2013

An Interview with ‘The Dancing Rogues’ Hayley Cutler, Sara Herrera-Kopetchny, and Sylvana Christopher by Rick Westerkamp

The Dancing Rogues: Who are they and what do they have up their creative sleeves? DC-based choreographers Sylvana Christopher, Hayley Cutler, and Sara Herrera-Kopetchny have teamed up and formed The...

‘731 DeGraw Street’ at Venus Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

Highly evocative, emotionally gripping, stunning new work with much artistic integrity behind it comes to the stage to close out the 13th season at Venus Theatre Company on C Street in Laurel. With...

‘Molière Impromptu’ at The University of Maryland School of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies by Jessica Vaughan

The University of Maryland School of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies invokes a mastery of comedy in their new production of Molière Impromptu. Molière was a 17th century satirist and...

TONIGHT AT 7 PM: Tasty Monster Productions Presents Staged Reading of ‘Miss Frances and the Bamboo Garden’ by Steven Kirkpatrick

The Truth is Stranger (and more Entertaining) Than Fiction TONIGHT AT 7 PM Tasty Monster Productions will launch the first of two staged readings in our Playwright Talkback Series with a little gem...

‘Mies Julie’ at The Shakespeare Theater Company by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Flames blaze in the name of truth, liberty, and land! Where there is repentance, there is hope. Without it, there is only despair. The renowned Miss Julie (Fröken Julie) by August Strindberg has...

Magic Time! Reflections on ‘Mies Julie’ by John Stoltenberg

On the evidence of Mies Julie, Yael Farber, who wrote and directed it, must be counted among the most important theater artists on the world stage today. Beyond brilliant: important. Rarely have I...

‘Legacy and Life: A Musical and Visual Reflection’ at The Choral Arts Society of Washington at The Kennedy Center by Leslie Weisman

A sizable crowd at Legacy and Life: A Musical and Visual Reflection greeted the Choral Arts Society of Washington’s performance of the Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi and Take Him, Earth by composer Steven...

‘Avenue Q School Edition’ at West Potomac High School by Margaret O’Meara

Avenue Q School Edition, with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and book by Jeff Whitty, is currently playing on the stage at West Potomac High School. West Potomac’s Beyond the Page...

‘Appropriate’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company by Amanda Gunther

Death does strange things to people. And in familiar circumstances, people struggling with a death in the family will turn on each other in a heartbeat; siblings and relations will treat each other...

‘Jewish Musical Treasures’ at National Chamber Ensemble by Jane Coyne

The National Chamber Ensemble opened its 2013-2014 season with a concert called Jewish Musical Treasures, honoring the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht. With a horrid and tragic event of this...

Filichia on Friday: ‘Checkmate!’ 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:...

‘The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe’ at Encore Stage and Studio By Julia Exline

Encore Stage & Studio presents C.S. Lewis’ famed tale The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, dramatized by Joseph Robinette and directed by Amy Thompson. This allegorical tale of faith and courage has...

‘She, After’ at UrbanArias at Artisphere by Justin Schneider

I’m not generally an opera person. I find them too big, too grandiose, and without enough substance. So it’s with great pleasure that I say that UrbanArias has created the antidote for the traditional...

‘The Cover of Life’ at Bowie Community Theatre by Ramona Harper

The year is 1943 and Rosie the Riveter is home alone trying to figure out what to do with her life while her man is off to war. The Cover of Life, written by R.T. Robinson, and directed by Bob Sams,...

‘White Rabbit, Red Rabbit’ at Theater Alliance by Jessica Vaughan

Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour breaks every expectation an audience might have for his innovative play White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. One actor comes onstage and is handed the script, which he has...

Melissa Errico at The Barns at Wolf Trap by Tiffany Draut

Melissa Errico, star of stage and screen, brought her fantastic cabaret act Melissa Errico: A Passion for Broadway to the Barns at Wolf Trap Saturday night, November 9, 2013 to the delight of the...

Mavis Staples at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center by Ramona Harper

The legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and its protest for peace and freedom are being kept alive by the legendary Mavis Staples. In concert at the Kay Theatre of the University of Maryland’s Clarice...

‘God’s Favorite’ at Montgomery Playhouse by Joel Markowitz

Neil Simon wrote God’s Favorite as a way of reacting and dealing with his wife’s untimely death from cancer, so he turned to The Book of Job as inspiration. God’s Favorite opened on Broadway in...

Washington Performing Arts Society Presents: ‘The Sphinx Virtuosi’ at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by Jane Coyne

Washington Performing Arts Society kicked off their Virtuoso Series on Thursday evening with a delightful performance by the Sphinx Virtuosi, whose eighteen highly polished string musicians simply...

‘Red’ at Everyman Theatre by Amanda Gunther

The blood of angry men, the color of desire, a sunset; so many things that a simple color can represent. It pulsates and lives when being viewed, but is that life still within the art when it is alone...

Purchase Your Tickets for Young Artists of America’s ‘Show Boat in Concert’ Next Sunday, November 17th at 5 PM

Young Artists of America (YAA) presents Show Boat in Concert NEXT Sunday, November 17, 2013 at 5 PM. The performance will be performed by a 40-member orchestra and a cast of 41 singers from 30...

Act Two @ Levine Presents ‘In the Heights’ Friday-Sunday November 15-17th

Act Two @ Levine is proud to present In the Heights In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood – a place where the coffee from the...

‘The House of Yes’ at The Mobtown Players by Amanda Gunther

Define normal. It’s all relative until someone goes and sleeps with their twin sibling and then tries to marry outside of the loony family, right? Putting the fun, or maybe the frightening, in...

Barbara Cook’s Spotlight: Lucie Arnaz at The Kennedy Center by David Friscic

I came away from Lucie Arnaz‘s concert at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre with a blissed-out feeling of elation. An invigorating combination of sheer professionalism and pure show-biz panache...

‘Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine’ at Howard University by Nathan Alston

To say that I enjoyed Howard University’s production of Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine is an understatement. The moments of both genuine truth and beautiful storytelling took...

Hope Operas Video Roundup-Final Week #4 by Ally Jenkins and Lucrezia Blozia

Watch hosts Ally Jenkins and Lucrezia Blozia (aka Chris Griffin) as they bring us a video recap of the fourth and final week – Monday, October 28, 2013 – of Hope Operas. Each week the audience votes...

‘The Game’s Afoot’ at The Salem Players by Amanda Gunther

Tally ho! The spirit of Sherlock has arrived! The Game’s Afoot has settled down at The Salem Players just in time to be appropriately referred to as ‘Holmes for the Holidays.’ A romping good murder...

‘Bondage’ by Pinky Swear Productions at Anacostia Playhouse by Yvonne French

Is it possible to engage in S&M and appear heartwarming at the same time? The answer is ‘yes’ if you are in the cast of Bondage by Pinky Swear Productions. What an excellent contrivance! People might...

‘Hamlet’ at Georgetown University by Eliza Anna Falk

To cheer, or not to cheer? – The question did not even enter my mind at the conclusion of last night’s sold out performance of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet at Georgetown University’s Gonda Theatre.The...

‘The Woman in Black’ at The Keegan Theatre by David Friscic

It’s good that the Keegan Theatre has not modernized its home on Church Street yet for the musty, slightly decrepit, and highly atmospheric surroundings of this venerable old building make a perfect...

‘Little Women’ at St. Gabriel Miracle Players by Amanda Gunther

Christopher Columbus! Little Women, the musical, has landed at the St. Gabriel Miracle Players just in time for the holidays! Directed by Kevin James Logan with Musical Direction by Matthew Frieswyk,...

TrueTheatregoer’s TheaterThoughts, Play TheaterTrivia, and Rate The Shows You Have Seen by John and Stephen Hauge

Every Friday we will be sharing John and Stephen Hauge’s TheaterThoughts from their popular site TrueTheatergoer. “From John Hauge: “My brother Stephen and I created the TrueTheatergoer.com website in...

‘Disney’s High School Musical’ Opens November 15th at Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theatre

Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theatre kicks off its 2013-14 season by bringing Disney Channel’s smash hit movie musical High School Musical to the stage November 15-24th. The lively cast showcases...

Who is Drama Queen? A Conversation With the Area’s Newest Queen

Need Theatre Posters, Programs, & Logos Designed for Your Show? Meet Jim Gallagher of Drama Queen Graphics I have had many of our readers ask me who designed our classy and colorful new logo, and the...

‘Tappin’ Thru Time with a Legend: An Interview with Maurice Hines’ by Joel Markowitz

When you sit down with Maurice Hines you are schmoozing with the ‘Master of Tap.’ I have interviewed Maurice several times and every time I meet him I feel like I am reminiscing with my best friend....

Suzanne Farrell Ballet at The Kennedy Center by Carolyn Kelemen

Farrell gets good times rolling at The Kennedy Center Hold onto your hat and step lively. The ballet season at The Kennedy Center finally gets into the gusty days of fall with a whirlwind of activity....

The National Chamber Ensemble’s Concert “Jewish Musical Treasures” This Saturday, November 9th at 7:30 pm at The Rosslyn Spectrum

I highly recommend …. The National Chamber Ensemble 2013-14 Season opening night concert: Jewish Musical Treasures Saturday, November 9, 2013 at 7:30 pm Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre at Artisphere I am...

Composer Daniel Felsenfeld, Director Beth Greenberg, and Principle Artist Emily Pulley on UrbanArias’ ‘She, After’

UrbanArias’ She/After opens this Saturday, November 9th at Artisphere. It consists of two short operas: Nora, in the Great Outdoors (Music by Daniel Felsenfeld and Libretto by Will Eno) [This moving...

‘The Pillowman’ at Silver Spring Stage by Amanda Gunther

There are no happy endings in real life. Only the cold harsh slap of reality and how its disappointed you in the end. The dark and sinister black humor of Martin McDonagh comes to life in a twisted...

Michael Goldsmith on Playing Romeo at Folger Theatre by Joel Markowitz

Michael Goldsmith talks about playing Romeo in Folger Theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Aaron Posner. DCMetroTheaterArts’ reviewer Emily Caio wrote in her review of the show that...

United States Naval Academy’s Masqueraders Presents Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Professor Christy Stanlake

United States Naval Academy Masqueraders Presents Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest When one thinks about military officer training, theatre rarely comes to mind. Yet one of our region’s...

Nibbles And Sips Around Town: ‘Frenchifying Fairfax, The Gin Game Redux, J&G Steakhouse Adds a Secret Room, the Day of the Dead Comes Back to Life, and Olive You Too, Espana!’ by Jordan Wright

Frenchifying Fairfax If you blink you’ll pass the modest storefront of Le Mediterranean Bistro, a mere slip of a place in historic Fairfax City, Virginia that quiets down towards nightfall. Once...

$50 Tickets Available for ‘If/Then’ for Matinees on November 13th & 20th

$50 tickets are available for the November 13th and November 20th Wednesday matinee shows of If/Then * $50 TICKETS TO WEDNESDAY MATINEES – NOV. 13th & 20th Visit thenationaldc.org/events/if-then Click...

Purchase Your Tickets for Young Artists of America’s ‘Show Boat in Concert’ on Sunday, November 17th at 5 PM

Young Artists of America (YAA) presents Show Boat in Concert on Sunday, November 17, 2013 at 5 PM. The performance will be performed by a 40-member orchestra and a cast of 41 singers from 30 different...

‘I Am My Own Wife’ at Rep Stage by Amanda Gunther

The overwhelming need to believe in a story that is being told is a deeply compelling urge that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you listen; the little details and finely tuned emotions that...

Montgomery Playhouse Opens Neil Simon’s ‘God’s Favorite’ This Friday, November 8th by Loretto McNally and Bruce Hirsch

Montgomery Playhouse, in partnership with the Gaithersburg Arts Barn, will open its 2013-14 season on November 8th with the bible as you’ve never imagined it. God’s Favorite is Neil Simon’s take on...

‘Inventing Van Gogh’ at Washington Stage Guild by Leslie Weisman

Steven Dietz has the dubious distinction of being one of the nation’s most performed but least known playwrights. With its earnest production of Dietz’s searing, cerebral and enigmatic (and, some...

The Washington Chorus presents Benjamin Britten’s ‘War Requiem’ by Emily Cao

The Washington Chorus opened its 53rd season with heavy fare in Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, celebrating the British composer’s 100th Anniversary and showcasing the talents of the chorus and its...

Who is Drama Queen? A Conversation With the Area’s Newest Queen

Need Theatre Posters, Programs, & Logos Designed for Your Show? Meet Jim Gallagher of Drama Queen Graphics I have had many of our readers ask me who designed our classy and colorful new logo, and the...

Introducing the Cast of ‘If/Then’ at The National Theatre-Part 4: Jerry Dixon by Joel Markowitz

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of the new Tom Kitt/Brian Yorkey musical If/Then, which is about to open at The National Theatre on November 5th, Jerry Dixon introduces us to the...