Washington DC

‘The Pirates of Penzance’ at Wolf Trap

On June 13, 2015, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players presented Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, a two-act operetta that was first...

‘Ruddigore’ at The Victorian Lyric Opera Company

On Saturday night, I walked into the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre with certain anticipations. As my third Victorian Lyric Opera Company production, I expected phenomenal singing, beautiful costumes,...

The British Players’ 51st Old Time Music Hall

When Malcolm Edwards, the emcee and Mr. Chairman of the British Players Old Time Music Hall, stepped on the stage and asked the packed house, “Are we going to have some fun this afternoon?” he...

‘Occupied Territories’ at Theater Alliance

The theater is no a stranger to the wounds of war. Countless plays and performance pieces have opened our hearts and minds to that which is unhealed and raw, to that which persists as pain and trauma,...

An Evening of Theater Celebration at the 16th-Annual Cappies Gala

My first foray into the world of high school award programs began last year when I attended The National Capital Area Cappies award event. And, leading up to this year’s program, celebrating the...

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic at Wolf Trap

Who knew metro Washington was also the nation’s nerd capital? A sold-out crowd — many ectomorphs in geeky garb, monk/Jedi robes, foil caps, riotous colors, vintage tour shirts, and even one randy...

‘The Wedding Singer’ at Damascus Theatre Company

Hearken back to New Jersey in the 1980s when self-absorbed Yuppies worshipped Wall Street, hair gel, and blow dryers, and you have the setting for the 2006 Tony-nominated Broadway musical, The Wedding...

The Marriage of Figaro’ at Wolf Trap

Wedding season is in full swing here in the DC area, and Wolf Trap is no exception, with their stellar production of The Marriage of Figaro. Opening tonight and running through Saturday, June 20,...

’The Word and the Wasteland’ at The Source Festival (Review)

A “seemingly guilty mass-murdering white supremacist terrorist” is the phrase dramaturg Alan Katz uses to describe the character at the heart of “The Word and the Wasteland, a full-length play...

Magic Time! ’The Word and the Wasteland’ at The Source Festival

At the center of this taut, trenchant play by Timothy Guillot is a fascinatingly enigmatic character named Benjamin Harding. He has very few lines. For the better part of two hours, Joshua Simon...

Meet the Cast of Damascus Theatre Company’s ‘The Wedding Singer’: Part 2 Gabriel T. Potter

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Wedding Singer, meet Gabriel T. Potter. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our...

‘Las Polacas: The Jewish Girls of Buenos Aires’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Many times, and perhaps too often, theater is used as a vehicle to escape life, to tell a story that is far from the reality of the world we live in and come from. I respect the artists who use...

‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’ at WSC Avant Bard

Under the lively, animated touch of director Christopher Henley, a merry little band of eager Avant Bard players bring The Madwoman of Chaillot, by French playwright Jean Giraudoux (1882-1944) to...

The Royal Ballet’s ‘Don Quixote’ at The Kennedy Center

Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote is a Royal treat Sometimes balletomanes can only distinguish between a truly great dance concert and a very fine one by noting how many goose bumps pop up on their arms....

‘Alice in Wonderland’ at Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage & Studio presents Tim Kelly’s theatrical adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, a beloved classic by Lewis Carroll. Artistic Director Susan Alison Keady and Director Chuck Leonard lead a...

‘NEWSIES’ at The National Theatre

Disney’s high-octane Newsies of New York have pirouetted their way to Pennsylvania Avenue in the Washington, DC, premiere engagement of the Tony Award-winning smash hit musical Disney’s NEWSIES. With...

Meet the Director and Cast of Spooky Action Theater’s ‘Jarry Inside Out’: Part 2: Catherine Tripp

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the Director and cast of Spooky Action Theater’s Jarry Inside Out, meet Director Catherine Tripp. Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may...

‘Lend Me a Tenor’ at the Washington County Playhouse

Lend Me a Tenor at the Washington County Playhouse is a rollercoaster ride of laughs. Director Laura Martin brings this well-known Ken Ludwig farce to life with the help of a talented cast of...

Source Theatre Festival 2015: ‘Science and Soulmates’ 10-Minute Plays

Quadratic equations and heart palpitations dominate Science and Soulmates, one third of the 2015 Source Festival’s series of ten minute plays. These six short plays succeed at what few theatres (or...

‘The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife’ at Theater J

A hit Broadway comedy, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, rounds out Theater J’s 2014–2015 season in a production smartly directed by Eleanor Holdridge. Written in a mainstream mode by Charles...

‘Tartuffe’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

“People do not mind being wicked,” said Moliere, “but they do object to being made ridiculous.” In Moliere’s great play Tartuffe, the merchant Orgon is made ridiculous by his overwhelming...

In the Moment: 2015 Capital Fringe Festival Preview #1: ‘BOND: An Unauthorized Parody’ first at Workhouse Performing Arts Center and then at The Capital Fringe

Looking at the upcoming Workhouse (Lorton, VA) Performing Arts Center calendar and the Capital Fringe Festival performance schedule, I spotted a show from Tasty Monster Productions that is crossing...

Romell Witherspoon on Playing Rosencrantz in Folger Theatre’s ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’

In Part 2 of our interviews with the actors playing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at Folger Theatre, meet Romell Witherspoon. Sophia: Please introduce yourself to our readers. What are your favorite...

‘The Good Counselor’ at 1st Stage

“You will never know the truth of my life,” says Rita Heffernon (Deidra LaWan Starnes) to her son, Vincent (Manu Kumasi), in a moment of heart-wrenching honesty. “Children never know.” The Good...

‘Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love’ at The Studio Theatre

Mallery Avidon’s Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love, now playing at Studio’s Milton Theatre, is many things. It is a poetically funny exposé on 21st century culture. It is a lyrical landscape on the lonely...

‘Why Torture is Wrong and The People Who Love Them’ at The Colonial Players

Colonial Players current production of Christopher Durang’s Why Torture is Wrong and The People Who Love Them is an affectionate treatment of a wondrously wacky, life-enriching masterwork. Durang’s...

‘The Oldest Profession’ at Rainbow Theatre Project

For female actors over 40, a familiar and monotonous list of character types dominates the theatre: mother, grandmother, beloved domestic worker. That’s why it is so satisfying to watch the five...

‘Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash’ at Infinity Theatre Company

Infinity Theatre Company has launched their Annapolis summer season with the production of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash by Richard Maltby, Jr. and William Meade. Though the cast play...

Source Theatre Festival 2015: ‘Love & Botany: 10-Minute Plays’

Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire (later turned into a PBS documentary of the same name) explored the world from the point of view of four plants: apple, tulip, marijuana, and potato. If you ever...

BSO: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony at Strathmore

Playing what has perhaps become the four most famous chords in the western canon, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra tackled Beethoven’s 5th last night at Strathmore, along with Shostakovich and...

‘Dirty Blonde’ at the Little Theatre of Alexandria

Dirty Blonde, written by Claudia Shear and directed by Jennifer Lyman, follows two stories: the rise to fame of star Mae West and the blossoming love affair of her two most obsessive fans after her...

Source Theatre Festival 2015: ‘Mistakes & Media: 10-Minute Plays’

Youthful energy is bursting out all over at Source Theatre Festival 2015, which began last night with its first round of six 10-minute plays, roaring in under the banner Mistakes & Media. This opening...

‘Born Yesterday’ at The Vagabond Players

There is so much to see in historic Fells Point in Baltimore that it would be easy to pass by the tucked away home of The Vagabond Players. However, this little theatre is about to celebrate a big...

‘Latino Music Fever’ at the In Series

The In Series takes on the music of our Southern neighbors in a concert full of classic hits from Mexico and Cuba, many of which made a climb up the U.S. pop charts. If the tunes feel particularly...

Meet the Cast of Damascus Theatre Company’s ‘The Wedding Singer’: Part 1: Taylor Campbell

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Wedding Singer, meet Taylor Campbell. Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our local...

In the Moment: Chamber Dance Project’s 2015 Summer Season at the Lansburgh

Don’t hurry out of town for the summer just yet or you will miss the new summer season of DC’s own Chamber Dance Project in residence at the Lansburgh Theatre at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Known for...

In the Moment: ‘After Seeing ‘Jarry Inside Out’

Much has been written about Spooky Action Theater’s premiere production Jarry Inside Out by Richard Henrich. I take this opportunity to connect it to popular culture, in a different manner than I have...

McLean Theatre Company Performs ‘Big Fish’ at International Thespian Festival, as the Show Garners 21 Cappies Nominations with Encore Shows June 13 and 14th at McLean HS and June 20th at GMU by Brent Stone

The McLean High School Theatre Company (MTC) was invited by the International Thespian Association to perform the musical Big Fish at the International Thespian Festival, Lincoln, Nebraska on June 25,...

In the Moment: Creative Cauldron’s Summer Cabaret

Ah, the enduring popularity of sophisticated, stylish cabaret entertainment. Now add-in musical artists who easily mix the known American Songbook standards with the less often heard to bring a...

Adam Wesley Brown on Playing Guildenstern in Folger Theatre’s ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’

In Part 1 of two interviews with the actors who play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Folger Theatre’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, meet Adam Wesley Brown. Please...

Meet the Director and Cast of of Spooky Action Theater’s ‘Jarry Inside Out’: Part 1: Ian LeValley

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the Director and cast of Spooky Action Theater’s Jarry Inside Out, meet Ian LeValley. Why did you want to become a member of the cast of Jarry Inside Out? I...

‘NSFW’ at Round House Theatre Company

Round House Theatre just opened a stunningly good production of NSFW directed by Meredith McDonough. The script by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood is a marvel in itself, because it is a scathingly...

‘Their Metal Will Be More Than Tested’: Landless Theatre Company Announces Development of ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Symphonic Metal Version)’

The Landless Theatre Company announces development of its second work of “Metal Theatre” for production in Summer, 2016: The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Symphonic Metal Version. The production follows...

UPDATED 6/1/15: Magic Time!: ‘I’m an Improviser by Trade’: A Q&A With Matthew R. Wilson, Director of Faction of Fools’ ‘Our Town’

Updated 6/1/5: Before seeing Faction of Fools’ Commedia dell’arte interpretation of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in full production (I’d previously seen it in a workshop), I was skeptical whether the...

‘happiness (and other reasons to die)’ at The Welders

You might think a suicide pact among losers who meet on line would not be a terribly good premise for a warmhearted comedy—much less a noir one à la Martin McDonaugh. You might assume there’s not a...

‘Adriana Lecouvreur’ at Riverbend Opera Company at the Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center

Big things do come in small packages. This old adage was proven correctly with the Riverbend Opera Company’s performance of Adriana Lecouvreur at the Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center. The opera,...

Kool & the Gang and Chaka Khan at Wolf Trap

Oh what a night – there’s a party goin’ on! Chaka Khan, Queen of Funk Soul, and the funkedelic Kool and the Gang were a red-hot double-hitter that rocked a sold-out house and packed lawn in a concert...

‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’ at Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre

When many people think of Charles Dickens, they think of the assigned readings from their high school English classes. If Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre presented all of Dickens’ works in the same...

‘Jarry Inside Out’ at Spooky Action Theater

The author of the infamous Ubu Roi, the play which proudly proclaims high culture as but “pshit” sculpted into attractive façades, Alfred Jarry is now the subject of a new script playing at Spooky...

‘A Man for All Seasons’ at NextStop Theatre Company

Forget everything you learned from the recent PBS miniseries Wolf Hall. Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons, currently playing at Herndon’s NextStop Theatre, tells a very different tale of Sir Thomas...