Reviews

Review: ‘Interplay: Poetic Resistance and In Lieu of Flowers’ by Washington Improv Theater

Washington Improv Theater’s productions of Poetic Resistance and In Lieu of Flowers at D.C. Arts Center are funny, yet thoughtful shows with incredibly talented performers. With two different shows...

Review: ‘The Speed Twins’ at Venus Theatre

The Speed Twins by Maureen Chadwick is presently playing at Venus Theatre in Laurel Maryland. This is the National Premiere of the British drama and is directed by Deborah Randall who is also the...

Review: ‘South Pacific’ at St. Mark’s Players

By Andy Arnold You know the story. South Pacific brings a classic tale, outstanding voices, lively music, and a living set to Capitol Hill this month. Opening night offered plenty of energy for...

In the Moment: ‘An Evening with Mavis Staples’ at the Kennedy Center Spring Gala

The 2018 Kennedy Center Spring Gala was a dandy one, celebrating the recipients of the third annual Kennedy Center Award for the Human Spirit. The award recipients, Gary Sinise and Eli and Edythe...

Review: ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of Kiss Me, Kate is a treat for the eyes and ears. Directed by Sally Boyett, this version of the 1948 musical with a book by Sam and Bella Spewack and music...

Review: ‘Weird Romance’ at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s MAD Theater

There’s a powerful scene in MAD Theater’s Weird Romance in which a computer-simulated woman, who may or may not contain a reincarnated spirit, bemoans the precarious fate of her newly born child – in...

Review: ‘Candide’ by the Washington National Opera

Washington National Opera concludes its 2017-2018 season with a fresh production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide directed by Washington National Opera’s Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. If it’s...

Review: ‘How I learned to Drive’ at Dominion Stage

Dominion Stage presents Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive. This raw, piercing piece won Vogel the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1998, and after experiencing it at Dominion Stage, I understand why. An...

Review: ‘The Rite of Spring’ by Pointless Theatre Company

When The Rite of Spring, a ballet with a score by Igor Stravinsky, premiered in 1913, theater-goers were so shocked by Stravinsky’s relentless, stabbing music and Vaslav Nijinsky’s avant-garde...

Review: ‘Follow No Strangers to the Fun Places’ by The Acme Corporation

Seeing an Acme Corporation show is like attending a graduate class for which you never got the reading list, but still have to take the exam. Those who have studied theater academically will get a lot...

Review: ‘Iron & Coal’ at Strathmore

The sheer magnitude of the concert event was enough to inspire wonder and awe. More than 200 musicians packed the Strathmore stage and a balcony above—two orchestras, three choirs, a rock band—plus...

Review: ‘The Adams Family’ by Rooftop Productions

Full Disclosure? The Addams Family was a wild romp for the whole family! I made my way down to Oldtown Manassas to see Rooftop Productions’ take on The Addams Family. The story feels like a great...

Review: ‘Hamlet’ by the Royal Shakespeare Company

The fabled Royal Shakespeare Company brought its Hamlet to the Kennedy Center this week, in a production fully worthy of its glittering reputation. The RSC Hamlet is lavish, bursting with freshness,...

Review: ‘The Barber of Seville’ at the Kennedy Center

The current production of the Washington National Opera –Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville plays like a frenetically captivating musical dreamscape of schemers, clowns, and romantic lovers....

A Modern Classic Takes on Epic Proportions: Constellation Theatre Brightens Brecht’s Manifesto, Adds Musical Makeover to ‘Caucasian Chalk Circle’

Last week, I decided to venture off my usual path and check out the Constellation Theatre, which performs at Source in the lively 14th Street corridor. What lured me there was the chance to see a new...

Review: ‘Unexpected Joy’ at The York Theatre Company

Though gynocentric themes featuring lead roles for women are a welcome new trend in contemporary theater, there’s little new or unexpected in Unexpected Joy, an original musical by Bill Russell (book...

Review: ‘It Came from Beyond’ at St. Luke’s Theatre

Mid-century aficionados and other interested earthlings can take a time-traveling trip back to the ‘50s at St. Luke’s Theatre with the Off-Broadway premiere of It Came from Beyond, a silly musical...

Review: ‘Derek Jeter Makes the Play’ by Best Medicine Rep

The resources of upstart Best Medicine Rep are optimized in this charming production of Robin Rothstein’s new work, Derek Jeter Makes the Play. Tucked in a corner of Lakeforest Mall, Best Medicine’s...

Review: ‘An American in Paris’ at the Hippodrome Theatre

Think of the latest “new” Gershwin touring show up at the Hippodrome Theatre — An American in Paris — as a G.I. “jukebox musical” with legs. About a hundred of them, it seems. And, boy oh boy, have...

Review: ‘1984’ by Scena Theatre

Big Brother. Newspeak. Thoughtcrime. Doublethink. Orwellian. Those words have floated around the public lexicon for years, and at a time when the political zeitgeist contains phrases like “alternative...

Review: ‘Titus Andronicus’ at Synetic Theater

“A work of art has value only if tremors of the future run through it…” — André Breton (1896–1966) French writer, poet, and founder of Surrealism. Artistic Director Paata Tsikurishvili likened...

Review: ‘Peter Pan: Wendy, Peter. Peter, Wendy’ at Single Carrot Theatre

The idea behind Single Carrot Theatre’s Peter Pan: Wendy, Peter. Peter, Wendy. is one of the most interesting and exciting concepts in recent Baltimore theater history. The company commissioned writer...

Review: ‘Vietgone’ at Studio Theatre

There is so much in this show to flip over, you could be dizzied by its delights. The fantastical story and kooky characters, the wicked humor and badass music, the frisky cast and musicians, the...

Review: ‘Radium Girls’ at Rockville Little Theatre

Throughout history, the term ‘Cover-up’ has evoked feelings of frustration, sadness and often horror once the truth is brought to light. Public perception changed drastically about products like...

Review: ‘THE RESTLESS HEART: A program of Old Russian, Gypsy (Romani) and Folk Songs of Passion, Longing and Love’ at The Embassy of France

“This concert series is dedicated to Russian chamber vocal music, which is rarely heard in America,” states the program; a regrettably true state of affairs. The Russian Chamber Art Society (RCAS),...

Review: ‘True West’ by Rep Stage

America lost its most distinctive theater voice of the 1980s with the passing of Sam Shepard. But that voice still resonates through works like True West, getting a welcome return by Rep Stage at...

Review: ‘Twelfth Night’ at Imagination Stage Acting Conservatory

Imagination Stage’s production of Twelfth Night is an inventive update of Shakespeare’s classic play. Adapted and directed by Randy Baker, the show features the teenage actors from the Acting...

Review: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Follow the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole for an enchanting Alice in Wonderland performance. It was a surreal evening on Friday evening, the Opening Night of Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s...

Review: ‘Goldberg Variations – ternary patterns for insomnia’ with Andersson Dance and Scottish Ensemble

Making the extraordinary ordinary appears to be a notion we can’t shake. If it isn’t dumbing down, it’s taking down, mashing up or just plain copying. Thursday, April 26 at the Kennedy Center’s...

In the Moment: ‘Girlfriend’ at Signature Theatre

Girlfriend is a sensitively constructed and gracefully performed coming of age musical about two late teen boys having an unexpected first crush that turns into love between them. Girlfriend’s arc is...

Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ at the Lyric Theatre

Amazing bursts of magic that dazzle in the darkness, distinctive characterizations of a host of eccentric, endearing, and evil personalities by an enthralling cast, a complex and compelling tale of...

Review: ‘Snow Child’ at Arena Stage

The Russians have a folktale called Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden). Prominent in the 19th Century, many versions of the Snow Maiden folktale centered around the appearance of a young girl who served as...

Review: ‘Girlfriend’ at Signature Theatre

The rock musical Girlfriend celebrates the tentativeness and exuberance of a budding romance between two gay teens in a small town Nebraska in the 1990s. Just after graduating from high school, Will,...

Review: ‘SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical’ at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

As with all of the shows in its genre, the latest offering in the surge of biographical jukebox musicals on Broadway, SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical, holds appeal for a built-in audience of the...

Review: ‘Outside the Lines’ at Arts on the Horizon

Arts on the Horizon is a non-profit theater company that provides a professional, safe, and interactive theater experience for children ages six and under. Known for their vibrant nonverbal...

In the Moment: ‘Waiting for Godot’ Interviews with Creative Production Staff

Bleak? Nope, not at all. Galway, Ireland-based theater company Druid’s touring production of Samuel Beckett’s warhorse of postwar failure and ennui, Waiting for Godot, at Shakespeare Theatre Company...

Review: Druid’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ at the Shakespeare Theatre Company

“Nothing is funnier than unhappiness,” says Nell in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame. Druid’s production of Waiting for Godot at the Shakespeare Theatre Company proves the truth of this statement again and...

Review: ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ by Reston Community Players

Reston Community Players is currently showing the amusing and energetic Thoroughly Modern Millie, with original book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlon, new music by Jeanine Tesori, and new lyrics...

Review: ‘Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

Adventure Theatre MTC’s production of Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt is sure to please both children and parents. The play, a first-of-its-kind, collaborative creation in...

Review: Tracy Morgan at The Kennedy Center

Following up his nationwide tour, Picking Up the Pieces, and Netflix special, Staying Alive, actor, writer, producer and comedian Tracy Morgan, celebrated for in his roles in Saturday Night Live and...

Review: ‘Harvey’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria

The imaginary friend is a staple of childhood play. In Harvey, currently playing at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, the adult version of the childhood friend emerges when the “oh so pleasant” Elwood...

Profile: Can Storytelling Change Our Response to Mass Shootings?

“No major social change in this country has ever happened without the aid of storytelling,” said Kimmel. “That’s one of the reasons why I’m using a play to tell this story.”

Review: ‘The Crucible’ at Olney Theatre Center

Fanaticism grows in a society fractured along fault lines of political and religious authority, property, status, gender, generational change, and belief, creating a fertile climate for persecution....

Review: ‘Witch’ at Creative Cauldron

Creative Cauldron presents the world premiere of Witch, the fourth installment in their Bold New Works for Intimate Stages commissioning project. Written by Co-Directors Matt Conner (Music and Lyrics)...

Review: ‘Love, Loss, and What I Wore’ at the Montgomery Playhouse

The Montgomery Playhouse presents an intimate, funny, and moving night of theater through its production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore. The award-winning play, first produced in 2009 and the second...

Review: ‘Amanuensis’ at Georgetown University

Time has not been kind to Great Dead White Male Artists, poor things. Nosey feminist historians have been poking around in these guys lives and digging up dirt about how they treated women! And now...

Review: Young Artists of America Presents ‘Ragtime in Concert’

Young Artists of America and the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras of Strathmore joined forces to present a concert version of Ragtime last Sunday, April 15th. The performance, which took place in the...

Review: ‘The Little Mermaid, Jr.’ at Ovations Theatre

Ovations Theatre closed out their 2017-2018 junior season with a rousing and colorful production of The Little Mermaid, Jr. Featuring truly impressive set design and sparkling costumes, the Ovations...

Review: ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ by Pamoja Productions at Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis

Pamoja Productions’ presentation of Jesus Christ Superstar is an entertaining spectacle of dance, song, and music. Valerie Mills Cooper directs this version of the 1970 rock opera with music by Andrew...

Review: ‘After the Rehearsal’ and ‘Persona’ at The Kennedy Center

Back in college in Minnesota, I was so into the forlorn films of Ingmar Bergman that I think he affected my mental health. I could relate to his bleak Nordic worldview, which I associated with long...