Reviews

The Opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture: Watch the Entire Ceremony Here

Hollywood actors, singers and local talent fuel the opening ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture One-hundred years in the making, the National Museum of African...

Review: 2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: REV Theatre Company’s ‘Death is a Cabaret Ol’ Chum—A Graveyard Cabaret’ at the Laurel Hill Cemetery

Death is a Cabaret Ol’ Chum—A Graveyard Cabaret, or: When the dead come alive at the Laurel Hill Cemetery with REV Theatre Company Death, dying, and the supernatural have fascinated the public around...

Duane Richards II on Playing Willie and Simon in ‘Blackberry Daze’ at MetroStage

Duane Richards II is a native Washingtonian who is appearing in Blackberry Daze at MetroStage. Here’s his journey… Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers about your theater and vocal...

Review: ‘Louis and Ella! A New Jazzical’ at LiveArts

Louis and Ella! A New Jazzical was a fun, inventive journey with two greats of music. Written by Trent Armand Kendall and directed by Jeff Whiting, it imagines Louis Armstrong (Trent Armand Kendall)...

Review: ‘Knuffle Bunny’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

To the delight of children and children at heart, Adventure Theatre’s 2016/17 season kicked off yesterday with Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical. Based on Mo Willem’s first Knuffle Bunny book, the...

FringeNYC Encore Series Review: ‘ChipandGus’ at SoHo Playhouse in NYC

Winner of the 2016 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for Ensemble, ChipandGus— written, directed, and performed by John Ahlin and Christopher Patrick Mullen, and produced by Fat Knight Theatre, where...

Review: ‘National Symphony Orchestra: Season Opening Gala Concert’ at the Kennedy Center

In a political season where talk of building walls sometimes trumps the optimism of building bridges, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, named in honor of a President whose civil...

Review: ‘1776’ at The John W. Engeman Theater in Northport, NY

This year marks the 240th anniversary of the formation of our country, and what better way to experience a taste of this magnificent history than with the musical 1776 now playing at The John W....

Review: ‘Babes in Arms’ at The FrederickTowne Players

Babes in Arms, a classic Rodgers & Hart “let’s put on a show” show, blasts onto the stage in the latest FrederickTowne Players production. The youthful energy of the cast fuels this two and a half...

Review: ‘Underground Rooftop Coffee House’ at Arts Collective @ HCC

Thursday, September, 22, 2016, marked the beginning of the 22nd Season for Howard Community College’s Arts Collective. Thursday night’s performance of the Underground Rooftop Coffee House presented by...

Review: Martha Graham Dance Company at The Alden Theatre

Heraclitus may have said it first, but 20th century modern dance pioneer Martha Graham followed his dictum: “Change is the only constant.” The company the iconic dancer and choreographer founded in...

Review: ‘Turandot’ at Opera Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA.

Danger and darkness lurk around every corner of Opera Philadelphia’s stunning new production of Turandot, a co-production with Minnesota Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera, and...

Magic Time! ‘How To… Sex Education’ (Weekend Two)

Having enjoyed the first weekend of Rabble Crew Productions’ How To… Sex Education, I went back for seconds—another set of four short plays on the ever popular theme of sex…and the never popular topic...

Review: ‘Be Awesome: A Theatrical Mixtape of the 90s’ at Flying V

Be Awesome: A Theatrical Mixtape of the 90s is less a stroll down memory lane and more of a flying leap into an exploding memory bomb. Just a few steps into the Writer’s Center, where Flying V makes...

Review: ‘’Night, Mother’ at The Highwood Theatre

‘’Night, Mother’ explores depths of depression, family secrets The Highwood Theatre’s Night, Mother, expertly directed by Madison Middleton and wonderfully acted by Melissa B. Robinson and Jennifer...

Review: ‘How I Got On’ at Azuka Theatre in Philadelphia, PA

“You breathe in joy, you blow out joy” are the words that truly represent the breath of fresh air that Azuka Theatre’s How We Got On brought to their audience during their opening night this past...

Revolution Shakespeare’s ‘King John’: An Interview with Director Dan Kern

Revolution Shakespeare, aka RevShakes, a Philadelphia-based company, founded by Artistic Director Griffin Stanton-Ameisen in 2013, started out with a number of fascinating programs, including an...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘The Performers’ at University City Arts League

The Performers, directed by Erica Janko at the University City Arts League, is a layered contemporary performance piece that also serves as social commentary without a clear thesis – allowing audience...

Review: The Midtown Men at ‘Arts By George’ at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts

One of Northern Virginia’s bright jewel arts events, ARTS by George! returned to the Center for the Arts, George Mason University Fairfax campus with plenty of sharp, crisp, musical style from the...

Review: ‘Vocalosity’ at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA

Resounding applause met the awe inspiring, all a capella group, Vocalosity at the newly renovated Bucks County Playhouse opening night for their North American Tour Launch. Ten ultra-talented young...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘Macbeth’ at Third World Bunfight

I’ve long felt that if someone is going to cut down a Shakespeare text, they should take the responsibility of claiming co-authorship, since any editing becomes interpretation. This year’s Fringe...

Review: ‘Man of La Mancha’ at The Arlington Players

In the early 1600s, Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes wrote what would become his masterpiece, the novel Don Quixote. The novel was a huge success and has become a staple in the literary world. In...

Review: ‘Memories & Legends’ at Wolf Pack Theatre Company

Director William Leary returns to Greenbelt Arts Center (GAC) with Wolf Pack Theatre Company’s world premiere of Writer/Composer Stephen Geddes’ inspirational new musical, Memories & Legends. Memories...

Review: Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ “A Cat’s Attic” Concert at The Kennedy Center

Cat Stevens (as he was known then) last performed at The Kennedy Center back in November 1971 just months after it opened. Much has changed since then, including his name (which became Yusuf after he...

Review: Anaïs Mitchell With John Gallagher, Jr. at The Hamilton

Anaïs Mitchell and John Gallagher, Jr. brought their five-stop East Coast tour to the Hamilton in Washington, DC for a one-night performance on Thursday, September 22, 2016. The two immersive...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Review: ‘Incredible Dreamz’

A comedy collective, referring to themselves as a “polyamorous quad couple” or “Incredible Dreamz” starring The Incredible Shrinking Matt & Jacquie (Matthew Schmid and Jacquie Baker) and The New...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘King John’ at Revolution Shakespeare

King John, one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known history plays, is filled with intrigue, betrayal, and a pair of kings who are constantly threatening to go to war. In other words, it’s perfect for this...

Review: ‘Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Secret Journey’ at Compass Rose Theater

This remarkable one-woman show is a testament to the power of theater. Using language and a few props, including a movie screen, this production, written by Rhoda Lerman and directed by Rick Wade,...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘Imaginary Music’ by PhEAD at the Philadelphia Art Alliance

A one-night-only multimedia concert that paired Minimalist music–a movement that originated in downtown New York in the 1960s–with visual imagery and current digital technology, Imaginary Music by...

Review: ‘Euripides’ Medea’ at Britches and Hose Theatre Company by Jen Lofquist

Medea is often used as a byword for evil, for a woman scorned and her unquenchable rage. She is a warning of what a woman could do if she loses herself to her anger and jealousy—for what greater crime...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘Philadanco! in Concert’

Youth, strength, beauty, rhythm, flexibility and technique—all synonymous with Philadanco! This Philadelphia dance troupe wowed audiences at Bryn Mawr College’s Goodhart Hall in their latest concert...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘Walk to Topaz’ by Brendan Tetsuo

Brendan Tetsuo began his evocative Walk to Topazas a solo dance journey to further explore his family’s heritage, developing into a fabulous Fringe offering. Traditional Japanese movements are...

Spine: Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ at Folger Theatre

Oh, what a difference 200 years make! Jane Austen’s novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published anonymously in 1811. Folger’s Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Kate Hamill and directed by Eric Tucker,...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘One Way Red’

Mars is an atypyical subject for a piece of theatre, but with entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and the Mars One project setting their sights on the planet, Medium Theatre Companies’ One Way Red is more...

Review: ‘Stupid Fucking Bird’ at the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia

It was just two and a half years ago that the Arden Theatre presented a version of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters that used a fresh, slangy translation. It took a musty classic and made it feel up to...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘Julius Caesar, Spared Parts’

A playwright friend recently recalled something the Russian director Dimitry Krymov said: “I want to be interested beyond my understanding. My understanding can catch up later…. The best compliment...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘The VS. Series’

Zany, gut-wrenching and stimulating, Bryant Edwards’ The VS. Series features five vignettes, each helmed by different writers and directors. In order, these matches are Miley vs. Mozart, Rat vs....

Dangereuse: ‘The Lovers with a Thousand Faces’: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Romeo and Juliet at the Shakespeare Theatre is a revelatory theatre experience. Director Alan Paul’s version of Romeo and Juliet has a complexity and richness that reaches deep into the meaning of the...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘Jungle’ at Bradley’s Bucks

Man and beast struggle and evolve in the post-apocalyptic world of Jungle, the latest work and first Fringe offering of the all-male dance troupe Bradley’s Bucks. Created and directed by dancers Teddy...

In the Moment: ‘The 100th Meridian Project’ at George Mason University

Climate change is a sharp pointed object in the current 2016 political season. The language strewn about is often hot and more often than not, ad hominem to say the least But climatic issues are not...

In the Moment: ‘Sense and Sensibility’ at Folger Theatre

Folger Theatre’s take on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility is just gonna charm you with its ingenious high-velocity agility, while depicting the tastefully hide-bound, tart world of gossip and...

Review: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene… For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo. A man, walking onstage with a vacuum, recites the...

Review: Kathleen Madigan: The Mermaid Lady Tour at the Lyric Opera House

Prolific comedian and TV personality Kathleen Madigan brought her new The Mermaid Lady standup tour to Baltimore Saturday night at the Lyric Opera House, featuring a fresh medley of her favorite...

Magic Time! ‘How To… Sex Education’ at Rabble Crew Productions

Rabble Crew Productions has a proclivity for mounting edgy, sex-themed theater in fringey places around town. Last December they did Madeline Farrington’s Glory Us at The Fridge in Eastern Market, set...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘The Elementary Spacetime Show’

The Elementary Spacetime Show is an unusual musical about a subject you don’t often see onstage: teenage suicide. With music, book and lyrics by César Alvarez, the show treads the line between...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival: ‘PANGAEA’: Interviews with the Cast and Director

PANGAEA, connecting people, life, and historical times through a post-apocalyptic folk opera: An interview with the musicians-actors and the director PANGAEA: “About 300 million years ago, Earth...

An Interview with FringeArts President and Producing Director Nick Stuccio

Henrik: What inspired you to create FringeArts, Philadelphia’s annual theater arts festival—“a city-wide celebration of innovation and creativity in contemporary performance”? Nick: We went to the...

Review: ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ at Olney Theatre Center

Olney Theatre Center is on a roll this autumn. Their production of The Diary of Anne Frank, opening on the heels of their recent success with Angels in America (in a joint production with Round House...

2016 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Review: ‘Tales of the Grotesque and Mysterious: The Works of Edgar Allan Poe’ at The Phenomenal Animals

In several dimly lighted rooms within the walls of the brick tower atop the Shiloh Baptist Church, Edgar Allan Poe’s tales, adapted by Robert Cousins, are being reborn, as eerie as nevermore,...

Review: ‘Sense and Sensibility’ at Folger Theatre

Hey Girl, I Hear You Read Jane Austen; Sense and Sensibility at the Folger Theatre The appeal of Jane Austen’s heroines lies in their lovability. In Sense and Sensibility, the two sisters, Elinor and...