Washington DC

Review: ‘Next to Normal’ at The Keegan Theatre

‘Next to Normal’ Confronts Depression, and Anxiety Depression hurts. It deadens and dulls the edge of life and can even kill. With a Tony Award-winning score composed by Tom Kitt with lyrics and book...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #18: ‘In a Day of Dreary’ by Henry Ragan

Creator Henry Ragan enlightens us on In a Day of Dreary: A horror play. Joel: In the marketing, In a Day of Dreary is described as a “horror play.” What does that mean? Henry: More often than not, I...

On Parenting and a Play: Director Shirley Serotsky Talks About ‘Another Way Home’ at Theater J

I have admired Shirley Serotsky’s work as a director on such shows as Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy at Theater J in 2014 and Rapture, Blister, Burn at Round House Theatre in 2015. Shirley also serves as...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #17: ‘Paul Gonsalves on the Road’ by Arthur Luby and Andy Wassenich

Paul Gonsalves (1920-1974) was an immensely talented tenor saxophonist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra from 1950 until his death in 1974. He is best known as the creator of one of the most memorable...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #15: ‘BRYCE: Hydrogen Blonde’ by Tabitha Odom

The rumors are true. After months of speculation, BRYCE confirmed he will be gracing the 2016 Capital Fringe stage with a brand new show BRYCE: Hydrogen Blonde. After a successful debut at The Studio...

Review: ‘What Men Don’t Say’ at Anacostia Arts Center

J Weeks Entertainment’s What Men Don’t Say, starring and directed by J the Actor and written by Mone’t Bradley, is a mini-tour de force that puts a new twist on an old theme about men and their love...

In the Moment: Scenic Designer Tony Cisek on his Scenic Design for Folger’s ‘District Merchants’

Over the past nearly two decades, I have always anticipated what multi-Helen Hayes Award Scenic Designer Tony Cisek will bring forth on the Folger Theatre’s intimate stage space with its two iconic,...

Review: ‘Fidelio’ at The In Series

The In Series ends their season with Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, a surprisingly modern tale of faith – particularly between husband and wife. This is their biggest production ever and one of the...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #14: ‘Dark Times at Grimesville High’ by Rebecca Wahls

Dark Times at Grimesville High: A Darkly Funny Take on the High School Musical Everybody loves high school! Well, at least Olivia Hope (Tess Higgins) does. As a hard-hitting school journalist,...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #13: ‘Confederates’ by James F. Bruns

Part of the 11th Annual Capital Fringe Festival July 7 – 31, 2016 Was there one day the South could have won the War? Looking back through the fog of history, Civil War “buffs” endlessly debate this...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #12: ‘Wash Over You’ by Jane Franklin

You get a laugh on when you take a trip with Jane. A river is the mechanism for a great adventure, untamed with plenty of surprises but predictable enough to get you there. The trip in Wash Over You...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #11: ‘Connectivity/Complexity’ by Rachel Turner

Errant Movement, a new modern dance company on the scene in DC, is proud to present Connectivity/Complexity. This show features choreography from Artistic Director Rachel Turner and guest...

Review: ‘Kinky Boots’ at The Kennedy Center

In The Kennedy Center’s current production of the Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots, a cornucopia of vibrant color runs riot through this exuberant and defiant celebration of diversity and...

Interviews from The Woods: Inside ‘Into the Woods JR.’ at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater

Be careful what you wish for! This weekend, Into the Woods JR. opens at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater, featuring talented students from the tri-state area. Into...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #10:’The DOMA Diaries’ by Kevin Michael West

On June 26, 2013, when the Supreme Court announced its decision on the constitutionality of “The Defense of Marriage Act” (or “DOMA”), it was a unique moment for LGBT Playwright Kevin Michael West. A...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #9: ‘One Man Romeo’ by Darius McCall

Darius McCall debuts solo act depicting Romeo A diaphanous Romeo Montague arises from the end of the play. He speaks to the audience, recalling all the events that led to his demise until he realizes...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #8: ‘How To Be The Perfect Wingwoman’ – A New Musical by Dara Gold

How To Be The Perfect Wingwoman is a new musical about the frustrations and hilariousness of modern dating. Let’s face it – it can suck! Somehow, yet another friend is getting married or having a...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #6: ‘Once Upon a Bedtime’ by Michael Oberhauser

We’re so excited to be back for our third production in the Fringe Festival, and our goal is to keep growing and trying new things. After 2014’s A Fire in Water and 2012’s Fallen Angels, we thought...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Crossroads’: Artistic Blind Date

Plunk yourself down upstairs at the Source Theatre to take in a state of mind; one of dreams and dissonance. Let yourself be open to three creative artists who bring forth dream states at the cusp of...

Review: ‘Make ’em Laugh’ at Signature Theatre

Signature Theatre finishes out their 2015-2016 cabaret series with the uproarious and uplifting Make ‘em Laugh Cabaret, featuring Happy McPartlin and Tracy Lynn Olivera. The duo brings new meaning to...

In the Moment: An Interview with Workhouse Arts Center’s Ava Spece

The Workhouse Arts Center is a 55-acre cultural arts center located in southern Fairfax County. For the history minded, It was 100 years ago that Suffragettes who had protested the lack of voting...

Dangereuse: Reconstructing Shylock: ‘District Merchants’ at the Folger Theatre

Freud said, “When a delusion cannot be dissipated by the facts of reality, it probably does not spring from reality.” This is the essence of prejudice. In showing us a more human side of Shylock...

Capital Fringe 2016 Preview #5: ‘The Golden Smile’ by Yaakov Bressler

Hailing from a sold out run at NYC’s FRIGID Festival, the absurdist musical comedy The Golden Smile will be making its debut in Washington DC at The 2016 Capital Fringe Festival, which takes place...

Capital Fringe 2016 Preview #3: ‘Too Close’ by Luigi Laraia

TOO CLOSE, a play written by Luigi Laraia Part of the 11th Annual Capital Fringe Festival July 7 – 31, 2016 Two strangers trapped in an elevator need to rely on each other to survive. Two strangers...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Secrets & Sound’: Six 10-Minute Plays

Don’t feel like committing to a two-hour show in development? Secrets & Sound: Six 10-Minute Plays is your ticket to theatrical speed-dating. You’re bound to fall in love with one of six playwrights,...

Review: ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ at Victorian Lyric Opera Company

Conundrums seem to be Gilbert and Sullivan’s specialty. Their most famous works, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, explore the comic antics that ensue when seemingly simple people are thrown...

In the Moment: ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at Signature Theatre: New Meaning in the Midst of the Orlando Massacre and a Spoiled Son

Signature Theatre’s production of La Cage aux Folles under the sure hands of Director/Choreographer Matthew Gardiner is a fabulously fun-rendering. There is simply no way to leave the production...

Review: Pianist Veronika Böhmová at the Czech Embassy in the Embassy Series

The Czech Republic is a small country with a big impact on music. It’s a good thing they don’t just churn out mere virtuosos, of whom the world has plenty. Instead the best of the lot harness...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Heroes and Home’: Six 10-Minute Plays

Now in its ninth year, the Source Festival aims to act as a starting ground for new work from artists, both new and seasoned, from all over the country. Through collaboration and a great deal of...

Review: ‘La Cage aux Folles’ at Signature Theatre

What is a family? Is it all about biology or does it have much more to do with love? Surely, it’s the latter, and this lesson has never been more sensitively, humorously, and colorfully presented than...

Review: ‘Stupid F#@*ing Bird’ at Port City Playhouse

Port City Playhouse has undertaken the hilarious dark comedy Stupid F#@*ing Bird, by Playwright Aaron Posner. The show is adapted from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, but with a very modern makeover and...

Review: ‘Snakebit’ at Dominion Stage

You’re lucky if you’ve got one: That old friend from childhood who knows every mistake you’ve ever made but loves you anyway. The friend to whom you can confess your darkest secrets, display your...

Review: ‘The New Old Time Music Hall Celebrating Queen and Country’ at The British Players

It’s a gathering of music, humor, and tradition with The British Players in The New Old Time Music Hall Celebrating Queen and Country. The British Players have quite a storied history, performing at...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Static’

In Tom Horan’s Static, directed by Bridget Grace Sheaff, Emma (Amy Horan), a perky millennial, inherits, after her father’s death, the sad task of excavating the second house he owned later in life....

Review: ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ at Damascus Theatre Company and Arts on the Green

It’s the beginning of Act I. The lights just start to go down, and everyone begins to settle into their seats for the next two hours. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, and all look forward to the...

Spine: Love, Greed, and Bigotry in The Folger’s ‘District Merchants’

There’s no question that Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice is a problem play, fraught with old hates that were once considered justified and old beliefs that have long lost their hold on the European...

Review: ‘Henry IV Parts I & II’ at The Rude Mechanicals

Over 17 years, The Rude Mechanicals, a local theater company specializing in classic works, has made its way through nearly all of Shakespeare’s enduring canon. After the current production of Henry...

Review: ‘The Importance of Being Ernest’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse

What better way to spend a lovely late spring evening than to be charmed by the words of Oscar Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest beguiles us at Laurel Mill Playhouse. This farcical satire of...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘lost&SOUND’: Artistic Blind Date

“Within each of us lies uncharted secrets. Beyond us drifts an unknowable universe…” thus begins lost&SOUND, a 35-minute Artistic Blind Date inspired by one of the full length plays currently featured...

Review: ‘Ragtime: The Musical’ at Wolf Trap

Easily one of most under-rated musicals to come out of Broadway in the last 20 years, Ragtime: The Musical—with book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens—follows...

2016 Capital Fringe Preview #2: ‘The Computer That Loved’ by Erik Mueller

Here’s an interview with Erik Mueller, writer and performer of The Computer That Loved, a 30-minute solo show about a computer scientist who finds creative inspiration in his romantic ups and downs....

In the Moment: ‘Technical Theater Boot Camp’ at Hylton Performing Arts Center.

This summer Hylton Performing Art Center is offering a unique opportunity for “hands-on” learning about what happens backstage during a live theater performance. The Hylton is offering a...

Arts Collective@HCC Holds Auditions for 2016-2017 Improv Group (WIG) Season on 6/23&24 From 6:30-9:30 PM

Howard Community College’s Arts Collective (AC) announces open auditions for “What Improv Group?!” / W.I.G.’s 2016-2017 Season, under the direction of S.G. Kramer & Daniel Johnston, on June 23rd and...

Review: ‘District Merchants’ at Folger Theatre

District Merchants, in its world premiere at Folger Theatre, is a tour de force that explores the complexity of race and identity in Reconstruction-era America. As part of Folger Theatre’s 2016...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Buried Cities’

This year’s edition of the DC Source Festival continues with its central mission to present works fresh to the DC area. The new theater works at Source receive their first full production at one of...

‘What Men Don’t Say’ Plays at The Anacostia Arts Center on June 18th at 5 & 8 PM

The title What Men Don’t Say in itself stirs up a plethora of emotions from women and especially men. Many of these emotions originate from experiences, perception and history with both genders as...

Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Entanglement’: Artistic Blind Dates

Tangled Up in Time Cultural DC’s Source Festival 2016 kicked off with Entanglement, an immersive piece of theatre written and performed by Claire Alrich, Maryam Foye, and Britney Mongold — three women...

2016 Capital Fringe Festival Preview #1: ‘Before The Lights Go Up’ by Bucky Mitchell

To begin our 2016 Capital Fringe series of Previews, Bucky Mitchell introduces us to his show Before The Lights Go Up. Joel: What is Before The Lights Go Up? Bucky: Before The Lights Go Up is a story...

Review: ‘Cul de Sac’ at Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage & Studio is currently showing their world premiere production of Cul de Sac. The play, written by Amy Thompson, is an adaptation of the popular comic strip of the same name by Richard...

In the Moment: Providence Players of Fairfax Honor Their Student Scholarship Awardees: Miryam Mendelson and Blake Phillips

Giving back to the community is an important goal for the Providence Players of Fairfax. The Providence Players (PPF) is known for its work to serve its diverse community, especially with its Theater...