Studio Theatre

DCMTA 2019 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 2019. In this category, outstanding overall production, we recognize:...

‘White Pearl’ and the Toxicity of Whiteness

“I love white,” began the commercial. “White is clean. White is pure. White is beautiful.” I stared at my laptop disgusted by the blatant discrimination in the ad as I watched a light-skinned Asian...

The (in)discreet charm of Daniel Kitson’s ‘Keep’ at Studio Theatre

Stand-up comedian and monologist extraordinaire Daniel Kitson enjoys a devout following in the UK and in Australia. He first made his reputation at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where he won a...

The bad romance at the heart of Studio Theatre’s ‘White Pearl’

Anchuli Felicia King’s White Pearl is a hilarious, fast-paced satire set in the Singapore office of a cosmetics startup called Clearday that sells skin-whitening cream to Asian women. As the play...

15 Questions in 15 Minutes with Actor and Comic Remy Germinario

New York-based actor and comedian Remy Germinario is gearing up for his fourth appearance with drag sensation Paige Turner (host and co-creator/producer of NYC’s live drag reality show So You Think...

Studio Theatre’s ‘White Pearl’ tackles globalization and intra-Asian racism with acerbic wit

If you attend Studio Theatre’s current production of the brilliantly acerbic White Pearl and feel in the first ten minutes that you’re not sure you know what’s happening, don’t worry. Playwright...

Theater and Policy Salon’s 2019-2020 season kicks off this weekend

The 2019-2020 Theater and Policy Salon season will start on October 18 at 3 pm with a Salon at New York University’s Washington DC campus at 1307 L Street, NW in downtown DC. The conversation will...

U.S. premiere of ‘White Pearl’ by Anchuli Felicia King to premiere at Studio Theatre

In her U.S. premiere, rising Thai-Australian playwright Anchuli Felicia King takes a scathing look at the ugliness of the beauty industry in White Pearl, beginning November 6, 2019, at Studio Theatre...

Review: ‘Doubt: A Parable’ at Studio Theatre

In 2003, John Patrick Shanley started writing a play about an America full of opinionated people, people who were certain they were right, people who shunned intellectual debate. From Shanley’s point...

Review: ‘Bright Colors and Bold Patterns’ at Studio Theatre

Gerry is mad. Furious even. And who can blame him? He’s all set for the wedding of the … well … summer. He’s driven out the I10 from Los Angeles to Palm Springs and the expensively tasteful invitation...

Review: ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at Studio Theatre

When Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe planned to tackle the subject of depression, they decided to avoid more familiar approaches: plays about self-destructive superstars who are too far removed...

Watching the Tonys with DC Theater Arts

DC Theater Arts hosted a rousing Tony Awards watch party at DC sports bar Penn Social last Sunday. An enthusiastic crowd of Broadway fans competed for ticket prizes and answered trivia questions posed...

Chamber Dance Project Brings ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ From Page to Stage

‘‘Do I dare/Disturb the universe?” asked T.S. Eliot’s protagonist in the confessional modernist masterwork “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Through a world-premier devised performance,...

Monumental Theatre Announces Host and Performers for ‘Flip Flop’ Cabaret

Monumental Theatre Company will present its fifth annual Flip Flop cabaret, hosted by local actress Dani Stoller, on June 1, 2019, at Pitchers Bar in D.C. Stoller’s previous theatre credits include...

Photo Highlights from the 2019 Helen Hayes Ceremony!

Visual highlights from the 35th Annual Helen Hayes Awards Ceremony. A complete list of recipients can be found here. Photos of the before and after parties can be found here. All photos by Mukul...

2019 Helen Hayes Award Winners

Outstanding Choreography in a Musical – Hayes Parker Esse Anything Goes Arena Stage Outstanding Choreography in a Musical – Helen Rachel Leigh Dolan Chicago The Keegan Theatre Outstanding Choreography...

Review: ‘The Children’ at Studio Theatre

Three retired nuclear physicists meet in a quaint cottage not far from the nuclear power plant where they once worked and where a catastrophe has occurred. Earthquake, tsunami, tidal wave,...

Review: ‘The Great Commedia Hotel Murder Mystery’ by Faction of Fools

As much as modern culture claims to worship novelty, innovation and even disruption, there is a lot to be said for the tried and true. From an imaginative rendition of a beloved Shakespeare play to...

Magic Time!: Disrupting the White Comfort Zone: A Q&A about ‘P.Y.G.’ at Studio Theatre

I have an ongoing interest in how theaters in DC with predominantly white audiences raise and represent the issue of race. And one of the things I’ve been noticing is how the white comfort zone...

Studio Theatre Announces 2019-2020 Season

Studio Theatre’s 2019-2020 Main Series Season: Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley White Pearl by Anchuli Felicia King Pipeline by Dominique Morrisseau Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu Fun Home by...

Review: ‘P.Y.G. or The Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle’ at Studio Theatre

Don’t be put off by the deliberately opaque, long title of the current world premiere at Studio Theatre’s experimental space. P.Y.G. or The Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle is a very slick,...

Magic Time!: ‘Queen of Basel’ at Studio Theatre

Queen of Basel by Hilary Bettis, now on the boards at Studio, is scathingly brilliant. One walks out gobsmacked. (I completely concur with my colleague Bob Ashby’s astute review.) But watching Queen...

Studio Acting Conservatory Announces Location for 2019-2020 Classes

The newly formed Studio Acting Conservatory has secured temporary space for its next season of classes. 2019-2020 Classes will take place in Washington, DC, at the Garnet Patterson School, directly...

Review: ‘Queen of Basel’ at Studio Theatre

Warning: Spoilers Ahead Christy Escobar’s mesmerizing, compelling, utterly brilliant, performance is the centerpiece of Studio Theatre’s world premiere production of Hilary Bettis’ Queen of Basel. In...

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...

Studio Theatre To Close Its Acting Conservatory

Raise your hand if you studied at Studio Theatre’s Acting Conservatory? For the 10,000 plus performers whose careers started at Studio’s 43-year-old conservatory, the news that Studio would be closing...

Magic Time!: ‘Admissions’ at Studio Theatre

“Some of my best friends are white men,” says Sherri, the very liberal white woman who handles admissions at a small New England prep school. Avowedly antiracist, Sherri is on a mission to increase...

Review: ‘Admissions’ at Studio Theatre

It’s an odd thing, as a Latina here in Washington, D.C., to observe the mental wrestlings of liberal white folks struggling to come to terms with their privilege. How in muted voices they make sure to...

DCMTA 2018 Staff Favorites: Outstanding Design Elements in Professional 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 professional design, we recognize:...

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...

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: ‘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: ‘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...

Cyber Monday Ticket Deals Extended to Noon Today!

Love a good deal? Want to take your schnookie out for the holidays? Tired of buying theater tickets you really can’t afford? You’re in luck! We’ve teamed up with TodayTix to offer our readers some...

Magic Time!: ‘Cry It Out’ at Studio Theatre

Cry It Out—an exhilaratingly funny and touching comedy about new parenthood—is a joyous reminder that when a playwright of Molly Smith Metzler’s skill and compassion writes “close to home,” as she...

Review: ‘Cry It Out’ at Studio Theatre

In the bleak Long Island backyard that serves as their coffee-klatch confessional, neighbors Lina and Jessie chat daily about the alternately hilarious and heart-wrenching emotional terrain of new...

Magic Time!: ‘The Fall’ at Studio Theatre

There is so much to be blown away by in The Fall, the powerful and thrilling performance piece devised and performed by seven South African students. Their majestic musicality, their propulsive...

From Stage to Screen: A Conversation with Four New York Actors Who Do Both

Among the many stage actors who have appeared on the big and small screen, New York-based Dan Domenech, Erik Ransom, Jamyl Dobson, and Johnny Smith are accomplished and well-versed in both. Though all...

Review: ‘The Fall’ at Studio Theatre

A passionate purity burns bright in The Fall. The incandescence of young people with hearts on fire contending against oppressive institutions burns bright in the 2015 South Africa portrayed in The...

Rick Foucheux Returns to Quotidian: Retired Acting Legend Presents Backstage Comedy at Fundraiser

When Rick Foucheux, the award-winning actor whose work has dazzled DC audiences for 35 years, decided to retire last year, it wasn’t because he was tired of the stage. He just wanted to focus on other...

Magic Time!: ‘If I Forget’ at Studio Theatre

To paraphrase the famous Passover Seder line, “Why is this domestic drama different from all other domestic dramas?” Or, to put the impudent question another way, “What makes If I Forget a uniquely...

Review: ‘If I Forget’ at Studio Theatre

When I grew up in a small New Jersey shore town with a single synagogue to serve many surrounding communities, I recall a particular question uttered within my family and my own Jewish tribe. This...

The Top Eleven Ticket Deals During Theater Week

The final days of summer are here. And you know what that means? It’s time to score some awesome deals during Theatre Week. For the third year, we’re bringing you exclusive prices to some of the...

Studio Theatre Adds ‘The Children’ to 2018-2019 Season, Announces Cast of Season Opener

Studio Theatre has added a production to its previously announced 2018-2019 season. The Children, by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood, will close out Studio’s season beginning on May 1st, 2019....

Attention Local Theater Companies: The Theatre Consortium is Currently Accepting Applications for Membership

by Doug Krentzlin The Theatre Consortium of Silver Spring recently announced on their website that they are currently accepting membership applications. The consortium consists of companies that...

Is DC Theater Getting Addicted to Trump?

Post-Play Palaver is an occasional series of conversations between DC Theater Arts writers. In this one, Senior Writers and Columnists John Stoltenberg (Magic Time!) and David Siegel (In the Moment)...

Profile: Naomi Jacobson Lends Laughter and Innocence to ‘The Remains’ at Studio Theatre

The Remains, a brand new one-act play that’s been generating rave reviews since its opening at Studio Theatre two weeks ago, is a witty and wise meditation on marriage. By turns funny and sad, this...

Review: ‘The Remains’ at Studio Theatre

They have such a tasteful, immaculate, picture-perfect kitchen, how could their marriage be such a sorry mess? That’s a crass way to ask the question, but the answers are beautifully nuanced in Ken...

Review: ‘The Cherry Orchard’ by Faction of Fools

Though it has commonly been staged as a tragedy or psychological drama since its Moscow premiere, Anton Chekhov always insisted that The Cherry Orchard was a comedy. A story about an aristocratic...

Performance as Research: An Interview with Playwright and ‘Vietgone’ Director Natsu Onoda Power

Many theater people grow up daydreaming of the classic shows they want to take on one day. They envision themselves directing Angels in America, or performing the lead role in Phantom of the Opera....