2013

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Patterns: A Number & Symbols Show’ by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Magic opens our eyes to wonder, fantasy, and possibilities . . . and then reveals the truth. Without introduction or fanfare, a solo performer strolls onto the Main Stage of Goethe Institut. In a...

Filichia on Friday: ‘As Rudolph Says, “Mrs. Levi! She’s back! – This Time at Goodspeed’ by Peter Filichia

Here is a new article from Peter Filichia’s column on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday.’ It’s an honor to bring Peter’s column every week to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. This week: As...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Sesquicentennial – The Civil War Remembered’ with “Country Joe” Rosier – Part 1: General Robert E. Lee’ by Yvonne French

In this 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, Washington, D.C., is lucky to have storyteller “Country Joe” Rosier create living histories of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant especially for...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Chronic Singles Handbook’ by Jessica Vaughan

Writer and performer Randy Ross got laid off and went around the world, came back and wrote a book about it, and now takes to Fringe to perform it. It’s true to the life of a traveller, which means...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘RFK’ by John Stoltenberg

RFK is a triumph. A Capital Fringe production from Philadelphia’s New City Stage, it’s a powerfully moving flashback for anyone who remembers Robert F. Kennedy’s life and times, and an illuminating...

‘The Second City: America All Better!!’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

America: land of substances. Land of stereotypes and instant gratification. Land of problems. Land of racism, with inequality and injustice for all. But it’s ok because things have gotten much better....

Capital Fringe Review: ‘They Call Me Q!’ by Carolyn Kelemen

Qurrat Ann Kadwani is a tour-de-force in her one-woman show It’s got to be tough to do a solo show, opening night at 10 p.m. on a sultry summer night, but remarkable, energetic, and seemingly tireless...

‘The No Rules Show’ at No Rules Theatre Company at Signature Theatre by Kim Moeller

The No Rules Show feels more intimate like a Saturday night in Joshua Morgan’s living room than late night talk show…and that’s a good thing. He gathers together a group of interesting people, mostly...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Apotheosis’ by Christina Frank

Avalanche Theatre Company is on a mission to uncover the lurid and murky parts of the human experience, through a series of vignettes on the themes of depression, ecstasy, addiction, and brutality....

Advance Purchase Opportunity To Purchase Tickets to ‘If/Then’ at The National Theatre With Idina Menzel

DCMetroTheaterArts Readers: This is a Unique Advance Purchase Opportunity To Purchase Tickets to If/Then At The National Theatre World Premiere of a pre-Broadway Musical November 5 – December 8, 2013...

Ranting with Cyle: Chatting with Eric Tipler on His Musical ‘One Night in New York!’ by Cyle Durkee

There are certain shows that hit you with a sledgehammer (Rent) to get their point across. There are others that cut you slowly and nimbly until you realize that your heart is exposed and you’re...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘BenchMARKS’ by Marlene Hall

BenchMARKS produced by Project E/C, written by Melanie Fiona Bevell-Jackson, and directed by Colleen Theresa Brown “is dialogue and flashback vignettes that provide a peek into the lives of two men...

Contemporary American Theater Festival Review: ‘Scott and Hem Imagines Private Lives of Famous Writers’ by Mark Dewey

Mark St. Germain’s new play Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah, which was commissioned by The Contemporary American Theater Festival, is the sort of historical fiction that gets its thrust from our...

Jill Scott at Wolf Trap by Audrey Thornton

Three-time Grammy Award-winning R&B singer, poet, and actress, Jill Scott appeared at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center on July 15, 2013. Greeted by Washington’s humid 90 degree weather, the hot and steamy...

Ian Anderson at Wolf Trap by Erica Laxson

Wolf Trap is known for hosting some of the best musicians of all time and last night was no exception. Professional wizard of the flute, Ian Anderson, graced the stage with all the trappings of a...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Jonah Dove’ by JR Russ

Jonah Dove is a show roughly based on the Biblical Jonah story. Written by Jason Ford, it tells the tale of a man who has run away from his family and his past. But he ends up helping his niece,...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘& Afterwards’ by JR Russ

& Afterwards, a solo performance by Kevin Boggs and directed by Amy Couchoud, tells the story of a country boy who makes a new life for himself in Dupont Circle, 1993. But before I go on, a...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Impossible to Translate, but I’ll try: True-life Israeli Stories’ by JR Russ

Impossible to Translate, but I’ll try: True-life Israeli Stories, a solo performance by Noa Baum is a storytelling gem. The show is a series of autobiographical stories about the tellers life growing...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Tragedy Averted’ by Julia L. Exline

Ad Hoc Players presents Tragedy Averted, an exceptionally creative comedic piece written by Alexandra Petri and directed by Joan Cummins. Smart, pithy dialogue combined with a stunningly talented...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Afflicted’ by Andrew L. Baughman

The Wandering Theatre Company’s movement/dance-infused ensemble piece The Afflicted follows a Writer’s (Joelle Golda) process to compile research about the girls who ignited the Salem Witch trials. As...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘MOTHS’ by Justin Schneider

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that MOTHS is the most challenging piece of theater currently playing in this year’s Capital Fringe Festival. I don’t mean in the sense that MOTHS will challenge...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘WIGGERLOVER [whiteboy+blackdad=greyareas]’ by Max Johnson

With a title as convoluted as WIGGERLOVER [whiteboy+blackdad=greyareas], one might be surprised by the straightforwardness James Anthony Zoccoli’s [mostly] one man show. Despite the fact that the...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘McPherson Madness’ by Maddie Gaw

The moment you walk in the theater, McPherson Madness assails you with its world, trying to become your reality. Cast members ask for change, hand out programs as if they’re flyers for the Occupy D.C....

Capital Fringe Review: ‘iLust for G-Love: An Auto-Ethnography’ by Anne Tsang

There is no doubt that technology is a large part of many of our lives. Have you ever left the house and forgotten your smartphone? I have, and I start having withdrawal symptoms just thinking about...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Detective Pimbley and the Case of the Rich Dead Lady’ by Maddie Gaw

If you like old detective movies and Airplane!-esque parody, then the Impressionable Players’ Detective Pimbley and the Case of the Rich Dead Lady is definitely for you. And it’s pretty fun for the...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘My Civil War’ by Max Johnson

Despite My Civil War’s description as a “multidisciplinary exploration of the American Civil War,” this production feels more like a cursory stumbling through a series of tonally incoherent...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Bayou Blues’ by Max Johnson

Bayou Blues is a communicative exploration of a young black girl’s fears moving towards a summative moment of terror amidst Hurricane Katrina. And while this piece is scattered, unfocused, and hard to...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Songs From An Unmade Bed’ by Keith Tittermary

According to the program notes: “In 2005, lyricist Mark Campbell asked 18 different composers to put music to his portrait of a smart, resilient, wry, and ultimately romantic gay man going through the...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Outside the Wire’ by Pat Davis

Outside the Wire is a compelling and moving portrait of the toll war takes on soldiers and their families. Written by Jimi Stanton, who plays Sargent Mark Mercer, the lead, the play follows the...

‘Sick Stories, Gentle Granddaddy’ at Baltimore Playwrights Festival by ZSun-nee Matem

If it’s a good evening at the theater you’re looking for, I’ve got a top of the line drama, Sick Stories, Gentle Granddaddy by S A Johnson now playing through July 28 at the LeClerc Hall Theater on...

‘Crazy for You’ at Rockville Musical Theatre by Bev Fleisher

What a delight! For me, musical theater is pure escapism: I can be entertained, tap my foot to the music, and sometimes even sing along with the cast (softly, of course). I leave the theater with a...

‘H2O’ at Contemporary American Theater Festival by Mark Dewey

H2O Brings Big Ideas to Life Good plays put people in circumstances that force them to confront essential questions; great plays move people past essential questions to a place where there’s nothing...

The Charms Of Airlie House And The Castleton Festival – An Engaging Duet In The Countryside by Jordan Wright

It is with heavy heart that I divulge to my dear readers one of my secret pleasures – because not to share my latest adventures is anathema to my nature. But first I’ll tell of my history with a place...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Eve’s Big Fat Family Reunion’ by Lauren Katz

What do you get when Eve, Sarah, Abraham, and Adam’s first wife Lillith all come together for one big dinner party? Well you get crazy family reunion that’s for sure. Lois Cecsarini turns the bible on...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Four Women’ by Nicole Cusick

Theatre has the opportunity to influence a person in many ways. Sometimes it moves people to tears of laughter, and sometimes it moves people because the sentiment of the play connects to a person on...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Ok Stupid’s Secret Math Lab’ by Andrew L. Baughman

Dating. Yeesh. The very word strikes fear and frustration into the hearts of millions around the world. Ok Stupid’s Secret Math Lab is a parody of Ok Cupid and other online dating programs that match...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Lysistrata 1969’ by Jessica Vaughan

The Sock Puppet Guerilla Theater mounts a truly hilarious production of an ancient satire Lysistrata by setting it in 1969. It doesn’t take much updating. The free love hedonism and protest spirit...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘STATUS – A Social Media Experiment’ by Julia L. Exline

Solo artist Kathryn Elizabeth Kelly takes us into a courageous year-long experiment with STATUS – A Social Media Experiment. After emerging from the wreckage of a 6-year-long relationship, Kelly...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Hello, You Assholes!’ by Terry Byrne

How liberating — while driving home from Hello, You Assholes! — to note how many times I referred to other drivers as assholes. We all do it, but few confess. Look out, here come a dozen boisterous...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Carolyn Kelemen

‘A Romeo to die for’ Be still my heart! On a sultry summer night, just like Juliet (a feisty Raven Bonniwell), this writer fell in love with Romeo (Sean Huddock) in the We Happy Few production of...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘H Street Housewives’ by Lauren Katz

Personally I never been a huge fan of reality TV shows, but H Street Housewives left me sitting on the edge of my seat eager to see what hilarious joke or backstabbing move one of the actors would...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Conversion of Thais the Whore’ by Lauren Katz

Written by Hroswitha of Gandersheim and directed by Michael Poanddl, The Conversion of Thais the Whore tells the shocking story of Pafnutius, a religious man with a desire for the world to behave...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Old Time British Music Hall’ by Lauren Katz

Hilarious, energetic, and entertaining, the British Players’ Old Time British Music Hall is a must-see event. Set in a cabaret-style and hosted by the emcee, or Chairman Malcolm Edwards, the...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Misconception: The Lost Gospel of Christmas’ by Mariya Danilenko

Misconception: The Lost Gospel of Christmas is a satirical musical by Mark Swanson about the birth of baby Jesus. To give you an idea about this craziness: the opening song is called “Who’s Your Baby...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘I tried to be normal once, it didn’t take’ by Jenna Miller

I tried to be normal once, it didn’t take is a one-woman show starring Stephanie Svec, explaining why she became an actress through her personal stories. Stephanie steps onto the bare stage in the...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Bedroom Mirrors’ by Howard Lee Levine

Any play or group of plays–there are three–called Bedroom Mirrors has got to be provocative and these offerings do not disappoint. The setting is one bedroom, the clothes (mostly) stay on but...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Body Armor’ by Tobias Franzén

Unstrung Harpist’s production of Body Armor by Evan Crump, the company’s producer, is a play born out of the writer’s need to write a play “that approached war from the average soldier’s perspective.”...

Carnegie Hall presents the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by Jane Coyne

It was a very proud night for music and for our country when on Saturday night, July 12, 2013, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute presented its newly formed National Youth Orchestra of the United...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘The Continuing Adventures of John Blade, Super Spy’ by Tobias Franzén

The goal of Live Action Theater (LAT) is to “elevate the art of and practice of theatrical staged violence to the highest performance standards,” and there was plenty of stage violence in their...

Capital Fringe Review: ‘Sapphire’ by Julia L. Exline

O & B Productions presents the emotional drama Sapphire, Written by God’s Boo and directed by Tyrell T. Lashley. Heady, expressive, and increasingly harrowing, Sapphire takes you into the mind of a...