Washington DC

Review: ‘The Comedy of Errors’ at the American Shakespeare Center (Staunton, VA)

If you’re a fan of stand-up comedy, you know the highs and lows that come with artists working the crowd with fresh material they’ve been practicing for weeks. With their eyes on you and yours on...

Review: ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at the American Shakespeare Center

For all his brilliance, Shakespeare still suffers from the occasional whining of critics about his later “problem” plays. Longer and more complex, with familiar plot lines splintered and grafted into...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the American Shakespeare Center (Staunton, VA)

We all have our own holiday traditions – lighting candles one night after the next, caroling, choral concerts, dreidel-spinning, Christmas Revels, Christmas-day Chinese fare, etc.—and they all bring...

Theaters Offer Discounts to Furloughed Government Employees

With no end to the government shutdown in sight, many DMV arts organizations are offering free or discounted tickets to federal government workers. DMV theaters recognize that government employees...

David Lowery of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven Is Not Afraid to Testify

Musician David Lowery is a fascinating mix of contradictions. The co-founder of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven is a learned college math professor and a cool rocker musician, a proud and loving...

‘Passport to the World of Music’ Kicks Off 2019 at Creative Cauldron

Creative Cauldron invites you to join them on a musical tour of the world in their intimate cabaret space, with a diverse musical lineup specially curated by Ken Avis and Lynn Veronneau of the Wammy...

Is God Dead? Or Just Depressed, Lonely and Fed Up With Humankind?

The verdict is in. God is not dead. And rumors of his death, to paraphrase Mark Twain, have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, the deity—He, She or That Which Transcends All Else—is alive and well at...

DCMTA 2018 Staff Favorites: Outstanding Performance in a Professional Production

As the year draws to a close, we asked DCMTA writers to think back on the shows that left an indelible impression on them in 2018. Here are the professional performances that made the biggest impact...

Anacostia Playhouse Suffers Robbery, Spurs Fundraising Efforts

The Anacostia Playhouse community is reeling after a December 26th robbery in which burglars broke into the theater, ransacked the offices and stole thousands of dollars worth of supplies. The...

Review: ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker’ at Keegan Theatre

Capitalism. Exploitation. Greed. It’s the holiday season, folks, and your kids shouldn’t lose out on the fun. At Keegan Theatre’s The Elves and the Shoemaker, they won’t. Written by Kristin Walter and...

‘Talley’s Folly’ Dances Through the Holiday Season at Theater J

Talley’s Folly – now in its final week at GALA Hispanic Theatre on 14th Street – is a waltz. Meaning, it’s not a salsa. And it’s not a hustle, a tango or even a hot pasodoble. On the other hand, it’s...

News: Ford’s and Kennedy Center Shows to Go On During Federal Shutdown

DC’s two major federally funded theater venues have both announced that performances will be uninterrupted by the federal shutdown. According to the website of Ford’s Theatre, where A Christmas Carol...

Review: ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ at the Kennedy Center

Even before the curtain officially goes up on The Play That Goes Wrong, you can tell you are in for a laugh riot. The show’s “Director” Chris Bean (played by Evan Alexander Smith), “Stage Manager”...

Magic Time!: ‘Washington Magic’ at the Arts Club of Washington

When I was a kid, magic tricks and puppet shows were forerunners to my love of theater. They were like my gateway drug. I got hooked on the wonder and live storytelling. And to this day I associate...

Review: ‘An Irish Carol’ at Keegan Theatre

With a heart as cold as the blustery winds blowing people in and out the door, An Irish Carol by Matthew J. Keenan finds David, a pub’s miserly owner, confronted by guests of his past and glimpses of...

DCMTA 2018 Staff Favorites: Outstanding Professional Theater Productions

As the year draws to a close, we asked DCMTA writers to think back on the shows that left an indelible impression on them in 2018. In this category, Outstanding Overall Production, we recognize:...

‘Miss Saigon’: Time To Say Goodbye?

A blunt assessment: It’s time to move on. It is time to retire Miss Saigon as the seductive, out-of-touch, museum piece that it is. Miss Saigon has little to say about the sorrows of the Vietnam War....

Magic Time!: ‘Kings’ at Studio Theatre

“Laws are like sausages,” goes the adage. “It’s better not to see them being made.” As it happens, I have a good mental picture of how sausages are made, because for three summers during college I...

Review: ‘Man of La Mancha’ at Workhouse Arts Center

Man of La Mancha has long been an icon of mid-20th century American musical theater with its share of 1966 Tony Awards. This show about a man marching forward for “a heavenly cause” is a staple of...

Review: ‘Miss Saigon’ at The Kennedy Center

Miss Saigon is all grown up. Sort of. It’s been almost 30 years since Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg’s blockbuster opened in London’s West End and took the world by storm. But times have...

Review: ‘A Christmas Messe’ at Folger Shakespeare Library

This time of year, it can be challenging to keep your spirits merry and bright through the commercialized din of holiday exhortations. Well, I may have found an antidote to the seasonal fog....

Review: ‘Oh, God’ at Mosaic Theater Company

Theater and theology have been boon companions for eons. Ever since religion was invented, humans have wanted divinities with drama. Way back in polytheistic antiquity, playgoers imagined gods as...

Review: ‘Kings’ at Studio Theatre

Kings at Studio Theatre is both entertaining and thought-provoking in every sense. Beautifully acted and directed, it reminds us that politicians, even though it may be hard to believe at times, are...

Review: ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ at Anacostia Playhouse

Driving Miss Daisy, at Anacostia Playhouse, tackles many subjects: growing older, race relations, and all sorts of personal drama encountered by its Southern protagonists over a 25-year period,...

Review: ‘It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’ at Prince William Little Theatre

Prince William Little Theatre’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, directed by Caroline Scarborough, presents the well-known story of George Bailey (Michael Clendenin) discovering...

Review: ‘Striking 12’ by Free Range Humans at BlackRock Center for the Arts

Striking 12 is a striking exception to the mandatory Christmas sappiness occupying most entertainment venues this time of year. It’s set at holiday time, but the holiday in question is New Year’s Eve,...

Review: ‘Talley’s Folly’ at Theater J

As Talley’s Folly opens, 40-something-year-old, self-described “hairy Jewish accountant” Matt Friedman (John Taylor Phillips) steps onto the stage and informs the audience that he has 97 minutes to...

Review: Olney Ballet Theatre’s ‘The Nutcracker’

There are certain things that start popping up everywhere to mark the Holiday season. Carols on the radio. Decorations on houses and main streets. (Objecting to the fact that both of these are...

Review: ‘Frosted: A Traditional British Panto’ at Kensington Town Hall

It is a truth universally acknowledged in the modern era that everything must be novel, revolutionary, and exciting. People will (apparently) stand in line for the newest iPhone (whether they need it...

Review: ‘My Father’s Dragon’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic Theater produces another visually captivating and emotion-filled journey in their newest show, My Father’s Dragon. The story, adapted by Ryan Sellers, is based on the children’s book of the...

Review: The Gay Men’s Chorus Holiday Show

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC presented their annual Holiday Show on a cold winter’s night and the warmth exuded by this very polished and respected chorus obliterated any bitter winds. Since...

Review: ‘The Panties, The Partner and The Profit’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Just in time for an escape from too many holiday-spiked eggnog toasts, Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) provides an appealing, sugar-coated farce to indulge audiences. It will especially ring with...

Soloman Howard: Southeast’s Operatic Superstar Reprises ‘The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me’ at the Kennedy Center

Growing up in Southeast DC, Soloman Howard had a godfather who saw to it that the young singer’s obvious basso gift did not languish for lack of training and opportunity. “My godfather, Thomas Dixon...

Review: ‘A Rockabilly Christmas’ at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

This holiday season, Riverside Center for the Performing Arts presents A Rockabilly Christmas, co-created by Todd Meredith, Patrick A’Hearn and Jeremy Renner. For this production, Riverside returns...

Indicoe: Networking Organization Gets Artists from A to B

Whether you are an actor, a dancer or a painter – being an artist can be a lonely business, characterized by short-term jobs, self-doubt and a constant need to hustle. To remedy these difficulties,...

Review: ‘Madeline’s Christmas’ at Creative Cauldron

This holiday season, Creative Cauldron reprises Madeline’s Christmas, with book and lyrics by Jennifer Kirkeby and music by Shirley Mier, based on the beloved children’s book by Ludwig Bemelmans....

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol 2018’ at Wolf Pack Theatre Company

This isn’t your mother and father’s A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In this present day version, Ebenezer Scrooge’s father Andrew runs the charitable Scrooge Family Foundation. Tim Cratchit...

Review: ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Providence Players of Fairfax

The Providence Players of Fairfax and The Young Hearts present Charles Dickens’ beloved classic A Christmas Carol, in an inventive adaptation by Rob Zapple. Set in the outskirts of St. Louis during...

Review: ‘The Christmas Revels: An Elizabethan Celebration of the Winter Solstice’ at Washington Revels

Washington Revels rings in the holiday season with their 36th annual production of The Christmas Revels. For those unfamiliar with the revels format, the show is an annual tradition which revolves...

Review: The Second City’s ‘Love, Factually’ at the Kennedy Center

The Second City lights up the Kennedy Center’s holiday season again this year with their new production, Love, Factually. Featuring a top-rate cast directed by Frank Caeti, The Second City delivers a...

Report: ‘2018 DC Queer Theatre Festival’ at The DC Arts Center

Now in its sixth year, The DC Center’s DC Queer Theatre Festival delivers on its promise to unleash and celebrate underrepresented voices and diversity. After evaluating over thirty submissions, seven...

Review: ‘Season of Light: A Winter Fairytale’ at Silver Spring Stage

The simplest tales can oftentimes bring the most enjoyment. Steph DeFerie’s Season of Light: A Winter Fairytale tells the mythical tale of a young girl, Magda, and a band of actors searching for the...

Review: ‘She The People’ at the Second City at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

It’s common knowledge that the female cast members of Saturday Night Live like Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones practically run the high-profile comedy sketch show. The myth that women cannot be funny...

Review: ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ by the Arts Collective at Howard Community College

If Narnia was one of your beloved childhood worlds, you have the opportunity to share it with your nearest and dearest without anyone having to actually (perish the thought!) read–but only for a...

Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ by Ballet West at The Kennedy Center

Ballet West’s Nutcracker, conducted by Jared Oaks, is one of the most unique productions to hit the stage this season at the Kennedy Center. Steeped in lush colors, with a gorgeous set design and...

Review: ‘Crystal’ by Cirque du Soleil at Capital One Arena

Cirque du Soleil’s Crystal is staged on a slick sheet of ice where acrobats and skaters combine to create an amazing entertainment. A spectacular array of chills and charms to thrill and warm the...

Northern Virginia’s Alden Theatre Reopens After Renovation

Northern Virginia’s Alden Theatre, with a long-standing moniker, “small stage, big talent,” reopens on Saturday, January 5, 2019, when renovations of the surrounding building complex, the McLean...

Review: ‘Gem of the Ocean’ at Round House Theatre

There are only ever seven characters onstage in this majestic production—three of them former slaves—but it is as if multitudes of Africans lost crossing the ocean or sold in chains are evoked and...

‘Indecent’ at Arena: Victor Raider-Wexler Returns to Washington in the Role of a Lifetime

The role of Otto in Paula Vogel’s Indecent—the Tony Award-winning play at Arena Stage—is an actor’s dream. The play, about a Yiddish melodrama that scandalized Broadway nearly a century ago, opened on...

Review: ‘Christmas at the Old Bull & Bush’ at MetroStage

Back by popular demand, MetroStage has Christmas at the Old Bull & Bush again for its 2018 holiday season. Written and directed by Catherine Flye, Christmas is reflective of British variety music hall...