Maryland

Review: ‘Cloud 9’ at Iron Crow Theatre

Do you enjoy the works of playwrights like Oscar Wilde and Nöel Coward, but wish their plays had a little more adultery? Then Cloud 9 by Caryl Churchill is the play for you. Never having seen the...

Review: ‘Company’ presented by Fredericktowne Players

Company, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, is now playing at the JBK Theater at the Frederick Community College presented by the Fredericktowne Players. It was...

Review: ‘Rabbit Summer’ at Ally Theater Company

By Guest Author Cecilia Mencia Institutional racism, cultural trauma, gun right, police brutality: Playwright Tracy Conyer Lee tackles many social issues in her play Rabbit Summer. Directed by...

Review: ‘Young Frankenstein’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre

It did not turn out well for Dr. Frankenstein or his monster, but receiving an abnormal brain was a blessing for Mel Brooks. After eight decades in show business, he is still using that gift to get...

In the Moment: ‘Image China: Dragon Boat Racing’ at the Kennedy Center

Explore some of the modern culture and 20th-century history, the music and movement, of the world’s most populous country, China. Take in a full-scale epic tale, full of pageantry and a youthful love,...

Interview: Tracey Conyer Lee, ‘Rabbit Summer’ Playwright (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

Have you ever met someone who left you feeling as though there is nothing you can’t do? I got that feeling each time I sat down with four playwrights and a director who identify as women of color from...

Broadway in Annapolis: ‘The Secret Garden’ Coming to Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts

Annapolis gets a little Broadway treatment when Live Arts Maryland presents The Secret Garden on February 9-10 at 8 p.m. at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. Joining Music Director J. Ernest Green,...

Review: ‘The Consul, The Tramp, and America’s Sweetheart’ at Best Medicine Rep Theater Company

This sold out production by local playwright John Morogiello and directed by Rabbi Stan Levin touched on so many current and historical hot points that I wonder how it all happened in ninety...

Review: ‘All The Things You Are: Jerome Kern’ at The In Series

As the Great American Songbook continues to recede from its long-held prominence, productions such as the In Series All the Things You Are: Jerome Kern are priceless for those who want to hear the...

Review: ‘Waxing West’ at 4615 Theatre Company (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” So said F. Scott Fitzgerald, at the end of The Great Gatsby. Waxing West, by Saviana Stanescu, is the story of a...

Review: ‘The Trial’ at Synetic Theater

The creative, resourceful folk from Synetic Theater have made another date with an old friend and literary powerhouse, well beyond the “silent” Shakespeare for which it is justly known. The author is...

In the Moment: ‘The Way of the World’ at Folger Theatre (Women’s Voices Theatre Festival)

There’s lots to like about Theresa Rebeck’s The Way of the World just as my DC Theater Arts colleague Sophia Howes points out in her review. The show is the Folger Theater’s Women’s Voices Theater...

WATCH Award Nominees: And the Nominees Are…!

The annual 18th annual Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (WATCH Awards) nominees were just announced. Here are the nominees…. In each of the thirty-eight categories, five nominees were selected...

In the Moment: Interviews with Women’s Voices Theater Festival playwrights – Part 1

This is the first part of a multi-part series of interviews with Women’s Voices Theater Festival playwrights. In this series, I asked the same questions to a number of Women’s Voices Theater Festival...

Review: ‘Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.’ at Bravo Productions

Bravo Productions had their first of two productions in 2018 this past weekend. Fiddler on the Roof JR ran for four shows in two days to completely packed houses. The Junior musical is a condensed...

Review: ‘Quartet’ at Colonial Players of Annapolis

Colonial Players of Annapolis’ production of Quartet is an amusing comedy that offers plenty of food for thought. Written by Ronald Harwood and first performed in 1999, the play revolves around four...

DC Theater Arts Announces New Collaboration Initiatives with TodayTix

As DC Theater Arts continues to grow in its mission to provide theater fans with the best critically-engaging coverage, we are happy to announce that we will be exploring additional affiliate...

Enter the TodayTix 5 for 5 Preview Lottery for ‘The Wolves’ at Studio Theatre

What is the TodayTix 5 for 5 Lottery? Studio Theatre and TodayTix are offering a mobile Lottery for $5 preview tickets! Enter the 5 for 5 Lottery for a chance to win exclusive tickets to The Wolves‘...

In the Moment: Helen Murray, Artistic Director of The Hub Theatre Discusses Her Departure

The DC performing arts scene will be losing one of its visionary artistic directors this summer. Hub Theatre’s artistic director Helen Murray will be moving on to become the Executive Director of the...

Interview: Musical Improv Duo Tara and Rance Discuss their Critically-acclaimed Show ‘HERE’ Coming to Imagination Stage in Bethesda

Veteran Chicago improvisers Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto have traveled together to 20 countries and more than 50 U.S. cities to perform their improvised musical, HERE, recently called “nothing...

Review: ‘Love is a Blue Tick Hound’ at Rapid Lemon Productions (Women’s Voices Theater Festival)

No garden gnomes were injured in the writing of this review As part of the 2018 Women’s Voices Theater Festival, Rapid Lemon Productions is presenting the regional premiere of Love is a Blue Tick...

Magic Time!: ‘Guilt’ at Scena Theatre

Sex and guilt were linked in superstition before institutional Christianity came on the scene, but thanks to the medieval Catholic Church they got hooked up with theology too. It was in the runup to...

In the Moment: Report on ‘Declassified’ with Ben Folds and Sara Bareilles at The Kennedy Center

Under the masterful, musical code-switching curation of National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Artistic Advisor Ben Folds, the future for new audiences finding their way to the usually buttoned-up, High...

Review: ‘Wit’ at Silver Spring Stage

Wit, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Margaret Edson and directed at Silver Spring Stage by Jeff Mikoni, graces the stage with a darkly comedic tale of a strict university professor dying of...

Diverse City: Interview with Artistic Director and Activist Elena Velasco

Welcome to the very first Diverse City column on DC Theater Arts. My name is Darby DeJarnette and I created this column to highlight, through interviews, the different experiences of individuals from...

Review: ‘House.’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

Reality TV shows have been described with many different words since they have pervaded the airwaves over the past two decades – crass, stereotypical, unreality. Maryland-based playwright Daniel...

DC Theater Arts Kicks Off ‘Women’s Voices Theater Festival’ Coverage

The Women’s Voices Theater Festival kicks off this week, and DC Theater Arts is excited to cover this important event. For the Women’s Voices Theater Festival, 24 plays penned by female playwrights...

Review: ‘Inherit the Wind’ at Baltimore’s Vagabond Theatre

On a cold winter’s night, nothing heats up faster than a fiery debate. And when it comes to political grandiloquence – as timely today as 100 years ago – the Vagabond Players opening night performance...

Review: ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ at The Montgomery Playhouse

Barely two months ago, the call went out for auditions to this cast. This is worth mentioning because in that short time, considering all the holiday distractions and scheduling challenges, the...

In the Moment: Arts Council of Fairfax County Announces 2018 grant awards

As we well know, funding for the arts from all levels of government sources are under assault. Government funding is either static, or in worse cases has been reduced. As government revenue has still...

Interview: Meet the Playwright of ‘House.’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

The new year brings the opening of the original play by Daniel Johnston, House., to Laurel Mill Playhouse in Laurel, Maryland. House. is directed by Susan Brall – a reviewer at DCMTA – and produced by...

Dance Preview: ‘Bald Ballerina’ Maggie Kudirka Dances for Life

There wasn’t a dry eye when Margaret “Maggie” Kudirka ripped off her headscarf and fell to the floor during her poignant Loss and Survival solo, set to the familiar Edith Piaf song of no regrets. Just...

Review: ‘The First Christmas’ at the Music and Drama Ministry of Shiloh Baptist Church of Landover

Written and directed by Fay Brake, The First Christmas, performed recently at Shiloh Baptist Church of Landover, speaks to the essence of Christmas – inspiring its audience to remember that Jesus is...

Review: ‘Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert’ at Strathmore

Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert, conducted by Maestro Bernhard Schneider and featuring the vocal talents of German tenor Tilmann Unger and soprano Micaëla Oeste, waltzed in to The Music Center at...

Review: Comedy at The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage with Gary Vider and Sara Armour

Now in its 21st year, the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage is the Center’s gift to everyone in the Washington area, offering live entertainment at no cost every single day. It’s also a great way to...

In the Moment: Interview with Stage Manager Paul D. Michnewicz

One of the questions I often receive from theater-goers surrounds the mystery of what a stage manager does for a live theater production. The stage manager is rarely seen, and doesn’t seem to have a...

Review: Tom Teasley and Seth Kibel present Tiny Planet at Strathmore

Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole...

Preview: ‘Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert’ Promises to Transport Modern Audiences with Dazzling Old World Charm

Salute to Vienna has been a staple of the holiday season for more than 20 years in North America, and Washington welcomes it back for a 17th year on December 30, 2017. Based on the Vienna...

Review: ‘The Gift of the Mad Guy’ at Building Better People Productions

Christmastime is promoted by many as a time to let go of, at least temporarily, the practice of excessive self-cherishing. It is a time to reflect on the wants and needs of others. Many...

In the Moment: ‘Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush’ at MetroStage

Brimming with heart, musical numbers to elicit smiles, a unique wit, some audience sing-alongs, and moments that disrupt theatrical norms, MetroStage’s Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush is a charmer....

News: Baltimore Center Stage Announces New Accessibility Program

Knott Foundation Grant Opens Doors for Theatergoers Baltimore Center Stage has announced the rollout of its newly expanded and updated Accessibility Programs, funded in part by a grant from the Marion...

Review: ‘The Revolutionists’ at Everyman Theatre

“It’s a powerful thing to come together and laugh in a scary time.” – Playwright Lauren Gunderson Mon Dieu! I had no idea how much I needed a good laugh until I attended a performance of Everyman...

Review: ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Compass Rose Theater

Compass Rose Theater’s production of Fiddler on the Roof is a lovely revival of the classic 1964 musical. With book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and directed by...

Review: ‘Duke Ellington’s Neighborhood’ from The In Series performing at Gala Hispanic Theatre

Engaging, sophisticated entertainment and education that didn’t talk down to the intended audience; children who may not have been familiar with the grand musical and cultural figure, DC’s very own...

Review: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at The British Players

Director Robert Leembruggen and The British Players have created a delightfully funny and energizing interactive theater experience that is a not-miss this holiday season. Get thy backside to this...

Review: ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ at Silver Spring Stage

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is not your typical holiday story. Adapted from the best-selling book by Barbara Robinson, this rendition is laced with hilarity, mischief, and wonder. Andrea Spitz...

Review: ‘Madagascar—A Musical Adventure’ at Red Branch Theatre Company

Chalk up one more cartoon feature making a dash for freedom under the footlights. Madagascar—A Musical Adventure is now filling the intimate Red Branch Theatre with a veritable Noah’s Ark of singing,...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

The annual productions throughout this region of Charles Dickens’s nearly 175-year-old tale, A Christmas Carol, are as timeless and an integral part of the holiday experience as nativity scenes,...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Wolf Pack Theatre Company

Who isn’t familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge? Wolf Pack Theatre has retold the familiar story of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, in a different way each year, for the past four years....

Review: ‘A Wonderful Life: The Musical’ by Third Wall Productions

It was an enjoyable time last night seeing all the hard work Third Wall’s cast put into A Wonderful Life: The Musical. The show is an adaptation of the movie It’s a Wonderful Life with many great...