2014

An Interview with the Set Design Team of Damascus Theatre Company’s ‘My Fair Lady’

Interview with DTC’s My Fair Lady Set Team: Bill Brown, Set Design Jim Korte and Bill Rippey, Master Carpenters Nancy Eynon Lark and Maria Littlefield, Set Dressing & Properties Joel: Introduce...

A Chat With Ken and Jack Ludwig on ‘Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

It’s not every day one gets to mingle with Ken Ludwig, but since Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol premiered, Adventure Theatre MTC (ATMTC) has been buzzing with the energy of the show’s...

‘A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular’ at Pointless Theatre Company

Are you tired of Christmas shows that urge you to give turkeys to the poor, or lumps of coal to bad children, or sweets to your beloved nutcracker? Are you tired of listening to news about the Islamic...

Community Crisis Services Inc’s (CCSI) ‘A Christmas Carol’ Opens on Saturday Night and Hosts a ‘Gala Celebration of Hope and Community’ on Tuesday at 7 PM by William Leary

Join Community Crisis Services Inc. (CCSI) for two wonderful and entertaining events this Holiday Season! This year, CCSI has partnered with St JohnEvangelical Lutheran Church and Wolf Pack Theatre...

The Remarkable Backstory of WSC Avant Bard’s ‘A Klingon Christmas Carol’ at Theater J on December 15th at 8 PM by Marc Okrand

WSC Avant Bard will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a one-night-only staged concert reading of A Klingon Christmas Carol—Charles Dickens’s classic tale of ghosts and redemption retold in...

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 2: A Peek at the Multi-Generational Cast of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

In James W. Rodger’s play adaptation of the Frank Capra film, It’s a Wonderful Life, you have the confluence of many generations from little Zuzu to Uncle Billy. When doing a play that is not only a...

The Nativ-A-Tease: A Burlesque-acle on 22nd Street

The Nutcracker, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street… it’s that Christmas Special time of the year when families gather around the plasma flatscreen and enjoy eggnog and gingerbread. The...

‘La-Ti-Do’ Is Looking For A New Home: An Open Letter to the DC Area Arts Community by Don Michael Mendoza

An Open Letter to the DC Area Arts Community: Providing a safe, inclusive and encouraging environment is of the utmost importance when creating and experimenting with any art form. La-Ti-Do served the...

‘Donny & Marie: Christmas at the National’ at the National Theatre

Donny & Marie: Christmas at the National provides our nation’s capital with a sparkling and joyous holiday celebration. Superstar siblings Donny and Marie Osmond are every bit as charming and...

‘Newsies’ at the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center

Newsies is a big, shiny helium balloon of a musical. Everything in it is designed for maximum lift and minimum drag — so you’ll have to jump fast and reach high to catch it in its short stay at...

‘The Nutcracker’ at Round House Theatre

Offering a new fantastical family-friendly treat, Round House Theatre continues its 2014-15 season with a spectacularly re-imagined contemporary adaptation of a beloved classic – The Nutcracker, a new...

In the Moment: Parents Chime In On Their Kids Appearing in NextStop Theatre Company’s ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Wonder what parents think of their children taking on a role in a theater production; one that is not school-based? With that in mind, I went to NextStop Theatre Company which is producing A Charlie...

Nibbles and Sips: ‘National Geographic’s Executive Chef Matthew Crudder Talks About His Plans For The Upcoming Farm-To-Table Dinner And Why He Likes To Source Locally’

Presiding over National Geographic’s Washington, DC kitchens for over two years, Executive Chef Matthew Crudder draws on his considerable experience. A graduate of the New England Culinary Institute,...

Meet the Cast of 1st Stage’s ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’: Part 7: Bess Kaye by Alex Levy

This is part 7 in a series of interviews with the cast of 1st Stage’s One Man, Two Guvnors.‘ Meet Bess Kaye. Alex: How did you get involved in theatre? When did you know that you want to be an actor?...

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 1: ‘Paths Intersect Again After 20 Years’: Co-Directors Gareth Kelly and Anthony Scimonelli

When the Arts Collective at HCC (“AC”) decided how to mark its 20th Anniversary with James W. Rogers’ play, It’s A Wonderful Life, Producing Artistic Director Susan G. Kramer reached out to two former...

George Winston at the Music Center at Strathmore

‘Tis the season, literally, at the Music Center at Strathmore where George Winston played his “Winter Concert” in a masterful performance of beautiful songs dedicated to fall, winter, snow, and...

‘A Broadway Christmas Carol’ at MetroStage

MetroStage presents Kathy Feininger’s A Broadway Christmas Carol, the classic Dickens tale retold through parodies of famous Broadway show tunes. Michael Sharp directs and choreographs this silly,...

‘The Nutcracker’ at The Puppet Co.

I have seen and reviewed The Puppet Co.’s production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker several times, and each time I see it I fall in love with it even more. Two years ago I wrote a review...

‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Charm City Players

A year old, Charm City Players has to be commended for their ambitiousness with the wonderful shows they have produced this past year. From the screen to the stage, Charm City Players’ latest...

In The Moment: An Interview with VA Museum of Fine Arts’ Jeffrey Allison on Photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue

The photo just jumped out at me. It had a joyful, playful performing arts feeling. But it was a photograph from a century ago by an artist I did not know. And I wanted to know more. So with a bit of...

Judyisms: ‘You Must Keep Your Dream in Your Focus’

I’ve all but stopped reviewing the facts of my childhood and spend my time enjoying my NOW, since NOW is all we really have anyway. The only thing I will maintain is that when I was six I made a very...

Filichia on Friday: ‘Ten Thousand, Ten Thousand and One, Ten Thousand and Two …’ (And a Look at ‘Little Dancer’)

It’s an honor to bring Peter Filichia’s column every week on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday’ to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. And Mazel Tov to Peter on seeing his 10,000th show…and...

Nibbles and Sips Around Town: Peach Brandy Debuts At George Washington’s Mount Vernon Distillery

Eight hundred eagerly-anticipated bottles of George Washington’s limited edition Peach Brandy Eau de Vie (translation: “water of life”) went onto the shelves of the Mount Vernon Estate gift shop just...

‘Annie’ at Port Tobacco Players

Annie is based on the comic strip by Harold Gray about Little Orphan Annie. Her optimism shines through, even in the darkness that encompasses the 1930’s, which the musical is set in. Annie won seven...

‘The Great One-Man Commedia Epic’ at Faction of Fools

The Great One-Man Commedia Epic is a one-man show that is so endearing that I felt like my Dad had just told me a bed-time story. Like my Dad, Matthew R. Wilson pretended to have an argument with the...

NSO Pops: An Evening with Sutton Foster at The Kennedy Center

NSO Pops Electrifies with An Evening With Sutton Foster at The Kennedy Center When two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster takes the stage, anything goes, and she served up a delightful mix of charm,...

DCMTA Scene Stealers-Week Ending 11/27/14-Part 2

Here is Part 2 of our new list of Scene Stealers honorees for the week ending 11/27/14. ______ Simon Diesenhaus as Tobias Ragg, Singing “Not While I’m Around” at Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet...

DCMTA Scene Stealers-Week Ending 11/27/14-Part 1

Here is Part 1 of our new list of Scene Stealers honorees for the week ending 11/27/14. ______ Brian Lyons-Burke as Henry Higgins in His Final Scene in My Fair Lady at Damascus Theatre Company...

Meet the Cast of 1st Stage’s ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’: Part 6: Mark Lee Adams by Alex Levy

This is part 6 in a series of interviews with the cast of 1st Stage’s One Man, Two Guvnors.‘ Meet Mark Lee Adams. Alex: How did you get involved in theatre? When did you know that you want to be an...

Jefferson Starship at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club

David Freiberg takes the phrase “young at heart” to a whole new level. There seems to be no stopping him… Still going strong at 76 years-old, the Quicksilver Messenger Service co-founder is rocking...

‘It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’ at CENTERSTAGE

Following its successful runs of the epic play Amadeus and the rock musical Next to Normal, CENTERSTAGE lines up a fantastic family rendering of Frank Capra’s beloved holiday classic film, It’s a...

A Chat With Rebecca Luker About ‘Little Dancer’ at The Kennedy Center

It’s always a pleasure and honor to speak with Rebecca Luker, and as Little Dancer ends its run at The Kennedy Center this Sunday, November 30th, I asked Rebecca about the new Stephen Flaherty and...

Meet the Cast of 1st Stage’s ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’: Part 5: Katy Carkuff by Alex Levy

This is part 5 in a series of interviews with the cast of 1st Stage’s One Man, Two Guvnors.‘ Meet Katy Carkuff. Alex: How did you get involved in theatre? When did you know that you want to be an...

Tony Nominated Songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul Held a Master Class with Act Two @ Levine Pre-Professional Students at Strathmore Last Night

Tony nominated for A Christmas Story, The Musical, Pasek and Paul brought years of composing experience to the students of Act Two @ Levine’s pre-professional students. They began working together at...

‘The Comedy of Errors’ at The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

No need to throw tomatoes – even though you’re allowed – at this Shakespearian troupe that has a great passion for William Shakespeare’s craft. In a matter of twenty hours and a week later, the cast...

‘The Gift of Nothing’ at The Kennedy Center

Looking for a new, fun and entertaining way to spend the afternoon in a historic setting with the kids this holiday season? Introducing a brand new musical for the first time anywhere, The Kennedy...

The Ariel Quartet at the Israeli Embassy

How much do you re-interpret music that was written 100 or 200 years ago? This eternal question has an unequivocal answer in the hands of a young ensemble like The Ariel Quartet: Just do it. The...

‘Bernstein and Beethoven’ with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

Which pieces to put with which on an orchestra program is a subject of endless debate. Does it really matter if concerts have an overall theme? It does if they have as meaningful a connection as the...

‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ at 1st Stage

1st Stage, One Man, Two Guvnors, Five Stars. Uproariously directed by Matthew R. Wilson, the madcap British farce, One Man, Two Guvnors, by Richard Bean, with songs by Grant Olding, is about a man who...

‘WTF Happened To Baby Sister?’ at Rainbow Theatre Project

A hilarious, unique and a “no-holds barred” approach to satire was offered to an appreciative audience in the creative and subversive comedy WTF Happened to Baby Sister?. Presented by the Brave Soul...

Spine: Feeling Blue? Escape to ‘Five Guys Named Moe’

A man staggers onto the stage at Arena’s Kreeger Theater. Nomax, played with deep loss by Kevin McAllister, has offended his girl with yet another drunken night. He sings “Early in the Morning,” an...

‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’ at Spotlighters Theatre

It was super-cold this particular evening -an evening that many would select to stay in by a fire. Not us. My Mom and I parked and walked rapidly to Spotlighters. We couldn’t let the wind chill keep...

Meet the Assistant Director of 1st Stage’s ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’: Part 4: John Dellaporta by Alex Levy

This is part 4 in a series of interviews with the cast and Assistant Director of 1st Stage’s One Man, Two Guvnors.‘ Meet Assistant Director John Dellaporta. Alex: How did you get involved in theatre?...

‘Into the Woods’ at Woodrow Wilson High School’s Theatre Arts

Into the Woods is magical in two ways: the performance is out of this world, and; some time travel must have been involved to get Yana Madrid (the Witch) and other characters back from their...

Chris Smither & The Motivators at The Barns at Wolf Trap

While Wolf Trap is best known for The Filene Center, its 7,000 capacity giant performance venue, it’s true gem is found in The Barns. The Barns is really just one barn, a small, but lofty concert hall...

‘Susannah’ at The Catholic University of America’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music

Catholic University’s new opera production Susannah more than does justice to this American classic with a world premier of a new chamber version of the music by CUA alum Brian Rice. He adapted the...

‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ at University of Maryland’s Maryland Opera Studio

It was a delightfully funny night of Mozart at the Maryland Opera Studio’s production of Cosi Fan Tutte at the University of Maryland on Friday, November 21, 2014. With only spartan sets and costumes,...

‘La Perdida’ at Catholic University

La Perdida, a re-imagining of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, occurring in Mexico during the celebration of The Day of the Dead, opened last evening at the Callan Theater at Catholic University. The...

DC Area Soprano Danielle Talamantes On Her CD Signing on Sunday in Vienna, VA, the Met, Concert Music, and the Opera Singer’s Life

Rising local soprano Danielle Talamantes talks about the Met, concert music, and the opera singer’s life Politicians and lobbyists running to catch the Acela at Union Station in D.C. or Penn Station...

‘Catch Me If You Can’ at Walt Whitman High School by Jason Landrone

Fly, Fly Away with Whitman Drama’s Catch Me If You Can Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away … 1960’s style as Whitman Drama presents Catch Me If You Can directed by Christopher Gerken. The...