Reviews

‘Martina McBride’ at Wolf Trap by Mike Spain

David Nail had the honor opening for Martina McBride Wednesday night at Wolf Trap. David is a gifted singer/songwriter who has two album releases under his belt, and he entertained the crowd with a...

Coming to the Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Making Love Legal’ by Sara Schabach

Making Love Legal by Carl Frandsen is a farce. It takes place in Old Jerusalem in 1968, 9 months after the Six Day War. A Muslim man and his 9 month pregnant Jewish girlfriend are desperate to marry...

‘Qualities of Starlight’ at Source Festival by Anne Tsang

This year’s Source Festival shows are divided into three themes each one based on a full length play. The set of Rites of Passage themed plays looks at the moments in our life that define who we are...

‘First You Dream: The Music of Kander & Ebb at The Kennedy Center by Joel Markowitz

There’s enough ‘razzle dazzle’ and ‘all that jazz’ at First You Dream: The Music of Kander & Ebb to satisfy any John Kander and Fred Ebb fan and all fans of musical theatre. The new Kennedy Center...

Coming to the Capital Fringe Festival: Shock/Trauma by Evan Crump

Love, Car Crashes, and Brain Chemistry: The True Story Behind Unstrung Harpist’s Shock/Trauma at the Capital Fringe Festival The events that shape our lives can rarely be narrowed down to the results...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Daydreams’ by John Curtis

Local Dance Students Get a Chance to Shine Daydreams is an innovative dance show featuring ballet, tap, jazz, modern, contemporary dance, spoken word, and original music. The journey explores the kids...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘A Night In (Or the Night My Wife Left)’ by Director Dannie Snyder

At Capital Fringe this summer, surrealism is rekindled through one character’s quest into the unconscious mind in A Night In (Or the Night My Wife Left), a new dark comedy. The ensemble devised work...

‘Moonlight and Magnolias’ at Colonial Players by Amanda Gunther

“Frankly, my dear I don’t give a damn.” One of these most famous lines in cinematic history, but did you know that only part of it came from the book? Find out deliciously rich secrets like this and...

‘The History of Invulnerability’ at Theater J by Katie Elizabeth Quinn

Forget 3-D superhero movies. In The History of Invulnerability at Theater J, Director Shirley Serotsky and her crack team of actors and designers bring Superman comic books to life before your eyes....

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘The Extermination Machine’ by Michael Wright

“To understand the Holocaust we must comprehend Adolf Eichmann.” – Michael Berenbaum, the President of Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and a respected Holocaust scholar. Adolf Otto...

‘Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Caillat’ at Wolf Trap by Julia L. Exline

On Saturday, June 9, 2012, I had the pleasure of seeing Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Caillat perform at Wolf Trap. With their fun energy and optimistic beats, this was a perfect event to start out the...

Bob Bartlett on ‘Bareback Ink’ at The Capital Fringe Festival and Hopefully at The Edinburgh Fringe

Help send my play Bareback Ink to Edinburgh Fringe this August!! So earlier this year I decided to get a second tattoo – twenty years after my first – this one also commemorating the death of my...

‘All the King’s Women’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Elvis Presley, one of the iconic cultural figures in the 20th century, might be dead, but the spirit of the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ is alive in admiration and reverence with The Little Theatre of...

‘The Green Bird’ at The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts by Amanda Gunther

Children are adventurous; whimsical and afraid of nothing. They find magic in a simple sewer hole cover or deep in the woods with just a little imagination. Direct from the mind of Doug Wilder, this...

Coming to the Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s… Presents ‘The Brontes’ by Debra Buonaccorsi and Steve McWilliams

Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue is bringing a new work to the Capital Fringe Festival this summer. This year they are giving the Dizzy treatment to their favorite Victorian gothic novelists, The...

‘Cuchullain’ at The Keegan Theatre by Tzvi Kahn

The coke-snorting, alcohol-guzzling, profanity-spewing and sexually promiscuous protagonist of Cuchullain, the one-man show now playing at The Keegan Theatre, belongs to a familiar theatrical...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: “Men Don’t Listen to Naked Women’ by Tim Chamberlain

Men Don’t Listen to Naked Women is a show starring Monique Holt. It is part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival, which runs from July 12-29th. This provocative piece is a one-woman show. Monique will...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘MINDSET’ by Monique O’Grady

MINDSET Set to Rock Capital Fringe A rock band, nine dance numbers, ethereal creatures, an eight-foot flower, a dramatic trashcan and an accordion – they all are part of one engaging production at...

‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ at Damascus Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

Damascus Theatre Company’s production of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, directed by Rachelle A. Horn, with musical direction by Marci Shegogue, is a fast-paced upbeat epic musical that...

Source Festival: ‘Ethereal Encounters’ by Anne Tsang

Summer in DC is one of my favorite times because it means theater festival time! First up, is CulturalDC’s three-week long Source Festival, now celebrating its fifth year. The festival’s three full...

‘Goldilocks!’ at The Puppet Co. by Julia L. Exline

The Puppet Company presents Goldilocks! a cheeky twist on the classic, in which Goldilocks and the Three Bears finally get to settle their dispute…in court! Directed by Allan Stevens (who also handled...

‘Bent’ at The Mobtown Players by ZSun-nee Matema

The Mobtown Players’ production of Martin Sherman’s Bent, directed with a steady hand bu Will Carson,, is a powerful evening in the theatre. The story of homosexuals in Germany, some of whom would...

‘The Animals and Children Took to the Streets’ at The Studio Theatre by Lauren Katz

Last night, I was transported into a thrilling world of animation. After successful runs in Australia, London, China, and Dubai, 1927 brought The Animals and Children Took to the Streets, their...

Coming to the Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Despertar’ by Jon Jon Johnson

I felt the need to write a show, so I did. I was listening to “The Five Tango Sensations” by Astor Piazzolla at the time, and inspiration struck. The movements of the piece are titled: “Asleep”,...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Sacred and Scared Get the Same Score in Scrabble’ by Charles Shafer

“What’s so funny about God? After all, he never told a single joke (with the possible exception of getting Abraham to kill his son). “This is the sort of question posed by Sacred and Scared Get the...

‘Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It all for You’ at American Century Theater by David Friscic

If you want to go back in time to those glorious days when you were a tortured student in parochial school taught by the “nun from Hell,” then consider signing up for a scathing session of rigorous,...

‘Idomeneo’ at The In Series by Natalie McCabe

English-language opera, Greek tragedy, Mozart, tragedy, comic moments, and ballet: The In Series at the Atlas Performing Arts Center has it all in Charlotte Stoudt’s translation and adaptation of...

‘The Woman in Black’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Julia L. Exline

The Little Theatre of Alexandria presents The Woman in Black, a haunting tale about an encounter between a rational man and a merciless spirit. Directed by Kristina Friedgen, this eerie play caught...

Coming to the Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Medieval Story Land’ by Scott Courlander

Medieval Story Land at Fringe: Elves, Wizards, Knights Clash in Fantasy Parody I was sick of the poop and fart jokes. I was sick of veiled sexual innuendo. I was sick of unveiled sexual innuendo. It...

‘Cabaret’ at Adventure Theatre Musical Theater Center by Lauren Katz

Last night, I saw a production so strong, that I forgot it was student-run until I looked at the program after the show. Adventure Theatre Musical Theater Center’s Cabaret featured acting and...

‘Flowers for Algernon’ at The Elden Street Players by Amanda Gunther

What if ignorance really is bliss? The heart-warming, inspiring tale of Charlie Gordon comes to life at The Elden Street Players production of Flowers for Algernon. Directed by Gloria DuGan, this...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Thomas is Titanic’ by Thomas Choinacky

Thomas Choinacky has been obsessed with the Titanic disaster since he was a child. Watching the A&E special every spring, once his family got cable, in honor of the anniversary of the sinking. He...

Film Review: ‘Children of Paradise’ (Les enfants du paradis) by Ashunda Norris

“All the love in the world for Baptiste is mine, mine. No room for others. It is fate. It is written,” sobs his heart-broken lover, Nathalie (María Casarès). This scene appears more than halfway...

‘Well’ at Strand Theater Company by Amanda Gunther

Some people get sick and some people get better once they get sick. And then there are some people that are always sick and never get better. Strand Theater Company presents critically acclaimed...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘The Goddess Diaries’ by Carol Campbell

The Goddess Diaries began as an experiment. Several women were asked to write about a specific milestone in their life as part of a Winter Solstice performance at a local church. Borrowing from the...

‘Spring Awakening’ at The Keegan Theatre by Julia L. Exline

The Keegan Theatre presents Spring Awakening, a rock musical based on Frank Wedekind’s 1892 German play of the same name, that boasts 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Mark A. Rhea and Susan...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Where in the World? The Untold Story of Camilla Sanfrancisco’ by Patrick English

In her Iconic red trench coat and fedora, Carmen Sandiego has been the subject of a computer game, a cartoon, and a children’s game show. She steals famous artifacts from across the globe and in the...

Coming to The Capital Fringe: Peter Swet’s ‘The Interview’ by Wayne Nicolosi

America in 1970 seemed like the worst of times. Halfway around the world, the problems of a country only slightly larger than the state of Montana, killed almost 40,000 US citizens between 1967 and...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘HeHEE! or ‘What? It’s Not Glee?’ by Harry M. Bagdasian

The first time I directed sketch comedy material was during my New Playwrights’ Theatre days on Church Street, and Yeardley Smith was in the cast. (She was 18 at the time – her first paying acting...

Philadelphia Theatre Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at The Academy of Music by Darlene Olsen

Start with the Academy Award-winning Disney animated feature film which included a delightful score by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, sprinkle in five new songs Menken composed with lyricist...

‘Double Indemnity’ at Round House Theatre by Eric Denver

I was honored to be in the audience last night to catch this last production under the stewardship of Artistic Director Blake Robison. What a way to complete his seven year tenure as Producing...

‘A Little Night Music’ at The Arlington Players at The Mead Center by Doug Poms

A Little Night Music, the 1973 Tony Award Best Musical winner, features one of Stephen Sondheim’s loveliest scores, filled with grand waltzes, witty barbs and poignant ballads (including the popular...

‘The Hot L Baltimore’ at Spotlighters Theatre by Amanda Gunther

What do three hookers of various age and experience, a cantankerous old man, a sweet southern story teller, a disturbed young lesbian and her equally disturbed kid brother have in common? They all...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Paul Gonsalves on the Road’ by Art Luby

Paul Gonsalves on the Road will be performed at the Capital Fringe Festival from July 21st through the 29th. As any jazz listener or follower of the Duke Ellington Orchestra knows, Paul Gonsalves...

‘Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

Armageddon has arrived. The power has died. The grid is down. No more television, no more radio, no more internet. No electricity. And the best way to pass the time is to recollect old episodes of an...

‘The Typographer’s Dream’ at Iron Crow Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

A Typographer, a Geographer, and a Stenographer; perhaps the beginning of a new ‘guy walks into a bar’ style joke but in this case they are the three main focal points of the Iron Crow Theatre...

‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at 2nd Star Productions by Kim Moeller

There’s a fantastic cart-dragging, cow-milking, heartwarming Tevye at The Bowie Playhouse in 2nd Star Production’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. Local favorite Fred Nelson tackles the starring...

‘November’ at Dominion Stage by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Power + Corruption = Success Looking for a theater production to kick off your countdown to Election Day? Search no further than Dominion Stage’s thoroughly entertaining production of David Mamet’s...

‘Riverdance’ at The Lyric by Amanda Gunther

The thunderous sound of the river as it rises to greet the sun, the moon, and all that is in-between, embodied by dances and voices of yore is making one final journey before flowing to an end. After...

Tommy Tune in ‘Steps in Time: A Broadway Biography in Song and Dance’ at Strathmore by Jane Coyne

Fifty years into a magnificent career that has garnered nine Tony Awards and a National Medal of Arts, the one and only Tommy Tune stepped out on the stage of Strathmore yesterday and proved with...