Reviews

Choral Arts Society Holiday Concert: sing along and hear expert musicians celebrate the season

If singing along to the Hallelujah Chorus or Hark, the Herald Angels Sing are requisite to bolstering your holiday spirit, then Songs of the Season: Christmas with Choral Arts at the Kennedy Center...

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s ‘A Broadway Holiday’ is a delightful tribute to Christmas classics

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of A Broadway Holiday is a fun, sweet tribute to classic Christmas shows. With an original book and directed by Sally Boyett, and musical direction and...

Scena Theatre’s ‘The Dead’ presents quiet desperation at Christmastime

Based on a renowned short story by James Joyce, The Dead, now being presented by Scena Theatre, is a slice of the lives of polite, quiet desperation lived by genteel middle-class Dubliners in the...

At Mosaic’s ‘Eureka Day,’ a class in laughs and spats is in session

The five adults seated onstage in a children’s classroom each have a kid enrolled in this private day school, which like the play we’re watching is named Eureka Day. These earnest parents are all...

‘A Holiday Pops! with Leslie Odom, Jr.’ brings holiday cheer to the Kennedy Center

The NSO Pops helped to make our spirits bright with its annual Christmas concert featuring Tony and Grammy Award-winning Leslie Odom, Jr. and a parcel of musical gifts from his Simply Christmas album....

‘Come from Away’ emphasizes joy: Canadian musical lights up Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater

Every September 11, America mourns the tragic events that astonished and saddened people around the globe in 2001: the attack on New York’s Twin Towers and Washington, D.C.’s Pentagon. Each year, at...

The appeal of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ endures at The National Theatre

Fiddler on the Roof, the quintessentially Jewish musical about keeping one’s balance in changing times, remains ebullient and undiminished in its eternal appeal. At the opening night performance for...

4615 Theatre Company presents ambitious adaptation of Irish legend in ‘Infinite Tales’

If the notion of compressing 900 years of Irish mythology into a single two-hour show sounds like a lot to take on, that’s because it is. In fact, tackling the entire pantheon of Irish legend—which is...

Ballet Theatre of Maryland presents a gorgeous ‘Nutcracker’ at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts

Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s production of The Nutcracker at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is a real treat for the senses. Choreographed by Artistic Director Dianna Cuatto, it brings...

Creative Cauldron presents ‘Madeline’s Christmas’ for some wholesome holiday cheer

In what is becoming a delightful Christmas tradition, Creative Cauldron reprises their holiday production of Madeline’s Christmas. The lighthearted musical is based on the beloved books by Ludwig...

Mosaic Theater’s ‘Eureka Day’ puts immunization in the hot seat

In Samoa, 68 people – mostly children – have died of measles in recent weeks, victims of an abysmally low immunization rate resulting, in significant part, from misinformation spread on social media...

‘I Take Your Hand in Mine’ by Taffety Punk Theatre Company brings Chekhov’s romantic life to the stage

A matchless, hypnotic portrait of love. A seductive vision of two lives tangled up in blues with too many tough nights apart as each knows “I have no will of my own.” Are the two people on stage up...

‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ at Shakespeare wows with wonder in a woke dream

J. M. Barrie imagined a lot when he wrote his 1904 play about the boy who wouldn’t grow up, but he could not have imagined how many childhoods have been etched by its enchantment. Now in Peter Pan and...

‘Men on Boats’ rewrites the rules at Baltimore Center Stage

Men On Boats is American history as it needs to be retold: Without a white man in sight. Despite writing a historical play focused on the cisgender white men who comprised the Powell Geographic...

Synetic Theater’s ‘The Snow Queen’ sparkles

The lights reveal a figurine on a pedestal—regal, decked head to foot, shimmering, amid the mist. Slowly, cautiously, with a twitch here and a jerk there, that figurine—the Snow Queen—comes to life....

IN Series’ ‘L’Enfance du Christ’ follows the Holy Family’s journey as refugees

Hector Berlioz’s mid-19th-century L’Enfance du Christ is not quite an oratorio in the most familiar sense of that term. Nor is it quite an opera. Written piecemeal over many years by a composer who...

‘Holiday Singin’ Pops’ kicks off the holiday season at Strathmore

To kickstart the Christmas season, the National Philharmonic and the National Philharmonic Chorale performed Holiday Singin’ Pops at the Music Center at Strathmore with guest performers. The two-act...

‘Murder on the Orient Express’ thrills at Everyman Theatre

All Aboard! Get your ticket for Everyman Theatre’s Murder on the Orient Express and enjoy a visually striking whodunnit that is twisty-turny fun for this holiday season. In attendance opening night...

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington jump-starts the season with ‘The Holiday Show’

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC (GMCW) opens the holidays with humor and beauty, power and reverence – and balloons! Upon entering the Lincoln Theatre, the audience relaxes into a moment stolen...

IN Series’ ‘L’enfance du Christ’ offers all-comers respite, transcendence, unity

How history will judge us for this administration’s treatment of Central American migrant children, I often wonder. And yet, our record of abuse against “Other” is not partisan, but has accumulated...

The Second City’s ‘She The People: The Resistance Continues’ levels the playing field with humor

The good news? The Second City’s sharp-witted She The People: The Resistance Continues is back at Woolly Mammoth for another rollicking production of top-notch sketches and witty songs. The bad news?...

Encore Stage & Studio’s ‘CSI: Christmas Scene Investigators’ is a comedic crowd-pleaser

You know it’s going to be a long night when Santa Claus goes missing. Either Stage Manager Meaghan Leahy made a whopper of a mistake, or some fiend stole jolly old St. Nick, thus threatening the...

‘The Day’ at the Kennedy Center captures the moment: an intimate measure beyond expectations

Ropes hang, partitioning off a raised platform that is a ramp. Curiosity rises in dimension with the angle of the ramp, a shiny black surface, and in scale with vertical ropes that provide clear...

Washington Revels’ ‘Celestial Fools’ is a stellar holiday hit

As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, Washingtonians brace themselves for a barrage of family commitments, holiday parties, religious services and fevered gift shopping. Holidays, for...

‘The Woman in Black’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company is a delightfully spooky gem

A charming little gem of a ghostly, campfire-ish thriller is here for a short time courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company. Full of expressive acting, whodunit lighting moods and suspense-making...

Iron Crow’s satisfying ‘Bare’ shines light on gay Catholic teens

Iron Crow Theatre’s production of Bare couldn’t be more timely. With music by the late Damon Intrabartolo, lyrics by Jon Hartmere and a book which was a combined effort of the two; this musical...

Arena Stage premiere of Ken Ludwig’s ‘Dear Jack, Dear Louise’ reminds audiences of the incredible power of letter writing and human connection

Separated by thousands of miles and yet connected through hundreds of letters, Dear Jack, Dear Louise by Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig (Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Lend Me a...

‘A Motown Christmas’ at the Signature Theatre brings soulful cheer

The scene was a cozy cabaret at Signature Theatre. The enthralled patrons sat at small, circular, red tables and swayed to “Give Love on Christmas Day” performed by The Motown Three, which consisted...

Back by popular demand, ‘Riverside Christmas Spectacular’ sparkles

Back by popular demand and refreshed for 2019, Riverside Center for the Performing Arts presents Riverside Christmas Spectacular, a variety show composed of beloved Christmas classics, with a few fun...

Love reigns in ‘Love in Hate Nation’ Two River Theater premiere

Love in Hate Nation is the new musical from Be More Chill’s composer/lyricist, Joe Iconis. Animated with a driving wheel of rock and funk rock tunes, it grapples with the pressing cultural issues of...

Annapolis Shakespeare Company ushers in holiday spirit with ‘A Christmas Carol’

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of A Christmas Carol is a moving, faithful stage version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale. Adapted by Sally Boyett and Donald Hicken, and directed by Sally...

5 reasons Christopher Boone liked ‘Curious Incident’ at Round House better than on Broadway

My name is Christopher Boone and I am 15 and I am brave and I can do anything. I know that because I traveled by train by myself from Swindon to London and I solved the mystery of a neighbor lady’s...

In uproarious ‘Airness’ at 1st Stage, the rock ‘n’ roll is unreal

In the competitive national and international air guitar scene, contestants vie for championships and prizes by pretending to play (or “shred”) imaginary guitars to 60-second tracks from classic rock...

NSO Pops and ‘Harry Potter’ combine for a unique movie night at the Kennedy Center

Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon. With the entire franchise’s worth surpassing $25 billion, you’d be hard-pressed to meet anyone who hasn’t felt the impact of J.K. Rowling’s influential series....

‘White Pearl’ and the Toxicity of Whiteness

“I love white,” began the commercial. “White is clean. White is pure. White is beautiful.” I stared at my laptop disgusted by the blatant discrimination in the ad as I watched a light-skinned Asian...

In ’19: The Musical,’ women sing and dance their way to suffrage

On the day I was to see 19: The Musical—which is about how the amendment granting women the right to vote came to pass in 1920—our Constitution Denier in Chief made a perfectly timed gaffe. There he...

A well-conceived ‘Curious Incident’ at Round House Theatre

“Curious” is the operative word in the title of Simon Stephens’ The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, now playing at the Round House Theatre. The protagonist, teenager Christopher Boone...

Rising opera star Soloman Howard brings rich vocals to the Kennedy Center

Soloman Howard, the 2019 Marian Anderson Award winner, brought his unique flair to the Kennedy Center in his first-ever solo concert at the venue. As a graduate of the Washington National Opera’s...

‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!’ is delightfully clever family fun at the Kennedy Center

What is your “heart dog?” How do you know it, find it—and deal with the disappointment of maybe not being able to have it? Or even . . . losing it? Heavy questions for the school-age (and even...

Past, present clash in Aquila Theatre’s ‘1984’

Viewing Aquila Theatre’s adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University, I couldn’t help but wonder which came first “newspeak” or “alternative facts.”...

BSO’s latest Lera Auerbach commission worthy of attention

A frustration of many classical and contemporary music critics is that we hear a new work that seems to have great promise for being added to the canon, and then poof! It disappears, never to be...

UrbanArias delivers fun, deeply human evening of music and voices taking on the modern condition

How prescient of the innovative UrbanArias. To be ahead of a major Washington Post Sunday Business section about a modern-day retail apocalypse: the dying of America’s suburban retail malls. Yes, you...

Aquila Theatre’s ‘The Odyssey’ tackles modern warfare and its impact

Aquila Theatre’s adaptation of Homer’s Greek epic The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson and directed by Desiree Sanchez, provides a sobering picture of the impact of warfare on the psyche. It’s...

Venus Theatre’s ‘The Powers that Be’: fighting the double bind

Venus Theatre’s staff don’t open the house until immediately before The Powers that Be begins, presenting audience members, as they take their seats, with the evening’s most arresting image,...

Sutton Foster Glows at The Barns at Wolf Trap

The audience for Sutton Foster at The Barns at Wolf Trap was packed on opening night and clearly delighted to have a chance to hear Foster in such a warm and intimate venue. A phenomenal actress,...

The (in)discreet charm of Daniel Kitson’s ‘Keep’ at Studio Theatre

Stand-up comedian and monologist extraordinaire Daniel Kitson enjoys a devout following in the UK and in Australia. He first made his reputation at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where he won a...

John Leguizamo takes audiences to school in ‘Latin History for Morons’ at the National Theatre

John Leguizamo is a famously Latino, American, Tony and Emmy Award-winning comedian, known for numerous roles that defy pigeonholing on the character-genre spectrum. Yet despite the vast range of...

‘A Christmas Story: The Musical’ comes to life at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

A Christmas Story: The Musical at Toby’s celebrates the classic charm, innocence and nostalgia of a child’s Christmas in the 1940s with plenty of high energy production numbers from the adult and...

‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ at Adventure Theatre is charming holiday fare

We all want to feel loved, right? And there are times we feel forgotten. Unseen. Disposable. The classic children’s story The Velveteen Rabbit is a sentimental reminder that a child’s love can turn...

Washington Stage Guild delivers skillful production of Dickens’ ‘Hard Times’

Like many of Charles Dickens’s sprawling novels, Hard Times chronicles the lives and times of multiple characters dwelling in England’s mid-19th-century industrial chaos. But unlike the elaborate...