2015

Flying V Fights: ’Heroes & Monsters’ at Flying V Theatre

Bold, gallant heroes; terrifying, grim monsters; beautiful young love; fear; heroism; nostalgia; excitement: these are just a few of the things you’ll experience at Heroes & Monsters. In its first...

‘Candide’ with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Strathmore

The musical inventiveness and dramatic craziness of one of Leonard Bernstein’s most challenging pieces of all, his 1956 musical Candide, must flow right through Marin Alsop’s veins. The music director...

Filichia on Friday: “Hail to Thee, North Shore Music Theatre!’

It’s an honor to bring Peter Filichia’s column every week on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday’ to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. This Week: Hail to Thee, North Shore Music Theatre! Editor’s...

‘The Sound of Music’ at Bravo Productions

Thirty-four aspiring actors and singers starred in a heavenly production of Bravo Productions’ The Sound of Music last weekend at The Randolph Road Theatre. Under the direction of Producer/Director...

’The Word and the Wasteland’ at The Source Festival (Review)

A “seemingly guilty mass-murdering white supremacist terrorist” is the phrase dramaturg Alan Katz uses to describe the character at the heart of “The Word and the Wasteland, a full-length play...

Magic Time! ’The Word and the Wasteland’ at The Source Festival

At the center of this taut, trenchant play by Timothy Guillot is a fascinatingly enigmatic character named Benjamin Harding. He has very few lines. For the better part of two hours, Joshua Simon...

Meet the Cast of Damascus Theatre Company’s ‘The Wedding Singer’: Part 2 Gabriel T. Potter

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Wedding Singer, meet Gabriel T. Potter. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our...

‘Las Polacas: The Jewish Girls of Buenos Aires’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Many times, and perhaps too often, theater is used as a vehicle to escape life, to tell a story that is far from the reality of the world we live in and come from. I respect the artists who use...

‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’ at WSC Avant Bard

Under the lively, animated touch of director Christopher Henley, a merry little band of eager Avant Bard players bring The Madwoman of Chaillot, by French playwright Jean Giraudoux (1882-1944) to...

The Royal Ballet’s ‘Don Quixote’ at The Kennedy Center

Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote is a Royal treat Sometimes balletomanes can only distinguish between a truly great dance concert and a very fine one by noting how many goose bumps pop up on their arms....

‘Alice in Wonderland’ at Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage & Studio presents Tim Kelly’s theatrical adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, a beloved classic by Lewis Carroll. Artistic Director Susan Alison Keady and Director Chuck Leonard lead a...

‘NEWSIES’ at The National Theatre

Disney’s high-octane Newsies of New York have pirouetted their way to Pennsylvania Avenue in the Washington, DC, premiere engagement of the Tony Award-winning smash hit musical Disney’s NEWSIES. With...

Meet the Director and Cast of Spooky Action Theater’s ‘Jarry Inside Out’: Part 2: Catherine Tripp

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the Director and cast of Spooky Action Theater’s Jarry Inside Out, meet Director Catherine Tripp. Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may...

‘Lend Me a Tenor’ at the Washington County Playhouse

Lend Me a Tenor at the Washington County Playhouse is a rollercoaster ride of laughs. Director Laura Martin brings this well-known Ken Ludwig farce to life with the help of a talented cast of...

Source Theatre Festival 2015: ‘Science and Soulmates’ 10-Minute Plays

Quadratic equations and heart palpitations dominate Science and Soulmates, one third of the 2015 Source Festival’s series of ten minute plays. These six short plays succeed at what few theatres (or...

‘The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife’ at Theater J

A hit Broadway comedy, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, rounds out Theater J’s 2014–2015 season in a production smartly directed by Eleanor Holdridge. Written in a mainstream mode by Charles...

‘Tartuffe’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

“People do not mind being wicked,” said Moliere, “but they do object to being made ridiculous.” In Moliere’s great play Tartuffe, the merchant Orgon is made ridiculous by his overwhelming...

In the Moment: 2015 Capital Fringe Festival Preview #1: ‘BOND: An Unauthorized Parody’ first at Workhouse Performing Arts Center and then at The Capital Fringe

Looking at the upcoming Workhouse (Lorton, VA) Performing Arts Center calendar and the Capital Fringe Festival performance schedule, I spotted a show from Tasty Monster Productions that is crossing...

Romell Witherspoon on Playing Rosencrantz in Folger Theatre’s ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’

In Part 2 of our interviews with the actors playing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at Folger Theatre, meet Romell Witherspoon. Sophia: Please introduce yourself to our readers. What are your favorite...

‘The Good Counselor’ at 1st Stage

“You will never know the truth of my life,” says Rita Heffernon (Deidra LaWan Starnes) to her son, Vincent (Manu Kumasi), in a moment of heart-wrenching honesty. “Children never know.” The Good...

‘Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love’ at The Studio Theatre

Mallery Avidon’s Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love, now playing at Studio’s Milton Theatre, is many things. It is a poetically funny exposé on 21st century culture. It is a lyrical landscape on the lonely...

‘Why Torture is Wrong and The People Who Love Them’ at The Colonial Players

Colonial Players current production of Christopher Durang’s Why Torture is Wrong and The People Who Love Them is an affectionate treatment of a wondrously wacky, life-enriching masterwork. Durang’s...

‘The Oldest Profession’ at Rainbow Theatre Project

For female actors over 40, a familiar and monotonous list of character types dominates the theatre: mother, grandmother, beloved domestic worker. That’s why it is so satisfying to watch the five...

The List of the 2015 Tony Award Winners

Here is the list of the 2015 Tony Award Winners: Best Play WINNER: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Disgraced Hand to God Wolf Hall Parts One & Two ______ Best Musical An American in...

‘Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash’ at Infinity Theatre Company

Infinity Theatre Company has launched their Annapolis summer season with the production of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash by Richard Maltby, Jr. and William Meade. Though the cast play...

Source Theatre Festival 2015: ‘Love & Botany: 10-Minute Plays’

Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire (later turned into a PBS documentary of the same name) explored the world from the point of view of four plants: apple, tulip, marijuana, and potato. If you ever...

BSO: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony at Strathmore

Playing what has perhaps become the four most famous chords in the western canon, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra tackled Beethoven’s 5th last night at Strathmore, along with Shostakovich and...

‘Dirty Blonde’ at the Little Theatre of Alexandria

Dirty Blonde, written by Claudia Shear and directed by Jennifer Lyman, follows two stories: the rise to fame of star Mae West and the blossoming love affair of her two most obsessive fans after her...

Magic Time! Update 6/6/15: ‘Out/Spoken: Intimate Stories of LGBT Pride: Meet the Storytellers of ‘Out/Spoken’-Onstage at 9:30 Club June 5th by Michael Poandl and John Stoltenberg

Update on 6/6/15: A near-capacity crowd gathered in the 9:30 Club Friday night, June 5, 2015—not standing in wait for a band to come on but seated in folding chairs for an evening of storytelling. The...

‘Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead’ at Spotlighters Theatre

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead is the penultimate show of Spotlighters’ 53rd season and boy does it pack a punch. This unauthorized parody, written by Burt V. Royal, imagines the...

Source Theatre Festival 2015: ‘Mistakes & Media: 10-Minute Plays’

Youthful energy is bursting out all over at Source Theatre Festival 2015, which began last night with its first round of six 10-minute plays, roaring in under the banner Mistakes & Media. This opening...

‘The Well of Horniness’ at Iron Crow Theatre

Go ahead. It’s okay to scream with laughter and stomp your feet. Though short by Shakespearean standards, this play is howlingly funny as it exploits every lesbian stereotype and cliché known to...

‘Born Yesterday’ at The Vagabond Players

There is so much to see in historic Fells Point in Baltimore that it would be easy to pass by the tucked away home of The Vagabond Players. However, this little theatre is about to celebrate a big...

‘Latino Music Fever’ at the In Series

The In Series takes on the music of our Southern neighbors in a concert full of classic hits from Mexico and Cuba, many of which made a climb up the U.S. pop charts. If the tunes feel particularly...

DCMTA Scene Stealers-Week Ending June 5, 2015-Part 1

Congrats to all our new Scene Stealers honorees! ______ Shayna Blass as Lulu in the Final Scene of Cabaret at Signature Theatre “In Act Two the Emcee sings “If You Could See Her (with my eyes)” to...

Meet the Cast of Damascus Theatre Company’s ‘The Wedding Singer’: Part 1: Taylor Campbell

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of The Wedding Singer, meet Taylor Campbell. Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our local...

‘An Act of God’ at Studio 54 in New York City

Jim Parsons was put together with pieces of PeeWee Herman, Jerry Lewis, and James Stewart and the result is a most appealing actor who’s found himself a character very close to the real Jim Parsons....

In the Moment: Chamber Dance Project’s 2015 Summer Season at the Lansburgh

Don’t hurry out of town for the summer just yet or you will miss the new summer season of DC’s own Chamber Dance Project in residence at the Lansburgh Theatre at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Known for...

Filichia on Friday: ‘Welcome 2015-2016!’ (‘Merman’s Apprentice’ coming to Birdland on June 17th at 7 PM!)

It’s an honor to bring Peter Filichia’s column every week on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday’ to our readers on DCMetroTheaterArts. This Week: Welcome 2015-2016! Editor’s Note: I attended a...

In the Moment: ‘After Seeing ‘Jarry Inside Out’

Much has been written about Spooky Action Theater’s premiere production Jarry Inside Out by Richard Henrich. I take this opportunity to connect it to popular culture, in a different manner than I have...

McLean Theatre Company Performs ‘Big Fish’ at International Thespian Festival, as the Show Garners 21 Cappies Nominations with Encore Shows June 13 and 14th at McLean HS and June 20th at GMU by Brent Stone

The McLean High School Theatre Company (MTC) was invited by the International Thespian Association to perform the musical Big Fish at the International Thespian Festival, Lincoln, Nebraska on June 25,...

An Interview with Richard Glazier, Host of ‘From Broadway to Hollywood,’ This Weekend on WETA

If you want to call Richard Glazier a throwback, go right ahead. He loves it. For Glazier, there’s nothing better than sitting at a piano telling stories about George and Ira Gershwin and their...

In the Moment: Creative Cauldron’s Summer Cabaret

Ah, the enduring popularity of sophisticated, stylish cabaret entertainment. Now add-in musical artists who easily mix the known American Songbook standards with the less often heard to bring a...

‘Finally Quiet in My Head’ at DC Black Theatre Festival 2015 at Anacostia Arts Center on June 20-21st by Cristina A. Bejan

Two humans in St. Elizabeth’s psychiatric hospital in SE Washington DC who deny that their existence is defined solely by the label ‘crazy.’ One Washingtonian family who grapples with what their dear...

‘Blithe Spirit’ at Everyman Theatre

Word has it that English playwright Noël Coward took only five days to write Blithe Spirit during the full fury of World War II, which premiered just six weeks later in June 1941, creating a new...

Extra! Extra! An Interview with Ben Cook: He’s Home and He’s in ‘Newsies’ at The National Theatre

Ben Cook is returning home and will be dancing his heart out in Newsies at The National Theatre. I had a chance to catch up with Ben. Joel: Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell them where...

Adam Wesley Brown on Playing Guildenstern in Folger Theatre’s ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’

In Part 1 of two interviews with the actors who play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Folger Theatre’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, meet Adam Wesley Brown. Please...

James Madison High School’s Advanced Theatre Class Presents ‘Dani Girl’ on June 12th & 13th

Why is mint chocolate chip ice cream? Why is cancer? Well, that is just the very question that Madison High School’s Advanced Theatre class intends to answer. No one seems to know why certain things...

Meet the Director and Cast of of Spooky Action Theater’s ‘Jarry Inside Out’: Part 1: Ian LeValley

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the Director and cast of Spooky Action Theater’s Jarry Inside Out, meet Ian LeValley. Why did you want to become a member of the cast of Jarry Inside Out? I...

‘NSFW’ at Round House Theatre Company

Round House Theatre just opened a stunningly good production of NSFW directed by Meredith McDonough. The script by British playwright Lucy Kirkwood is a marvel in itself, because it is a scathingly...