Reviews

Review: ‘The Migration Project: live performance art installation’‘ at Jane Franklin Dance Company

The Migration Project is a live music, multi-media event directed and developed by Jane Franklin of the Jane Franklin Dance Company that raises many questions: When is it necessary to pick up from...

Review: ‘Out of the City’ at Passage Theatre

Leslie Ayvazian’s comedy Out of the City opens in the lobby of a Bed and Breakfast in the Poconos. Carol and her husband Matt are there for the weekend to celebrate Carol’s sixtieth birthday. Carol’s...

Review: ‘Mary Poppins’ at Olney Theatre Center

How do you make a stage musical from a movie that was “Practically Perfect in Every Way”? A movie that won five Academy Awards, including Best Visual Effects for cinematic magic tricks and a sequence...

Review: ‘Tick, Tick…Boom’ at The Highwood Theatre

Originally a one-man show written in 1990, Tick, Tick…Boom was reconceived after Jonathan Larson’s untimely death by David Auburn and produced off-Broadway in 2001. Rewritten to include three...

Review: ‘Girl in the Red Corner’ at The Welders

Among the adages that keep women put down and passive is the one that goes, “Good girls don’t fight.” It’s a specious presumption that infects culture like an immobilizing toxin. It’s an addle-brained...

Review: ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at Other Voices Theatre

With music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein, La Cage aux Folles running at Other Voices Theatre is a splendid spectacle stuffed with laughs and many poignant moments about the...

Review: ‘School of Rock’ at Beyond the Page Theatre Company at West Potomac High School

It’s hard not to leave the theater humming Stevie Nicks or exclaiming “Stick it to the man!” after seeing Beyond the Page Theatre Company at West Potomac High School’s rockin’ production of School of...

Review: ‘Dinner With Friends’ at Greenbelt Arts Center

‘Dinner With Friends’ serves broken relationships, dreams Why do people break up, but never make up? Is having kids a sacrifice or a blessing? Are some people not just built for marriage? Is marriage...

Review: ‘American Hero’ at Rep Stage

In its area premiere of American Hero, Rep Stage has sent out a likable little David to do battle with the soulless Goliath of modern corporate culture. While playwright Bess Wohl accomplishes no...

Review: ‘Les Liasons Dangereuses’ at The Booth Theatre in NYC

Christopher Hampton’s play, Les Liasons Dangereuses, based on the novel by Choderlos de Laclos, a story presented through a series of the characters’ personal letters, was first published in four...

Review: ‘STREB Extreme Action’ at The Kennedy Center

Fans of STREB Extreme Action were out in force last night at The Kennedy Center. Enthusiasm in the Eisenhower Theater was at a fervor one might find at a rave or rock gig. The singular choreographic...

Review: ‘Shrek: the Musical’ at Rockville Musical Theatre

Rockville Musical Theatre’s Shrek, the Musical is a large-scale, glitzy, theatrical extravaganza. This production has got it all: Belting performers, elaborate sets and eye-catching costumes. Director...

Review: ‘Postmortem’ at Montgomery Playhouse

In partnership with Montgomery Playhouse, Arts on the Green presents Postmortem, a thrilling mystery by Ken Ludwig. Unravelling the relationships between cast members on holiday in a whodunit within a...

Review: ‘Wind Me Up, Maria!: A Go-Go Musical’ at Georgetown University

There’s a delectable new musical in town celebrating a distinctive genre of music called Go-Go, and it’s gotta be one of the most go-to fun times to be had in DC right now. The show is in the splendid...

Review: Prokofiev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center

Something of a high-stakes atmosphere pervades this week’s concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra. It’s performing an all-Russian program, always a touchstone harking back to the reign of Soviet...

Review: ‘Godspell’ at W.T. Woodson High School

Stephen Schwartz’s often treacly Godspell, conceived by book writer John-Michael Tebelak, is a parade of parables borrowed from the New Testament’s Matthew and Luke set to a hippie-chic Seventies...

Review: Concerto for Violin, Rock Band & String Orchestra: Composed by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills for Robert McDuffie Featuring Fifth House Ensemble at Strathmore

When I saw Mike Mills of R.E.M. was coming to town, I knew I had to see him because I grew up on his music. R.E.M.’s music was a huge part of my life. Mills and Robert McDuffie didn’t disappoint by...

Meet the Cast of ‘School of Rock’ at West Potomac High School: Part 3: Luke Simonsen

In Part 3 of a series of interviews of the cast of West Potomac High School’s School of Rock, meet Luke Simonsen. Please introduce yourself to our audience. I am Luke Simonsen and a junior at West...

Review: ‘Pippin’ at The George Washington University

“Join us,” cry the players, led by sophomore Madeline Winstel, in George Washington University’s performance of Pippin. In the show’s opening number “Magic to Do,” the players invite the audience to...

In the Moment: Jane Franklin on ‘The Migration Project’ Opening Tomorrow Night at Theatre on the Run

With an interest in the stories of refugees and other wandering souls, which I presumed is based upon my own family fables of wanderings to and in America, along with my work as Director, US Office of...

Review: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at Howard University

From the moment the actors appear, the stage becomes a non-stop whirl of color and movement. Howard University’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in what is meant to be modern-day New...

Review: ‘Antigone’ at Gloucester County Institute of Technology

Greek Tragedy ably performed by 17 year olds? Is such a thing possible? Read on. The play is Sophocles’ Antigone, which is probably the best dramatic examination of the conflict we all face concerning...

Review: ‘Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika’ at The Players Club of Swarthmore

…Worst thing about being sick in America is that you’re booted out of the parade. Americans have no use for sick… Roy Cohn, Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika An outstanding production of Tony...

Review: ‘Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella’ at the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

It’s anyone’s guess what the late Oscar Hammerstein would make of it, but we are now getting our first close look at Oscar’s modest Eisenhower-era TV musical Cinderella all buffed up and retooled for...

Review: ‘Brides of Tortuga’ at Baltimore Rock Opera Society

I’m not ashamed to admit it—I love pirates. In fact, there is a bumper sticker on the back of my car that reads “Always Be Yourself, Unless You Can Be a Pirate. Then Always Be a Pirate.” Because of...

Spine: ‘Rameau’s Nephew’ at Spooky Action Theater

The 18th century French playwright and philosopher Denis Diderot is known best among theatre folk for his theoretical writings: on the actor, the 4th Wall, and the emergence of scenography as an...

Review: ‘A Masquerade Murder Mystery’ by Citizen Staging in Hammonton, NJ

Citizen Staging Acting Company is a brand new community theatre company that seeks to “enrich and foster the arts” in the Hammonton, NJ area. On October 29, 2016, Founders Tiffany B Travia and Lauren...

Review: ‘Eurydice’ at NextStop Theatre Company

The hypnotic new production of Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice at NextStop Theatre Company is more like a painting or a poem than a movie or a book. It’s a fantastical canvas of broad brushstrokes and bright...

A Preview of Inis Nua Theatre Company’s ‘Dublin by Lamplight’ with Director Tom Reing

Hot off a Barrymore win for Best Ensemble in a Play for Inis Nua Theatre Company’s The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning and having received widespread acclaim for its current Barrymore-recommended...

Review: ‘Breathe Smoke’ at Orbiter 3

Douglas Williams’ Breathe Smoke, a world premiere being presented by the Orbiter 3 Collective, tells the story of four people whose public lives and private lives are markedly different. It’s a...

Review: ‘The Roommate’ at Everyman Theatre

Deborah Hazlett and Beth Hylton are both very talented actors. Deborah Hazlett and Beth Hylton together onstage in Jen Silverman’s new two-woman show is something truly remarkable! It’s a rewarding...

Review: ‘Promises, Promises’ at the Ritz Theatre Company

Promises, Promises opened on Broadway in 1968, and while the world it depicts seemed relevant back then, today that world has largely vanished. It’s set in the Manhattan skyscraper home of...

Review: ‘Guards at the Taj’ at Theatre Exile

Guards at the Taj is the story of two young friends, Humayun (“Huma”) and Babur. The two are a sort of Indian vaudeville duo: Huma (Anthony Mustafa Adair) is the uptight straight man, Babur (Jenson...

Review: Laura Benanti’s ‘Tales from Soprano Isle’ at The Barns at Wolf Trap

From the moment Laura Benanti stepped onto the stage at The Barns at Wolf Trap to perform Tales from Soprano Isle she set the buoyant mood for the evening. She charmed and enchanted even as she spoke...

Review: ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

It’s hard to believe The Rocky Horror Picture Show is now over 40, and still going strong. This Halloween, there are several productions of the rock musical happening in the area, and Maryland...

Review: ‘Mauritius’ at Act II Playhouse in Ambler, PA

It’s much ado about two small slips of paper in Act II Playhouse’s astute production of Mauritius, Theresa Rebeck’s thriller based on the intense world of stamp collecting. Despite the inherent...

Review: ‘Mozart’s Requiem’ with The Annapolis Chorale and Annapolis Chamber Orchestra at St. Anne’s Church

The Annapolis Chorale and Annapolis Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Mozart’s Requiem, presented by Live Arts Maryland, was a well-performed clever combination of old and new pieces. Before...

Review: ‘The Wizard of Oz in Concert’ by Young Artists of America at Strathmore

For as long as I can remember, it was a movie I looked forward to watching on television each year. It scared me to death when I was little, but the colors, the characters, the opposition of good and...

Review: ‘The Night Alive’ at Quotidian Theatre Company

Conor McPherson spins an intricate web of interdependence, horror, and hope among the five damaged, yet intensely human characters in his masterful play, The Night Alive. It takes a hugely talented...

Review: ‘An Evening with Garrison Keillor’ at Strathmore

The Music Center at Strathmore was filled with nary an empty seat. The crowd was there to see – and listen to – their favorite National Public Radio star, 73 year-old 6 foot 3 inch Garrison Keillor....

Review: ‘Delirium’ at EgoPo Classic Theater

EgoPo Classic Theater is starting off their Russian Masters season with a mind bending production of Delirium, an adaptation of The Brothers Karamazov by Theatre O and Enda Walsh. The show follows a...

Review: ‘The Complete History of America (abridged) Special Election Edition! by The Reduced Shakespeare Company at Hylton Performing Arts Center

Paul Revere may or may not have ridden through the countryside yelling, “The Redcoats are coming,” but given a quick horse and a heavily padded saddle, this reviewer is writing to announce, “The...

Review: ‘Cabaret’ at Kensington Arts Theatre

In Act One of Cabaret, Cliff Bradshaw tells Sally Bowles that he loves Berlin because it feels like a city full of children behaving badly, getting wilder and wilder because they know that at any...

Review: ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Iron Crow Theatre

“Are you a virgin?” You may be asked this by one of the cast members as you enter the theatre at The Motor House to see Iron Crow Theatre’s raucous and riotous production of The Rocky Horror Show, the...

Review: ‘The Who’s Tommy’ by Open Circle Theatre

After a five-year hiatus Open Circle Theatre (OCT) makes a triumphant return with an incredible production of The Who’s Tommy at Silver Spring Black Box Theatre. Written by Pete Townshend and Des...

Review #2: ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ at American University

American University’s Greenberg Theatre performed a hilariously funny ancient Roman farce, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. With music and lyrics by the incomparable Stephen Sondheim...

Review: ‘Proof’ at The University of Maryland Baltimore County’s Department of Theatre

Proof by David Auburn, directed by Nyalls Hartman is playing through Sunday at the Black Box Theatre in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)....

Review: ‘The Three Penny Opera’ at George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Building top-notch musical theater at George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) continues with its current snappy, sharp, nicely nasty production of Bertolt Brecht and...

Review: Debbie Allen’s ‘FREEZE FRAME… Stop the Madness’ at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater

Ever since Debbie Allen parleyed a killer look in the 1980 movie Fame into a featured role on the popular television series, this triple threat has been busting open doors in Hollywood for women of...

Review: ‘The Front Page’ at the Broadhurst Theatre in NYC

This three act comedy – The Front Page –by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, currently packing them in at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway, is the best revival ever from the day when Broadway was...