Washington DC

Strathmore Presents: ‘Kevin Costner and Modern West’ on Thursday, April 5, 2012 by Jane Coyne

Kevin Costner brought his band Modern West to Strathmore on Thursday night. Kevin Costner … as in Academy and Golden Globe Award winning actor, as in Dances with Wolves, The Body Guard, Field of...

A Group Picture of the 2012 Helen Hayes Nominees by Joel Markowitz

Last night a reception was held at Rivers at the Watergate in Washington, DC to honor this year’s Helen Hayes Awards nominees. It was a wonderful event filled with lots of schmoozing, many pats on the...

‘Rapunzel’ at Imagination Stage by Julia L. Exline

Imagination Stage presents Rapunzel, a musical fairytale adventure, with Book and Lyrics by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and Music by Michael Skloff. Director Kathryn Chase Bryer gives a unique...

‘SPIDERMUSICAL: A Second Chance for Awesome’ at Landless Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

Look up in the sky! Slinging through the trees! It’s a bird – it’s a plane – it’s – a nerdy teenage boy in a comical musical farce? Yes! Our Spidey senses are tingling! You read it here first...

Kathryn Kelley on Playing Emily Dickinson in ‘The Belle of Amherst’ at Bay Theatre Company by Joel Markowitz

Kathryn Kelley is portraying the poet Emily Dickinson in Bay Theatre Company’s production of The Belle of Amherst, and is receiving raves from local critics and audiences. I asked Kathryn to talk...

New York City Ballet at The Kennedy Center by Carolyn Kelemen

New York City Ballet Carries on the Message of the Master Ballet troupes have their ups and downs and dancers come and go, but the New York City Ballet soars high and steady because of a dance style...

‘Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You!’ at MetroStage by Doug Poms

Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You! currently in performances at MetroStage in Alexandria, Virginia, is a wonderful, winning one-man show written and performed by veteran stage and television actor,...

‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater by Amanda Gunther

The capitol-wide Eugene O’Neill Festival continues its journey with another classic presented at Arena Stage. This time be prepared to enter a day in the life of the Tyrone Family in O’Neill’s Long...

‘Strange Interlude’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company by Simon Chin

Eugene O’Neill, as Stephen Sondheim has written, was an experimental playwright whose theatrical ambition soared far above his literary accomplishment, which often remained earthbound. Strange...

‘Red Riding Hood: A New Fable’ at Olney Theatre Center by Amanda Gunther

Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go as The Olney Theatre Center presents Red Riding Hood: A New Fable. A rollicking twist on this classic Brothers Grimm tale, the...

‘Young Olympians and the Most Amazingly Awesome Adventure Ever!’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre by Mike Spain

The fun starts at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s Fun Company’s production of The Young Olympians and the Most Amazingly Awesome Adventure Ever! before we ever take our seats. The usher directs us...

‘Strathmore Presents: Patti LaBelle’ on Friday, March 30, 2012 by Jane Coyne

The one and only Patti LaBelle returned to The Music Center at Strathmore on Friday, March 30, 2012, where she promptly and proudly announced that she was 67 years old and “in it to win.” She wasn’t...

On the Waterfront at American Century Theater by Eric Denver

American Century Theater (ACT) is currently producing a powerful production of On the Waterfront – about the shenanigans of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the resultant...

‘A Girl Named Destiny’ at Venus Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Genergy. noun – The study of male and female energies – gender energies – as applicable to roles presented on the stage. This concept is thoroughly explored and developed through Venus Theatre’s world...

‘Frozen’ at Rockville Little Theatre by Amanda Gunther

Humanity in its rarest form comes to light in the Rockville Little Theatre’s presentation of Frozen by Bryony Lavery. Directed by Kevin O’Connell, this play focuses on the dramatic relationship...

‘The Taming of the Shrew’ at Synetic Theater by Natalie McCabe

There is a fine, fine line between loving and loathing, in the “interplay of joy and darkness,” as Director Paata Tsikurishvili, and Founding Artistic Director, and CEO of Synetic Theater so elegantly...

‘Side Man’ at 1st Stage by Julia L. Exline

1st Stage presents Side Man, a powerful play by Warren Leight about a jazz trumpeter’s insatiable passion for his music, and its destructive effect on his family. Directed by Michael Dove, this is a...

‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ at American University by Don Michael Mendoza

Since the regional rights were released in 2010, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – conceived by Rebecca Feldman, music and lyrics by William Finn, and a Tony Award-winning book by Rachel...

‘The Flu Season’ at Nomadic Theatre at Georgetown University by Natalie McCabe

Playwright Will Eno has been described by The New York Times as “a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation” and it is no surprise. Eno’s play, The Flu Season, produced by Nomadic Theatre, one of...

On March 31st ‘DC SWAN DAY’ Showcases Women Artists in a Series of Free Events by Pat Davis

On March 31, 135 female artists in Washington, DC will stick their necks out, stretch their wings, and plunge into SWAN Day. SWAN (Support Women in the Arts Now) Day does what theaters, publishers,...

‘The Spitfire Grill’ at Colonial Players by Amanda Gunther

The Colonial Players presents the musical version of the 1996 film The Spitfire Grill with a toe-tapping and melodic score by James Valcq, and with a book by Fred Alley. Mr. Valc and Mr. Alley also...

An Interview with ‘Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You!’ Writer and Performer Jay Alvarez by Jordan Wright

Beginning April 4th MetroStage will present Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You! – the compelling tale of one family’s escape from Cuba. The one-man drama is written, directed and performed by Jay...

Constellation Theatre Company presents ‘The Adventures of Prince Achmed,’ with live original music by Tom Teasley on April 2, 3 and 4th by Emily Morrison

On April 2, 3 and 4, Constellation Theatre Company will venture into a new galaxy of entertainment when Helen Hayes Award recipient and nominee Tom Teasley plays a live original score to the 1926...

‘Antigone’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre by Mike Spain

Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s ( MET) presents a new world premiere adaptation of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone by MET ensemble member Reiner Prochaska. This sets Antigone against King Creon and the...

‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ at Elden Street Players by Don Michael Mendoza

David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross is a look into the lives of four real estate agents looking to do what it takes – whether it be lying, cheating, and what would eventually become a burglary – to come...

‘Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp’ at Elden Street Players

Elden Street Players present Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, a re-imagining of the classic tale that draws inspiration from The Arabian Nights. Directors Laura Fontaine and Meredith Walker shed a...

‘Side Man’ at The Providence Players of Fairfax by Mike Spain

When I take my seat at the James Lee Community Center to see the Providence Players of Fairfax’s production of Side Man – I feel like I am sitting at Charlie’s Melody Lounge – especially when I look...

‘Cause Célèbre’ at The British Players by Amanda Gunther

A headlining murder case that electrified London in 1935 – a true murder story with all the spicy elements: a sexually frustrated middle-aged married woman, her young hot-blooded angry lover, the...

An Interview with Actress Emily Morrison by Pat Davis

Emily Love Morrison is a Washington, DC actor, who most recently performed in American Century Theater’s Little Murders, by Jules Feiffer. She offered her perspective on life as an actor in DC. Pat:...

An Interview with Constellation Theatre Company’s Allison Stockman by Pat Davis

Constellation Theatre Company is one of Washington, DC’s under-the-radar wonders. Founded in 2007, the theater company, in its intimate space at Source, has quietly been doing the big things that...

Artistic Director Kevin Finkelstein on Molotov’s ‘Julius Caesar’ by Joel Markowitz

Why would Molotov Theatre Group pick a Shakespearean classic to produce? I asked Molotov’s Artistic Director Kevin Finkelstein to fill us in. “The decision to do Shakespeare is a selfish one: in...

Strathmore Presents: ‘Ethan Bortnick and His Musical Time Machine’ by Jane Coyne

A delightful and engagingly “humble” young boy by the name of Ethan Bortnick, just eleven years old, headlined a concert at The Music Center at Strathmore on Friday, March 23, 2012. He is clearly...

‘An Adaptation of Julius Caesar’ at Molotov Theatre Group by Erica Laxson

Molotov Theatre Group presents yet another ambitious play and this time it’s Shakespeare who gets a taste of their unique French Horror flavor. Presenting a spectacularly gory adaptation of Julius...

Lumina Studio Theatre Presents ‘3 Sisters’ This Weekend by Joel Markowitz

Lumina Studio Theatre is presenting Chekhov’s Three Sisters this weekend at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center, in Silver Spring, MD. Three Sisters follows the dreams of Moscow-bred, Olga,...

‘Cabaret’ at Riverside Center Dinner Theater by Julia L. Exline

Riverside Center Dinner Theater presents Cabaret – a darkly decadent Tony award-winning musical with a fabulous score by John Kander and Fred Ebb – about the quiet rise of the Third Reich in Germany’s...

Will Gartshore in ‘All the King’s Men: Broken Ballads with a Stiff Upper Lip’ at Round House Theatre by Jane Coyne

On Monday night, I got an unexpected chance to catch two-time Helen Hayes Award winner Will Gartshore in a very enjoyable review-type performance at Round House Theatre in Silver Spring. Will is a...

‘Petrushka’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

A visually stunning presentation comes to Shakespeare Theatre Company for a limited engagement in Basil Twist’s Petrushka. A wild and beautiful execution of unique puppetry swirls together in this...

‘How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found’ at Theater Alliance by Natalie McCabe

“You are who you can prove you are. You are what people think. And that’s the easiest thing in the world to change.” Or is it? In Theater Alliance’s DC-area premiere of the internationally...

The Katona József Theatre production of ‘Gypsies’ at The Kennedy Center by Jennifer Perry

As part of a festival celebrating The Music of Budapest, Prague, and Vienna, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is hosting a Hungarian theatre’s production of Gypsies. In its season...

‘Ah, Wilderness’ at Arena Stage by Amanda Gunther

A little slice of life is what you will find at Arena Stage’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness. This joyous and truthful depiction of American family life at the turn of the 20th century...

Young Artists of America Presents ‘The Phantom of The Opera’ Tonight and Tomorrow Night at Churchill High School by Joel Markowitz

Tonight and Tomorrow night -March 16 and 17 at 7:30 PM – Young Artists of America is presenting Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera at The Auditorium at Winston Churchill High School, in...

‘Rapunzel’ at The Puppet Co. by Julia L. Exline

The Puppet Company Playhouse presents Rapunzel, a re-imagining of the classic fairy tale through the use of puppetry. Directed by Allan Stevens and written by Duane T. Bowers, this adaptation more...

St. John’s Announces Development Of A New Performing Arts School by Andrew L. Baughman

St. John’s Episcopal School in Olney, MD, announces the development of a new Performing Arts “School-Within-A-School” program for students in grades 5 through 8. A pilot program for the Performing...

Nibbles and Sips Around Town: ‘Go Green!’ by Jordan Wright

After a grand sweep through Ireland last May, I have become a huge fan of their hospitality… and especially of their food and drink. I visited the Jameson Distillery (a bit of a jolt to sip whiskey at...

‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ at The Warner Theatre by Natalie McCabe

“I’m not dead yet!” is whispered, shouted, and sung throughout Phoenix Entertainment’s very much alive and engaging touring production of the Tony Award-winning 2005 Best Musical, now visiting DC for...

FIST at Washington Improv Theater by Ally Jenkins

Do you like American Idol, The Voice and…[insert competitive reality show here]? Do you like “March Madness”? Then you’ll love Washington Improv Theater (WIT)’s cheerfully exuberant mash-up Fighting...

‘Experience Hendrix 2012 Tribute Tour’ at The Music Center at Strathmore by Mike Spain

The ground breaking, innovating, guitarist Jimi Hendrix became a legend of rock and blues music in his brief life. Forty years after his death his legacy lives on with the Experience Hendrix tour. The...

‘An Evening with Smokey Robinson’ at The Kennedy Center by Mike Spain

Saturday, March 3, 2012 was declared ‘Smokey Robinson Day’ in Washington, D.C. by Mayor Vincent C. Gray shortly before the legendary musician took the stage at the sold out Kennedy Center Concert...

Nibbles and Sips Around Town: ‘Poldark To The Rescue and Other Anglophile Adventures’ by Jordan Wright

Last Wednesday the swashbuckling Captain Ross Poldark swept into town and into the salon of prominent Georgetown socialite, Nancy Taylor Bubes. Well actually it was Robin Ellis, star of the BBC series...

‘The Magical Lamp of Aladdin’ at Encore Stage and Studio by Julia L. Exline

Children’s Theatre Encore Stage and Studio presents The Magical Lamp of Aladdin, a lively production directed by Chuck Leonard. By engaging children and adolescents in every facet of their productions...