Washington DC

BSO’s Marin Alsop Defines, Delivers “New Normal” in Classical Music

Marin Alsop thinks we’re ready for a “new normal” in classical music. That is why the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s music director has commissioned a work by a renowned composer who happens to be a...

Preview and Commentary: ‘Eugene Onegin’ at Washington National Opera

Opening night in any form of theater is a big deal, but this Saturday’s opening of Eugene Onegin at Washington National Opera carries extra meaning at several levels. It’s the first appearance in...

Review: ‘Vanity Fair’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

“I think I could be a good woman if I had five thousand a year.” –Becky Sharp William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) is considered a great writer. Vanity Fair, despite its flaws, is his finest novel....

Review: ‘Man of La Mancha’ by Compass Rose Theater

Compass Rose Theater’s production of Man of La Mancha is an entertaining, colorful show in an unusual location. While the theater is looking for a permanent home, they are performing the classic 1965...

Arena Stage Announces 2019-2020 Season

Arena Stage announced its 2019-2020 season this morning. The season will include the following: Ann By Holland Taylor In the Kreeger Theater | July 11 – August 11, 2019 Jitney By August Wilson...

Olney Theatre Center Announces 2019-2020 Season

Olney Theatre Center has announced the lineup for its 2019-2020 season: Mainstage Productions: Cabaret (August 28 – October 6, 2019) Singin’ in the Rain (November 8, 2019 – January 5, 2020) Miss You...

Keegan Theatre To Offer Regional Premiere of ‘Hands on a Hardbody,’ In Which Only the Strong Survive.

The musical Hands on a Hardbody opens at the Keegan Theatre on March 9. Based on a contest held in small-town Texas in 1995, Hands on a Hardbody chronicles a group of people participating in a...

Shakespeare Theatre Company Announces ‘Michael Kahn and Friends: Off the Record’

Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Michael Kahn invites theatre-lovers to a series of intimate conversations about life in the D.C. theatre scene as he prepares to retire from the STC...

Review: ‘Puffs: Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic’ by Landless Theatre Company

Ask just about anyone Gen-X and younger and they can (and will, gladly) tell you which House they would be sorted into, if we had the chance to attend a certain school of magic. For those of us who...

Review: ‘Oil’ at Olney Theatre Center

There are a few shows – very few – which on first viewing have left me breathless. The original productions of Sweeney Todd and Copenhagen come quickly to mind. To this small list add the American...

Review: ‘Blood at the Root’ at Theater Alliance

Raymond O. Caldwell kicks off his new Producing Artistic Directorship at Theater Alliance with a production of Dominque Morisseau’s Blood at the Root that is bursting with youthful exuberance,...

Review: ‘The Philadelphia Story’ by Sterling Playmakers

By Pamela O’Reilly The weather in Northern Virginia is miserable again; thank goodness for the Sterling Playmakers’ rendition of The Philadelphia Story, Philip Barry’s humorous look at the glamorous...

Review: ‘The Women of Lockerbie’ by Bowie Community Theatre

By Andy Arnold Bowie Community Theatre has a hit on its hands with Deborah Brevoort’s The Women of Lockerbie. The play, which opened March 1, explores international affairs, and the depths of grief,...

Review: ‘Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992’ at Rep Stage

Thanks to some first-rate shape-shifting at Rep Stage, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 is almost as much a work of animation as it is a documentary. Oh, and let’s not forget magic act. Danielle A. Drakes...

Director Michael Windsor on Monumental Theatre’s ‘Daddy Long Legs’

The musical Daddy Long Legs is coming to the DMV area, thanks to Monumental Theatre Company. Monumental Theatre Company “seeks to connect emerging artists, specifically those of the millennial...

The Providence Players Present ‘Oleanna’ at Falls Church’s Italian Café

Expanding its reach into the Northern Virginia community, the Providence Players of Fairfax are producing a special limited engagement of David Mamet’s Oleanna. The production will be at a new...

Nancy Robinette, Winner of Last Year’s Top Theater Award, Triumphs as Aunt Lavinia in ‘The Heiress’ at Arena Stage

From the moment she enters—decked out in widow’s weeds and descending a carpeted stairway—Nancy Robinette commands attention. That’s not unusual, since this actor—awarded the 2018 Helen Hayes...

The American Pops Orchestra To Present ‘NextGen: Finding the Voices of Tomorrow’

Imagine seeing Stefani Germanotta perform before she became Lady Gaga, or seeing Beyoncé sing before she was famous. That’s the vision for The American Pops Orchestra’s NextGen: Finding the Voices of...

Top 5 Ways ‘Dress Up Day’ is the Perfect Intro to Theater for Kids

by Beth Amann, Managing Director, Monumental Theatre Company Do you have a little one that you want to introduce to the magic of theater? We have the perfect show for you! Monumental Theatre Company...

Ford’s Theatre Announces 2019-2020 Season

Ford’s Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault today announced the upcoming 2019-2020 theatrical season will include the following: August Wilson’s Fences Featuring Craig Wallace and Erika Rose A Christmas...

Review: ‘Finding Neverland’ at the National Theatre

The touring company of Finding Neverland (book by James Graham, music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Elliot Kennedy) is making a mercifully brief stop at Washington’s National Theatre. Spinning a...

Review: ‘Robin Hood’ by Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage & Studio was founded in 1967 and produces “theatre by kids, for kids.” Their current show is Robin Hood, the classic tale of the brave archer who steals from the rich to give to the poor....

Review: ‘Separate Rooms’ at 4615 Theatre

“Will I be missed?,” the young man wonders aloud as he surveys the thirtysomethings who have gathered in his Manhattan apartment for a party after his funeral. “Did it matter that I was here?” They do...

Review: ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ at the Colonial Players of Annapolis

Colonial Players’ production of The Merry Wives of Windsor is a rollicking farce and a fun trip down memory lane. Shakespeare’s comedy has been transplanted to Windsor, Connecticut in 1988, bringing...

Review: ‘You Can’t Take It With You’ at the Little Theatre of Alexandria

When one thinks about a classic romantic comedy, exploding with moments of farcical mayhem, You Can’t Take It With You is as classic as it gets. Written in 1936 by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, the...

Strathmore Artist in Residency Program Offers Artists Support and Growth

How does a young artist prepare for the rigors of a professional performing career? For the six talented recipients of Strathmore’s Artist in Residence program, that preparation includes a 10-month...

Review: ‘In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play’ at Silver Spring Stage

When I think of how the scientific community has historically addressed the scourge of feminine hysteria, I tend to think of electro-shock treatments – those relics of masculine control over the...

Review: ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at the United States Naval Academy

The Department of Musical Activities at the United States Naval Academy’s production of Little Shop of Horrors is a fun, fast-paced romp through a modern classic. The musical about a man-eating plant...

Review: ‘A Two Woman Hamlet’ by Avant Bard

In the dead of winter, what a joy it is to be able to recapture the midsummer madness that rules this town during the Capital Fringe Festival. The folks at WSC Avant Bard, when they’re not cooking up...

Faction of Fools’ Paul Reisman on Commedia dell’Arte Day and ‘Bravo, Zan Angelo!’

February 25 is a special day for fans of physical comedy: Commedia dell’Arte Day! Founded in 2010 in order to petition that the Italian art form known for slapsticks and masks be recognized as a World...

Behind the scenes with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Photo Feature)

Ever wish you could go behind the scenes at a classical music event? Here are some images from last week’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra performance at the Kennedy Center. This Dutch orchestra (they...

Review: ‘Three Cheers to Grace’ at Young Playwrights’ Theater

“They call me a vegetable,” Grace tells us. “They call me a corpse.” In this nimbly comic and deeply moving new play by Josie Walyus, a 14-year-old named Grace is literally in a coma. That’s how all...

In the Moment: ‘Among the Dead’ at Spooky Action Theatre

Spooky Action Theatre continues to beguile with its distinctive play selections. Under Artistic Director Richard Henrich’s open mind, Spooky Action regularly produces the usually unexplored: women’s...

Review: ‘Ouroboros: Dawn of the Cabaret’ by TBD Immersive

Remember the choose-your-own-adventure books from grade school? Well, imagine that but in a live scenario where you are a character in the story, not just an observer guiding the action. This is the...

Arena Stage Announces Additional Playwrights to Join Power Plays Initiative

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has announced that three additional commissioned playwrights will join Power Plays, an ambitious initiative that will commission and develop 25 new...

The D.C. Sideshow on ‘The Official DC Hootenanny Pie Show’ Fundraiser

I often view Sideshow peeping through my fingers. It’s an art form born of immense courage and skill, with a dose of high pain threshold thrown in for good measure. I had an opportunity to chat with...

Dangereuse: The Women of Shakespeare Theatre Company’s ‘Richard the Third’

An embittered wife. A “painted queen.” A virago who curses all who have crossed her. At first glance, the women of Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Richard the Third would not seem to be particularly...

Verona Quartet Brings Storytelling to the Mansion at Strathmore

Since forming six years ago while graduate students at Indiana University, Verona Quartet has established itself as one of the most sought after string quartets of its generation. Under the mentorship...

Scott Ward Abernethy on ‘The Master and Margarita’ and Acting in DC

The extension of Constellation Theatre’s nifty The Master and Margarita provided an opportunity to interview Scott Ward Abernethy, who portrays the Devilish Woland in the production that runs through...

4615 Theatre’s Director and Design Team Discuss World Premiere of ‘Separate Rooms’

True to its current mission of producing a provocative blend of classical and contemporary work, inspiring audiences to explore the echoes and resonances of storytelling passed down through the ages,...

Signature Theatre Announces Recipients of Inaugural SigWorks: Signature Theatre / Yale Composer Partnership

Signature Theatre announced today that Mark Sonnenblick and Scott Feiner will both receive workshops of their new musical theater works as part of the SigWorks: Signature Theatre/Yale Composer...

Synetic Theater’s Vato Tsikurishvili on ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ and the Nature of Time

Impressed with his debut as a director for Synetic’s touching Cyrano de Bergerac, I took the opportunity to interview Synetic Theater’s Vato Tsikurishvili. It was a chance to delve deeper into the...

Review: ‘Radium Girls’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

The horrific and – not too strong a word – evil events recounted in Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s production of D.W. Gregory’s Radium Girls were, as the play underlines, a major, sensational, national...

In the Moment: Reflections on ‘Nell Gwynn’ at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre

Beyond cracker-jack, comic allure, the Folger production of Jessica Swale’s Nell Gwynn is a class act. The Robert Richmond-directed production is built upon Swale’s clever, fresh script. Nell Gwynn is...

Review: ‘Among the Dead’ at Spooky Action Theatre

Hansol Jung is an imaginative young playwright whose work focuses on feeling perpetually uprooted. Born in Jeonju, South Korea, she moved with her family to South Africa at the age of 6. When she was...

Review: ‘Thunder Knocking on the Door’ at Creative Cauldron

Thunder, in this case, is one Marvell Thunder, a supernatural, shape-shifting, competitive trickster who has surrendered a good bit of his humanity to act as the spirit of the blues. Played by the...

Review: ‘Hair & Other Stories’ by Urban Bush Women at Dance Place

Don’t think you’re going to sit back and observe if you show up at Urban Bush Women’s latest, Hair & Other Stories, which made its Washington, DC premiere this past weekend at Dance Place. Oh no. Read...

Review: ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ at the Kennedy Center

Life is hard enough when growing up, but when you find out that you’re the son of a god, the stakes get even higher. Armed with friends and a pen, Percy Jackson explores the world of newly discovered...

Review: ‘The Heiress’ at Arena Stage

Women are on the move today. A US Congress reflects the voices of women as never before. #MeToo movements everywhere are fighting the forces that would stifle those voices. So, on the surface, it...

Pianist Lara Downes on ‘Holes in the Sky’

With a singular mission to expand the music universe for diverse audiences, ground-breaking pianist Lara Downes will be gracing DC’s Sixth & I Historic Synagogue stage in a live event co-commissioned...