Reviews

Magic Time!: ‘Crying Hands’ by Teater Manu at George Washington University

We like to think that the Holocaust could never happen here. We want to believe that it shouldn’t so it couldn’t. And then comes along a work of theater like Crying Hands that screams out how...

Review: ‘Eugene Onegin’ at Washington National Opera

Of all the grand tear-jerkers, those epic romances that make you want to tear your heart out and roast it on the barbecue, Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece Eugene Onegin stands out. Packed with beautiful...

Review: We Happy Few’s ‘Macbeth’ at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop

Taking their seats in the black box theater, the audience is confronted with three immobile figures cloaked in chiaroscuro, as small, gold-leafed picture frames faintly reflect tiny boxes of light. A...

Review: ‘Queen of Basel’ at Studio Theatre

Warning: Spoilers Ahead Christy Escobar’s mesmerizing, compelling, utterly brilliant, performance is the centerpiece of Studio Theatre’s world premiere production of Hilary Bettis’ Queen of Basel. In...

Review: ‘Daddy Long Legs’ by Monumental Theatre Company

Sometimes you find a gem in an unlikely place. That happened to me recently at a small state-of-the-art black-box theatre on the campus of a boarding school on a quiet street in Alexandria, Virginia,...

Review: ‘Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ at Signature Theatre

Arresting and compelling are two words that describe Signature Theatre’s fiery production about survival in a society racked by long-term natural disasters and deadly human-made upheavals. Playwright...

Review: ‘The National Symphony Orchestra with Cellist Kian Soltani’ at the Kennedy Center

The National Symphony Orchestra delighted with a superb program on Thursday night at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Acclaimed cellist Kian Soltani performed with panache as he joined forces with...

Review: ‘Indecent’ at Baltimore Center Stage

As presented at Baltimore Center Stage, Indecent is a timely, timeless story, about a sexuality, about a religion, about a people, about all people. Audiences will leave this production emotionally...

Review: ‘Confection’ by Third Rail Projects at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Note before you begin: Confection is a unique, multimedia, multisensory, ambulatory, audience-interactive, site-specific theatrical experience — “a rollicking rumination on teeny-tiny desserts.” If...

Review: ‘Vanity Fair’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

“I think I could be a good woman if I had five thousand a year.” –Becky Sharp William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) is considered a great writer. Vanity Fair, despite its flaws, is his finest novel....

Review: ‘Man of La Mancha’ by Compass Rose Theater

Compass Rose Theater’s production of Man of La Mancha is an entertaining, colorful show in an unusual location. While the theater is looking for a permanent home, they are performing the classic 1965...

Review: ‘Puffs: Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic’ by Landless Theatre Company

Ask just about anyone Gen-X and younger and they can (and will, gladly) tell you which House they would be sorted into, if we had the chance to attend a certain school of magic. For those of us who...

Review: ‘Oil’ at Olney Theatre Center

There are a few shows – very few – which on first viewing have left me breathless. The original productions of Sweeney Todd and Copenhagen come quickly to mind. To this small list add the American...

Review: ‘Blood at the Root’ at Theater Alliance

Raymond O. Caldwell kicks off his new Producing Artistic Directorship at Theater Alliance with a production of Dominque Morisseau’s Blood at the Root that is bursting with youthful exuberance,...

Review: ‘Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992’ at Rep Stage

Thanks to some first-rate shape-shifting at Rep Stage, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is almost as much a work of animation as it is a documentary. Oh, and let’s not forget magic act. Danielle A. Drakes...

Review: ‘Finding Neverland’ at the National Theatre

The touring company of Finding Neverland (book by James Graham, music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Elliot Kennedy) is making a mercifully brief stop at Washington’s National Theatre. Spinning a...

Review: ‘Robin Hood’ by Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage & Studio was founded in 1967 and produces “theatre by kids, for kids.” Their current show is Robin Hood, the classic tale of the brave archer who steals from the rich to give to the poor....

Review: ‘The Effect’ at Fells Point Corner Theatre

It is impossible to ignore how closely the plot of The Effect, which opened Friday night at Fells Point Corner Theater – and in which two impressionable, screwed up young people are inextricably drawn...

Review: ‘Stand Out!’ by Take the Stage Performance Company

By Tracy Danoff The Kreeger Theater inside the Bender JCC of Greater Washington was buzzing with excitement. In the minutes before the show started, adults and children alike were enthusiastically...

Review: ‘The Head That Wears the Crown’ by Ally Theatre Company

Some people remember their high school fondly as formative years where lifelong friendships formed. However, just under that superficial gloss, there sometimes lies a painful, broken world of...

Review: ‘Separate Rooms’ at 4615 Theatre

“Will I be missed?,” the young man wonders aloud as he surveys the thirtysomethings who have gathered in his Manhattan apartment for a party after his funeral. “Did it matter that I was here?” They do...

Review: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at the United States Naval Academy

The Department of Musical Activities at the United States Naval Academy’s production of Little Shop of Horrors is a fun, fast-paced romp through a modern classic. The musical about a man-eating plant...

Review: ‘A Two Woman Hamlet’ by Avant Bard

In the dead of winter, what a joy it is to be able to recapture the midsummer madness that rules this town during the Capital Fringe Festival. The folks at WSC Avant Bard, when they’re not cooking up...

Review: ‘Three Cheers to Grace’ at Young Playwrights’ Theater

“They call me a vegetable,” Grace tells us. “They call me a corpse.” In this nimbly comic and deeply moving new play by Josie Walyus, a 14-year-old named Grace is literally in a coma. That’s how all...

Review: ‘Cymbeline’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

You may never have heard of William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, King of Britain, as it is not often produced. More’s the pity. It’s much maligned as derivative, though the author merely borrows from...

Review: ‘Ouroboros: Dawn of the Cabaret’ by TBD Immersive

Remember the choose-your-own-adventure books from grade school? Well, imagine that but in a live scenario where you are a character in the story, not just an observer guiding the action. This is the...

Dangereuse: The Women of Shakespeare Theatre Company’s ‘Richard the Third’

An embittered wife. A “painted queen.” A virago who curses all who have crossed her. At first glance, the women of Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Richard the Third would not seem to be particularly...

Review: ‘The King and I’ at the Hippodrome Theatre

The lovely 2015 Lincoln Center staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I is back in town, granting new viewers a rare audience with the king of Siam. This national touring production at...

Review: ‘Radium Girls’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

The horrific and – not too strong a word – evil events recounted in Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s production of D.W. Gregory’s Radium Girls were, as the play underlines, a major, sensational, national...

In the Moment: Reflections on ‘Nell Gwynn’ at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre

Beyond cracker-jack, comic allure, the Folger production of Jessica Swale’s Nell Gwynn is a class act. The Robert Richmond-directed production is built upon Swale’s clever, fresh script. Nell Gwynn is...

Review: ‘Among the Dead’ at Spooky Action Theatre

Hansol Jung is an imaginative young playwright whose work focuses on feeling perpetually uprooted. Born in Jeonju, South Korea, she moved with her family to South Africa at the age of 6. When she was...

Review: ‘Henry IV, Part I’ at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Intrigue! Battles! History! Excitement! In a stunningly entertaining display of stagecraft, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Henry IV, Part I features three of the best performances you’ll see this...

Review: ‘Thunder Knocking on the Door’ at Creative Cauldron

Thunder, in this case, is one Marvell Thunder, a supernatural, shape-shifting, competitive trickster who has surrendered a good bit of his humanity to act as the spirit of the blues. Played by the...

Review: ‘Hair & Other Stories’ by Urban Bush Women at Dance Place

Don’t think you’re going to sit back and observe if you show up at Urban Bush Women’s latest, Hair & Other Stories, which made its Washington, DC premiere this past weekend at Dance Place. Oh no. Read...

Review: ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ at the Kennedy Center

Life is hard enough when growing up, but when you find out that you’re the son of a god, the stakes get even higher. Armed with friends and a pen, Percy Jackson explores the world of newly discovered...

Review: ‘The Heiress’ at Arena Stage

Women are on the move today. A US Congress reflects the voices of women as never before. #MeToo movements everywhere are fighting the forces that would stifle those voices. So, on the surface, it...

Review: ‘Richard the Third’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Did ever a villain so enjoy his murderously evil ways as Shakespeare’s Richard III? In the Shakespeare Theatre’s production, Matthew Rauch’s Richard teaches a master class in duplicity and...

Review: ‘Anatole: Mouse Magnifique’ at Imagination Stage

Imagination Stage is currently playing Anatole: Mouse Magnifique, a musical adaptation of the children’s book series “Anatole” by Eve Titus. Book and lyrics are by John Maclay and Lee Becker, with...

Review: ‘Reykjavík’ by Rorschach Theatre

The Reykjavík conjured up in Steve Yockey’s new play Reykjavík is not the family-friendly destination the Iceland tourist bureau might try to sell you. But if you’re 18 or older—and if you wish to be...

Review: ‘Huckleberry Finn’s Big River’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

The excellence of this world premiere of Huckleberry Finn’s Big River ensures that it will become a family theater classic. Not only are the script, songs and choreography expertly crafted and...

Review: ‘The Old Man, the Youth, and the Sea’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

As the clouds have gathered over the past two years, we have witnessed the coarsening of our politics as one party promotes an increasingly strident brand of nationalism, corruption, and incompetence...

Review: ‘Grand Concourse’ at Prologue Theatre

Prologue Theatre presents Grand Concourse, by Heidi Schreck. This show kicks off the inaugural season for Prologue, a new Arlington based non-profit professional Theatre company. Artistic Director...

Review: ‘Working’ by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC has presented a production of the musical Working that perfectly captures the individual and collective spirit that embodies the strength and dignity of the...

Review: ‘NEA Jazz Master Archie Shepp’s All-Star Tribute to John Coltrane’ at the Kennedy Center

Moments in jazz performances punctuate the annals of jazz history. There are some performances that you wished you had attended because they will be talked about for years. “Archie Shepp’s All-Star...

Review: ‘Sorrow of Love, Joy of Love: Love Songs of the Great Entertainers’ by the Russian Chamber Art Society

Ah, l’amour! In what could be called a perfect DC description of, and introduction for, a perfect Valentine’s Day concert, Russian Chamber Art Society president Mary Kruger welcomed the sizable and...

Review: ‘The Wolves’ at NextStop Theatre

Sarah DeLappe’s first play, The Wolves, was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and has subsequently been produced all over the country. The production at NextStop Theatre Company is,...

Review: ‘Once’ at Olney Theatre Center

If you’ve never heard of the musical Once, written by Enda Walsh, with music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, you aren’t alone. Despite receiving eleven 2012 Tony Award nominations and...

Review: ‘First Date’ by Other Voices Theatre

Anyone who has ever been on a blind date knows the nerve-wracking anxiety that usually goes with it. “What will my date be like? Will we have anything to talk about? Will we be compatible? Will this...

Review: ‘Nell Gwynn’ at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre

Nell Gwynn (1650-1687) was not only one of the most talented actresses in Restoration Theatre, but also one of the most beloved. That was because “pretty, witty” Nell, as diarist Samuel Pepys called...

Review: ‘BLKS’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre

BLKS is gonna be a blockbuster. Let’s get that out of the way. BLKS is a rapid-fire, laugh-out-loud comedy about a quartet of twenty-something black women in New York City who are roommates, gal pals,...