Reviews

‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ at American University by Don Michael Mendoza

Since the regional rights were released in 2010, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – conceived by Rebecca Feldman, music and lyrics by William Finn, and a Tony Award-winning book by Rachel...

‘Hotel Cassiopeia’ at Single Carrot Theatre by Amanda Gunther

The dark creative eccentricity of shadowbox artist Joseph Cornell comes to life through Hotel Cassiopeia at Single Carrot Theatre. A play written by Charles Mee, infused with exploratory movements...

‘Shovel in the Dirt: A Grave Digger’s Musical (Replotted)’ at The EMP Collective by Amanda Gunther

Delve deep into the darkness with The Stillpointe Theatre Initiative’s production of Shovel in the Dirt: A Grave Digger’s Musical (Replotted). Hosted at the EMP Collective of Baltimore, this macabre...

‘The Flu Season’ at Nomadic Theatre at Georgetown University by Natalie McCabe

Playwright Will Eno has been described by The New York Times as “a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation” and it is no surprise. Eno’s play, The Flu Season, produced by Nomadic Theatre, one of...

‘The Spitfire Grill’ at Colonial Players by Amanda Gunther

The Colonial Players presents the musical version of the 1996 film The Spitfire Grill with a toe-tapping and melodic score by James Valcq, and with a book by Fred Alley. Mr. Valc and Mr. Alley also...

‘Antigone’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre by Mike Spain

Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s ( MET) presents a new world premiere adaptation of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone by MET ensemble member Reiner Prochaska. This sets Antigone against King Creon and the...

‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ at Elden Street Players by Don Michael Mendoza

David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross is a look into the lives of four real estate agents looking to do what it takes – whether it be lying, cheating, and what would eventually become a burglary – to come...

‘A View from the Bridge’ at McLean Theatre Company by Charles Miller

The McLean Theatre Company, McLean High School’s theater group, puts up Arthur Miller’s classic A View from the Bridge. Under the direction of Amy Poe, the high school cast handles the mature content...

‘Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp’ at Elden Street Players

Elden Street Players present Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, a re-imagining of the classic tale that draws inspiration from The Arabian Nights. Directors Laura Fontaine and Meredith Walker shed a...

‘Side Man’ at The Providence Players of Fairfax by Mike Spain

When I take my seat at the James Lee Community Center to see the Providence Players of Fairfax’s production of Side Man – I feel like I am sitting at Charlie’s Melody Lounge – especially when I look...

‘Cause Célèbre’ at The British Players by Amanda Gunther

A headlining murder case that electrified London in 1935 – a true murder story with all the spicy elements: a sexually frustrated middle-aged married woman, her young hot-blooded angry lover, the...

Film Review: ‘Attenberg’ by Chris Siggins

Attenberg, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, stars Ariane Labed as Marina, Evangelia Randou as her best friend Bella, Vangelis Mourikis as Marina’s father Spyros, and Yorgos Lanthimos as The...

‘Blood Bound and Tongue Tied’ at Strand Theater Company by Amanda Gunther

Be prepared to bring your imagination along for the journey as Strand Theater Company of Baltimore presents Blood Bound and Tongue Tied. Directed by Lindsay Gentry, area playwright Jacqueline E....

Strathmore Presents: ‘Ethan Bortnick and His Musical Time Machine’ by Jane Coyne

A delightful and engagingly “humble” young boy by the name of Ethan Bortnick, just eleven years old, headlined a concert at The Music Center at Strathmore on Friday, March 23, 2012. He is clearly...

‘Lend Me A Tenor’ at The Heritage Players by Amanda Gunther

It’s a thunderous orgasm of insane comedy rupturing up from the seasoned talent put on display through The Heritage Players Lend Me a Tenor. With Director Damien Gibbons at the helm, the hysterical...

‘An Adaptation of Julius Caesar’ at Molotov Theatre Group by Erica Laxson

Molotov Theatre Group presents yet another ambitious play and this time it’s Shakespeare who gets a taste of their unique French Horror flavor. Presenting a spectacularly gory adaptation of Julius...

‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Thomas Wootton High School by Jane Coyne

Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my! Every arts organization in the country seems to be looking for the key to attracting multi-generational audiences to their performances. I would like to start...

‘Cabaret’ at Riverside Center Dinner Theater by Julia L. Exline

Riverside Center Dinner Theater presents Cabaret – a darkly decadent Tony award-winning musical with a fabulous score by John Kander and Fred Ebb – about the quiet rise of the Third Reich in Germany’s...

Will Gartshore in ‘All the King’s Men: Broken Ballads with a Stiff Upper Lip’ at Round House Theatre by Jane Coyne

On Monday night, I got an unexpected chance to catch two-time Helen Hayes Award winner Will Gartshore in a very enjoyable review-type performance at Round House Theatre in Silver Spring. Will is a...

‘Circle Mirror Transformation’ at Fells Point Corner Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Actors are crazy people. If you’ve ever met one, befriended one, dated one, you know this. But after you see the Fells Point Corner Theatre’s production of Circle Mirror Transformation you’ll...

‘The Brothers Size’ at Everyman Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size, directed by Derek Goldman and now playing at Everyman Theatre, is an extremely intense production that takes you deep into the Louisiana south in the distant...

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ at Young Artists of America by Amanda Gunther

In its first full scale production since forming their organization less than one year ago, on Friday and Saturday night, March 16 and 17, 2012, Young Artists of America presented the regional...

‘Petrushka’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

A visually stunning presentation comes to Shakespeare Theatre Company for a limited engagement in Basil Twist’s Petrushka. A wild and beautiful execution of unique puppetry swirls together in this...

‘How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found’ at Theater Alliance by Natalie McCabe

“You are who you can prove you are. You are what people think. And that’s the easiest thing in the world to change.” Or is it? In Theater Alliance’s DC-area premiere of the internationally...

The Katona József Theatre production of ‘Gypsies’ at The Kennedy Center by Jennifer Perry

As part of a festival celebrating The Music of Budapest, Prague, and Vienna, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is hosting a Hungarian theatre’s production of Gypsies. In its season...

‘Ah, Wilderness’ at Arena Stage by Amanda Gunther

A little slice of life is what you will find at Arena Stage’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness. This joyous and truthful depiction of American family life at the turn of the 20th century...

‘Rapunzel’ at The Puppet Co. by Julia L. Exline

The Puppet Company Playhouse presents Rapunzel, a re-imagining of the classic fairy tale through the use of puppetry. Directed by Allan Stevens and written by Duane T. Bowers, this adaptation more...

Nibbles and Sips Around Town: ‘Go Green!’ by Jordan Wright

After a grand sweep through Ireland last May, I have become a huge fan of their hospitality… and especially of their food and drink. I visited the Jameson Distillery (a bit of a jolt to sip whiskey at...

‘Into The Woods’ at Centerstage by Amanda Gunther

Once upon a time the great Stephen Sondheim tried his pen at fairytales. Cinderella is on the run from the prince, Jack’s beanstalk adventures leave him cow-less, and Little Red Riding Hood is a...

‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ at The Warner Theatre by Natalie McCabe

“I’m not dead yet!” is whispered, shouted, and sung throughout Phoenix Entertainment’s very much alive and engaging touring production of the Tony Award-winning 2005 Best Musical, now visiting DC for...

FIST at Washington Improv Theater by Ally Jenkins

Do you like American Idol, The Voice and…[insert competitive reality show here]? Do you like “March Madness”? Then you’ll love Washington Improv Theater (WIT)’s cheerfully exuberant mash-up Fighting...

‘Experience Hendrix 2012 Tribute Tour’ at The Music Center at Strathmore by Mike Spain

The ground breaking, innovating, guitarist Jimi Hendrix became a legend of rock and blues music in his brief life. Forty years after his death his legacy lives on with the Experience Hendrix tour. The...

‘An Evening with Smokey Robinson’ at The Kennedy Center by Mike Spain

Saturday, March 3, 2012 was declared ‘Smokey Robinson Day’ in Washington, D.C. by Mayor Vincent C. Gray shortly before the legendary musician took the stage at the sold out Kennedy Center Concert...

‘Legally Blonde The Musical’ at Act Two @ Levine by Andrew L. Baughman

Making great theatre is “all in the timing.” How could Act Two @ Levine have known their production of Legally Blonde The Musical would fall during a week of tense national discussion over women’s...

Nibbles and Sips Around Town: ‘Poldark To The Rescue and Other Anglophile Adventures’ by Jordan Wright

Last Wednesday the swashbuckling Captain Ross Poldark swept into town and into the salon of prominent Georgetown socialite, Nancy Taylor Bubes. Well actually it was Robin Ellis, star of the BBC series...

‘Adapting Cinderella’ at Glass Mind Theatre by Amanda Gunther

We are the modern fairytale. But waiting in a New York City subway station for the fairytale to come to us; the fairy godmother to fix our lives – it doesn’t always work that way. And Glass Mind...

‘The Magical Lamp of Aladdin’ at Encore Stage and Studio by Julia L. Exline

Children’s Theatre Encore Stage and Studio presents The Magical Lamp of Aladdin, a lively production directed by Chuck Leonard. By engaging children and adolescents in every facet of their productions...

Nibbles and Sips: ‘GrooveLily Rocks The Barns At Wolf Trap – An Interview With Valerie Vigoda’ by Jordan Wright

GrooveLily band member and powerhouse electric violinist, Valerie Vigoda, talks with Jordan Wright about the group’s meteoric career and what fans will hear at their March 16th concert date of...

‘Pippin’ at Greenbelt Arts Center by Amanda Gunther

Every dreamer has to find their own little corner of the sky and that is exactly what you might find in the dreamy hopeful production of Pippin at the Greenbelt Arts Center. Directed by Franklin...

‘Shining City’ at The Capital City Players By Charles Miller

Some Shining Moments in Shining City Irish playwright Conor McPherson’s Shining City is a beautiful, poignant play with an almost preternatural ring of truth to it. Upon seeing the original production...

‘Everything in the Garden’ at University of Maryland School of Theatre Dance Performance Studies by Tiffany Draut

Today all anyone ever seems to be talking about is the economy — money problems. It fills the newspapers and the speeches of the political candidates. Yet one of most effective commentaries I’ve seen...

‘Angela Gheorghiu’ at Washington National Opera by Simon Chin

Angela Gheorghiu almost lives up to the hype. At a time when many of opera’s reigning stars are relentlessly overpraised by the public relations machine, Gheorghiu represents the genuine article: a...

Nibbles And Sips Around Town: ‘Very Cherry Celebrations’ by Jordan Wright

Ahh the cherry…luscious fruit and symbol of spring in our Nation’s Capitol. But why? The cherry trees whose airy pink blossoms grace the Tidal Basin at this time of year will never bear cherries – but...

Cyle Raving: ‘On the Brink of the Waterfront’ by Cyle Durkee

There are few relationships as complex as those that are created by actors and directors working together. They’re soggy with shared experience and emotion. They’re dry and cracked like the kindling...

‘The Addams Family’ at The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center at The Hippodrome Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Every family has one. This family happens to have 25. Broadway Across America takes you into a deep dark hole – and yes, you do want to go there with their astonishing production of The Addams Family....

‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’ at Adventure Theatre by Julia L. Exline

Adventure Theatre presents Alexander and the Terrible. Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, a production based on the classic children’s book by Judith Viorst. Gail Humphries Mardirosian directs this...

‘I Love You Because’ at Reston Community Players by Doug Poms

Reston Community Players’ production of I Love You Because is delightful. A romantic and humorous homage to the dating scene in current day New York City, this show is full of witty observations about...

‘Narnia the Musical’ at Reisterstown Theatre Project by Amanda Gunther

When two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve sit enthroned at Cair Paravel the prophecy of Narnia is fulfilled. Reisterstown Theatre Project’s sets about to fulfill this prophecy with their...

‘Avenue Q’ at Silhouette Stages by Amanda Gunther

What do you do with a B.A. in English? One option is to go see Silhouette Stages’ production of Avenue Q. Directors Mo Dutterer and Ric Ryder alongside Musical Director Michael Tan bring the area...

‘Sucker Punch’ at The Studio Theatre by Don Michael Mendoza

I’m not a big sports fan and have never had an interest in boxing, but The Studio Theatre’s production of Roy Williams’ Sucker Punch brought me into a whole new light, and who knows – I might go see a...