WSC Avant Bard

August Wilson’s personal passion takes center stage at Avant Bard

A laudable performance of the renowned playwright’s autobiographical ‘How I Learned What I Learned.’

Avant Bard to stage August Wilson’s ‘How I Learned What I Learned’

An autobiographical solo play originally performed by Wilson himself.

Avant Bard Theatre celebrates a grateful return to the stage

Two productions cut short by COVID will be revived: Lauren Gunderson’s ‘Ada and the Machine’ and Tennessee Williams’s ’Suddenly Last Summer.’

Avant Bard Theatre regroups with new leadership team

After the double blow of the pandemic and the death of Artistic Director Tom Prewitt in November, Arlington’s Avant Bard Theatre is moving ahead under a new model of artistic partnership. The Avant...

Avant Bard’s finely-tuned ‘Suddenly Last Summer’ keeps the audience on its toes

Let us never forget that Tennessee Williams, for all his genius with poetic language, was one of the most fearless, gut-wrenchingly honest playwrights of the twentieth century. We have Blanche DuBois...

Avant Bard Theatre Announces ‘Scripts in Play: Season 30’

Launching its 30th-anniversary season, Avant Bard Theatre announces Scripts In Play: Season 30—featuring a special presentation of Happenstance Theater’s BrouHaHa December 6 to 8, 2019, and six free...

Review: ‘A Misanthrope’ at WSC Avant Bard

The audience didn’t stop laughing all night. Between Matt Minnicino’s rhyming couplet- filled, witty, knowing, sometimes bawdy adaptation (or, as he would have it, “distillation”) of a Molière classic...

Avant Bard Announces Full Cast and Creative Team for ‘A Misanthrope’

Avant Bard Theatre announces the full cast and creative team for its season finale, A Misanthrope, a world premiere adaptation of Molière’s The Misanthrope by Manhattan-based playwright Matt...

Review: ‘Topdog/Underdog’ by Avant Bard

“Watch me close, watch me now!” As I watched Avant Bard’s production of Topdog/Underdog, I knew that it is a production for the ages. Under the visceral, athletic direction of DeMone Seraphin,...

Avant Bard Announces Sudden Casting Change for ‘Topdog/Underdog’

Avant Bard regrets to report that Khalil Kain has had to withdraw from the cast of Topdog/Underdog due to unforeseen personal circumstances. But Avant Bard is happy to announce that Jeremy Keith...

Review: ‘A Two Woman Hamlet’ by Avant Bard

In the dead of winter, what a joy it is to be able to recapture the midsummer madness that rules this town during the Capital Fringe Festival. The folks at WSC Avant Bard, when they’re not cooking up...

Avant Bard Announces Casting for ‘Topdog/Underdog’

Avant Bard theatre announces that veteran screen actor Khalil Kain will star with award-winning stage actor Louis E. Davis in Suzan-Lori Parks’s acclaimed Topdog/Underdog, led by award-winning...

Avant Bard Announces 2019 Scripts in Play Festival

Avant Bard theatre is proud to announce the 2019 edition of Scripts in Play Festival, its signature play-reading series, February 8 to 24, 2019. This year’s selection features seven plays over two...

Review: ‘Illyria, or What You Will’ by Avant Bard

Illyria is fabulous, darlings. The clothes are to die for. The décor is out of its 1980s mind. The music is as eclectic as it is electric. And plot elements and characters drawn from Twelfth Night fit...

Avant Bard Announces Full Cast and Creative Team for ‘Illyria’

Avant Bard theatre announces the full cast and creative team for its 2018/2019 season opener, Illyria, or What You Will, freely adapted from Twelfth Night by Jonelle Walker and Mitchell Hébert and...

Avant Bard Announces 2018-2019 Season

For its 29th season of making theatre on the edge, Avant Bard proudly announces three mainstage productions featuring classic comedies by Shakespeare and Molière newly adapted for now, plus a...

Avant Bard Responds to Immigrant Family Crisis

Avant Bard today announces its “Welcome Tempest-Tossed Campaign”: For the final weekends of its production of The Tempest, Avant Bard commits to donating one-half of all full-price ticket proceeds to...

Review: ‘The Tempest’ by Avant Bard

How does a nimble theater company retool an often produced Shakespeare classic such as The Tempest? Well, Avant Bard found a way under Tom Prewitt’s inviting direction, with gender-swapping and...

News: Avant Bard to Conjure a ‘Tempest’ for Our Changed Climate

Culminating its 28th season making theatre on the edge, Avant Bard proudly presents Shakespeare’s classic comedy The Tempest at Gunston Arts Center May 31 to July 1, 2018, directed by Artistic and...

Review: ‘The Gospel at Colonus’ by Avant Bard

The Gospel at Colonus, Avant Bard’s production of the gospel-infused Oedipus story, opened on February 27 with a sweet, bright salvo of a song. Members of the Women’s Ecumenical Choir (headed by Becky...

In the Moment: Billie Krishawn and ‘Emilie’ at Avant Bard

Avant Bard’s Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight with Sara Barker in the role of the whip-smart 18th century very real Emilie is a clear knock-out for critics and audiences alike....

Review: ‘Emilie’ at Avant Bard

Life is full of unanswered questions. But in Lauren Gunderson’s play, Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, the title character is given a second chance. Avant Bard is currently...

Dangereuse: ‘Emilie’ by Lauren Gunderson at WSC Avant Bard

Emilie Our Contemporary Emilie du Châtelet, scientist, mathematician, lover of Voltaire, genius, is a perfect example of the power of women in the 18th century and today. Many of the challenges to...

Avant Bard Announces 2017-2018 Season

The exhilarating musical The Gospel at Colonus returns, Lauren Gunderson’s fiery genius Emilie makes her DC debut, and Shakespeare’s fantastical The Tempest takes the stage by storm For its 28th...

Dangereuse: ‘King Lear’ at WSC Avant Bard

King Lear has sometimes been called the Everest of classical acting. Every great Shakespearean actor must sooner or later face the physically and emotionally exhausting task of playing the part. Some...

Review: ‘King Lear’ at Avant Bard

The tempest in my mind / Doth from my senses take all feeling else. King Lear, Act 3, scenes 4–5. Avant Bard’s King Lear is a bracing, piercing production of a family and realm in heightening...

Dangereuse: Playing Gloucester Female: A Q&A With Cam Magee About Her Regendered Role in Avant Bard’s ‘King Lear’

Much of the publicity for the much-anticipated Avant Bard production of King Lear has focused on Rick Foucheux’s Lear. I recently saw Foucheux play Gloucester in a production at George Washington...

In the Moment: Q&A with Minister Becky May Jenkins, Leader of the Women’s Ecumenical Choir Performing ‘The Gospel of Colonus’ at Avant Bard

An ensemble is very key to the success of a theatrical production. Whenever I go to a theater performance, I make sure to take in those who, while not in the spotlight, still pack a visual and aural...

In the Moment: Q&A With Bob Telson, Composer of ‘The Gospel at Colonus’ – Now Playing at Avant Bard

Avant Bard’s The Gospel of Colonus is a gorgeous, rapturous musical. Taking a phrase from the Bible, specifically Psalm 100, I found The Gospel of Colonus a “joyful noise” to witness and highly...

Review: ‘The Gospel at Colonus’ at Avant Bard

In 1983, experimental theatre director Lee Breuer wrote and directed a musical that became a worldwide sensation. Blending Black church gospel music and Motown with a story of Greek tragedy, Breuer’s...

Dangereuse: She Will Rock You: ‘TAME.’ at WSC Avant Bard

One of Shakespeare’s greatest gifts is the inspiration he offers to other artists. In the case of Tame., playwright Jonelle Walker has captured the essence of Shakespeare’s Kate in The Taming of the...

Review: ‘Tame.’ at Avant Bard

Audiences of all generations and emerging Millennial-aged playwrights should rejoice at Avant Bard’s production of DC playwright Jonelle Walker’s TAME. Avant Bard took a risky budgetary and audience...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘TAME.’ Part 3: Jill Tighe

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of TAME., meet Jill Tighe. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage? Jill: The last play I did...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘TAME.’ Part 1: John Stange

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of TAME., meet John Stange. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage? John: Busy year. Working...

Review: ‘The Good Devil (In Spite of Himself)’ at WSC Avant Bard

The Good Devil (In Spite of Himself) is a good and plenty retelling of the classic Faust tale and how art can imitate life. Well, let’s really say it is an entertaining satiric retelling that uses...

WSC Avant Bard Presents FREE ‘Scripts in Play Festival’ From March 26-April 23, 2016

Discovery is in the air! And it’s all FREE! Avant Bard proudly presents four weeks of theatrical experimentation with our inaugural Scripts in Play Festival–-more than a dozen readings of plays,...

All Performances Saturday 2/13 and Sunday 2/14 at WSC Avant Bard, Peter’s Alley Productions, and The Arlington Players Are On

All performances today, Saturday, February 13th and Sunday, February 14th Are On for: WSC Avant Bard Peter’s Alley Productions The Arlington Players

WSC Avant Bard is Giving Away 2 tickets for the Extension Weekend of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

WSC Avant Bard is giving away two tickets for the extension weekend of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That’s a $70 value for free! The winning answer will also be tweeted from @AvantBard To enter, fill...

Theatre Performance Updates: January 28th at 9:45 PM

HERE ARE SOME NEW UPDATES RE: THIS WEEK’S PERFORMANCES: UPDATED 9:45 PM on JANUARY 27, 2016 TONIGHT JANUARY 28TH AT 8 PM RESTON COMMUNITY THEATRE’S ‘MASTER CLASS’-SPECIAL PERFORMANCE TONIGHT!...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 7: Toni Rae Salmi

In Part 7 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, meet Toni Rae Salmi. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage?...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Part 6: Christian R. Gibbs

In Part 6 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, meet Christian R. Gibbs. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage?...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 5: Daven Ralston

In Part 5 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, meet Daven Ralston. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage?...

Review: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at WSC Avant Bard

Each year, Shakespeare is the most frequently produced playwright in America, and his A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the Bard’s most frequently produced plays. So if you’re going to produce it,...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Part 4: Linda Bard

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, meet Linda Bard. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage? They...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 3: Zach Brewster-Geisz

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, meet Zach Brewster-Geisz. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Part 2: Jon Jon Johnson

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, meet Jon Jon Johnson. Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage?...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Holiday Memories’ Part 5: Devon Ross

In Part 5 of a series of five interviews with the cast of WSC Avant Bard’s production of Holiday Memories—a stage adaptation of two classic short stories by Truman Capote, “A Christmas Memory” and...

‘Holiday Memories’ at WSC Avant Bard

“Imagine a morning in late November. A coming of winter morning” are the opening mood-setting words in the resplendent, gentle WSC Avant Bard production of Holiday Memories by Truman Capote. As...

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Holiday Memories’ Part 4: Charlotte Akin

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of WSC Avant Bard’s production of Holiday Memories—a stage adaptation of two classic short stories by Truman Capote, “A Christmas Memory” and “The...

Enter to Win 2 Free Tickets to WSC Avant Bard’s ‘Holiday Memories’

WSC Avant Bard is giving away two tickets to Holiday Memories for performances the weekend of December 10-13, 2015 That’s a $70 value for free! The winning answer will also be tweeted from @AvantBard....