Washington DC

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #12: ‘Memorable Dance in Baltimore and Beyond’ by Carolyn Kelemen

There were many big, wonderful dance events in 2015, including world premieres, new renditions of the warhorse ballets, made-for-TV series (Flesh & Bone),dance documentaries, and grand dance on the...

Theatrical Latino Beat Tuned to the Season with “Three Kings Festival” in Columbia Heights This Sunday, January 3rd

“We Three Kings of Orient are; Bearing gifts, We travel afar, Field and fountain, moor and mountain, Following yonder Star.” The words of this iconic Christmas Carol will come alive for the 40th year,...

DCMetroTheaterArts: Best of 2015 #10: Best Performances in a Musical in Professional Theatres and Special Awards

The staff of DCMetroTheaterArts is honored to announce that their 2015 Best Performances in Musicals in Professional Theatres honors go to: Best Actor in a Musical Andrew Lloyd Baughman as Sweeney...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #13 in Theater in The Philadelphia Area

2015 was a great year for theater in Philadelphia and the Philly area reviewers of DCMetroTheaterArts: Tim Dunleavy, Deb Miller, Rachel Beecher, Megan Diehl, and Tori Middleton chime in with their...

The Long View: ‘How ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was Re-written over 50 Years Ago and Signature’s ‘West Side Story’ Masterpiece

Yes, Virginia — and DC and Maryland also — this West Side Story is Real. A Real Masterpiece. Even more, perhaps a Christmas miracle, in Shirlington Village. It’s just that good. Considered by many,...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #9: Best Performances in a Musical in Community Theatres

The staff of DCMetroTheaterArts is honored to announce that their 2015 Best Performances in Musicals in Community Theatres go to: Best Actor in a Musical Rich Amada as Caractacus Potts in Chitty...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #8: Best Performances in a Play in Professional Theatres

The staff of DCMetroTheaterArts is honored to announce that their Best of 2015: Best Performances in Plays in Professional Theatres go to: BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY Josh Adams as Billy in The Cripple of...

(Re)Acts: ‘Forced From Home #RefugeeCrisis’ at Forum Theatre

The event had a provocative hashtag in its title: As if to reference an emergency that is tragically trending worldwide. As if to signal the evening’s explicit link to a global community of concern....

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #7: Best Performances in a Play in Community Theatres

The staff of DCMetroTheaterArts is honored to announce that their 2015 Best Performances in a Play in Community Theatres go to: Best Actor in a Play Christopher Anderson as Thomas in Venus in Fur at...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #6: Best Children’s/Family Productions

Here are the DCMetroTheaterArts Staff’s honorees for Best Children’s Theatre Productions in 2015. Congrats to all our honorees. A Christmas Carol at Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre. A Christmas...

‘Stars of David: Story to Song’ at Theater J

Stars of David: Story to Song—a rapturously beautiful concert musical now in a limited engagement at Theater J—is a unique blend of thrilling singing and insightful biography. Illuminating incidents...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #5: Best Plays in Community Theatres

The staff of DCMetroTheaterArts is honored to announce that their 2015 Best Plays in Community Theatres honors go to: A Charlie Brown Christmas at Sandy Spring Theatre Group and The City of...

Moscow Ballet’s ‘Great Russian Nutcracker’ at Strathmore

The anticipation before the start of a show is always palpable to friends, family, and performers alike. I sat in the Music Center at the Strathmore, waiting for Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian...

‘Mamed and on the Mend’-Sandy Bainum Takes a Fall, Has Surgery, and is Back as Mame at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

From Sandy Bainum: “It’s Today” is my first song, as Mame Dennis, in the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts (formerly known of the Riverside Dinner Theater) terrific production of Mame. It’s a...

A Report on ‘Photos In The Fire/Fotos En El Fuego’ Performed by The Paso Nuevo Youth Ensemble at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Photos In The Fire/Fotos En El Fuego is the first complete one-act play the Paso Nuevo has created together, a milestone for the GALA Hispanic Theatre‘s community-based performing arts group. By...

New Video Highlights Added: ‘Jekyll & Hyde in Concert’ at Young Artists of America at The Clarice

If ever anyone is in doubt of the future of the arts, go and see a production by the Young Artists of America (YAA). Celebrating its 5th anniversary this coming year, YAA took on the chilling tale of...

A Report on Klecksography: ‘Island of the Misfit Toys’ at Rorschach Theatre

Rorschach Theatre has produced another one-night-only show in its adventurous and eclectic Klecksography series, and Saturday night I went to report on what I saw. If I had to encapsulate the evening...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #4: Best Plays in Professional Theaters

Here are the DCMetroTheaterArts Staff’s honorees for Best Plays in Professional Theaters in 2015: A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas at Olney Theatre Center. A Conversation With the Man Who...

The National Philharmonic’s ‘Messiah’ at Strathmore

There is a legend about the London premiere of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah involving King George II. The story says that he was so moved by the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ in Part Two that he stood and...

‘Javon Jackson and Sax Appeal’ at the KC Jazz Club at the Kennedy Center

With Sax Appeal, no other “appeal” is necessary. The soul is satisfied. What happens when you bring four world-class saxophone players, a phenomenal pianist, a fingers-flying bass player, and a young...

‘Matilda the Musical’ at The Kennedy Center

Matilda the Musical, now at the Kennedy Center Opera House, is for all the disrupters and agitators out there in the world no matter what age. It is an insurrection fueled by children who are once...

‘The Season Bids Us’ at The Folger Consort

The Folger Consort — this splendid, and lapidary jewel in the crown of the Greater Washington area, and indeed, “all the world’s a stage” when it comes to the Folger — opened its Christmas-season...

Jeff Coon at The Arden Cabaret Series

Jeff Coon, a familiar and dependable face on Philadelphia stages for two decades, returned this weekend to the Arden Theatre, a company where he’s played everyone from John Wilkes Booth (in Assassins)...

‘A Christmas Carol’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Like most Americans of a certain age, I have seen A Christmas Carol… a lot. I have seen multiple different iterations of the traditional story, I have seen Scrooge!, I have seen Scrooged. This is...

Magic Time! A Look at Signature Theatre’s Stunning ‘West Side Story’

Signature Theatre’s production of West Side Story is every bit as eye-filling and ear-thrilling as any lover of this great American musical could wish. On a spacious thrust stage inside the intimate...

A Report on ‘It’s A Wonderful W.I.G.’ at Arts Collective@HCC

Howard Community College’s Arts Collective continued its spirited 21st season line-up with its second of four shows, a one-night-only holiday improv show called It’s a Wonderful W.I.G., featuring its...

‘West Side Story’ at Signature Theatre (Review)

Fabulous! Potent! Forceful! Tender! Let yourself fall in love again or for the first time with West Side Story. From the first note of the orchestra’s prologue, then quickly met with the syncopated...

National Symphony Orchestra: Handel’s Messiah at The Kennedy Center

There is a reason Handel’s Messiah has been performed for hundreds of years. It’s a masterpiece and its intricacies, depth, and sheer mass make continually new interpretations both possible and, for...

‘A Christmas Carol’ at Wolf Pack Theatre Company

Charles Dickens’ immortal classic, A Christmas Carol, was first published in 1843. Now, in 2015, the Wolf Pack Theatre Company, in association with Community Crisis Services and St. John Evangelical...

‘Bright Star’ at The Kennedy Center

Bright Star officially opened last night in its pre-Broadway engagement at The Kennedy Center. And there is plenty for audiences to like and enjoy. Let’s start with that banjo. Steve Martin co-wrote...

The National Chamber Ensemble’s Holiday Concert by J.M. Greig

The National Chamber Ensemble never fails to delight, and the “Happy Holidays” concert on Saturday, December 12, 2015, provided a sparkling start to the holiday season, with works by Strauss,...

‘Higher: Renée Fleming and Patricia Barber Perform The Music of Patricia Barber’ at The Kennedy Center

Musicians are not meant to be confined to one facet of their craft. Renée Fleming, one of the foremost voices in opera today, is not shy about her love for jazz and the mastery that goes into the...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #2: Best Musicals in Professional Theatres

The staff of DCMetroTheaterArts is honored to announce that their 2015 Best Musicals at Professional Theatres honors go to: The Addams Family at Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre. The Addams Family at...

A Chat With Douglas Sills on Appearing in ‘Kiss Me Kate’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

It was wunderbar having an opportunity to schmooze with Douglas Sills, who is having a blast appearing in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s fabulously entertaining production of Kiss Me Kate. Joel: Why...

‘All Kids Out of the Pool’ at Ottobar This Friday, 12/18 and Sat 12/19 at Bier Baron

You know at this time of year, so much is centered on kids and entertainment for kids. Personally … blecch! I say it’s time to take that shiz back from the kids! I like my kids entertainment to be...

Spine: Mosaic’s ‘The Gospel of Lovingkindness’ and a Call for a Better World

Mosaic Theatre Company’s second offering in its inaugural season is the emotionally rich The Gospel of Lovingkindness by Marcus Gardley. In it Gardley tackles the loss of innocence by the gun and with...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #1: Special Awards

The staff of DCMetroTheaterArts is honored to announce that their 2015 Special Awards have been awarded to: ARI ROTH AND MOSAIC THEATER COMPANY OF DC Mazel Tov to Ari Roth and Mosaic Theater Company...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #3: Best Musicals in Community Theatres

The staff of DCMetroTheaterArts is honored to announce that their 2015 Best Musicals at Community Theatres honorees are: Altar Boyz at Audrey Herman Spotlighters Theatre. Avenue Q at Other Voices...

‘An Irish Carol’ at The Keegan Theatre

An Irish Carol is an Irish twist on the holiday classic A Christmas Carol, written by one of Keegan’s own company members, Irish-born Matthew Keenan, and directed by Mark Rhea. The play premiered in...

Buy 1 Get 1 Free Ticket to Wolf Pack Theatre Company’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ This Thurs-Sat To Benefit the ‘Warm Nights Hypothermia Shelter Program’

BUY ONE TICKET AND GET ONE TICKET FREE: Thursday-8pm Friday-8pm Saturday-3 pm matinee and 8 pm performance Purchase your tickets at https://wolfpacktheatrecompany.webconnex.com/ACC Call 301-864-7095...

Discovery Artist in the KC Jazz Club: Fresh Cut Orchestra

On December 12th, 2015, The Kennedy Center Jazz Club showcased a ten-piece jazz ensemble from Philadelphia: the Fresh Cut Orchestra. The show, located in a private room in the Terrace Gallery, brought...

‘The Gospel of Lovingkindness’ at Mosaic Theater Company of DC

There is a shibboleth shared by liberals and conservatives alike that when a young black man shoots to death another young black man in the inner city, the fault lies in themselves. Something about...

The Washington Chorus’ ‘A Candlelight Christmas’ at The Kennedy Center

No stranger to world-class performances, the Concert Hall of The John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts makes itself home to an annual musical favorite this month, The Washington Chorus’...

‘The Nutcracker’ at Ballet Theatre of Maryland at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts

A sure sign the holiday season is in full swing is the annual return of classic ballet, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. It is almost as iconic as Santa Claus, a Christmas tree and catching the final...

‘Wish List’ at The Hub Theatre

The Hub Theatre has one of the most intimate spaces I have seen for professional theater in the Metro area. The collaborators who created this show have built a very informal, welcoming environment...

‘How to Catch a Leprechaun’ at The Keegan Theatre

This being a show meant for kids, I defer to a critical opinion I overheard right afterward, voiced by a child not yet 5: “That was really cool! Really funny too!” Coauthored by Mario Baldessari and...

In the Moment: A Look at Synetic Theater’s ‘As You Like It’

Synetic Theater continues to winningly upend The Bard’s canon with its 12th production in the speechless, though far from silent, series that had its start in 2002 with Hamlet…the rest is silence....

‘Hansel and Gretel’ by the Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center

Once upon a time, dozens of children streamed into the elegant Terrace Theater at The Kennedy Center, all of them paragons of excitement and curiosity. Were these holiday tots rushing in to see the...

‘As You Like It’ at Synetic Theater

Synetic Theater’s As You Like It is what W.H. Auden called an “inverted pastoral”—the outlaw theme of Shakespeare’s play is enhanced by the transformation of the Forest of Arden into a dystopian urban...

‘Snow White and the Family Dwarf’ at Providence Players of Fairfax

Heartwarming, hilarious, and fun, reminiscent in tone to It’s a Wonderful Life, and similar in its moral purpose, Snow White and the Family Dwarf makes an uplifting holiday entertainment. It’s a sweet...