Washington DC

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Apocalypse Picnic’ by Mariya Danilenko

Apocalypse Picnic is a sketch comedy show about life in a post-apocalyptic world. The show is comprised of nine different sketches that show how the apocalypse has affected all kinds of people,...

Erica Smith on her play ‘Come Out and Say It’ by Teresa McCormick Ertel

Each year The Mobtown Players selects an original work for production. This year playwright Erica Smith’s Come Out and Say It was chosen and is currently playing. The show was directed by Brent Englar...

Cabaret Review: Carolyn Cole’s ‘Born to Take the BELTway’ at Signature Theatre

Some time ago, I went to see a No Rules Theatre Company production of The Stephen Schwartz Project and I remember being impressed by a petite brunette with a really, really fierce belt. That brunette,...

Snow White and Her Prince Train with Puppets at The Puppet Co. by Erin Gifford

The Puppet Co. is a repertory family theater, and it produces a new show about every two years. In 2011, it premiered Snow White and the 7 Dwarves and will reopen the newest production in repertory on...

Wilco at Wolf Trap by Mike Spain

The Lee Ranaldo Band opened for Wilco on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Ranaldo is best known for his time spent with Sonic Youth – a band he founded and spent three decades as the band’s lead guitarist. I...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Planet Egg’ by Mariya Danilenko

Planet Egg is one of the most ingenious shows at the Capital Fringe Festival. It is a puppet cinema performance, which means that the artists create a puppet show in front of a live camera while the...

An Interview with The Normal Heart’s Christopher J. Hanke by Joel Markowitz

Christopher J. Hanke is a member of the outstanding ensemble of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, now playing at Arena Stage. I asked Christopher to talk about his role and working with his fellow...

Capital Fringe Review: Almost, “Almost Maine” by Grace Kim

I’m full of love for Almost, “Almost, Maine’s” actors – Christian Beltran and Mandy Nicole Moore, who sublimely perform 7 different characters each over 7 vignettes about love in relationships. In...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘A Night In (Or The Night My Wife Left)’ by Julia L. Exline

LIV Creations presents A Night In (Or The Night My Wife Left), a quirky show about a man who delves into his psyche after he comes home to a half-empty apartment, a vanished wife, and a note that...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘In the Company of De Sade’ by Amanda Gunther

In The Company of De Sade presented by the King’s Players at the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival is the show to see if you can only see one. It is well composed; thoroughly outlined with an actual plot...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘All-Nude College-Girl Revue or Why I Can’t Pass The Vetting’ by Mariya Danilenko

All-Nude College-Girl Revue or Why I Can’t Pass The Vetting is a hilarious autobiographical one-woman show performed and written by Lisa Faith Phillips. Inspired by a recent lawsuit from the Franklin...

Cabaret Review: ‘What I See’ – Natascia Diaz at Signature Theatre by Jennifer Perry

Natascia Diaz has several NYC/Broadway credits and has been a mainstay in the DC theatre scene for nearly an entire decade. Given her well-established musical theatre pedigree, I arrived at Signature...

A Preview of ‘Afterplay’ at Quotidian Theatre Company by Steve LaRocque

I had a chance last week (in blessed air conditioning) to see a rehearsal of the Quotidian Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Brian Friel’s Afterplay. The show is visually exquisite; the acting...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘A Year of Giving’ by Jessica Vaughan

Rockville Little Theatre’s production of A Year of Giving is an extraordinary story and it makes for an extraordinary play. Reed Sandridge was laid off in ’09 and decided to give $10 a day to a...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Making Love Legal’ by Jessica Vaughan

Making Love Legal is clearly a labor of love. Sara Schabach, a first-time director, and her cast infused every odd-ball scene with enthusiasm. It is an ambitious and sensitive topic to explore and...

Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: ‘Stone Age Recreation: An Operetta.’ by Rick Westerkamp

Imagine you’re at your local diner with six of your closest friends. It’s your circle’s ‘Cheers Bar’ or Central Perk. Then all of a sudden, one of you creates a hypothetical situationin which you’re...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Language From the Land’ by Joel Markowitz

This was my second dance Fringe experience that featured young dancers. Before the show began we were informed that what we were about to see was put together in one week with 25 young dancers from...

Capital Fringe Review:’ I <3 Hummels' by Ally Jenkins

Raymond (James Radack) loves Hummels. No, I mean he REALLY loves them. For those not in the know, Hummels are porcelain figurines depicting apple-cheeked boys and girls in all sorts of settings. They...

National Symphony Orchestra: The Wizard of Oz’ at Wolf Trap by Jane Coyne

Lions and tigers and bears … and a live orchestra … oh, my! It’s hard to imagine a better outdoor movie experience than one could have found Saturday night than by heading over to Wolf Trap to watch...

‘Legally Blonde – The Musical’ at McLean Community Players by Julia L. Exline

McLean Community Players presents Legally Blonde—The Musical, an infectiously silly show carried by actors with great dance moves, voices, and comedic timing. Directed by Mike Replogle, Legally Blonde...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Jesus Le Momo’ by Don Michael Mendoza

JR Foley’s play Jesus Le Momo is an exciting 50 minutes of a wild ride through the story of a wife and husband’s prayer meeting interrupted by the ghost of mad playwright Antonin Artaud. A meeting led...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Cecily and Gwendolyn’s Fantastical Capital Anthropological, Inquisitorial Probe’ by Julia L. Exline

Cecily Marlborough and Gwendolyn Hamm (otherwise known as Karen Getz and Kelly A. Jennings) are two time-traveling cultural anthropologists here to study our culture. What you won’t really find in...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘James Judd’s Funny Stories’ by Julia L. Exline

I’m not sure I have ever laughed that hard in my whole life! That being said, James Judd’s Funny Stories is an absolute Fringe must-see! Are you looking for something deep? Something that makes you...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Superhero Celebrity Rehab: The Musical’ by Cyle Durkee

Who hasn’t wondered what keeps Superman up at all hours? Why can’t Batman sleep? Why are Wonder Woman’s breasts so perky? The answer to the first two is obviously drugs (the answer to the third is, of...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘3rd Annual “Fool for All”: Tales of Marriage and Mozzarella’ by Cyle Durkee

Over the years I have seen Faction of Fools develop beautifully. They are developing a cast of regulars that have real chemistry and obviously enjoy working with each other enormously. Let’s just get...

‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’ at The Studio Theatre by David Friscic

With a randy impudence and audacity – occasionally bordering on the sophomoric – Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson pokes fun at our seventh president of the United States with the anarchistic verve of a...

‘Love, Sex, and the I.R.$.’ at Bowie Community Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Everybody wants to save money on their taxes. And when you room with your best friend post college and his first name happens to be an ambiguous unisex name the logical thing to do is to change his...

‘Dames at Sea’ at Infinity Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

Get ready to tap your toes along with the beat as Infinity Theatre Company presents the tap-happy navy-crazy musical Dames At Sea. With all the high energy of a swinging lively night on Broadway this...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘My Princess Bride’ by Andrew L. Baughman

Joe Brack is treading on hallowed ground with his production of My Princess Bride, a one-man show inspired by the William Goldman film and novel that is fanatically beloved by generations....

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Bareback Ink’ by Andrew Baughman

Bareback Ink, a new play written and directed by Bob Bartlett, is a work of art based on the Ganymede myth that will speak to each beholder in its own way. For me, it made me contemplate volatile...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Comedy of Mirrors’ by Mike Spain

The Pallas Theatre Collective production of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Mirrors does exactly what a comedy is supposed to do, make you laugh. The laughs come often from the talented casts’...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Mercy Seat’ by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Life can be tough. Some people are born with the cards stacked against them. For others, life is a series of miscalculations and bad decisions… It’s the day after 09-11-2001. Life is tough for the two...

‘Big Love’ at The Hub Theatre by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Love, Marriage, and Mayhem. Aeschylus is often described as the father of Greek tragedy. In his play The Suppliants, Danaids unveils the original tale of a King who tries to form political alliances...

An Interview with ‘A Year of Giving’s’ Reed Sandridge by Kevin O’Connell

Though he’s reluctant to take credit for any of these things, Reed Sandridge is the subject, star, and co-author of A Year of Giving, Rockville Little Theatre’s entry into the 2012 Capital Fringe...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘HeHEE! or “What It’s Not Glee?” by Jessica Vaughan

HeHEE! or “What It’s Not Glee? is a production of The Comedy Academy, Inc., which is a non-profit that teaches middle and high school and college students to write sketch comedy. I know, watching...

‘Sandy Bainum: Something to Sing About’ at Signature Theatre by Kim Moeller

In an age of big splashy music-based reality contest shows, concerts as multimedia extravaganzas, technically-altered recordings, and TV shows manufactured around large musical ensembles, it’s a...

‘Church’ at Forum Theatre Company by Lauren Katz

Forum Theatre’s mission is to bring controversial and discussion inspiring theater to society. From what I witnessed on Saturday July 13, they seem to have met their goal. Church, written by...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Lauren Katz

The Greenbelt Arts Center presents the popular children’s tale Alice in Wonderland, with a twist. The basic storyline is still present: Alice (Liz Cassedy) falls down a rabbit hole and meets a series...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Fringe Review: ‘Men Don’t Listen to Naked Women’ By Julia Exline

In Men Don’t Listen to Naked Women, performer Monique Holt throws in a pinch of everything—hilarious stand-up, friendly audience interaction, impeccable mime and playful storytelling. Dynamic,...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘President Harding is a Rock Star’ by Anne Tsang

Landless Theater Company’s revival of President Harding is a Rock Star, written by Kyle Jarrow and directed by Melissa Baughman attempts to draw parallels between the life and metoric rise of the 29th...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup’ by Doug Poms

Who is Miss Hiccup you might be wondering? She is a come-to-life doll-like clown that is played by a very talented woman from Japan named Yanomi. And yes, Yanomi does suffer from a bad case of the...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Pundit’ by Kim Moeller

“The first law of punditry is the less you know, the easier it is to boil it down to a sound bite.” That’s a quote from The Pundit’s title character, Peter Peters, an authority on, well, we’re not...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Tent of Dreams: An Occuplay’ by Pat Davis

The Baldacchino Gypsy Tent, with a loud crowd thronging in the bar next door, is the perfect setting. The crowd will likely be inside, too, standing against the edges of the tent, packed in for Nu...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Mindset’ by Jennifer Perry

Jace Casey is, put simply, a wunderkind. This young DC area teen with Signature Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, and Olney Theatre Center performing credits, has directed, composed, arranged, and co-written a...

‘Parade’ at The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts by Alex Murphy

The Theatre Lab’s production of Jason Robert Brown’s musical Parade marked another entry in the long line of excellent musicals that showcase the outrageous talent of their young performers. The young...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Flight of Fancy (A Steampunk Ballet)’ by Grace Kim

MOVEius Dance’s Flight of Fancy (A Steampunk Ballet) will invigorate your senses with a dance performance set to fourteen indie rock songs. I love dance performances and one that’s billed as an...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Everything Fringe Show You Want To See in One Fringe Show Fringe Show’ by Jessica Vaughan

The Every Fringe Show You Want To See in One Fringe Show Fringe Show is hilarious! I (and most of the audience) was laughing out loud, uncontrollably, every 20 seconds. Why? The show’s three actors...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘In This Economy’ by Jessica Vaughan

If you have ever known or happen to be either a 20-something searching for a job in DC or employed in a perpetual entry-level position, In this Economy will be both funny and severely painful. It is...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Girls Who Think They’re Hot’ by Julia L. Exline

“What you have just seen may be called by the easily-shocked, ‘shocking.’” Ritchie Porter directs this madcap mockumentary where 1950’s princess Poppy Topp (Clare Lefebure) finds herself intrigued by...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Donna Has A Boyfriend’ by Jessica Vaughan

Hayley Cutler is the choreographer behind this memorable hour of dance called Donna Has a Boyfriend. Her background is in the postmodern style. I was unaware that we have moved on from modern, but was...