2013

Capital Fringe Review: ‘1814! The War of 1812 Rock Opera’ by Keith Tittermary

1814! The War of 1812 Rock Opera Music & Lyrics by David Dudley and Dave Israel Book by David Dudley and David Israel Additional Lyrics by Erik Sunday The 2013 Capital Fringe Festival kicked off its...

‘Pinot & Augustine’ at Happenstance Theater at Hylton Performing Arts Center by Flora Scott

The Golden Age of the Circus was from 1870-1950. During those years is when the Circus swelled into the largest show-biz industry in the world. It wasn’t just for the kids in those days. The acts were...

Capital Fringe Festival Opens Tonight- 35 Shows I Must See

I have had the pleasure of speaking to and working with this year’s Fringe producers, casts, playwrights, composers, lyricists, and designers for the past 7 weeks and I can guarantee you that this...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview ‘Double Freakquency’ by Liz Sykes

Double Freakquency is an interactive theater experience that uses wireless two-channel headphones enabling the audience to choose what they hear. All sound – dialogue, ambient noise, music – is heard...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Bayou Blues’ by Shaina Lynn

Growing up in New Orleans I’ve experienced a unique culture that can be foreign to the rest of America. How we eat, speak, and live is very specific in our culture. We call it “The Spirit of...

Nibbles And Sips Around Town: La Tasca Gets A Culinary Facelift by Jordan Wright

Debuts and re-dos seem to be the thread of late. Restaurants in the DC Metro Area are opening and remixing at a astonishing rate no one could have imagined a few years ago. Forks up! La Tasca Gets A...

‘Tartuffe’ at Annapolis Shakespeare Company by Amanda Gunther

Bodies are humorous! A fact well proven by Annapolis Shakespeare Company in their highly physical comedy being presented this summer. Playing on Tuesdays throughout July and August the company brings...

The No Rules Show Hosted by Joshua Morgan With Special Guests Opens Tonight at Signature

Half Revue. Half Talk Show. All No Rules. Different entertaining guests will join host Joshua Morgan every single night in this wild and crazy madcap variety show. Grab a drink and strap in (Joshua...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Carry a Big Stick’ and Interview with Catherine Aselford by Cate Brewer

Cate Brewer asks Catherine Aselford about her Capital Fringe show Carry a Big Stick. Cate: Why is your production of Carry a Big Stick a ‘must see’ for DC Fringe audiences this summer? Catherine:...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Sesquicentennial – The Civil War Remembered’ by “Country Joe” Rosier

As a trial lawyer I have made closing arguments before countless juries over the past 4 decades. Because I love to tell stories it was natural for me to become a storyteller. In 1983, I created my...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Haute Mess’ by Landless Theatre Company

This summer, The Landless Theatre Company (winner of the 2008 Best Musical Pick of the Fringe) returns to CapFringe with Haute Mess, a comedy by NYC’s The Other Baldwins, creators of Landless hits...

‘Heartless’ at Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) by Mark Dewey

Shephard’s Heartless Probes an In-between Existence All I remember from my first encounter with Sam Shepard’s plays is that one of the characters in La Turista works and works at making sense of his...

‘The Rainbow Plays’ at Baltimore Playwrights Festival by Amanda Gunther

Kicking off the first of four productions in this year’s Baltimore Playwrights Festival, area playwright Rich Espey presents his newest work The Rainbow Plays, a series of seven ten-minute productions...

‘Annie’ at Pasadena Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

The sun has come out at the Pasadena Theatre Company as they present their summer production of Annie. A children’s classic and a favorite of the young and young at heart, this well-recognized fun...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview “Photo Gallery: Behind The Scenes at ‘Legal Tender’ Rehearsal” by Hunter Styles

What does one dollar mean to different people? Five actors explore the possibilities in the new show Legal Tender at the Capital Fringe Festival this month. Directed by Robert Michael Oliver, and...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Love, NY’ by Actor Samantha Keogh

On my way to rehearsal for Love, NY I come through the metro gates at Dupont Circle to find that the huge escalator leading to the streets above is out for the second time… this weekend. Shit! Just...

Filichia on Friday: ‘Cradle and All’ 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: Cradle...

Preview of Conor McPherson’s “The Birds” at Quotidian Theatre Company by Steve LaRocque

Do you have your tide tables? You know: those listings that tell you high tide, low tide, water height, etc. Every newspaper from a city that’s remotely close to water has them, but, unless you’re a...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Apotheosis’ by Jon Jon Johnson

Behind “Apotheosis” This all started on a whim. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at devising a piece. While season planning for Avalanche Theatre Company’s 2012-2013 season, I mentioned this desire...

‘The Playwright’s Playground’: Allyson Currin-Part 2 by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Welcome back to the new Playwright interview series –The Playwright’s Playground – a monthly in-depth conversation with a local female playwright in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Almost Together’ by Mary Leaphart

When I was in college, my bipolar disorder showed up. It would be twenty years before I knew what to call it. But trust me; this disease did not need a name to wreak total havoc in my life. And even...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Our Boys’ by Victorian Lyric Opera Company

Fathers, Sons, and a Side of Bacon. Our Boys was first performed in London at the Vaudeville Theatre on January 16, 1875. It went on to become the first play in the world to run more than 500...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ by Kevin Finkelstein

In this city of Washington, DC, the seat of political power in American rests. Despite our inescapable connection to the government workings of the nation, however, we as a theatre-going crowd lacked...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘To Know a Veil’ by Emma Crane Jaster

I was first inspired to create To Know a Veil while traveling in Morocco a couple years ago. It was my first time in a predominantly Muslim country. As a Western woman, raised in America by a feminist...

‘Mouse on the Move’ at Imagination Stage by Lauren Katz

Typically when I review a show, I bring a friend whose feet reach the ground while sitting in the audience. However, for this particular performance, I decided to take a different route. When I...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘La Voce to Me’ by Christin Green

La Voce to Me is a powerful original play about love, sacrifice, death, and rebirth. And believe it or not, it all started with a mermaid. “Since I was a child, I loved the story of The Little...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Misconception: The Lost Gospel of Christmas’ by Mark Swanson

Did you ever hear the one about a cast of 25 actors from the Deep South traveling to Washington, DC to ask the Virgin Mary “Who’s Your Baby Daddy?” I can assure you this is no joke, however, these 25...

Preview of Conor McPherson’s “The Birds” at Quotidian Theatre Company by Steve LaRocque

Do you have your tide tables? You know: those listings that tell you high tide, low tide, water height, etc. Every newspaper from a city that’s remotely close to water has them, but, unless you’re a...

‘The Pavilion’ at Critical Point Theatre at DC Arts Center by Max Johnson

The Pavilion by Craig Wright is a uniquely self-aware piece. But even as the script constantly reminds the audience that they are in fact watching a play, it is almost impossible to not become lost in...

‘Becoming Human’ by The Flying Muskrat Theatre Company by Yvonne French

A group of young adults in Flying Muskrat Theatre Company in Falls Church has produced three thought-provoking one-act plays: a sad futuristic tale, an absurdist love story, and a collage of pieces...

Harry Connick, Jr. at Wolf Trap by Teal Ruland

Grammy Award winner, Emmy Award winner, Tony Award nominee, Hollywood heartthrob, and all around dreamboat Harry Connick, Jr. took over Wolf Trap’s Filene Center last night. The talented musician,...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Moths’: Interview of Stephen Notes by Cate Brewer

Playwright Stephen Notes talks about his Capital Fringe show Moths with Cate Brewer. Cate: Moths is a wild ride for audiences. What inspired the subject of this piece? Stephen: I don’t know probably...

Wildwood Summer Theatre Presents ‘A Chorus Line’ July 19-27th by Rocky Nunzio

Dancers sway, a director gives instructions, the music director gives careful notes. It is a typical day of rehearsals for Wildwood Summer Theatre, but there is something special about this troupe of...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview ‘Urban Legends’ by Cynthia Mullins

Remember those stories told as children or recounted tales whispered around a campfire? Beyond the Page Theatre Company of West Potomac High School proudly presents Urban Legends, a student...

2013 Capital Fringe Preview: ‘Detective Pimbley and the Case of the Rich Dead Lady’ by Ann Fraistat

It was a dark and stormy night, and a wealthy heiress lay dead on top of a parked car. After being shot, poisoned, crucified, and hurled out a window, Madge Silver left behind a massive inheritance....

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘The Black-Jew Dialogues’ by Kristen Gaydos.

Comedy Show Explores Issues of Diversity What’s so funny about two American minorities that have slavery, the KKK, and chicken livers in common? That’s what you’ll find out in this extraordinary...

2013 Capital Fringe Preview and Interview with ‘They Call Me Q!’s Qurrat Ann Kadwani

Joel: You have won many awards for They Call Me Q. What will Fringe attendees see when they you perform your show? Qurrat: I’m so excited to perform my solo play,They Call Me Q! at Capital Fringe...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Disco Jesus and the Apostles of Funk’ by Vaughn Irving

Who’s the only son of God who really knows how to get it on? It’s Jesus…Disco Jesus. There is no energy in the world quite like a live funk band. You don’t even have to enjoy funk music. When the bass...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Tragedy Averted’ by Alexandra Petri

If there’s one thing we know about the Tragedies of William Shakespeare (regardless of authorship, date, and a heck of a lot of other stuff) it’s that they, well, tend to end on a sour note. And no...

‘The Playwright’s Playground’: Allyson Currin-Part 1 by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Welcome back to the new Playwright interview series –The Playwright’s Playground – a monthly in-depth conversation with a local female playwright in the D.C. Theatre community. Female Theatre artists...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Nephrectomy’ by Elizabeth Hagerty

The life of a twenty-something: young enough to make mistakes, but old enough you should’ve know better. Utter confusion at the label ‘adult’. This frustration lead to both the creation, and plot, of...

Synesthesia: Smithsonian Folklife Festival Is Accessible for People Who Have Disabilities by Yvonne French

Smithsonian Folklife Festival is Accessible for People Who Have Disabilities The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is accessible for people who: • are blind or have low-vision • are deaf or...

‘Rabbit Hole’ at The Keegan Theatre by Justin Schneider

“You’re not in a better place than me, just a different one.” An entire play is summed up in that one line, and when Susan Marie Rhea utters it you can feel all the carefully set pieces beginning to...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Recovery’ Part 2: by Michael R. Burgtorf

Cancer is never something that one would expect to find hope out of. However, hope out of the hardest times is precisely what is examined in Mark Jason Williams Recovery, which opens at the Capital...

Ranting with Cyle: ‘Theatrical Community’ by Cyle Durkee

How do you know that it’s too early in the morning (on a Saturday, no less), and no one has gotten enough sleep (we all know that sleep is something that happens to people outside the arts)? You begin...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘What’s in the Box?!’ by Justin Purvis

Pride. Wrath. Lust. Greed. What do these things have in common, other than being on Rock Tender’s ‘things about me that the ladies love’ list? They are sins, and more specifically some of the Seven...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Kids in Space’ by Matt Fox

Join the Global Interplanetary Space Corps. See the Solar System. Captain Blappten and First Mate Kate want YOU to join their crew. See the Earth shrink to the size of a tennis ball as you take off,...

2013 Capital Show Fringe Preview: ‘WIGGERLOVER’ by James Anthony Zoccoli

WIGGERLOVER [whiteboy+blackdad=greyareas] writer+performer=jamesanthonyzoccoli deejay+sounddesign=djgregormortis lights+slides=elizabethboros-kazai Where did the term “Caucasian” originate? What does...

2013 Capital Fringe Show Preview: ‘Kubrilesque’ by Crystal Swarovski (Director)

Kubrilesque is a chronological parody of the films of Stanley Kubrick, told through burlesque and comedy. Each piece fits together into a cohesive story of a man making his final film. There is some...

‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse by Amanda Gunther

Summer is well underway as the Laurel Mill Playhouse presents its Annual Summer Youth Shakespeare Theatre and their production of Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Michael V. Hartsfield, this...