Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Broadway productions of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ and ‘Chicago’ set new records

At a time when the theater world is struggling to regain its audiences and to find its footing after reopening following the long pandemic hiatus, a total of fifteen Broadway productions will be...

The 25th anniversary celebration of ‘Chicago’ on Broadway

On Tuesday, November 16, 2021, Chicago, as it nears its 10,000th performance on Broadway, celebrated 25 years of “Razzle Dazzle” with a special anniversary celebration. Produced by Barry and Fran...

Trans Lives and Theater as Change Agent: A Q&A with Dane Figueroa Edidi and Natsu Onoda Power

In observance of the the 12th annual International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31, 2021), we republish this in-depth conversation with two leading lights in DC-area theater. —John...

Review: ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ at City Theater Company

Wilmington’s City Theater Company presents Sunday in the Park with George like you’ve never seen it before, in an original deconstruction conceived by Co-Directors Michael Gray and Tom Shade. But if...

An Interview with Erik Ransom on the Development of His New Play ‘Civil Blood (The Resurrection of Romeo)’

Just back from a production of his musical GRINDR: The Opera in Florida, Erik Ransom organized a private developmental reading of his latest work Civil Blood (The Resurrection of Romeo) for an...

Review: ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ at Delaware Theatre Company

What’s the most impressive technical production in the area? What’s just as astounding as Disney World or any show on Broadway? It’s Delaware Theatre Company’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, a world...

Review: ‘Simpatico’ at McCarter Theatre Center

“Do you want to talk, or do you want to be cryptic and weird?” Those words – which sound like they might belong in a lot of Sam Shepard’s plays – appear in the first scene of Shepard’s Simpatico. And...

Review: The Philadelphia Orchestra Presents Leonard Bernstein’s First Major Composition

Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 was the major undertaking at The Philadelphia Orchestra’s concerts of May 3, 5 and 6, 2017. Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the piece as a prelude to a year-long...

Review: Yannick Nézet-Séguin Leads The Philadelphia Orchestra in ‘Energetic’ Music

Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s latest program with The Philadelphia Orchestra was an intelligently thought-out adventure. The central work was Alternative Energy by Mason Bates, in its East Coast premiere,...

‘COME HEAR THE MUSIC PLAY:’ Memories of My Twenty Years as Agent For John Kander by Richard Seff: Part Three: ’70 Girls 70,’ ‘Chicago,’ ‘The Rink,” ‘The World Goes Round,’ ‘The Act,’ ‘Woman of the Year,’ and ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’

ACT TWO. Two years later, in 1970, I once again tried to put together a package of my clients – in the show that became 70 Girls 70 – for I’d enjoyed looking after Chita Rivera, Ron Field, Kander and...

Review: The Second City’s ‘Unelectable You’ at The Kennedy Center

Billed as “The Second City’s Completely Unbiased Political Revue,” Unelectable You—now in the middle of a four month pre-election national tour—paused in Washington, DC last weekend for a stop at The...

Seven Days in Italy with Playbill’s ‘Broadway on the High Seas 7’

I took me a busman’s holiday from September 20 to 30, 2016, by joining Playbill on its seventh cruise featuring Broadway stars and Broadway “Ambassadors” who are on board to mix, mingle and entertain...

Review: ‘The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence’ Co-Presented by Washington Performing Arts and StepAfrika! in Cooperation with the Phillips Collections

There’s a pulse, a simple rhythm. It is both complex syncopation that rushes on, and an inviting and relaxed embrace of the moment. The percussive energy of StepAfrika!, a professional company...

Review: Chicago at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center

Last night, I had the incredible pleasure of seeing Chicago at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center. I have never been to a show quite like this where the band is rock solid from start to finish and the...

2016 FringeNYC Review: ‘Tribulation: The Musical’

A post-modern take-off on the Book of Revelation, Tribulation: The Musical, with book and lyrics by Molly Miller and music by Brad Kemp, reimagines the Apocalypse through the eyes of a recent college...

In the Moment: ‘Jelly’s Last Jam’ at Signature Theatre

What a way to blast open the new theater season. So take your seat at Signature’s bold, daring, muscular production of a tale about race and music, Jelly’s Last Jam. The 1992 musical is a journey into...

Review: ‘Jelly’s Last Jam’ at Signature Theatre

The early days of American jazz come fully back to life in Signature Theatre’s Jelly’s Last Jam. But if the notion of spending two hours in the dark watching something historical sounds boring — not...

Review: ‘Superior Donuts’ at Maryland Ensemble Theatre

Humor and calories abound in Maryland Ensemble Theatre’s production of Superior Donuts, written by Tracy Letts and directed by Gené Fouché. Set in uptown Chicago, the play follows the story of...

Review #2: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ‘Broadway Divas’

Maybe you could not dance all night, but on Thursday, March 31, 2016, when the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed Broadway Divas at the Music Center at Strathmore, I could not stop tapping my feet...

Review #1: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ‘Broadway Divas’

What does one call a group of Broadway divas? After tonight’s performance of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Jack Everly, “Dreamgirls” seems like perhaps the...

The Kennedy Center Announces Its 2016-2017 Theater Season:’The Curious Incident…’, ‘Into the Woods’, ‘Wicked’, ‘Chicago’, ‘Hedwig…’ ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Cabaret’, ‘The King and I’ and World Premieres

From The Kennedy Center: 2016–2017 Theater Season: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced programming for its 2016–2017 theater season, renewing its dedication to bringing...

Liz Filios Takes on Shakespeare in ‘As You Like It’ at Lantern Theater Company in Philadelphia

A multiple Barrymore Award winner, Liz Filios has twice been recognized as Best Actress in a Musical for her lead roles in Midsummer [a play with songs] at Inis Nua Theatre Company in 2014–the same...

Review: ‘NSO Pops: Broadway Today with Darren Criss & Betsy Wolfe’ at The Kennedy Center

While most of the week here in Washington, DC has been dreary and rainy, the weekend is off to a bright start as Darren Criss and Betsy Wolfe joined the National Symphony Orchestra, under the...

Review: ‘Road Show’ at Signature Theatre

First things first. One should not miss a chance to discover, or for some re-discover, a rarely produced Stephen Sondheim work. This is especially true for an appealing musical production called Road...

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #11: New York’s Ten Best of 2015 by Richard Seff

It was an active year, heavily marked by new and revisited musicals. The attendance and box office numbers were good, both on and off Broadway. I, as the only writer covering New York theater for...

A Talk with Michael Riedel on His Book ‘Razzle Dazzle’ by Richard Seff

Michael Riedel, the theatre columnist for the New York Post and the co-host of the long running PBS show Theater Talk, sat with me for an hour on November 2nd, to discuss his valuable and readable new...

‘Hamilton’ at The Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City

I was away in August when the musical Hamilton opened on Broadway so yesterday I caught up with it as it was about to enter its third month of sellout business at The Richard Rodgers Theatre. It is...

‘The World Goes ‘Round’ at Creative Cauldron

Heartbreak, dark humor, desperation, raucous fun, and biting commentary are just a few of the words one could use to describe the music of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The World Goes ‘Round, presented by...

Use Code ‘pops15’ and Save $15 for Christine Ebersole, Paige Faure & Nick Ziobro At The Amercan Pops on 10/16@8 pm at Lisner for ‘Stairway to Paradise: A Gershwin Spectacular’

LUKE FRAZIER CONDUCTS THE AMERICAN POPS IN ‘STAIRWAY TO PARADISE: A GERSHWIN SPECTACULAR’ With Tony® Award Winner Christine Ebersole, Broadway’s Paige Faure, Great American Songbook Ambassador Nick...

Christine Ebersole, Paige Faure & Nick Ziobro Join The American Pops on 10/16@8 pm at Lisner for ‘Stairway to Paradise: A Gershwin Spectacular’

LUKE FRAZIER CONDUCTS THE AMERICAN POPS IN ‘STAIRWAY TO PARADISE: A GERSHWIN SPECTACULAR’ With Tony® Award Winner Christine Ebersole, Broadway’s Paige Faure, Great American Songbook Ambassador Nick...

‘Conversations With Chita Rivera’ Interviewed by Richard Ridge at The New School in NYC

I think we can safely call her the last Broadway Diva of the golden age. For she’s been putting together a career that is unique in this day and age in that it has been lived almost exclusively in...

Adam Wesley Brown on Playing Guildenstern in Folger Theatre’s ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’

In Part 1 of two interviews with the actors who play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Folger Theatre’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, meet Adam Wesley Brown. Please...

Infinity Theatre’s ‘Dames at Sea’ Sails into The Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway

Annapolis’ Infinity Theatre Company (Anna Roberts Ostroff & Alan Ostroff) and Perry Street Theatricals (Martin Platt & David Elliott) are proud to announce that the first Broadway production of DAMES...

UPDATED 6/1/15: Magic Time!: ‘I’m an Improviser by Trade’: A Q&A With Matthew R. Wilson, Director of Faction of Fools’ ‘Our Town’

Updated 6/1/5: Before seeing Faction of Fools’ Commedia dell’arte interpretation of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in full production (I’d previously seen it in a workshop), I was skeptical whether the...

Michal Urbaniak at Bethesda Jazz and Blues Supper Club

What does a jazz lover expect from a concert of one of the world’s greatest jazz stars? To be moved by the magic of jazz and loving its sound? This was my exact experience last night, when the stage...

Magic Time!: ‘I’m an Improviser by Trade’: A Q&A With Matthew R. Wilson, Director of Faction of Fools’ ‘Our Town’

It’s kind of a tossup these days whether Matthew R. Wilson is more newsworthy because he’s leaving as artistic director of Faction of Fools, the Commedia dell’arte company he founded, to teach...

‘From Moscow to Hollywood: Songs from the Movies” at Russian Chamber Art Society

Even today, a trip from Moscow to Hollywood is not one to be taken on the spur of the moment. What must it have meant for those in the early years of the last century, artists and musicians seeking...

‘When You Wish’ at Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC

The seeming “spontaneity,” humor, and freshness of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC‘s (GMCW) repertoire and their current concert When You Wish, which is being presented at Washington, DC’s...

‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’ at Silhouette Stages

Silhouette Stages’ hilarious production of Monty Python’s Spamalot opened last night at Slayton House in Columbia, MD. It is based on the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with Book and Lyrics by...

‘Chicago’ at Hippodrome Theatre at France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre is having its hottest season ever. Indeed, if you shovel out of your snow and ice fast enough, you will find its current offering of Chicago making things even hotter...

‘Kid Victory’ at Signature Theatre (Review) by John Stoltenberg

“You have no idea what I’ve been through,” says Luke early on in Kid Victory, the nervy and unnerving new musical by John Kander (music) and Greg Pierce (book and lyrics) that just opened at Signature...

‘Kid Victory’ at Signature Theatre (Review) by Derek Mong

Haunting, chilling, and totally mesmerizing are just a few words that you could use to describe the second collaboration between legendary composer John Kander (Chicago and Cabaret) and acclaimed...

Chita Rivera Performs “A Legendary Celebration” at The Alden

The Alden Theatre in McLean, Virginia offered the Washington area last night some welcome relief from the relentless deep freeze outside in the form of the sizzling hot Broadway legend Chita Rivera....

Chita Rivera Performs “A Legendary Celebration” Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 7:30 PM at The Alden

LIVE ON STAGE! THE ONE AND ONLY CHITA RIVERA IN A UNIQUE SOLO CONCERT EVENT A LEGENDARY CELEBRATION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015 AT 7:30 PM AT THE ALDEN 1234 INGLESIDE AVENUE McLEAN, VA 22101 FINAL TOUR...

Damascus Theatre Company Presents ‘The Musical of Musicals: The Musical’ February 19th-March 1st by Elli Swink

Damascus Theatre Company presents a hilarious Ode to Broadway Genres with The Musical of Musicals: The Musical. Damascus Theatre Company (DTC) nominated for 6 WATCH (Washington Area Theatre Community...

‘The Comedy of Errors’ at The Arlington Players

Many recent productions of The Comedy of Errors set Shakespeare’s language within a more recent environment, and in this case The Arilngton Players have set their production in Chicago in the 1920s –...

‘Other Desert Cities’ at Fells Point Corner Theatre

Other Desert Cities, a two act play by Jon Robin Baitz, is a drama with a premise that sounds like a dysfunctional family sitcom.Now at Fells Point through Feb. 8th, it is a play about a family riven...

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC Presents ‘Love Stinks!’ at Atlas Tonight at 5 & 8 PM by Craig Cipollini

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC presents a funny look at the world of love and dating TONIGHT at 5 PM and 8 PM at Atlas! We’ve all kissed a few frogs in our time – right? Join the Gay Men’s...

Meet the Cast of The Masqueraders’ ‘Translations’ at The United States Naval Academy–Part 4: Portia Norkaitis

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with the cast of The Masqueraders production of Translations. Meet Portia Norkaitis. Joel: Introduce yourself to our readers and tell them what other shows...

‘Urinetown: The Musical’ at Heritage Players

Urinetown: The Musical satirically and hilariously poses the question: what would it be like if water supplies became so scarce that people, including the poor, had to a pay a fee to pee? All bets are...