Reviews

Review: Academy of St Martin in the Fields with Violinist Joshua Bell at Strathmore

All eyes were on Joshua Bell during the Academy of St Martin in the Fields performance, although only one of the three pieces played by the world-renowned chamber orchestra featured him. Although the...

Review: ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill’ at Spotlighters Theatre

Picture yourself sitting in a dive bar in south Philadelphia in March of 1959. You’re spending an evening listening to Billie Holiday’s soulful voice as she sings her music and regales us with stories...

Review: ‘Two Trains Running’ at Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia

It’s 1969, and we’re in a diner in Pittsburgh. The sweet sounds of soul are on the jukebox, and the harsh sounds of revolution are in the air. It’s a time of change in the city’s Hill District: the...

Review: ‘DISASTER!’ at The Nederlander Theatre in NYC

If you’re in the mood for a visit with a shipload of fun loving actors, many of whom you’ve seen and enjoyed in shows like Guys and Dolls (Faith Prince), The Producers (Roger Bart), Rent (Adam...

Review: ‘RetroAct’ at Tangle Movement Arts in Philadelphia

When walking into Tangle Movement Arts’ RetroAct at the Neighborhood House in Philadelphia, there is the immediate feeling that expectations may be defied. There is energetic music playing. Ropes and...

Review #2: ‘110 in the Shade’ at Ford’s Theatre

As the opening song exclaims, “Gonna Be Another Hot Day”- and like a refreshing breeze, the lilting lyrics and melodious music of the prolific theatre songwriting team of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt...

Review: ‘As You Like It’ at Lantern Theater Company in Philadelphia

As far as plays go, As You Like It has a little bit of everything. Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy brings us death, weddings, country shenanigans, court intrigue and attacks from wild animals. All of...

Review: ‘110 in the Shade’ at Ford’s Theatre

Glorious vocals and a strong cast heat up Ford’s Theatre with the musical gem 110 in the Shade. With music and lyrics by The Fantasticks creators Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, this rollicking musical,...

A Master Class with Renée Fleming at The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America’s (CUA) Benjamin T. Rome School of Music presented a master class by Renée Fleming on Sunday, March 13, 2016. Dr. Grayson Wagstaff, Dean of the School of Music, gave...

Review: ‘The Sound of Music’ at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia

While there are amazing new Broadway hits like Hamilton and Fun Home, some things are classic for a reason. And may I say, they just don’t make musicals like The Sound of Music anymore. Celebrating...

Review: ‘American Idiot’ at The Keegan Theatre

The Keegan Theatre’s American Idiot speaks to collective genius. Hardly a no-brainer to mount this explosive, war-weary work, weaned in the Bush II era, at the height of today’s media-hijacked,...

Review: ‘Annie’ at National Theatre

There are two things they always say never to work with: animals and children. There are exceptions, obviously. For six days at The National Theatre, Annie and Sandy — the bright red-headed,...

Review: The Montreal Symphony Orchestra with Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center

Who needs to skip around musical history in a concert? A hundred years ago the musical world was in ferment, with shocking new developments right before and after World War I. The Montreal Symphony...

‘Shylock Agonistes’: Howard Jacobson and Aaron Posner at Folger Theatre

On the stage of the Folger Theatre, with the vestiges of the set of Aaron Posner’s just-closed Midsummer Night’s Dream in the background, well-known director and playwright Aaron Posner and Man Booker...

Review: ‘1984’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Prepare to be assaulted! Head-on by Headlong Theatre’s 1984, now on stage at STC’s Lansburgh Theatre. George Orwell’s novel has become the iconic symbol of the totalitarian surveillance State. Big...

Review: “Seussical the Musical’ at Charm City Players

“Now, imagine a curtain and what lies behind; the kind of a place you might see in your mind… From the page to the stage, come along and enjoy — this tale of an elephant, a bird, a Cat in the Hat, and...

Review: ‘Children of Eden’ at Young Artists of America at Strathmore

Young Artists of America at Strathmore (YAA) brilliantly performed Children of Eden the afternoon of March 13, 2016 at The Music Center at Strathmore. Children of Eden is a musical written by Grammy...

Review: ‘The Pillowman’ at Forum Theatre

Martin McDonagh, the erstwhile enfant terrible of millennial European drama who is now a staple of contemporary theatres across the globe, is the sort of playwright whose words need little massaging...

Review: ‘Eclipsed’ at the Golden Theatre in New York City

Danai Gurira, the author of this white hot very topical play about sexual slavery in Nigeria, has made a remarkable start to a major career as playwright and actor. Perhaps best known as star of the...

Review: ‘Marjorie Prime’ at Olney Theatre Center

Question: What does it take to get an award-winning New York-based actor to perform in a tiny suburban outpost, 20 miles from Washington, DC? Answer: If the actor is Kathleen Butler—now starring in...

Review: ‘Hexagon 2016: Red, White, & Voters’ Blues’

America’s fascination with mobile phones, drones, and Fitbits were all parodied in the 2016 Hexagon show, but in this year of unprecedented political rancor, the group’s new revue, adeptly titled Red,...

Review: ‘Look Through My Eyes’ at Baltimore Theatre Project

Mervin Primeaux-O’Bryant, who conceived Look Through My Eyes, is the Assistant Director for Quest Visual Theatre, a group of deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing performers/teaching artists and...

Review: ‘The Mousetrap’ at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ

The queen of mystery, Agatha Christie, is alive and well in a new production of one of her most famous stories, The Mousetrap, now playing at McCarter Theatre Center. Directed by Adam Immerwahr, her...

Review: ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is a delightful period piece (late 19th Century) and a sentimental comedy that revolves around marriage,...

Review: ‘The Flick’ at Signature Theatre

Like the seismic shift in the theatrical terrain that I experienced when I saw the Steppenwolf Theater’s production of Lanford Wilson’s Balm in Gilead off-Broadway, or the excitement I felt when I saw...

Review #1: Boots, Class & Sass at The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

Yee-Haw! Saddle up and come see the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC’s (GMCW) ‘Boots, Class & Sass at the Lincoln Theatre. Fortunately there are three performance left next weekend, so you’ll have...

Review: ‘Dark of the Moon’ at The Ritz Theatre Company in Haddon Township, NJ

A multi-level set of wooden platforms and beams, crates and barrels, chopped birch logs and an axe, a butter churn, milk can, and a jug of corn whisky thrust you into the rustic world of Appalachia....

Review: Vân-Ánh Võ’s ‘The Odyssey: From Vietnam to America’ at The Kennedy Center

Vân-Ánh Võ’s The Odyssey: from Vietnam to America conjures, to a Western audience, images of Odysseus, returning from victory at Troy, being punished by the gods, losing his army, his loot, his...

Review: Fairfax Symphony Orchestra: ‘An Enchanted Evening’

It really was quite “An Enchanted Evening” at GMU’s Center for the Arts on March 12, 2016 as Mary Michael Patterson and Hayley Travers, accompanied by the Fairfax Orchestra under the baton of Luke...

Review: ‘Venus in Fur’ at Fells Point Corner Theatre

Fells Point Corner Theatre’s Venus in Fur will knock you over. Whew! It is amazing! The dynamic talents of actors Andrew Porter and Anne Shoemaker fill the Fells Point Corner Theatre with their...

Review: ‘Dogfight’ at The Media Theatre in Media, PA

“Semper Fi; Do or Die.” The Media Theatre has taken on the marine’s motto this month with the 2012 Dogfight: The Musical, with Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and Book by Peter Duchan....

Review: Patti LaBelle Headlines Greater Washington Urban League “Unsung Heroes” Awards Fundraiser Gala

Recipes for the Good Life. That’s actually the title of a cookbook written by the legendary Godmother of Soul, Patti LaBelle. It’s also a metaphor for a music career spanning more than half a century;...

Review: BSO: All-Beethoven at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall

Showcasing Beethoven’s pioneering range and imaginative ingenuity, Conductor Markus Stenz led the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the Romantic and triumphant incidental music to Egmont last night,...

Review: ‘Sherlock Holmes and the West End Horror’ at Prince William Little Theatre

“Yet another Sherlock Holmes play?” you might say. Yes, but with a twist – Prince William Little Theatre’s production of Sherlock Holmes and the West End Horror is anything but same-old, same-old....

Review #2: ‘House.’ at Arts Collective @HCC

For the last 21 years, the Arts Collective at Columbia’s Howard Community College has been an incubator for developing talent and nurturing new and interesting stage productions. With House., an...

Review #1: ‘House.’ at Arts Collective@HCC

House., an original comedy written and directed by Daniel Johnston, opened last night at Howard Community College’s Arts Collective at the Horowitz Center in the Studio Theatre. This is Johnston’s...

Looking Back at ‘Elevate’ at Take the Stage Performance Company

I can’t stop thinking about the best time I had in the theatre so far this year-spending it with 26 of the most talented singers and dancers, and some terrific musicians, at Elevate at Take the Stage...

Magic Time! OpenStage New Works Showcase

The theater term “packed house” took on all new meaning for me the night I caught this month’s OpenStage New Works Showcase. Not only was there no empty folding chair; the show went on stage in what...

Review: Monica Bill Barnes & Company: ‘Happy Hour’ at The Kennedy Center

Monica Bill Barnes & Company Serving Up Food for Thought … and Cake In life some things that are easy look hard and others that are hard look easy. That’s also the case for choreographer and dancer...

Review: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at National Players

National Players is presently in their 67th season, and they are currently performing Julius Ceasar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and A Tale of Two Cities, as they travel around the country. The Players...

Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC’s Executive Director Chase Maggiano To Become Executive Director of The Washington Chorus

Chase Maggiano, Executive Director of The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, is on his way to The Washington Chorus in June. He will be sorely missed. Yesterday, he sent this announcement and...

Review: ‘Motown: The Musical’ at Hippodrome Theatre at The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

The music of Motown is a gift that keeps on giving. In 2013, Motown: The Musical wrapped up big chunks of that songbook and armfuls of personal charisma in rainbows of light tied with wide swaths of...

Review: Fortas Chamber Music Concerts: eighth blackbird at The Kennedy Center

eighth blackbird‘s performance on Monday night at The Kennedy Center was introduced with the theme of murder and mayhem, which explained the state of the set. Rickety looking ladders, dead clocks,...

Review: ‘Calendar Girls’ at The British Players

This show is outstanding! At its heart, Calendar Girls is about the ability of women “of a certain age” to continue to flex and grow for all of the right reasons. The sensitivity of Co-Directors...

The Kennedy Center Announces Its 2016-2017 Theater Season:’The Curious Incident…’, ‘Into the Woods’, ‘Wicked’, ‘Chicago’, ‘Hedwig…’ ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Cabaret’, ‘The King and I’ and World Premieres

From The Kennedy Center: 2016–2017 Theater Season: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced programming for its 2016–2017 theater season, renewing its dedication to bringing...

Review: ‘Vienna Mozart Orchestra’ at Strathmore

Opera-lovers got a chance to travel back to the 18th Century the night of March 7, 2016, at The Music Center at Strathmore’s J. Willard and Alice Marriott Foundation Concert Stage, when the Vienna...

Review: ‘Nureyev’s Eyes’ at Delaware Theatre Company

David Rush’s play Nureyev’s Eyes takes us to the 1970s, when two of America’s greatest artists – Rudolf Nureyev, the Russian-born dancer, and Jamie Wyeth, the Wilmington-born painter – forged an...

Review: ‘An Act of the Imagination’ at Bowie Community Theatre

Bowie Community Theatre presents An Act of the Imagination by Bernard Slade, and directed by Patrick Gorirossi. Roger Paradis’ eclectic set design is full of symbolism that ties into the plotline....

Review: ‘Kiss Me Kate’ at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater

The Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater, in Hagerstown, MD, decided to see what happened when you have a musical within a musical and add a large helping of Shakespeare...

Broadway Producer Donald Trump and DCMetroTheaterArts’ NYC Reviewer/Columnist Richard Seff’s Play ‘Paris is Out!’ by Michael Paul in the NY Times

In yesterday’s NY Times, Michael Paul’s article called For a Young Donald J. Trump, Broadway Held Sway talked about how Donald Trump dabbled in becoming a Broadway Producer when he invested in...