Reviews

Review: ‘A Matter of Perspective’ at Live Garra Theatre

Is he or is he not guilty? That is the question to be answered in Live Garra Theatre’s production of A Matter of Perspective, by C.G. Gardiner. Eight jurors from diverse backgrounds (five...

Review: ‘Murder on the Nile’ at Stockton PAC, in Galloway, NJ

Aquila Theatre is an NYC based theater company that has a passion to reenvision what a classic play is and expand the theatre canon. Their mission statement is to “bring the greatest works to the...

Review: The Gary Bartz Quartet at The Kennedy Center Jazz Club

The KC Jazz Club opened its 14th season last Friday with a soul-tossing river of jazz. Gary Bartz starts the evening with a prayer: “Sadness must leave this room,” as Paul Bollenback’s guitar, James...

Film Review: ‘Denial’

Denial opens with an infuriating exchange between Deborah Lipstadt, an academic who is on a speaking tour to support her book, Denying the Holocaust, and one of the most prominent Holocaust deniers,...

Fringe Encore Series Review: ‘Opera Mouse’ at SoHo Playhouse in NYC

An engaging storyteller, a gifted soprano, and a natural with children, Melanie Gall brings her warmth, talent, and stage presence to the Fringe Encore Series in Opera Mouse, a delightful solo show...

‘The Other Place’ at Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio on 3 in Philadelphia

The Other Place seems at first like a straightforward drama: Juliana, a brilliant and highly esteemed 59-year-old scientist, is beginning to suffer from memory loss. This brings her into conflict with...

Post-Play Palaver: ‘Angels in America: Part Two: Perestroika’ at Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center

Post-Play Palaver is an occasional series of conversations between DCMetroTheaterArts writers who saw the same performance, got really into talking about it, and decided to continue their exchange in...

Review: ‘DAS BARBECÜ’ at Spotlighters Theatre

DAS BARBECÜ, as directed by Greg Bell, and with Book and Lyrics by Jim Luigs, was a rousing and at times, funny-bone-breaking re-telling of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, reimagined as a Texas fable with merely...

Review: Patti LuPone at Wolf Trap

The Barns at Wolf Trap resonated with the powerful belt of one of Broadway’s reigning divas tonight as Patti LuPone brought her concert “Don’t Monkey with Broadway” down to DC. A whirlwind tour...

Review: ‘Poe … And All the Others’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Poe … And All the Others is an imaginative, entertaining production, with an incredibly creative use of space. With just two people, a minimum of props, and lighting, Annapolis Shakespeare Company...

Review: ‘The Blues Project’ by Dorrance Dance with Toshi Reagon and BIG Lovely at The Kennedy Center

If you want to know how America dances, don’t tune in to those kitschy television competition shows So You Think You Can Dance? and Dancing With the Stars. Check out Dorrance Dance in The Blues...

Review: ‘Fringe POP [Performance over Projection]’ at Capital Fringe-

Fringe POP [Performance over Projection] is an interesting and laudable new theatrical experiment from the Capital Fringe creative team. Fringe POP, which launched last night at the Logan Fringe Arts...

Review: ‘The Encounter’ at The Golden Theatre in NYC

Simon McBurney is one of European theatre’s most original and controversial artists working today. For more than 30 years he has led Complicite, the theatre company he co-founded in 1983 and his works...

Review: ‘Grounded’ at InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia

InterAct’s Grounded, directed by Kathryn MacMillan, follows the journey of an Alpha-female military pilot (Kittson O’Neill) who grapples with a multitude of difficulties and decisions revolving around...

Review: ‘Radio Golf’ at Howard University

August Wilson made it his lifelong project to chronicle the African American experience in every decade of the 20th century with his Pittsburgh Cycle. With its production of Radio Golf, Howard...

Review: ‘This Is The Week That Is: The Election Special’ at 1812 Productions in Philadelphia

An annual favorite at 1812 Productions is its irreverent take on the current news. This year’s show, This Is The Week That Is: The Election Special, has hit the motherlode of material with the two...

Spine: For the Love of ‘Angels in America: Perestroika’ at Round House Theatre

Part II of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America opened last weekend at the Round House Theatre. A joint production with the Olney Theatre Center, the restaging of Kushner’s modern day epic has been long...

Interviews with the Cast of McLean Community Players’ ‘Comic Potential’ Part 4: Caity Brown

In Part 4 in a series of interviews with the cast of McLean Community Players’ Comic Potential, meet Caity Brown. Joel: Introduce yourself and tell us where else we have seen you performing in the...

An Interview with Actress Michele Loor Nicolay about Appearing in ‘Rapture, Blister, Burn’ at Allens Lane Theater

I had the honor of speaking with Michele Loor Nicolay who is playing Alice Croll, in Rapture, Blister, Burn at Allens Lane Theater. Henrik: If you could rapture, blister, and burn about this much...

Review: ‘The Masque of the Red Death: An Evening of Spirits & Consumption’ at Going Dark Theatre Company and the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia

Guests arrived for the party in formal wear, as requested by the host. Inside the historic building, constructed in 1909, they donned masks in carnival colors and enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and libations,...

Review: Melba Moore at Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club

The indefatigable legendary singer and actress, Melba Moore, dazzled the crowd at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club on Sunday evening. With a very strong family background in music and an early...

Review: ‘Fools’ at Aldersgate Church Community Theater

Aldersgate Church Community Theater presents Neil Simon’s Fools, the comedic tongue-in-cheek fable that became a hit in spite of itself. Popular theory contends that Simon, who wrote this play as a...

Review: ‘The Mountaintop’ at People’s Light & Theatre Company

The Mountaintop is a fantasia rooted in one of the most tragic events of the twentieth century. Set on the final night in the life of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Katori Hall’s play takes King into an...

In the Moment: Synetic Theater’s ‘Dante’s Inferno’

The roaring wordless “silence” of Synetic’s remount of Dante’s Inferno is potent; it will swiftly suck you into its ferment depicting what sin might look and feel like if you are in Hell. Don’t brush...

Review: ‘Biography’ at East Lynne Theater in Cape May, New Jersey

The East Lynne Theater Company is a little theatre on the coast in Cape May dedicated to being “a vehicle for rediscovering the enduring values of the American heritage and for deepening our...

Review: ‘The Wild Party’ at Iron Crow Theatre

Queenie was a blonde and her age stood still, And she danced twice a day in vaudeville. So begins Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 narrative poem “The Wild Party” about a group of show people and the...

Review: ‘Angels in America: Perestroika’ at Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center

Prophetic Messages continue in the stunning second part of Tony Kushner’s masterwork, Angels in America: Perestroika –now appearing at the Round House Theatre as a joint production of the Round House...

Review: ‘Angel Street’ at Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, PA

Hedgerow Theatre captivatingly brings Patrick Hamilton’s Angel Street, directed by Cara Blouin, across the pond, into the year 1924 in Philadelphia where Bella Manningham (Jennifer Summerfield) and...

Review: ‘The Call’ at University of Maryland’s School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at The Clarice

Annie and Peter, a white married couple, haven’t been able to conceive a child of their own so they decide to adopt a child from Africa. Rebecca and Drea, a newly married African American lesbian...

Review: ‘Dante’s Inferno’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic Theatre, which gave Washington a Silent Hamlet, now brings audiences a wordless Dante’s Inferno. And a silent 100 minutes never sounded so good. Created by Paata Tsikurishvili and directed by...

Review: ‘A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline’ at Bristol Riverside Theatre in Bristol, PA

A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline marks the second time in two years that Bristol Riverside Theatre has staged a show about the life of Cline, one of country music’s greatest stars. (Always… Patsy Cline,...

Review: ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ at Fauquier Community Theatre

Oh my God, ohmigod you guys, looks like this show is going to win the prize. Legally Blonde: The Musical, now playing at the Fauquier Community Theatre (FCT) is like a non-stop party, a party with all...

Review: ‘Molly Sweeney’ at Irish Heritage Theatre

Filled with poetic language, engaging characters, and penetrating insights into the human condition, Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney represents the tradition of Irish storytelling at its very best. Told...

Review: ‘The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence’ Co-Presented by Washington Performing Arts and StepAfrika! in Cooperation with the Phillips Collections

There’s a pulse, a simple rhythm. It is both complex syncopation that rushes on, and an inviting and relaxed embrace of the moment. The percussive energy of StepAfrika!, a professional company...

Review: ‘Rock of Ages’ at the Apollo Civic Theatre

Get ready to rock out at the Apollo Civic Theatre with a rocking and energetic production of Rock of Ages! With a book by Chris D’Arenzo and orchestrations and arrangements by Ethan Popp, this jukebox...

Review: ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

Riverside Center for the Performing Arts presents Alfred Uhry’s beloved classic Driving Miss Daisy, starring Karen Grassle and directed by Rick Hammerly. Lauded as one of the finest American stories...

Review: ‘Jake’s Women’ at Rockville Little Theatre

Rockville Little Theater (RLT)’s production of Jake’s Women, written by Neil Simon, takes us through Jake’s (Keith Cassidy) emotional journey as he converses with his daughter, wife, sister, and...

Review: ‘Amadeus’ at Providence Players of Fairfax

Envious skullduggery, a beautiful interweaving of Mozart’s music, and a fictionalized but fascinating plot are just a few of the reasons to see the Providence Players of Fairfax’s spectacular...

Review: ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at Aquila Theatre at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

‘Much Ado About Nothing’ brings amusement, merriment and mirth Appearances can be quite deceiving, especially in the realm of love. Deception, misunderstandings and much merriment were on display in...

Review: ‘The Little Foxes’ at Arena Stage

The enduring popularity of Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes offers proof positive that themes of greed, racism, and misogyny continue to resonate with contemporary audiences. Though set in a small...

Inbal Pinto Speaks on Shimon Peres and her ‘Wallflower’

The eyes of the world have turned to Israel this week following the death of Shimon Peres. Twice the prime minister of Israel and a member of the Israeli parliament for more than thirty years, Peres...

Review: ‘MotherStruck’ at The Studio Theatre

I happen to like solo performance pieces a lot and I’ve seen many. There’s something I love about the immediacy of a single performer claiming my attention—and maybe stirring my emotions or...

Review: ‘Love’s LaBEERS Lost’ at LiveArtDC and Grain of Sand Theatre at DC Reynolds

Get Thee to This Beer Fest – er – Show! Love’s LaBEERS Lost is a production in danger of becoming a hot, must-see show that will bring the fire department roaring down on DC Reynolds to clear everyone...

‘Look at Me!’ Meet the Cast of Media Theatre’s ‘The Bridges of Madison County’

The latest offering at the Media Theatre, the popular musical The Bridges of Madison County, based on Robert James Waller’s 1992 novel, with a book by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Jason Robert...

Review: ‘Rizzo’ at The Philadelphia Theatre Company

A thunderbolt hit Philadelphia last night in the form of the play Rizzo. The quake was made memorable not only by the superb playwriting of Bruce Graham and the multi- megaton production by...

Fringe Encore Series Review: ‘Rent Control’ at The Huron Club at SoHo Playhouse in NYC

This autobiographical one-man show Rent Control, which won the 2016 FringeNYC Award for Overall Excellence in Solo Performance, Evan Zes turns his comic eye and adult humor on two of the greatest...

Magic Time! ‘The Gulf’ at Signature Theatre

One measure of the quality of a play is how it stays in one’s mind the next few days. Or the next weeks or months or years. Not just how it plays on stage. How it remains in the brain. There are no...

Review: ‘The Gulf’ at Signature Theatre

Signature’s premiere of The Gulf written by Audrey Cefaly is a daring dark venture about two women entwined with heartache and sadness. It is a scorching two-hander character study that takes place in...

Review: ‘Jersey Boys’ at The Hippodrome Theatre

In the bright and tuneful world of jukebox musicals there are your basic pizza joints that sell by the slice and the hot-diggity neighborhood kitchens that dish up the whole pie. Jersey Boys belongs...

Review: ‘What We’re Up Against’ at The Keegan Theatre

Near the end of What We’re Up Against, Theresa Rebeck’s incisive comedy about workplace sexism—just opened in a kick-ass production at The Keegan Theatre—a question is posed by Eliza, a very talented...