened on July 12, 2012 at Wolf Trap. British blues legend John Mayall opening up for blues legend Buddy Guy....

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Wild Night: A Choose Your Own Burlesque Adventure Show’ by Carolyn Kelemen

Make it a wild night at the burlesque Here’s a suggestion before you take on a late night “Tilted Torch” show at the Warehouse. Spend some time (and definitely imbibe some bubbly) at the outside...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Trial by Jury’ by Francine Schwartz

Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury is a satire of the British legal system. It is a fun little farce, an appertif only 45 minutes long that was their first major hit. Plaintiff brings a suit against...

Capital Fringe Festival Review: ‘The Nita and Zita Show’ by Joel Markowitz

‘Please Sir, I want some more!!” That’s how I felt when abruptly The Nita and Zita Show’ ended after only 27 minutes of fun and gorgeous playing by three superb musicians. Frankly, I was dumbfounded....

‘Will Gartshorez: Underappreciated & Overexposed’ at ‘Sizzlin’ Summer Cabaret’ at Signature Theatre by Eric Denver

Last night, Signature Theatre continued the second day of its sixth annual ‘Sizzlin’ Summer Cabaret’ series with an outstanding solo performance by Will Gartshore (with a surprise). Will performed...

Capital Fringe Review: “Dead Man’s Mambo’ by Carolyn Kelemen

Who would have thought Dead Man’s Mambo would have come from such a lofty art form as commedia dell’arte. But John Bellomo, a Philadelphia comedian/Italian traveler/funny guy, provided the Fringe...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Young Republicans’ by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Young Republicans is 65 entertaining minutes of fresh, insightful humor, and heart. You certainly don’t have to be young or Republican to enjoy this Capital Fringe show! Frankly, when I saw that Helen...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Beertown’ by Grace Kim

Beertown is a very enjoyable play where you, the audience member, becomes part of the experience. I love this kind of play where you can be as active a participant as you want or you can sit back and...

Capital Fringe Review: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern by Jennifer Georgia

The aptly named Infinite Jest presents an amusing, engaging and ultimately even touching production of Tom Stoppard’s absurdist peek behind the scenes of Hamlet – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue: The Brontes’ by Andrew L. Baughman

The latest rock-lit-fusion by Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue, The Brontes, is a hell of a lot of fun. It’s easy to understand how the troupe earned the buzz of being one of the best fringe tickets...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Where in the World? The Untold Story of Camilla Sanfrancisco’ by Jessica Vaughan

Where in the world is Camilla Sanfrancisco? is pure, well-produced fun. Jeff Vonch is both co-writer and producer, with fellow writers Patrick English and J. Adrian Verkourteren. Under the sure...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘DC Trash’ by Julia L. Exline

If you are a DC/Metropolitan native, then DC Trash!, a political satire written and performed by Ron Litman, with musical accompaniment by Tom Pile, should shoot straight to the top of your “must see”...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Pericles vs. Wilkins’ by Jessica Vaughan

Pericles is not performed very often and local company The Rude Mechanicals from Laurel, MD offers a reason why in this shortened, but, they insist, unedited version of this...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘McGoddess’ by Julia L. Exline

As I perused the list of 2012 Fringe shows, I immediately stopped at the name Vijai Nathan, whose stand-up act Good Girls Don’t, But Indian Girls Do stood out as one of my favorite 2011 Fringe shows....

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Aaaaaagh! Murder!’ by Ally Jenkins

Aaaaaagh! Murder! is a play full of good intentions but never gets to where it needs to be. A spoof of everything from Clue to The Mystery of Edwin Drood to your teenage murder mystery birthday party,...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Redial’ by Veronique MacRae

Endearing, enlightening and informative, Tamar Kummel’s Redial takes an in-depth look at the internal journey of four actresses living in the ‘Big Apple.’ With the use of a minimalist set and...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Extermination Machine’ by Jennifer Perry

The Extermination Machine, written and directed by Michael Wright and presented by SeeNoSun OnStage, at its core has the makings of a good, if not chilling, historical drama. It depicts the 1960-1961...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘iConfess’ by Roz Campion

iConfess is a musical that bizarrely almost foils its own success by stumbling at the first step, namely billing itself as a musical. Had it called itself a play and proceeded accordingly, it would...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Souls’ by Joel Markowitz

A group of young dancers put their hearts and souls into Mayzsoul Dance Company’s energetic and beautiful production Souls. Described as “a thoughtful and moving metaphysical narrative, it follows...

Matthew Scott and Kirsten Scott at ‘Sizzlin’ Summer Cabarets’ at Signature Theatre by Eric Denver

Last night, Signature Theatre opened its annual ‘Sizzlin’ Summer Cabaret’ series with a smashing performance by Matthew and Kirsten Scott. This is the first cabaret out of the batting cage of 16...

‘Stop Kiss’ at Silver Spring Stage by Amanda Gunther

To end the season with a heart-stopping, deeply emotional show is to go out with a bang and Silver Spring Stage does just that with their production of Stop Kiss. Director Chris Curtis brings to the...

“Seal’ at Wolf Trap by Mike Spain

The anticipation was high with Macy Gray opening for Seal at Wolf Trap. Unfortunately for those who were seated in the lawn – it rained most of the night. However, a large crowd weathered the storm...

The Contemporary American Theater Festival’s 5 Plays Reviewed by Mike Spain

The Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) is celebrating its 22nd season at Shepherd University, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Those seasons have created a history of 90 new plays produced...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Apocalypse Picnic’ by Orbit Chef

In Apocalypse Picnic, meteors have struck Earth and rendered obsolete the nagging questions of the past. Is America in decline? Can the Israelis and Palestinians get along? Puh-lease – Western Civ’s...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘The Comedy of Mirrors’ by Tracey Elaine Chessum and Teresa Ann Virginia Bayer

Pallas Theatre Collective returns to the Capital Fringe Festival to present a hilarious, family-friendly interpretation of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors after their highly praised first season...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Zero Tolerance: Sex, Math and Seizures’ by Barbara Selfridge

I would love for the world to meet my sister. I think they’d all fall in love with her, and then maybe, they’d reject all the cuts in programs that serve her population. When the economy goes this...

Coming to The Fringe Festival: ‘A Year of Giving’ By Patrick Miller

When Reed Sandridge first started his ‘Year of Giving,’ no one could have predicted what would come of it. After losing his job, and beginning to fall into the depression that comes from unemployment,...

‘Hairspray’ at Howard County Summer Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Baltimore’s favorite musical comes riding into town as the Howard County Summer Theatre presents their production of Hairspray. The Tony Award-winning musical focuses on the life of Tracy Turnblad, a...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Aaaaaagh! Murder!’ by Nick Firer

There’s something lurking in the shadowy halls of Gloomethorne Manor, something sinister, scandalous, and altogether much too silly. Murder most hilarious has come to the home of Lord and Lady...

‘The Holdup’ at Spotlighters Theatre by Amanda Gunther

The Wild West. The land of gold and promise; where there’s a black and white line drawn in the dust between the good guys and the bad guys, the outlaws and the sheriffs; the place where it was every...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Dr. Science’s Science Time Science-va-ganza!’ by Adam Ruben

I became a scientist partially because I was lied to. And you all know the liar I’m talking about–the guy in the lab coat who comes to your class in third grade, dips a rose in liquid nitrogen, and...

‘Wake Up, Brother Bear!’ at Imagination Stage by Julia L. Exline

Imagination Stage presents Wake Up, Brother Bear!, a highly interactive show for ages 1-5, that takes you and your child through all four seasons with a playful pair of bear siblings. The children and...

Coming to The Fringe Festival: ‘Sweet Painted Lady’ by Michael R. Burgtorf

Fighting unemployment, a pill addiction, and a failing relationship with his workaholic, art-dealing fiancé, Jack is in a confusing place. It doesn’t help that the gift his fiancé bought him, a...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: “The Outcasts of Poker Flat’ by Andrew Earle Simpson

If you think that the recent power outages are tough, just wait till you see what the six characters in this opera are up against! The Outcasts of Poker Flat, a new one-act chamber opera by...