Virginia

Meet the Cast of Metropolitan Youth Theatre’s ‘Spring Awakening’: Part 4: Carlos Castillo

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of Metropolitan Youth Theatre’s Spring Awakening, meet Carlos Castillo. Sam: Why did you want to appear in Spring Awakening at Metropolitan Youth...

Review: ‘West Side Story’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria

Poverty, street violence, guns, drugs, working-class whites blaming Hispanic immigrants for their financial woes, mistrust of the police—is this an article in last week’s newspaper? It certainly could...

Meet the Cast of Metropolitan Youth Theatre’s ‘Spring Awakening’: Part 1: Erin Claeys

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of Metropolitan Youth Theatre’s Spring Awakening, meet Erin Claeys. Sam: Why did you want to appear in Spring Awakening at Metropolitan Youth Theatre?...

Review: ‘The Music Man’ at The City of Fairfax Theatre Company

Director Lisa Anne Bailey has truly lined up the City of Fairfax Theatre Company’s production of The Music Man with top-notch performers and quality staging! Be ready to tap your foot along with this...

Review: ‘Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities’

Fans of Cirque du Soleil know to expect wonder, beauty, and thrills, and Cirque doesn’t disappoint. It’s a brilliantly executed brand that has become a global phenomenon (21 different productions are...

Review: ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre

The Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre’s (SSMT) production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance breathes fresh and hysterically contemporary life into an older operetta. Brilliantly directed...

Dance Preview: Misako Ballet Reflects Asian Culture

It’s very quiet – quite lovely, in fact – in the upstairs studio where visiting guest artist Fumihito Shimizu is rehearsing the Misako Ballet Company and guest dancers from Tokyo for a special...

Review: ‘Mary Poppins’ at Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage and Studio presents Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins, with original music and lyrics by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman and Book by Julian Fellowes, and new songs and...

Review: ‘Urinetown’ at Monumental Theatre Company

Urinetown is not what you would call a “feel good” musical. Monumental Theatre Company has mounted this funny and politically-punching show about a town which, due to a catastrophic water shortage,...

Review: ‘Into The Woods’ at Upper Room Theatre Ministry

Once Upon a time, in the city of Manassas, there was a theatre group that was in their 15th year of producing Broadway quality musicals. Every summer a group of talented performers gather to rehearse...

Review: ‘Maids of Honor’ at Unquiet Theatre Company

With a title like Maids of Honor one would expect romantic comedy “scmoop” and wedding hi-jinks, but if you had ever seen a production at Unquiet Theatre before, you would know that things are never...

Review: ‘Tragical History of Doctor Faustus’ at Clifton’s Got Drama

Ever hear the term “Faustian Bargain”? Well – this is the origin of the story. Plunge the depths of the human soul. Explore morality through a Victorian lens – presented in a contemporary style. Come...

Review: ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ at The FrederickTowne Players

The FrederickTowne Players’ latest production of Bye Bye Birdie highlights their forty-seventh season with the always popular story of a rock-and-roll heartthrob, star struck teens, fifties...

Review: ‘The Marcy and Zina Show’ at Signature Theatre

Amidst the sweltering summer humidity, Signature Theater’s “Sizzlin’ Summer Nights” cabaret series more than lived up to its name with songwriters Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich as they performed...

Review: ‘Twelfth Night’ at Synetic Theater

What is Shakespeare without his words? Answer: a rollicking good time! Synetic Theater, known for its dynamic and often wordless productions of Shakespeare and other classics, have another hit on...

‘Come to Their Cabaret’: Meet the Cast of PWLT’s ‘Cabaret’: Part 4: Katie Puschel & Jared Il-Pazzo Dent

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of Prince William Little Theatre’s production of Cabaret, meet Katie Puschel and Jared Il-Pazzo Dent. Joel: Who are you, and where might area readers...

Review: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at Britches and Hose Theatre Company

The many works of William Shakespeare were never meant to be read sitting down in a classroom. Shakespeare would have dreaded the idea of high school students sitting in desks, silently reading Romeo...

Review: ‘The Last Five Years’ at Robinson High School’s Rambunctious Theatre Company and West Potomac High School’s Beyond the Page Theatre Company

Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years is not your average love story. It showcases the ups and downs, successes and failures of any relationship but hearing each side of the story told going...

‘Come to Their Cabaret’: Meet the Cast of PWLT’s ‘Cabaret’: Part 3: Catherine Lyon and Larry Keeling

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of Prince William Little Theatre’s production of Cabaret, meet Catherine Lyon and Larry Keeling. Joel: Where have local theatergoers seen you perform...

Review: ‘Cabaret’ at Prince William Little Theatre

The musical Cabaret is one of those shows that checks all of the standard musical theater boxes, of dancing girls, show-stopping songs, and love stories, but also carries with it such a beautiful and...

Review: ‘Redder Blood’ at The Hub Theatre

Brimming with the naturalness of a contemporary family trying to withstand many a stressor, Redder Blood at The Hub Theatre, is an exceptionally rare tale to witness. Written by local playwright Helen...

Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ With the National Symphony Orchestra with Pianist Yuja Wang, Conducted by Lionel Bringuier at Wolf Trap

It was a stifling hot, totally sticky humid July evening in the DC area. Cooling breezes under the glowing wooden open structure that is Wolf Trap’s Filene Center at first were few and far between...

‘Come to Their Cabaret’: Meet the Cast of PWLT’s ‘Cabaret’: Part 2: James Maxted

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of Prince William Little Theatre’s production of Cabaret, meet James Maxted. Joel: Who are you, and where might area readers and audience members know...

‘The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber’ Ends its Run This Sunday At Riverside Center for The Performing Arts

Last year’s audience pleaser and hit The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber ends its run this Sunday, July 10th at 1 PM at Riverside Center for The Arts. There is a Sunday Matinee on July 10th: Arrive for...

Review: Bob Dylan at Wolf Trap With Mavis Staples

Bob Dylan and the balmy air of the Mid-Atlantic summer: the folksy voice of an era and the backwoods feel of Wolf Trap seem like they were meant to go together. However, for those fans hoping for a...

‘Come to Their Cabaret’: Meet the Cast of PWLT’s ‘Cabaret’: Part 1: Aaron Verchot-Ware and Katherine Bisulca

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of Prince William Little Theatre’s production of Cabaret, meet Aaron Verchot-Ware and Katherine Bisulca. Joel: Please introduce yourself, and tell us...

Review: ‘Sweeney Todd’ at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre

In an interestingly unusual choice for the typical light-hearted summer stock musicals at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, Sweeney Todd is an exceptional production with strong performances and crisp,...

Review: National Symphony Orchestra: Dreamworks Animation in Concert at Wolf Trap

After reviewing productions for a number of years, a “critic” like myself can usually come to rely on certain venues for consistent, professional entertainment. Wolf Trap is a spectacular venue and I...

In the Moment: Wolf Trap and the NSO Celebrate 100th Anniversary of National Parks Service on Friday, 7/1

American epic grandeur will be visible and heard at Wolf Trap when the National Symphony Orchestra presents America the Beautiful in a grand pre-July 4th event. There will be breath-taking large-scale...

Review: ‘Riverdance: The 20th Anniversary World Tour’ at Wolf Trap

Some members of the company weren’t even born when lines of dancers with arms at their sides first performed at a Eurovision competition in 1994. I’d say the rest was history but I don’t think anyone...

In the Moment: Part 2: An Interview with Workhouse Arts Center’s Ava Spece

Rare words indeed to take in and ponder from the preface to the The Brookings Institution’s Creative Communities, Art Works in Economic Development: “Without good data and analysis—much of it grounded...

Review: ‘The Good Devil (In Spite of Himself)’ at WSC Avant Bard

The Good Devil (In Spite of Himself) is a good and plenty retelling of the classic Faust tale and how art can imitate life. Well, let’s really say it is an entertaining satiric retelling that uses...

Review: ‘Make ’em Laugh’ at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre finishes out their 2015-2016 cabaret series with the uproarious and uplifting Make ‘em Laugh Cabaret, featuring Happy McPartlin and Tracy Lynn Olivera. The duo brings new meaning to...

In the Moment: An Interview with Workhouse Arts Center’s Ava Spece

The Workhouse Arts Center is a 55-acre cultural arts center located in southern Fairfax County. For the history minded, It was 100 years ago that Suffragettes who had protested the lack of voting...

In the Moment: ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at Signature Theatre: New Meaning in the Midst of the Orlando Massacre and a Spoiled Son

Signature Theatre’s production of La Cage aux Folles under the sure hands of Director/Choreographer Matthew Gardiner is a fabulously fun-rendering. There is simply no way to leave the production...

Review: ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at Signature Theatre

What is a family? Is it all about biology or does it have much more to do with love? Surely, it’s the latter, and this lesson has never been more sensitively, humorously, and colorfully presented than...

Review: ‘Stupid F#@*ing Bird’ at Port City Playhouse

Port City Playhouse has undertaken the hilarious dark comedy Stupid F#@*ing Bird, by Playwright Aaron Posner. The show is adapted from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, but with a very modern makeover and...

Review: ‘Snakebit’ at Dominion Stage

You’re lucky if you’ve got one: That old friend from childhood who knows every mistake you’ve ever made but loves you anyway. The friend to whom you can confess your darkest secrets, display your...

Review: ‘Ragtime: The Musical’ at Wolf Trap

Easily one of most under-rated musicals to come out of Broadway in the last 20 years, Ragtime: The Musical—with book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens—follows...

In the Moment: ‘Technical Theater Boot Camp’ at Hylton Performing Arts Center.

This summer Hylton Performing Art Center is offering a unique opportunity for “hands-on” learning about what happens backstage during a live theater performance. The Hylton is offering a...

Review: ‘Cul de Sac’ at Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage & Studio is currently showing their world premiere production of Cul de Sac. The play, written by Amy Thompson, is an adaptation of the popular comic strip of the same name by Richard...

In the Moment: Providence Players of Fairfax Honor Their Student Scholarship Awardees: Miryam Mendelson and Blake Phillips

Giving back to the community is an important goal for the Providence Players of Fairfax. The Providence Players (PPF) is known for its work to serve its diverse community, especially with its Theater...

Review: ‘The History Boys’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria

The Little Theatre of Alexandria presents Alan Bennett’s Tony Award-winning The History Boys. Frank D. Shutts ll directs a talented cast in this rich production. Utilizing thousands of literary...

Review: ‘The Wind in the Willows’ at Creative Cauldron

Creative Caldron presents The Wind in the Willows, an original reimagining of Kenneth Grahame’s beloved classic. Directors Ellen Selby and Denise Perrino adapted this production for the performers of...

Review: ‘Floyd Collins’ at 1st Stage

“No more plowing a hard-scrabble field, I just know it’s my lucky day!” Evan Casey’s voice rings through the 1st Stage Theater as he navigates the narrow confines of a deep underground cave. His...

Director Nick Olcott on Directing ‘Floyd Collins’ at 1st Stage

It’s one of my favorite musicals and I am thrilled that Nick Olcott is directing 1st Stage’s production of Floyd Collins, which plays through June 26th. Joel: Floyd Collins is rarely produced and is...

Providence Players Open Michael Hollinger’s Noir Comedy “Red Herring” This Weekend in Falls Church

The Providence Players close their 2015-2016 season with a number of belly laughs from Michael Hollinger’s comedy Red Herring. The production opens Friday, June 3rd and runs through the 18th at the...

In the Moment: Synetic Theater’s ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’

Synetic Theater’s The Man in the Iron Mask is a good yarn, well told. With the production Synetic continues to expand beyond its original Shakespeare roots and singular “silent” physical theater...

Here Are The 2016 Helen Hayes Award Recipients

Here are the 2016 Helen Hayes Award Recipients. We are updating the list of winners as they are being announced, starting tonight at 7:30 PM. The Winners Are In RED. ____ Outstanding Supporting...

Film Review: ‘Love & Friendship’

Love & Friendship opens with a sigh of regret from an unknown and unnamed narrator as one Lady Susan Vernon takes her leave of the Manwarings (pronounced as if that “w” was a boorish dinner guest one...