Virginia

Nostalgic ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ charms at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

The show is wholesome, sentimental, and highlights the warmth and comfort of family.

August Wilson’s personal passion takes center stage at Avant Bard

A laudable performance of the renowned playwright’s autobiographical ‘How I Learned What I Learned.’

NextStop Theatre slates five shows for winter/spring 2022

‘Every Brilliant Thing’ | ‘The Legend of Georgia McBride’ | ‘Nat Turner in Jerusalem’ | ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ | ‘Lucky Stiff’

Without reservation, ‘Fully Committed’ at NextStop is a delight

The script gives an actor the opportunity for a sparkling display of comic virtuosity, and Jaclyn Young takes full advantage.

A ‘Bright Star’ on the horizon for Riverside Center

The Fredericksburg, VA, venue’s 2021–22 season is underway, featuring musicals, farces, mysteries, and beloved classics.

New play from Shoestring tells true story of a Frenchman Who Changed Virginia

…and it wasn’t the Marquis de Lafayette.

NextStop’s racy ‘Act of God’ is theater done right-eously

Playing God, Jacob Yeh is a revelation.

Music and joy collide in ‘Making Opera Soup’ from 1st Stage

In her solo performance outdoors, supreme storyteller Lori Brown Mirabal reveals the fun in opera for both children and adults.

Arts on the Horizon brings back ‘By the Seashore’ outdoors

The sensory-filled production takes children age 0–3 on a magical journey to the beach.

The Little Theatre of Alexandria launches dynamic new season

The company’s 2021-22 lineup includes comedies, thrillers, mysteries, an August Wilson classic, and more.

COVID resurgence prompts major changes at NextStop

‘An Act of God’ opening postponed one week; ‘Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood’ and ‘Disaster (the Musical)’ postponed to 2022.

A Chekhov trio from Workhouse Arts is an intellectual tickle

Chekhov is not a feel-good story teller. His plays tell a brutal truth about people: their motivations, their weaknesses, and their duplicity. The Workhouse Arts Center is currently streaming Chekhov...

Jessika D. Williams as Othello at ASC is a marvel to behold

By far one of the most exciting theatrical discoveries for me has been the work of the remarkable Jessika D. Williams. Those of us lucky enough to have seen her in the the American Shakespeare...

Alden Theatre’s new Drive-Thru is a family-friendly mystery

With the sold-out success of Small Change, their first Drive-Thru theater experience, the creative folk at the Alden Theatre in McLean have developed a totally new live event. It is the Alden’s second...

Three ways to catch ‘Twelfth Night’ at The American Shakespeare Center

Theater is changing. It has to; and, as ever, to survive we need to respond creatively to one of the greatest threats it has faced in centuries. But hey, we’ve been here before—and if Shakespeare can...

Black Artist Coalition begins in the DMV

Announced today, the Black Artist Coalition (BAC) has formed in response to the increasing awareness of both macro- and microaggressions that have more often than not tainted Black artists’ experience...

American Shakespeare Center to livestream performances via Marquee TV

American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia, has announced that their Summer 2020 SafeStart Season will be available for online viewing in partnership with Marquee TV. Dubbed “BlkFrs LIVE,” live...

Touring artists to take CenterStage at Reston Community Center

Even as it faces the challenges of COVID-19, the Reston Community Center CenterStage has programmed a Professional Touring Artists Series that aims “to help our community reflect on how structural...

Synetic Theater’s much-anticipated ‘The Decameron’ is now online

Paused a month ago out of respect for Black Lives Matter protests, Synetic Theatre’s much-anticipated original series The Decameron is back on the virtual boards. Each day through the end of July,...

Alden Theatre’s ‘Drive-Thru Drama’ offers family-friendly joy

The ever nimble Alden in McLean has developed a unique way to provide theatrical entertainment in this era of COVID-19. With indoor live theater on hiatus for more than three months, the Alden is set...

DMV theaters take a knee and take a stand

Beyond mourning and outrage, these DC Metro performing arts institutions have gone on the record with commitments to make a difference and be accountable. (Last updated June 12, 2020, 3:30 pm.: added...

ARTSFAIRFAX announces $100,000 emergency COVID-19 grants program

ARTSFAIRFAX today announced $100,000 in available funding through the newly created Emergency Relief and Recovery Grant Program. Funding will provide critical support to Fairfax County and the Cities...

Signature Theatre postpones ‘Mamma Mia!’ at The Anthem until 2021

Mamma Mia! at The Anthem DC will not run June 25 – July 5, 2020 as previously scheduled. Signature Theatre has worked with our sponsors Amazon and Max Productions and our partners at The Anthem and...

‘Henry IV, Parts I and II’ were stellar at American Shakespeare Center

The Shakespeare scene in and near Washington, DC, in the months prior to the virus’s intervention, was truly rich in character and ideas; so much so that even a certain fat braggart managed to strut...

‘A King and No King’ was a goodly one at American Shakespeare Center

Looking back on the last few months, each of us has our “Shoulda seen it/Shoulda been there” moments, events that we would have given anything to see live. So at the moment, imagine if you will that...

‘The Grapes of Wrath’ at The American Shakespeare Center strikes a haunting note

“It’s need that makes all the trouble” says (ex-) preacher Jim Casy in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. That, in a nutshell, is the ordeal of our times, as millions live without paychecks and...

The American Shakespeare Center’s streaming ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a much-needed romp

Yes, it’s a drag to have to stay at home instead of seeing our favorite performers live—but then again, after a little adjustment, it’s amazing to get to see our favorite performers at home. Our...

1st Stage announces dynamic 2020–2021 season

1st Stage, a vibrant professional company in Tysons, Virginia, recently announced their dynamic 2020-2021 season. This 13-year-old organization has grown from a grassroots collective of local artists...

Pipeline Playwrights to stream free plays in progress

Pipeline Playwrights, a Northern Virginia–based collective of women playwrights, presents its first set of online offerings, Playwrights at Work! starting on April 20, 2020. This brand new non-profit...

Hexagon’s ‘One State Two State Red State Blue State’: A chuckle for a good cause

News got you nervous? Quaking over coronavirus? Morose about the stock market? Fed up with the Fed? Sick of the swamp? And yet, do you fear if you take your mind off it all for a second, things might...

Music of The Go-Go’s powers Monumental Theatre’s ‘Head Over Heels’

Monumental Theatre is providing DC-area audiences with a first look at the jukebox musical comedy Head Over Heels. The production features nearly two dozen musical numbers from The Go-Go’s propelling...

Avant Bard’s finely-tuned ‘Suddenly Last Summer’ keeps the audience on its toes

Let us never forget that Tennessee Williams, for all his genius with poetic language, was one of the most fearless, gut-wrenchingly honest playwrights of the twentieth century. We have Blanche DuBois...

The room where it happens: ‘Henry IV, Part 2’ at Brave Spirits Theatre

The HBO hit Succession centers around a wealthy media family reportedly based on the Rupert Murdoch dynasty. Its central dilemma: who will succeed the ruthless Logan Roy as the head of his...

‘Cinderella’ (La Cenerentola): Well-sung Rossini at Virginia Opera

Spoiler alert: Cinderella and the Prince live happily ever after. Of course, since Virginia Opera, like all opera companies of any size, prints a detailed synopsis in the program each patron receives,...

Visionary Bill T. Jones creates a community in ‘What Problem?’ at George Mason University

Known internationally as a visionary man of the theater, Bill T. Jones has built a reputation over the past 38 years for his ability to visualize the human condition through choreography and dance....

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...

Avant Bard Theatre Announces ‘Scripts in Play: Season 30’

Launching its 30th-anniversary season, Avant Bard Theatre announces Scripts In Play: Season 30—featuring a special presentation of Happenstance Theater’s BrouHaHa December 6 to 8, 2019, and six free...

Signature’s ‘A Chorus Line’ proves musicals can evolve in the right creative hands

“A Chorus Line is still one of those musicals you will sing about to your grandchildren,” wrote theater and dance critic Clive Barnes in his 1975 New York Times review for A Chorus Line. Barnes had an...

1st Stage to host musical group All 4 Bass on November 16th

Another unique cabaret evening is arriving at 1st Stage in Tysons. It is a musical performance by the quartet All 4 Bass. The event is entitled Play it LOW…Play it COOL. The All 4 Bass group is a...

Review: ‘Disenchanted’ at Creative Cauldron

Snow White is bossy. Cinderella is a ditzy dim bulb. Sleeping Beauty not only sleeps a lot but snores. Belle is going nuts from talking to inanimate objects. Mulan likes girls. Just what kind of...

Review: An Audacious and Urgent ‘Assassins’ at Signature Theatre

Nearly thirty years after its premiere, Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins still astonishes. An audacious meet-up of nine successful and would-be presidential assassins – from the narcissist John Wilkes...

American Shakespeare Center Announces 2020 Programming

In a Sunday presentation broadcast from the stage of Staunton, Virginia’s Blackfriars Playhouse – the world’s only recreation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre – American Shakespeare Center (ASC)...

Vocalists Add a Narrative Twist to Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Volta’

Cirque du Soleil’s Volta is a rush of energy and hand-over-mouth gulps of emotions. Currently decamped in Fairfax County, a quick saunter from the raised Metro Silver Line station at Tysons II, Volta...

Interview: Pawel Walczewski Flies into Tysons with Cirque du Soleil ‘Volta’

Cirque du Soleil’s Volta features an inspirational message about loving the weirdo within. Volta centers around the character Waz who has allowed the dust of inertia and conformity to gather on him...

In the Moment: ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ at 1st  Stage

With a return visit to The Happiest Place on Earth, new gemstones are uncovered, adding complexity and currency to its bittersweet tale about dreams that a heart makes. In its current incarnation as...

Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at the City of Fairfax Theatre Company

One doesn’t generally think of Beauty and the Beast as a dance show first and foremost. But in this lively production by The City of Fairfax Theatre Company and Truro Anglican Church, featuring so...

Signature Theatre Announces ‘Assassins’ Cast and Creative Team

Signature Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for Assassins with music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman and directed by Signature Theatre Artistic Director Eric...

Riverside Center for the Performing Arts Announces Cast and Creative Team for South Pacific

Riverside Center for the Performing Arts is excited to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning South Pacific with its new production in Fredericksburg, VA. The Rodgers and...

Dressed To Plunder, and Maybe Kill: Costuming Signature’s ‘Blackbeard’

When the actor playing Blackbeard first appears on stage at the Signature Theatre in the new musical bearing his name, smoke literally curls out of his matted black hair. It’s a terrifying look and...

Review: ‘A Misanthrope’ at WSC Avant Bard

The audience didn’t stop laughing all night. Between Matt Minnicino’s rhyming couplet- filled, witty, knowing, sometimes bawdy adaptation (or, as he would have it, “distillation”) of a Molière classic...