DC

Review: ‘The Tarot Reading (IV)’ at Anacostia Arts Center

Despite its occultish name, The Tarot Reading is not a cabalistic rite for mystics. It is actually an ingenious theater game for hipster questers who are psyched to play along. To be sure, the...

Review: ‘Adult Entertainment’ by The Klunch at Caos on F

D.C. theater collective The Klunch’s mischievous production of Adult Entertainment tells the story of a group of four pornographic actors and one producer who hope to make a good movie, and bring in...

Review: ‘DEMO by Damian Woetzel: Now’ at The Kennedy Center

An eclectic excursion into choreographic experimentation, innovative instrumental accompaniment, and exciting vocalizing is all part of DEMO by Damian Woetzel: Now at Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater....

Review: Taylor Mac’s ‘A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (Abridged)’ at The Kennedy Center

I doubt the Eisenhower Theater was ever more queered than the night Taylor Mac came to town. The outrageously gifted and fabulously attired theater artist brought “a radical fairy realness ritual...

News: The Welders Receive Grants for the Development of New Work

(Washington, D.C.) The Welders—Washington’s only playwrights’ collective devoted exclusively to developing and producing new plays—has received funding for artistic development of projects by...

Review: ‘Mom Baby God’ at Taffety Punk

By writing Mom Baby God’s central character Destinee Grace Ramsey as a likable, “trying-to-find-her-place-in-the world” young woman speaking her own truths, playwright Madeline Joey Rose has created...

Review: ‘Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends: New Worlds’ at the Kennedy Center

Can you imagine a chamber music concert—a quartet, playing mostly classical work by composers with names like Bach, Schubert and Shostakovich—getting six encores? And seven—yes, seven—standing...

Review: Washington National Opera Presents Verdi’s ‘Don Carlo’ at the Kennedy Center

“Peace and transcendence can only be found in death” seems to be the eternal thread that runs through Verdi’s operatic masterpiece, Don Carlo. Presented by the Washington National Opera, the gloom and...

Review: ‘Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery’ at Center for the Arts/George Mason University

In turbulent times, escaping into a yarn that is as light and high-flying as a helium-filled balloon can be a welcome respite. So, the Great Performance Series at the Center for the Arts/George Mason...

Review: ‘That Part Is True’ at Rabble Crew Productions

Wouldn’t it be fun to be a young urban radical and cohabit with other young revolutionaries—in a cheap walk-up apartment that you all share—eating fast food, having polyamorous sex, doing recreational...

Review: ‘Othello’ at American University’s Studio Theatre

A play like Othello raises many questions in the minds of theater-lovers: Should art be recuperative? Should plays written long ago be redeemed to suit the tastes of modern-day audiences? Othello is a...

Review: ‘Hold These Truths’ at Arena Stage

There is a dramatic moment in Hold These Truths that comes as no surprise yet comes as a heart-stopping shock. We know going in that this moment is going to happen. We know that the U.S. Supreme Court...

Magic Time!: The Birth and Revelation of ‘Mom Baby God’: A Q&A with Playwright/Performer Madeline Joey Rose

Mom Baby God—a solo show written and performed by Madeline Joey Rose about the right’s attack on abortion rights—is as playful as it is powerful. The play centers on a fourteen-year-old girl,...

Review: PostClassical Ensemble’s ‘Deep River: The Art of the Spiritual’ at the Washington National Cathedral

When is art an intentional expression of respectful cultural appreciation and when is it an unconscious foray into cultural misappropriation? These were some of the deep questions raised in Deep...

In the Moment: Interview with Sound Designer Justin Schmitz

All too often the work of a theater sound designer can go unnoticed. In fact, not long ago the Tony Awards decided not to even provide an award category for sound design (now reinstated). Thankfully,...

Kennedy Center Members Did Not Throw Away Their Shot When ‘Hamilton’ Tickets Went On Sale

Imagine for a moment that you were a visitor to DC yesterday and you wanted to see a show at the Kennedy Center. You would likely have logged on to their website and received this message: Because...

Discovering Your Story in Circus: Street Light Circus’s Julia Quigley, Louise Chase Dettman, Dani Pierce Steuber, and Christian Kloc on ‘Circus in Lines: Many Stories Tall’

A couple of things about the local circus community: One, if you show up as your authentic self and are willing to work, you will be heartily, soul-nourishingly embraced. Two, a lot of folks who...

Review: ‘Becoming Dr. Ruth’ at Theater J

Helmed by a trio of DC’s creative talent royalty, Theater J’s production of Becoming Dr. Ruth, penned by Mark St. Germain, goes beyond just facts and dates to become an engaging exploration of how Dr....

Review: ‘Infinite Future: Bernstein’s Lasting Impact’ by Monumental Theatre Company at Atlas Intersections Festival

Enticingly presented by Monumental Theatre Company as part of the Atlas Intersections Festival, Infinite Future: Bernstein’s Lasting Impact is an exciting and multi-dimensional theatrical event that...

Review: ‘DIAVOLO’ at The Kennedy Center

A lone dancer steps forward. Framed in silver metal rectangles, others stand behind her. As she dances, others step forward, emerging to take her place. As the number of bodies increases and the...

What’s Playing at the Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival? I’m Glad You Asked.

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? The Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival kicks off today and its ninth season promises to be better than ever. Taking place at the Atlas Performing Arts Center in...

The Day My Great-Great-Grandfather Saved Frederick Douglass from a Probable “Lynching” by the U.S. Government Right After the Harper’s Ferry Raid

(DC Theater Arts is pleased to publish this remarkable first-person history on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Frederick Douglass’s birth and Theater Alliance’s production of Idris Goodwin’s...

In the Moment: ‘Power and Lunch’ at Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival

In the DMV area, there are plenty in the political and social elite who can be found clicking away on their social media working hard to make us aware of what we should think. These same folks are...

Magic Time!: Michael Urie Opens Up About His Hamlet at Shakespeare Theatre Company

When I had a chance to ask Michael Urie some questions about his performance as Hamlet, I learned he can hold forth as insightfully as the character he plays. Well, maybe minus the verse and plot. But...

Review: ‘The Raid’ at Theater Alliance

Can social justice happen without militancy? Can ideals of equality become real without resort to violence? These questions gnaw at the mind during Theater Alliance’s powerfully eloquent staging of...

Review: ‘Hobson’s Choice’ at Quotidian Theatre

Hobson’s Choice is a winner. The play – a sparkling comedy with a terrific cast – just opened at the Quotidian Theatre Company, a jewel of a playhouse tucked into the rear of the Writer’s Center in...

Interview: Monumental Theatre Company’s Bridget Grace Sheaff and Gretchen Midgley on ‘Infinite Future: Bernstein’s Lasting Impact’

Monumental Theatre Company is a theatre troupe on the rise. Recently eligible for the Helen Hayes’ John Aniello Award, their productions are steadily gaining high praise and acclaim–and they show no...

In the Moment: DIAVOLO ‘The Veterans Project: A Long Journey Home’ at The Kennedy Center

“We all move, we all walk, we all run, we all fall, we all can even dance.” said Artistic Director Jacques Heim of DIAVOLO. With a motto of “architecture in motion” DIAVOLO will be bringing its highly...

Interview: Alter Circus members Zoe Stasko, Georgeanna Layton, and Jessica John Get ‘Hysterical’

One of the newest companies in the DC circus scene (yes there is one), Alter Circus, is dedicated to challenging gender norms and celebrating “the rebellious spirit, strength, and grace of women.”...

Review: ‘The Lathe of Heaven’ at Spooky Action Theater (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Puppets, people, props, projections, and sci-fi pop up a lot on DC stages, but not often with the narrative verve, literary cred, and nonstop wit of The Lathe of Heaven. Adapted and directed by...

Dangereuse: The Two Noras: ‘Noura’ at the Shakespeare Theatre Company (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Noura, the story of a Chaldean Christian refugee from Iraq, is a magnificent production. The acting is first-rate, the technical aspects flawless, the whole experience complex and full of deep...

Review: ‘The Veils’ at Nu Sass Productions (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Written by Hope Villanueva, The Veils explores the dualities of identity and traverses the delicate terrain of PTSD. This show, produced by Nu Sass Productions, is enjoying its world premiere at the...

Review: ‘Light Years’ at Signature Theatre

How does someone pay honor to a deceased parent whom they loved dearly? How does a son give thanks to his father? And when does a son really come to learn what a father went through, in those many...

Review: ‘Chess’ at the Kennedy Center

Who knew a game of chess could be so rock ’n roll? Or so sexy? Or set off rumblings of nuclear war? The semi-staged concert version of Chess, the 1984 rock opera playing a short run at the Kennedy...

Review: ‘Translations’ at The George Washington University

There’s a lovely scene just before intermission that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. It is 1833 in agricultural County Donegal Ireland, and two star-crossed lovers—Maire (Samantha Gonzalez), a...

Review: ‘George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic’ Funk Up the Howard Theatre

George Clinton, legendary songwriter, bandleader, and record producer, at 76 years young, put on a rapturous, stunning, extraterrestrial funk fest at the Howard Theatre on a warm February night in...

Review: ‘NSO Pops: West Side Story in Concert’ at The Kennedy Center

West Side Story remains glorious from its opening notes to its incredibly powerful final curtain. The National Symphony Orchestra’s (NSO) Pops concert version adds its own distinctive, intelligent...

Interview: Julia Cho, ‘Aubergine’ Playwright (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

In the world of #MeToo and the #TimesUp movement, how important is the playwright of color’s voice to theater and entertainment world? The Women’s Voices Theater Festival? Do you try more to be...

Michael Kahn Announces His Final Season as Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company

At a presentation in Lansburgh Theatre Wednesday morning, Michael Kahn announced Shakespeare Theatre Company’s 2018-2019 Season. With two world premieres from celebrated playwrights, a multiple Tony...

Review: ‘No Word in Guyanese For Me’ by the Rainbow Theatre Project (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

No Word In Guyanese For Me challenges our social conditioning around gender norms, identity, immigration, religion, and sexuality. Rainbow Theatre Project remounts this award-winning play by Wendy...

Review: ‘Noura’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Imagine this: it is the night before Christmas. A silent snow blankets New York City, and inside a spare living room, a woman dozes in front of her Christmas tree. Her adolescent son snuggles into the...

In the Moment: ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill’ at Creative Cauldron

“Don’t threaten me with love, baby. Let’s just go walking in the rain,” is a quote attributed to the late, and lost-too-soon, singer Billie Holiday (1915-1959). Creative Cauldron’s production of Lady...

Review: ‘Cabaret Rising’ by TBD Immersive at Dupont Underground

“Let your joy be an act of resistance!” proclaims the woman who has seized the stage underneath Dupont Circle. She’s wearing a top hat, winged liner, and a stylish frock coat. A lineup of cabaret...

Review: ‘Familiar’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

When the 2018 Women’s Voices Theater Festival comes to a close and the hits to emerge from it are tallied, Danai Gurira’s comedy Familiar will surely be on the shortlist. Gurira’s play Eclipsed—a...

Review: ‘The Great Society’ at Arena Stage

Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 margin of victory – nearly 16 million popular votes and a lopsided total of 486 electoral votes – is almost unimaginable today. Armed as well with a 68-32 majority in the Senate,...

In the Moment: Interview with Patrick Lord, Projection Designer

For regular theater-goers, we have seen that projection design is not a fad or an eye-popping, one-time visual effect. Projection design has become an integral part of many a production’s overall...

Review: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Kennedy Center

For the sixth consecutive year, Alvin Ailey renewed its February tradition of hosting a gala evening of dance to raise funds for gifted young dancers in the DMV. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater...

Review: ‘Something Rotten!’ at the National Theatre

Something Rotten! at the National Theatre reminds us of why we loved theater in the first place. The Broadway show received ten Tony nominations, and this national tour is pure joy. The cast sent out...

Who’s in Town? Adam Pascal Brings Rock Star Shakespeare to ‘Something Rotten!’ at the National Theatre

Adam Pascal is no stranger to iconic roles, having originated roles in Rent and Aida on Broadway, and stepped the role of the Emcee in Cabaret. He is now portraying an icon of a different sort:...

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra Prepare to Dazzle Washington DC

The words “Chicago” and “Philadelphia” conjure up immediate images across all the human senses. In theater and movies, the musical Chicago and the movie The Philadelphia Story (or maybe Rocky) all...